Geneva (AFP) – The UN denounces the increasing enforcement of Iran’s strict hijab laws, with reports that “uniformed and plainclothes police are enforcing a violent crackdown” against women and girls. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, says “hundreds of businesses have been forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsorty hijab laws”.
Berlin (AFP) – Architect and founder of the woman’s rights group “Shirzan”, Iranian-born Apameh Schönauer has been exposed to a wave of online abuse after being crowned as the new Miss Germany. “I knew I would get a bit of blowback, but not like this,” Schönauer,39, tells AFP:
Austin (AFP) – More than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters rallied at the University of Texas (UT) campus in Austin. A few pro-Israeli counter protesters also rallied.
Beijing (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war that are currently sweeping the United States are part of democracy, but criticised the “silence” over the Palestinian militants Hamas. Blinken is speaking in Beijing, China following a day of meetings with high-ranking officials.
Mathura (India) (AFP) – India’s six-week election juggernaut resumes with millions of people lining up outside polling stations in parts of the country hit by a scorching heatwave. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a third term in the election, which concludes in early June.
Dhaka (AFP) – Millions of pupils in Bangladesh were told to stay home this week as the country experiences one of its worst heatwaves on record, with temperatures 4-5 degrees Celsius above the long-term average.
Paris (AFP) – Security arrangements for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 26 July are being presented at a press conference with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris Prefect Laurent Nuñez and Olympic chief organiser Tony Estanguet.
Sakura (Japan) (AFP) – Kabosu the dog is best known as the logo of Dogecoin, but to her owner Atsuko Sato, the Shiba inu has been a steadfast companion for over a decade.
Kirants (Armenia) (AFP) – Dozens of Armenian protesters block roads close to the border with neighbouring Azerbaijan, angry at what they see as territorial concessions to their enemy.
Guatemala City (AFP) – Guatemalan authorities raid the offices of the international organization Save the Children in what the prosecutor’s office says is part of an investigation into alleged abuses against minors. IMAGES
Ukraine (AFP) – Residents in the village of Dovhenke, which lies close to the border between Kharkiv Oblast and Donetsk Oblast, look on as deminers search for various unexploded ordnance and booby traps left behind by retreating Russian troops. Two years after the village was liberated, local residents continue to live in fear of the lingering threat of mines. “A lot of soldiers and civilians have been killed stepping on mines here. On anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, on stretchers,” says local farmer Igor Knyzev.
Paris (AFP) – Security arrangements for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 26 July are being presented at a press conference with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris Prefect Laurent Nuñez and Olympic chief organiser Tony Estanguet.
