Riyadh (AFP) – Images released by the Saudi Tourism Ministry show Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi spending time with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo and their children during his visit to the capital Riyadh. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a blockbuster deal, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – During a press conference in Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slams restrictions on grain exports from his war-torn country that were imposed by neighbouring EU nations.
Unknown (AFP) – Pro-Kremlin paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin accuses a Russian military unit of having fled its positions near Bakhmut in east Ukraine, now the epicentre of fighting.
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – L’UE ne doit pas être “intimidée” par la démonstration de force organisée par Vladimir Poutine à Moscou et doit rester “ferme” dans son soutien à l’Ukraine, a affirmé mardi le chancelier allemand Olaf Scholz devant le Parlement européen.
Geneva (AFP) – Heavy fighting in Sudan has led to 700,000 people being internally displaced since the middle of April, the United Nations says, adding the figure had doubled in a week. “There are now more than 700,000 internally displaced by the fighting which began on April 15,” Paul Dillon, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration says. IMAGES
Geneva (AFP) – More than 600 people were killed last month in violence in the capital of Haiti, which is in the grip of a political-economic crisis, the United Nations says. “In the month of April alone, more than 600 people were killed in a new wave of extreme violence that hit several districts across the capital,” says the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. IMAGES
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – EU chief Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Kyiv to mark the Europe Day celebration of peace and unity, as Ukraine delivers a symbolic retort to Moscow’s Victory Day parade. The president of the European Commission travelled on an overnight train from Poland to see President Volodymyr Zelensky and work on Ukraine’s quest for eventual EU membership. IMAGES
Heiroklian village (India) (AFP) – Heiroklian was a flourishing settlement before ethnic violence between the majority Meitei people, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe rocked the hilly northeast state bordering Myanmar. India has deployed thousands of additional troops to the region.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Israel launched pre-dawn air strikes Tuesday against the militant group Islamic Jihad in Gaza, its army said, killing 12 people according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong is one of the world’s last remaining cities to use bamboo scaffolding in modern construction and building repair. Dozens of students enrol each year at the city’s Construction Industry Council (CIC) to learn the traditional method.
