Stockholm (AFP) – Crowds gather for bonfire celebrations in view of Stockholm City hall on Walpurgis night. Named for the legend of St. Walburga, the annual tradition is celebrated in parts of northern Europe and Scandinavia, and is meant to ward off evil spirits and celebrate spring.
Las Vegas (AFP) – Lovers of the ’50s and vintage car enthusiasts gather in Las Vegas to celebrate the “Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Festival.”
Cairo (AFP) – Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, regional director of the World Health Organization’s office for the Eastern Mediterranean, shares the latest update on the health status in Sudan, where deadly clashes between rival generals’ forces have entered their third week.
Odiham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Tri-service and Commonwealth personnel rehearse their roles as part of the British armed forces’ involvement in King Charles III’s coronation. The troops will escort the monarch from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace after his coronation in London.
Ed Damer (Sudan) (AFP) – Sudanese doctor Majzoub Saad Ibrahim warns of a looming shortage in medical supplies in the city of ad-Damer, the capital of the River Nile state, north of Khartoum. “The situation cannot be sustained more than a week. This is a huge problem,” he says. Fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has also impacted shop owners who rely on goods and “basic items that are regularly consumed” that are shipped from the ravaged capital.
Budapest (AFP) – Tens of thousands throng a central Budapest square to hear Pope Francis lead an open-air mass in which he urged all Hungarians to be more open toward migrants. The pontiff is wrapping up a three-day visit to the central European country, and his comments have stood in stark contrast to those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who has regularly espoused anti-migration rhetoric.
Breitenbrunn (Austria) (AFP) – Once upon a time many homes in the picturesque Burgenland wine-growing region of eastern Austria were thatched. But now Jacobus van Hoorne’s house is the only one in the entire neighbourhood with a reed roof. And to get it approved he had to do battle for two years with the local authorities, culminating in having to set fire to a model thatched house to prove that his home wouldn’t be a fire hazard.
Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden jokes about his old age during his speech at the White House Correspondents’ dinner. Washington’s political and media elites gathered for their annual big-night-out in the US capital for an event that ranged from the traditional comedy gags to somber calls to free reporters imprisoned abroad.
Seoul (AFP) – Louis Vuitton holds its first Prefall show at Jamsugyo Bridge, spanning Seoul’s Hangang River. Film director, Hwang Dong-Hyuk – renowned for Netflix original series ‘Squid Game’ – participated in the show scenography as Creative Advisor, and Jung Ho-yeon, South Korean model and actress, who also starred in Squid Game, lead the row of models on the runway.
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – A ship carrying 1,600 evacuees from Sudan, including a group of Iranians, arrives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Multiple nations are scrambling to evacuate embassy staff and citizens by road, air and sea from Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed hundreds.
