UK

Bangkok (AFP) – Members of the LGBTQ community rejoice as Thailand approves same-sex marriage in a historic parliamentary vote hailed as a “victory” by campaigners.

Pyongyang (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Pyongyang, North Korea, for a rare visit set to boost defence ties between the two nuclear-armed countries. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greeted Putin on a red carpet at Pyongyang’s airport, before a motorcade took Putin along streets lined with Russian flags. The trip is the Russian leader’s first to the isolated nation in 24 years.

N’Djamena (AFP) – A deadly fire erupts at a huge military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, causing weapons to fire into the air, the government and witnesses said.

Doune (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Recently reintroduced to the wild after disappearing 400 years ago, beavers are dividing Scots as they boost wildlife and tourism but damage farmland and trees. “There’s no place for them in Scotland,” states farmer Douglas Neill.

At sea (AFP) – Rescuers are scouring the sea off southern Italy in search of survivors and the bodies of dozens of migrants after two shipwrecks left at least 11 people dead. With up to 60 migrants potentially lost at sea, the Italian coastguard said it has been looking for “possible missing persons” since late Sunday, 16 June.

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (France) (AFP) – 135 years ago, Vincent van Gogh was a patient in Saint-Remy-de-Provence’s psychiatric clinic, in southern France. Today, the clinic is open exclusively to women and follows in the artist’s footsteps with a particular focus on artistic practice and van Gogh’s heritage.

Düsseldorf (Germany) (AFP) – France’s national football team captain Kylian Mbappe suffered a broken nose in his team’s 1-0 Euro 2024 win over Austria on 17 June, leaving a question mark over whether or not he will be able to play in his team’s next game against the Netherlands.

Geneva (AFP) – “The number of civilian deaths in armed conflict soared by 72 percent” in 2023 says the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, at the first day of the 56th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. “The proportion of women killed in 2023 doubled and that of children tripled,” he adds.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Protesters travel to Jerusalem to rally outside the Israeli parliament and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, clashing with police and urging new elections as part of what has been dubbed a week of disturbance by activists.

Mina (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Saudi Arabia warned of a temperature spike in Mecca as Muslim pilgrims wrapped up the hajj in searing conditions. Authorities recorded more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on June 16 alone.

Afghanistan (AFP) – Destitute Afghans forced to flee Pakistan following the country’s crackdown on undocumented migrants mark a somber Eid al-Adha in a tent encampment in the border province of Nangarhar.

Kabaw (Libya) (AFP) – Once flourishing and known for its figs, olives, and almonds, fields around Kabaw are now mostly barren and battered by climate change-induced drought, pushing villagers to foresake lands and livestock. “Most people have left this region and migrated to the capital Tripoli,” explains the village mayor Mourad Makhlouf.