Belfast (AFP) – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn tells the UK parliament that “any foreign national who abuses the hospitality of this country to commit crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them”, following a stabbing attack in Belfast.
Yiwu (China) (AFP) – Stuffed “GOAT” plushies donning Lionel Messi’s famous Argentina no. 10 line the shelves of Chinese shops. “This little sheep is wearing Argentina’s traditional blue-and-white striped jersey, featuring Messi’s number 10,” says Zhu Hui, as she holds a plushie. “The sheep itself represents the ‘GOAT’, which perfectly embodies fans’ love for him,” she adds. China hasn’t qualified for the international tournament since 2002 but the nation is still gripped by World Cup fever.
Paris (France) (AFP) – Demonstrators gather outside the Paris Courthouse to protest against the French justice system’s handling of the murder of an 11-year-old girl named Lyhanna. “I don’t even know how I feel today. It goes beyond anger,” says protester Peggy Charpentier. The 41-year-old suspect in the case had been formally accused twice of raping a child, but had not been questioned by police by the time Lyhanna went missing.
General Santos (Philippines) (AFP) – Residents spend the night outside in General Santos City after a deadly earthquake struck the southern Philippines. “We panicked because it was really strong. We got really scared,” says student Diana Katimuan. The magnitude 7.8 quake killed over 40 people, according to provincial authorities, after toppling buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region.
Havana (AFP) – Workers evacuate a building in Havana after a strong earthquake struck off the coast of western Cuba, with AFP journalists in the capital reporting 20 seconds of shaking. IMAGES
Tehran (AFP) – People in Tehran and Tel Aviv hope that missile fire exchange between their countries will be “short”, after Iran and Israel attacked each other for the first time since a shaky ceasefire put five weeks of war on hold. “You don’t know if there’s going to be a war, nor do you know if the peace agreement will last. Nothing is clear,” says Maryam from Tehran. The Iranian military, who fired the first overnight missiles, says it is now halting its latest military operation against Israel.
General Santos (Philippines) (AFP) – “All I can say now is, I am just waiting for his dead body. I no longer expect him to be alive,” says Dioslinda Deluvio, whose son is trapped under a collapsed building following a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the Philippines. Emergency responders dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the city of General Santos, searching for the more than a dozen people still missing. The quake hit the southern Philippines, killing at least 35 people, according to provincial authorities.
Mumbai (India) (AFP) – A free school in Mumbai — operating out of repurposed shipping containers under a flyover — educates several dozen of the city’s most marginalised children who’ve fallen through the gaps of India’s public school systems. The approach of the non-profit “Signal Shala” is tailored to the realities of street life, offering free meals and showers to the children.
Sanaa (AFP) – Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announce a missile attack on Israel and declared a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, raising the spectre of a return to major disruption on the key route. The strikes on Israel were the Houthi rebels’ first since early April, and coincided with Iran and Israel’s first attacks on each other’s territory since a shaky ceasefire put five weeks of war on hold.
Lima (AFP) – Peru’s presidential Roberto Sanchez casts his vote in Lima as he faces conservative four-time presidential hopeful Keiko Fujimori in a tight race. IMAGES
Lima (AFP) – People vote in Peru’s presidential runoff, with crime and political instability dominating a race to choose the country’s ninth leader in a decade. IMAGES
Lima (AFP) – Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori casts her ballot in Lima as voters head to the polls in a deeply polarised run‑off election that pits the conservative political veteran against leftist challenger Roberto Sanchez in a tightly contested race shaped by years of instability and rising crime. IMAGES
