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Tecoluca (AFP) – More than 2,000 alleged gang members are being transferred from various prisons across El Salvador to a single security “mega-prison” at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) in Tecoluca. Rounding up more than 80,000 presumed gangsters under a state of emergency in place since March 2022, President Nayib Bukele also built the largest prison in Latin America to hold them. But human rights groups have reported the killing and torture of detainees and say thousands of innocent people, including minors, have been jailed.

Mekka (AFP) – Muslim worshippers flock to the Grand Mosque in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca to circle the Kaaba ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia said the hajj will start on 14 June after astronomical observatories spotted the crescent moon Thursday evening, signalling the beginning of the month in which the annual pilgrimage falls.

Berlin (AFP) – During a visit to Germany’s capital Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine must not be divided, drawing parallels with the Berlin Wall in an address to the German parliament. He also warns of growing pro-Russian rhetoric in Europe after far-right parties — some sympathetic to the Kremlin — made gains in European Union elections.

Ya’an (China) (AFP) – Adoring fans throng Tokyo-born giant panda Xiang Xiang’s enclosure as she celebrates her seventh birthday months after returning to China from Ueno Zoo.

Yeoncheon (South Korea) (AFP) – K-pop megastar Jin from BTS is discharged from his South Korean military service. Jin is the first member of the band to complete the mandatory duty, freeing him up to fully resume musical activities. The seven members of the world’s most popular boy band have been performing their service — which South Korea requires of all men under 30, due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North — with the K-pop juggernaut on a self-described “hiatus” since 2022. ++ COMPLETES WITH VIDI_34WB9AW ++

Vidauban (Var) (France) (AFP) – A fire burns overnight through a forest in the Maures massif in the Var region of France. Fanned by strong winds, it has already burned 600 hectares, the first major blaze in southern France this year despite the deployment of hundreds of firefighters.

Yeoncheon (South Korea) (AFP) – K-pop megastar Jin from BTS was discharged from his South Korean military service on Wednesday. Jin is the first member of the band to complete the mandatory duty, freeing him up to fully resume musical activities. The seven members of the world’s most popular boy band have been performing their service — which South Korea requires of all men under 30, due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North — with the K-pop juggernaut on a self-described “hiatus” since 2022. IMAGES

Menton (France) (AFP) – “I remain on the right, I remain a Republican” but “alliances had to be built,” says the leader of France’s right-wing Republicans (LR), Eric Ciotti, after advocating a shock alliance between his party and the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen. The announcement has led to call for Ciotti’s resignation from within the LR.

Tbilisi (AFP) – On 4 June, Georgia’s ruling party outlined a package of draft laws that would ban what it calls “LGBT propaganda”, mirroring similar legislation used to crack down on gay rights in Russia and, more recently, Hungary. Tato Londaridze, owner of the first gay club in the Caucasus and Mariam Kvaratskhelia, co-founder of LGBTQ rights group Tbilisi Pride, tell AFP that the legislation could spell the end for their organisations and force them into exile.

Ayutthaya (Thailand) (AFP) – An elephant in Thailand has delivered a rare set of twins in a dramatic birth that left a carer injured as he protected one of the newborns from her mother’s attack.

Tokyo (AFP) – Down a Tokyo street lined with bright signs, up narrow stairs and behind a windowless door is a “snack bar” long cherished by regulars but hidden from tourists — until now.

Foshan (China) (AFP) – Rowers careen around tight corners past packed crowds in southern China’s Foshan, where the Dragon Boat racing is more “Fast and Furious” than your average contest.