Copenhagen (AFP) – Copenhagen zoo welomes the arrival of its third giraffe calf born this year. The zoo is part of an international giraffe breeding programme, and has now bred 52 since the first one arrived in 1902. Giraffes are close to being an endangered species in the wild due to habitat loss caused by human activity.
London (AFP) – Londoners prepare for the seventh British prime minister in a decade, after Keir Starmer resigns following months of pressure from his party. Current favourite to take over is former mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who secured a return to parliament last week in the high-stakes Makerfield by-election. “I don’t think there’ll be any change. It’s just another day, another leader,” says one Londoner.
New York (AFP) – Norwegian football fans flood New York’s Times Square and perform the ‘Viking row’ on the eve of their team’s World Cup Group I match against Senegal. In their first World Cup match in 28 years, the Scandinavian team beat Iraq 4-1. Their final group stage match will be against last tournament’s finalists France on June 26.
Barranquilla (Colombia) (AFP) – Colombia president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, a flamboyant US-backed lawyer who has never held public office, celebrates his victory in Barranquilla, alongside his family and hundreds of supporters. De la Espriella narrowly won Colombia’s polarizing presidential runoff on Sunday, sparking protests and making Colombia the latest Latin American country to swing to the right.
Fano (Denmark) (AFP) – Thousands of kites fly along Denmark’s western coast in Fano on Sunday in one of the world’s largest kite festivals. The Fano festival brings together around 5,000 kite enthusiasts from 26 countries each year, flying some 25,000 kites according to the organisers.
Supporters of hard-right Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella celebrate in the city of Baranquilla as the 47-year-old lawyer takes the lead in the country’s runoff election against left-wing ruling party Senator Ivan Cepeda, with more than half of the polling stations reported in the preliminary count. IMAGES
Bogotá (AFP) – Polls close and vote count begins in Colombia’s polarized presidential runoff, an election that will reshape the country’s fragile peace process and relations with the United States. Around 41 million voters were eligible to choose between flamboyant hard-right and White House-backed lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and stoic left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda. IMAGES
Bogotá (AFP) – Left-wing Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda casts his vote in Bogota in the presidential runoff. Colombians were voting in a polarized presidential runoff that could reshape the country’s fragile peace process and relations with the United States, after the most violent election campaign in a decade. IMAGES
Habboûch (Lebanon) (AFP) – “Nabatieh is a disaster-stricken city,” says Mohammad Sallum, a displaced resident making a quick visit to inspect his damaged shop after Israel ordered its forces to halt fighting in southern Lebanon. “The city will return to life within two or three months after this disaster, but the most important thing is that the Israelis leave our land,” he adds.
Zurich (AFP) – The United States and Iran are set to hold talks in Switzerland after signing a preliminary agreement to end their war, with the conflict in Lebanon threatening to derail the deal. Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding earlier in June to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, which began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and enable negotiations on a broader deal.
(AFP) – Fuel sales to the general public are suspended in Russian-annexed Crimea, the local Moscow-backed governor announces, as Kyiv steps up strikes on Russian supply lines. “Today, June 21, starting from 09:00am (0700 GMT), fuel sales at Crimean petrol stations have been suspended,” said governor Sergey Aksyonov, adding that fuel would only be sold to state enterprises.
Kansas City (AFP) – Curacao fans celebrate outside the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City after their team clinched the first ever World Cup point in a goalless draw with Ecuador. “We just made a lot of history here in Kansas,” one excited fan says. Ecuadorian fans leave in low spirits, pessimistic about the team’s chances of advancing to the knockout rounds.
