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.
Magelang (Indonesia) (AFP) – Thousands of people in Indonesia release lanterns to mark Vesak Day commemorating the birth birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama.
Guaranda (Colombia) (AFP) – Widespread flooding in Colombia’s La Mojana region has caused a humanitarian crisis with homes inundated with water and thousands of hectares of crops destroyed.
Kinmen (Taiwan) (AFP) – Images of Taiwanese soldiers leaving port on the outlying island of Kinmen for routine military exercises. China on Thursday kicked off two days of military exercises encircling Taiwan, days after its new president was sworn in. IMAGES
Pingtan (China) (AFP) – View from China’s Pingtan Island, the closest place in mainland China to Taiwan, as China’s military begins its second day of war games around Taiwan. IMAGES
Mashhad (Iran) (AFP) – Huge crowds gather to bid farewell to late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi in Mashhad, his hometown, where he will be laid to rest at at the holy shrine of Imam Reza. Raisi, 63, died on 19 May alongside his foreign minister and six others when their helicopter crashed in the country’s mountainous northwest while returning from a dam inauguration.
Gillingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The leader of the UK opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer urges people to “vote to turn the page” in a general election announced for July 4. Labour lead the latest opinion polls over the incumbent Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with six weeks of campaigning ahead of the vote.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Fathi Ahmed Gomaa and his sons care for animals in a barn in Khan Yunis after transferring them from their zoo in Rafah following the Israeli army’s incursion into Gaza’s southernmost city. Gomaa appeals to Israeli authorities to facilitate the evacuation of three lions that remain without food or water in the zoo in Rafah as battles rage between Israeli troops and Hamas militants.
Vantaa (Finland) (AFP) – At a factory in Finland, the “farmers of the future” are making food protein by feeding a microbe nothing but air and electricity, proving that protein can be produced away from traditional agriculture. “We want to tackle this problem of land use,” says Pasi Vainikka, CEO of Solar Foods, “and replace, nutritionally, animals”. Moving forward, cellular agriculture is increasingly seen as a green alternative to livestock farming, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of global warming.
San Pedro Garza García (Mexico) (AFP) – At least nine people, including a child, died after strong wind gusts caused a stage in northern Mexico to collapse during a campaign rally. Mexico’s meteorological service had earlier warned of heavy rain, wind gusts of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour and possible tornadoes in Nuevo Leon and other northern states. [COMPLETE WITH 34TF8U6, 34TG3QB, 34TG76E, 34TF8TX]
Taoyuan (Taiwan) (AFP) – Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te vows to “defend the values of freedom and democracy” as China conducts military drills around the island days after his inauguration. 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”.
Hsinchu (Taiwan) (AFP) – China encircles Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft in military drills aimed at punishing the self-ruled island after its new president vowed to defend democracy.
