Tijuana (AFP) – Iran’s World Cup squad has been notified they must enter and leave US soil on the same day of their matches played in the United States, the country’s ambassador to Mexico says during a press conference in Tijuana.
Prag (AFP) – Competitors holding hobby horses jump over hurdles and compete in other events, such as dressage, western trail, and showjumping during the European hobby horse championship in Prague. “I love the community all in all — it’s so great,” says Finnish competitor Alisa Aarniomaki during the one-day event, which has brought together 243 competitors from 11 countries. The sport, involving athletes with stick horses performing equestrian-style movements, emerged in Finland in the early 2000s as an affordable alternative to horse riding.
Eriwan (AFP) – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he is in a “very good” mood after voting in the country’s parliamentary election. The ballot is set to test Pashinyan’s tilt to the West, as the country faces threats and allegations of interference from former imperial ruler Russia. “We will continue the democratic reform path, of course, with the support of our European partners,” Pashinyan tells journalists in Yerevan.
Tijuana (AFP) – Iranian players enter their hotel in Tijuana, their base camp in the Mexican border city, where the Iranian team will be based during the tournament co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada. Their arrival comes under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row, after the United States — which is in open military conflict with Tehran — refused to issue visas for some team support staff.
Huaral (Pérou) (AFP) – Peru presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez attends mass on election day, in Huaral, just north of Lima. IMAGES
Lima (AFP) – Polls open in Peru’s presidential runoff, with crime and political instability dominating a race to choose the country’s ninth leader in a decade. IMAGES
Lima (AFP) – Polls open in Peru’s presidential runoff, with crime and political instability dominating a race to choose the country’s ninth leader in a decade. Around 27 million voters can cast ballots to choose a president for a five-year term. IMAGES
College Station (AFP) – Lionel Messi trains with Argentina’s National team in Texas, following a press conference with head coach Lionel Scaloni. “Leo is doing well. He has already trained with the group for part of the sessions, which is important. He is no longer training completely separately, so he’s progressing very well,” says Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
An Bord des Papstflugzeugs (AFP) – Pope Leo XIV tells the press he is ‘very happy’ to be in Spain as he greets them aboard the papal plane. The week-long state visit — the first by a pontiff to Spain since 2010 — kicked off at Madrid airport where the pope was welcomed by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The pope is set to discuss social justice and immigration issues, and plans to meet some of the victims that have suffered from sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy.
Guadalajara (AFP) – At the Guadalajara Zoo in Mexico, animals predict some of the winners of World Cup matches. Elephants chose Mexico over South Africa, gorillas selected Uruguay over Spain, a puma picked South Korea over the Czech Republic, and giraffes chose the Democratic Republic of the Congo over Colombia, explains the zoo’s veterinarian Ivan Reynoso.
Havanna (AFP) – Former Cuban President Raul Castro attends an event for the 65th anniversary of the creation of the Ministry of the Interior in Havana, in his first public appearance since being indicted by the United States on murder charges in May. While Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since 1962, President Donald Trump has drastically ramped up pressure in recent months, cutting off its fuel supplies and threatening to take over the island.
St. Petersburg (AFP) – Russia unveils a new amusement ride in Saint Petersburg named ‘Oreshnik’ after its hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Russia has fired Oreshnik missiles — which travel 10 times the speed of sound — at Ukraine on at least three occasions. President Putin has said that Russia is considering expanding the use of the missiles against cities in Ukraine, saying the weapon has not yet been used in the “full sense of the word”.
