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Uttwiller (France) (AFP) – They’re a charming feature of Alsatian villages, whether pink, blue, yellow or white. But hundreds of half-timbered houses are disappearing every year in Alsace, where local authorities are trying to halt the decline with subsidies. In the small village of Uttwiller, 40 kilometres north of Strasbourg, an oak farmhouse is regaining its old charm: its owners decided to renovate this Alsatian house, hoping to benefit from a recently created conservation fund.

Varanasi (India) (AFP) – India’s six-week election reaches its final day of voting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win a third term in office. The holy city of Varanasi is one of the last places to vote and is where Modi’s ever-closer alignment of religion and politics burns brightest. IMAGES

Singapore (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the Indo-Pacific region remains a “priority” for Washington, saying the United States was secure “only if Asia is”. Lloyd made the remarks at a major security forum in Singapore, a day after he met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun. Lloyd made the remarks at a major security forum in Singapore, a day after he met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun. SOUNDBITE

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Teachers and pupils in Kyiv show extraordinary resilience in the face of war, despite the Russian invasion that wreaked havoc on children’s emotional well-being. One of nearly four million Ukrainian schoolchildren, 13-year-old Sofia Klochko, an eighth grader at School 61 in central Kyiv, is completing her third academic year in a row with her country at war, marked in the capital by stressful air alerts. “It was really difficult for me, but I adapted to it,” she says.

New York (AFP) – People gather outside Trump Tower to see Donald Trump arrive at the building, following his historic criminal conviction by a New York jury on 30 May. Trump was found guilty on all charges in the hush money case, months before an election that could yet see him return to the White House.

West Palm Beach (United States) (AFP) – Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters gather outside his Mar-a-Lago estate and share mixed views on his conviction. Trump became the first former US president ever convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty on all charges in his hush money case, months before an election that could see him yet return to the White House.

London (AFP) – UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces a fifth set of strikes by the Royal Airforce, alongside the US, against the Houthis in Yemen, who have been attacking shipping around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, citing solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with the militant group Hamas since October 7.

Teahupo’o (France) (AFP) – Vahine Fierro becomes the first French surfer to win the women’s Tahiti Pro on the waves of Teahupo’o on 29 May, two months before the Olympics surfing events are held at the French Pacific island. Fierro, 24, was born on the neighbouring island of Huahine and, with this success, marked herself down as one of the favourites for Olympic gold.

Donald Trump on Thursday became the first former US president ever convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty on all charges in his hush money case, months before an election that could see him yet return to the White House.

“Up until 2022, I didn’t see myself as anyone,” says 29-year-old Anastasia, known as Nastya, whose life changed in the wake of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, turning her into an activist. Now, she seeks to offer support to victims of repression by writing letters and sending parcels to prisons. Nastya says she “wouldn’t want to do anything else,” adding that she doesn’t “select” prisoners based on their cases. Among those she writes to is Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced last year to 25 years — the harshest sentence against an opposition leader in the history of modern Russia.

Hong Kong’s security chief Chris Tang confirms that several pro-democracy campaigners have been arrested outside the courthouse where 14 people were found guilty of subversion in the city’s biggest case since China imposed a national security law. “Outside the courtroom there were several people, they caused nuisance and conducted disorderly conduct outside the courtroom and they are being arrested,” Tang says.

Another volcanic eruption in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula near the town of Grindavik has triggered the evacuation of the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, Iceland’s biggest tourist attraction. The eruption is the fifth in six months in this part of southwestern Iceland.