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.
(AFP) – “It’s good, but a little earlier would have been better”, says Oleksiy, a Ukrainian servicemen reacting to the passing of a long-stalled US package of military aid. The package, worth 61 billion dollars, comes after months of political wrangling in the US Congress, with Ukraine’s army struggling with shortages of manpower and ammunition. “We are very dependent on artillery shells and armoured vehicles”, Oleksiy explains.
Jiuquan (China) (AFP) – Farewell ceremony held ahead of the launch of China’s Shenzhou-18 mission, crewed by three astronauts headed to its Tiangong space station from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The mission is led by Ye Guangfu, a fighter pilot and astronaut who was previously part of the Shenzhou-13 crew in 2021. He is joined by astronauts Li Cong and Li Guangsu, who are heading into space for the first time.
Wrestling with a large catfish in the middle of Paris, Bill Francois highlights the range of wildlife now living in the Seine. A physicist by day, Bill fishes in the river up to five times a week, surveying what he catches. While positive about improving water quality, Bill is concerned by plans to allow public swimming in the river from summer 2025, saying that it could threaten newly recovered aquatic habitats.
Palominas (United States) (AFP) – Sporting a cowboy hat, denim shirt and bushy mustache, Arizona rancher John Ladd walks along the border wall separating his property in the United States from Mexico. He notices a spot where the fence was damaged, allowing migrants to enter the United States illegally via his property. “I’m disgusted with Washington, and you know, Republicans and Democrats both, that they’re not doing anything to control the border,” says 67-year-old Ladd.
‘Keepers’ of the river Seine, Jacques and Marie Jeanne, are concerned about the river’s low level at its spring in Source-Seine. According to the latest study by BRGM (the French geological and mining research bureau), almost three quarters (72%) of France’s water tables remain at insufficient levels.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – A stark warning issued to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has exposed the prevalence and impact of online gambling among serving military personnel. Campaigners and servicemen say that soldiers are turning to gambling as a coping mechanism, something to distract them from the constant threat of Russian attack.
London (AFP) – A London pub has seen an explosion in visits from so-called “Swifties” after a track on Taylor Swift’s hotly anticipated new album was seemingly named after the establishment. “The Black Dog”, named after a public house in Vauxhall, is the 17th song on “The Tortured Poets Department”, which came out on 19 April.
London (AFP) – Two escaped British army horses bolt through the British capital, with one appearing to be covered in blood, as captured in images filmed by a London taxi driver.
Jiuquan (China) (AFP) – China will send a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station on Thursday April 25, as the country’s military-run space programme works towards landing a manned mission on the Moon by 2030. China’s “space dream” has been put into overdrive under President Xi Jinping, who has injected billions of dollars into the sector in an effort to catch up with the United States and Russia.
