Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis quips that a shot of tequila would help him with a painful knee that has forced the 85-year-old Argentinian to use a wheelchair. “You know what I need for my leg? A little tequila!” Francis jokes with a group of newly-ordained Mexican priests in a video that went viral on TikTok.
Baghdad (AFP) – Another sandstorm has descended on climate-stressed Iraq and has sent at least 4,000 people to hospital with breathing problems. It is the eighth dust storm since mid-April to hit the country, which has been battered by soil degradation, intense droughts and low rainfall linked to climate change.
San Diego (AFP) – Msituni, a three-month-old giraffe calf at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, walks without trouble after having leg braces fitted to correct an unusual disorder that caused her legs to bend the wrong way.
Stockholm (AFP) – Sweden will apply for membership in NATO, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson says, reversing two centuries of military non-alignment.
Jacobabad (Pakistan) (AFP) – Jacobabad in Pakistan’s arid Sindh province is in the grip of the latest heatwave to hit South Asia -– peaking at 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit) at the weekend. Experts say the searing weather is in line with projections for global warming.
Moscow (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin says that while Russia does not see Finland and Sweden’s decision to join NATO as a threat, deployment of military infrastructure there may trigger a response from Moscow.
Berlin (AFP) – Speaking virtually at a NATO meeting in Berlin, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine can defeat Russia’s invasion, urging the alliance to keep sending military aid to Kyiv.
Beirut (AFP) – ‘Voting is a duty,’ says a Beirut citizen as she casts her ballot in the first election since multiple crises dragged Lebanon to the brink of failed statehood. The vote is a major test for new opposition groups bent on removing the ruling elite.
Helsinki (AFP) – The Finnish government officially announces its intention to join NATO. Less than three months after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the move is a stunning reversal of Finland’s policy on military non-alignment dating back more than 75 years
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Kyiv residents get an unexpected boost after Ukraine swept to victory at the Eurovision Song Contest with an infectious hip-hop folk melody. The win has raised spirits in the embattled nation which fighting off a Russian invasion that has killed thousands and displaced millions of people.
Turin (Italy) (AFP) – ‘The victory is very important to Ukraine, especially this year,’ says Kalush Orchestra frontman, Oleh Psiuk, after winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine with an infectious hip-hop folk melody. The band received special authorisation from Ukraine’s government to attend Eurovision, since men of fighting age are prohibited from leaving the country, but that permit expires in two days. Psiuk said he was not sure what awaited the band as war rages back home.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – From odes to embattled military units to expressions of love for the motherland, Ukrainians are embracing tattoos amid the ongoing war with Russia. At the “Art Weapon” festival, dozens chose to show their love for their nation by getting inked.
