AFP Video

Moscow (AFP) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blasts European countries for blocking his plane from travelling to Serbia, saying: “The unthinkable has happened”.

Wake (Japan) (AFP) – Showing off their awkward moves in shirts, ties and brightly coloured belly warmers, four men in their 50s and 60s have become Japan’s latest TikTok sensation. The group’s mission? To promote their small countryside town, whose population is in decline, through dance routines to pop tunes that fans call “adorable”.

Shanghai (AFP) – Residents stuck inside a compound hit by a virus outbreak shout at hazmat clad officials nearly a week after Shanghai’s much vaunted reopening, as fears grow that some city neighbourhoods are swiftly returning to lockdown. In downtown Xuhui district, about a dozen people in one fenced-off housing compound shouting angrily at hazmat-clad officials.

Lysychansk (Ukraine) (AFP) – President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the front lines in eastern Ukraine to support his troops. The leader stopped in Lysychansk, a town next to Severodonetsk, currently under heavy fire from Russian forces, as well as Soledar which is further south.

Paralimni (Cyprus) (AFP) – To mark World Environment Day, volunteers gather and sort through plastic waste and rubbish collected at one of Cyprus’ first two plastic-free beaches, in an effort to keep the stretches of sand free of single-use plastics.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Russian shellings have left Ukrainian railway infrastructure in Kyiv in smouldering ruin in the first such strikes on the capital since April 28. Moscow states its missiles have “destroyed T-72 tanks supplied by eastern European countries and other armoured vehicles,” while Ukrainian officials say the infrastructures are purely railway waggons repair facilities.

Kuwait City (AFP) – Superstores in Kuwait remove Indian products from their shelves after remarks on the Prophet Mohammed by an official in India’s ruling party prompted calls on social media to boycott Indian goods. Gulf countries on Sunday condemned the remarks made by the spokesperson for Indian Prime Minister that were described as “Islamophobic”.

London (AFP) – The curtain comes down on four days of celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Platinum Jubilee, with a picnic finale, a public parade and a pop serenade.

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis calls again for “true negotiations” in the face of “macabre destruction” in Ukraine, at the end of the Pentecost celebrations during the Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

Juban (Philippines) (AFP) – A volcano in the eastern Philippines spewed a huge, dark cloud on Sunday, prompting evacuations from ash-covered towns while authorities warned of possible further eruptions. The blast from Bulusan volcano in the rural Sorsogon province lasted about 17 minutes, sending a grey plume shooting up at least one kilometre (0.6 miles).