Laruns (France) (AFP) – Day or night, in the rubble, in the mountains, or by the river, civil security dogs sniff and search for victims during multi-day exercises in France and Spain to train for emergency response. Called upon particularly during natural disasters, Belgian Malinois, Border Collies, and German Shepherds rely on their sense of smell to quickly locate injured or unconscious individuals.
Beijing (AFP) – Efforts towards Taiwan independence are “doomed to fail”, China says, as it conducts large-scale military drills around the self-ruled island. China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for large-scale drills Beijing says are aimed at practising for “precision strikes” and a blockade.
Mandalay (Myanmar) (AFP) – Four days after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated Myanmar, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring nearly 4,000, Mandalay holds a minute of silence to honour the victims. Hopes are starting to fade that any more survivors will be found.
Paris (AFP) – Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of embezzlement by a French court, handed a five-year ban on running for office with immediate effect and a four-year prison sentence. But Le Pen will not go to jail, with two years of the term suspended and the other two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. Including 56-year-old Le Pen, 24 party officials or assistants from her National Rally (RN) party were convicted over a scheme where they took advantage of European Parliament expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for the party. The court estimated the scheme they were implicated in was worth 2.9 million euros.
Kafr Abū Shanab (Egypt) (AFP) – Egyptian merchants Mohamed Shabaan and Emad Mouawad recount the horrors of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ prisons in Sudan after the RSF arrested them and put them in detention centres for 20 months. The paramilitary group, locked in a brutal war with the Sudanese army since April 2023, has accused Egypt of military involvement in the war, a claim Cairo denies.
Bucha (Ukraine) (AFP) – The town of Bucha marks the third anniversary of its liberation by Ukrainian forces after being occupied by Russia, honouring the more than 400 people killed. “They were killed and tortured just because they were Ukrainians,” says Archbishop Lavrentiy.
London (AFP) – “For too long, the UK has been a soft touch” on irregular migration, says UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he hosts a major summit in London. Starmer is seeking to crack down on would-be asylum seekers arriving in England on flimsy small boats and has brought together delegates from more than 40 nations for a two-day meeting. “Since coming to office, I can announce today, we’ve returned more than 24,000 people who have no right to be here,” says Starmer. Starmer’s summit is designed to build on a plan that Britain, Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands signed in December to boost cooperation against irregular migration.
Mandalay (Myanmar) (AFP) – Hundreds of grieving Muslims gather for Eid prayers in Mandalay outside two mosques devastated by Myanmar’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake. “It feels like facing the end of the world,” says Sandar Aye, who lost her son when a mosque collapsed in the earthquake.
New Delhi (AFP) – Muslims in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Syria gather to offer Eid al-Fitr prayer, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Mandalay (Myanmar) (AFP) – Hundreds of Muslims gather for the first Eid prayer in Mandalay, Myanmar, near two mosques that were destroyed in Friday’s devastating earthquake. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake has killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar. IMAGES
