New York (AFP) – New York’s pride parade, the highest-profile US LGBTQ gathering, is ramping up efforts to raise funds from individual community members as corporate donations have been squeezed as Washington demonizes diversity. NYC Pride’s spokesman Kevin Kilbride said “just about 80 percent of the fundraising goal” for the city’s largest pride parade group had been met.
Bangkok (AFP) – Hundreds of anti-government protesters gather outside Thailand’s Government House, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign over a leaked phone call with former Cambodian lead Hun Sen that triggered public outrage. IMAGES
Santo Domingo (AFP) – Dominicans Maribel and Antonio Espaillat arrive for a pre-trial hearing after being arrested on manslaughter charges over the collapse of a nightclub in Santo Domingo. The two siblings, owners of the Jet Set nightclub, are accused of “immense irresponsibility and negligence” for failing to carry out repairs to the roof, which collapsed in the early hours of April 8 during a concert by merengue star Rubby Perez, killing 236 revelers, including the singer. IMAGES
Tijuana (Mexico) (AFP) – Mexican authorities seal off a property in the border city of Tijuana where a tunnel leading towards the US was found. Mexican authorities say they also seized several doses of methamphetamine at the property where the 350-meter-long tunnel leading towards San Diego was found. IMAGES
Puerto Escondido (Mexique) (AFP) – Gray skies loom over popular tourist town of Puerto Escondido as Hurricane Erick approaches Mexico’s Pacific coast as a powerful Category 3 storm. Now a major hurricane, Erick is expected to bring “potentially destructive winds and life-threatening flash floods to portions of southern Mexico” late Wednesday and Thursday, says the US National Hurricane Center. IMAGES
Acapulco (Mexique) (AFP) – Local police in Acapulco warn people on beach and in the streets of tropical storm Erick. The storm will likely strengthen to a hurricane bringing life-threatening heavy rains in the days to come, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). IMAGES
Buenos Aires (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Argentines take to the streets of Buenos Aires in support of ex-president Cristina Kirchner, a day after she began serving a six-year sentence for fraud under house arrest. Supporters of the polarizing leftist gather on the Plaza de Mayo square and spill into surrounding streets for a demonstration called by the 72-year-old’s Justicialist Party. IMAGES
Ascot (AFP) – Prince William appears in a horse drawn carriage alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla at Royal Ascot after his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales pulled out of attending the race meeting, a key event in the royal calendar. Catherine, also known as Kate, would not be attending Royal Ascot with her husband Prince William, King Charles III and Queen Camilla as she continued to “find the right balance following her battle with cancer” the domestic Press Association news agency said.
St. Petersburg (AFP) – Representatives of the Taliban participate in the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) — once dubbed “Russia’s Davos” — amid Russia’s push to normalise ties with the militant Islamist group. Some 20,000 guests from 140 countries are set to take part in the forum both online and in person, according to the Kremlin, while high-profile European and American representatives are absent for the fourth year running amid Moscow’s offensive on Ukraine.
(AFP) – Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the nation will never surrender as demanded by US President Donald Trump. He also warns that the United States would face “irreparable” damage if it intervenes in support of its ally Israel.
Phnom Penh (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Cambodians take to the streets of Phnom Penh for an official rally to support the government’s actions in its recent border dispute with Thailand. The march follows the death of a Cambodian soldier last month when troops exchanged fire in a disputed area where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet.
Sikka (Indonesia) (AFP) – Dozens of flights to and from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali have been cancelled after a volcano in the archipelago’s east erupted, shooting an ash tower 10 kilometres (six miles) into the sky.
