AFP Video

Johannesburg (AFP) – Dotted across South Africa’s Johannesburg region, thousands of abandoned gold mines attract illegal mining activity, with criminal gang violence often spilling into nearby communities. Zamimpilo, just west of Johannesburg, sits atop an old deposit and residents of the informal settlement say they can’t be sure they will “wake up alive” as illegal miners — or ‘zama zamas’ — go about their business practically unimpeded.

Johannesburg (AFP) – Courtnae Paul is one of seven African breakdancers hoping to represent the sport as it makes its Olympic debut in the 2024 Paris Games. The South African describes the discipline as “a mixture of martial arts, gymnastics, all the cool stuff” at one of the last few events before Paris, where dancers — known as B-boys and B-girls — will be judged on technique, musicality and originality.

Caen (France) (AFP) – Prison staff in France are protesting the day after two officers were killed by armed men in the country’s north. The deaths occurred during an ambush on a prisoner transport convoy, with a van being rammed head-on by a stolen car and an inmate being freed in the process.

West Halmahera (Indonesia) (AFP) – A tower of ash more rises more than five kilometres into the sky as eastern Indonesia’s Mount Ibu experiences one of its largest eruptions this year. Authorities have called on people not to go within five kilometres of the volcano, which is one of Indonesia’s most active and erupted more than 21,000 times last year.

Tottenham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his players “know that it’s not done” in this season’s Premier League as the title race heads to the last game. The reigning champions beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday night to take them two points above second-placed Arsenal ahead of the final round of matches on Sunday 19 May.

Hong Kong (AFP) – Workers in a crowded bakery stamp buns with the words “peace” as they make thousands of the tasty treats for an annual festival on Hong Kong’s Cheung Chau island.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – During a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kyiv, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that military aid is “now on the way”. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on 13 May on an unannounced visit to assure Ukraine of continued American support and the flow of much-needed weapons as Russia presses on with its new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Brighton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – At the annual Covent Garden “May Fayre and Puppet Festival” puppeteers and enthusiasts celebrate the 362nd anniversary of the first recorded performance of the UK’s traditional Punch and Judy show.

Doha (AFP) – Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemns an attack by right-wing Israeli activists on Gaza-bound aid trucks near a crossing with the occupied West Bank. Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political office in Doha since 2012, has been engaged — along with Egypt and the United States — in months of behind-the-scenes mediation between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.

Protesters are detained by police officers in Tbilisi, Georgia, as thousands rally outside the parliament against the adoption of a controversial Kremlin-style “foreign influence” law. Tbilisi has seen three straight nights of mass rallies over the bill that mirrors repressive laws in Russia which have been slammed by the European Union and the United States.