AFP Video

Muzaffarabad (Pakistan) (AFP) – Funeral prayers are held in Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, for a mosque caretaker killed in an Indian strike. The assault overnight was part of the worst violence between arch-rivals India and Pakistan for two decades. New Delhi had been widely expected to respond militarily to the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir by gunmen it says were from Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.

Mitchell’s Plein, Cape Town (South Africa) (AFP) – Emergency service workers in Cape Town risk their lives each time they go to work. In nine “Red Zones”, ambulances need police escorts before they can respond to emergency calls. The detour to get protection can have deadly consequences for some patients. “Sometimes you arrive when the person has already gone,” says paramedic Inathi Jones.

Damascus (AFP) – At Basel al-Sati’s souvenir shop in a central Damascus market, socks bearing caricatures ridiculing ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his once-feared family are selling like hot cakes. “I want to bring joy to people who have been deprived of happiness for so many days and years,” he says.

Paris (AFP) – “We cannot end this war in Ukraine without a continued involvement of the United States of America,” says German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. At a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Merz warns that European countries were “not in a position” to replace Washington’s role.

London (AFP) – Westminster, Britain’s parliament, lights up in red, white and blue to mark 80 years since the end of World War II. On the other side of the landmark, images of Victory in Europe Day are projected onto Big Ben.

Rawalpindi (Pakistan) (AFP) – The death toll from Indian missile strikes in Pakistan and firing along the border has risen to 26, military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says. SOUNDBITE

Poonch (India) (AFP) – People flee Poonch in Indian-administered Kashmir as heavy shelling hits, killing at least eight in the town, which is situated close to the de facto border with Pakistan. Dozens of munitions, about one per minute for an hour, landed on the town, hitting several buildings, according to an AFP correspondent. IMAGES

Hyderabad City (Pakistan) (AFP) – Pakistani protesters burn an Indian flag in a demonstration in Hyderabad after New Delhi launched missile strikes on its arch-rival in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours. IMAGES

Muridke (Pakistan) (AFP) – Ambulances are seen outside a damaged building of the Government Health and Educational complex after Indian strikes in Muridke, about 30 kilometres from Lahore. IMAGES

Poonch (India) (AFP) – Smoke rises at multiple sites in the town of Poonch, near the Line of Control in India-administered Kashmir, as India exchanges artillery fire with Pakistan. IMAGES