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Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, says during a press conference in Brussels with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohamed Mustafa, that “Spain will recognise the Palestinian state next Tuesday, May 28th, joining the 143 other countries in the world that have already done so.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is hosting Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa for international talks on building up the Palestinian Authority to eventually take over Gaza rule from Hamas.

Benoni (South Africa) (AFP) – South Africa’s main opposition party has vowed to unseat the ANC in the general election, with the party in power since the end of apartheid likely to suffer a historic setback in what is billed as the most hotly contested election in thirty years. “On Wednesday, the ANC will lose the outright majority that it has abused for decades, it will lose the majority that it has abused to push this country into unemployment, to commit corruption and misrule,” says Democratic Alliance party leader, John Steenhuisen. Opinion polls suggest the DA will not overtake the ANC to become South Africa’s biggest single party, but it hopes to unite with a coalition of smaller outfits to take power.

Taipei (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Taiwanese protesters rally day and night outside parliament, as lawmakers inside traded insults, blows and theatrics over a series of bills to expand the legislature’s power.

Veracruz (Mexico) (AFP) – In Veracruz, residents find ways to cool down as a deadly heatwave grips much of the country. The extreme heat has killed 14 people in the city and 48 across Mexico since March, with scientists warning of new records.

Northallerton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak jokes that he does not have “pneumonia yet” while on a campaign trail in the north of England following his rain-drenched early election announcement outside Downing Street.

Washington (AFP) – Addressing the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, DC, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an anti-vaccine activist and nephew of former US president John F. Kennedy, says he would drop charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and pardon whistleblower Edward Snowden as president.

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni will miss the Champions League final due to injury. The France international suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in the semi-final win over Bayern Munich on May 8.

The Hague (AFP) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders Israel to halt military operations in Rafah, a landmark ruling likely to increase mounting international pressure on Israel more than seven months into the Gaza war. The ICJ also demands the immediate release of all hostages still held by Palestinian militants, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from north Gaza.

Rawalpindi (Pakistan) (AFP) – Half of Pakistan’s pupils will be shut out of schools for a week as the nation takes crisis measures to lessen the effect of a series of heatwaves, officials said Thursday. The early closure was confirmed by a spokesperson for Punjab’s Education Department. Pakistan’s meteorological office has forecast three heatwaves — one already underway and two more set to hit in early and late June.

Beijing (AFP) – Beijing’s defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian says Taiwanese President Lai Ching-tse “has seriously challenged the one-China principle… pushing our compatriots in Taiwan into a perilous situation of war and danger”. Democratic Taiwan is accustomed to frequent threats from China, which claims the island as part of its territory. Beijing has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and has in recent years upped the rhetoric of “unification” being “inevitable”.

Turquie (AFP) – 90-year-old Kasim Karaosman carefully hoists himself onto a rickety cable car – which he made himself more than 50 years ago – before the contraption shoots him 300 metres across a deep mountain valley to his home. The makeshift machines are essential in these villages in northeast Turkey, where locals harvest tea leaves in fields inaccessible by car. But a string of deaths and hair-raising accidents has sent a shudder of fear through the community.

Ghazni (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Decades of war have left Afghanistan littered with landmines and other munitions, with the remnants of conflict killing a child in the country every other day.