AFP Video

Chambley-Bussières (France) (AFP) – In eastern France pilots and visitors alike enjoy the first flights at Mondial Air Ballons, the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the world.

Berlin (AFP) – Known throughout the world for their extravagance, Berlin’s clubs have fostered a taboo-free style, inspired by fetishism, that makes liberal use of leather and latex with accessories that pinch, poke and squeeze. A recent event in the capital showcased some of the daring styles favoured by residents and tourists alike.

Mondulkiri (Cambodia) (AFP) – Cambodian officials on an elephant trek a river and a jungle to transport election materials to a polling station in Mondulkiri province, which is inaccessible by road, ahead of the national election on Sunday.

Tempe (United States) (AFP) – What happens to the body when a human gets heatstroke? How can we protect ourselves in a warming planet? To answer these burning questions, Arizona researchers have deployed a robot that can breathe, shiver and sweat. His name is ANDI, he’s “the world’s first outdoor thermal mannequin”, says the head of the project, Konrad Rykaczewski.

Berlin (AFP) – Several hundred thousand people gather in Berlin for the Christopher Street Day, or Berlin Pride. With a colorful parade of about 70 themed trucks, they celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.

Athens (AFP) – Tourists from around the world brave the intense heat in Athens to marvel the Acropolis, which is closing its doors during the hottest part of the day as Greece prepares for a new heatwave. The nation is preparing for further high temperatures until Sunday, with peaks of 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) expected in the centre of the country on Thursday. “It’s very uncomfortable, but I think in the end it is worth it to try to go through the heat and see the Acropolis which is such and amazing place,” university student Carlos Martin tells AFP.

Everett (United States) (AFP) – Tony Bennett, the last in a generation of classic American crooners whose ceaselessly cheery spirit bridged generations to make him a hitmaker across seven decades, died Friday in New York. He was 96.

Mariupol (Ukraine) (AFP) – A year after the port city of Mariupol fell to Moscow following a brutal siege, the main football stadium has a huge banner that reads “GLORY TO RUSSIA”, with a Russian and Soviet flag flying over it and armed die-hard Russian football fans patrolling the stands. Choosing to put their rivalries aside, these ultras formed the ‘Espanola’ fighting unit to fight for their nation.

Bogotá (AFP) – “The war between the state and the insurgency, which is the one that produces the casualties, is coming to an end,” says Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro before Congress as he defends his negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, to his critics.

London (AFP) – Senior doctors in England call for better pay and working conditions, as hospitals face the latest strike to hit the country’s state-run health service.