Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Located in one of the largest and poorest favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the community garden in Manguinhos is considered the biggest in Latin America. The first seed was planted in late 2013 on a parcel of land known then as “crackolandia” because it was home to so many drug addicts. These days the garden feeds hundreds of families a month with produce that is pesticide free and affordable.
Odessa (Ukraine) (AFP) – The war with Russia has been particularly painful for Odessa, even as the city has avoided the brutal ground fighting ongoing across swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. Founded during the reign of Catherine the Great, the city — with its baroque architecture and sandy beaches — became emblematic of the glory days of the Russian empire and was later one of the most valuable ports during the Soviet era. And as Ukraine gained independence, Odessa maintained its deep economic, familial, and cultural ties with Russia along with its own share of accusations in recent years of harbouring pro-Kremlin sympathies. But the sentiment has changed now. “Putin and his regime, with their own hands, destroyed our relationship as a whole,” says Odessa mayor Gennady Trukhanov, who was once regarded as a Kremlin sympathizer.
Sydney (Australia) (AFP) – Australian PM Scott Morrison votes in the country’s federal election. Morrison — behind in the pre-election polls — is telling voters to stick with him, boasting of a 48-year-low jobless rate of 3.9 percent in a resurgent post-lockdown economy
Sydney (AFP) – Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese says he wants to ‘unite the country’ after casting his vote in the federal election which will decide the country’s next prime minister.
Sydney (AFP) – Anthony Albanese, leader of the centre-left Labor Party and favourite to become Australia’s next prime minister, votes in Sydney.
Antibes (France) (AFP) – From the make-up session in a bathrobe to the red carpet in a gorgeous designer gown, Indian actress and model Pooja Hegde says “her heart is in her throat” as she prepares for her first Cannes film festival.
Belo Horizonte (Brazil) (AFP) – The Public Defender’s Office of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil fulfils the dreams of 50 couples in its fifth community wedding. The initiative is aimed at low-income couples, who cannot afford the cost of a private wedding.
Kouvola (Finland) (AFP) – With the shadow of neighbouring Russia’s war in Ukraine looming large, Finland’s conscripts conduct military drills, keeping the rust off their mortars and rifles as the Nordic nation prepares for the worst. Breaking with a long-standing non-alignment in military matters, Finland officially applied to become a member of NATO in response to Russia’s invasion.
Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino insists he has no idea where Kylian Mbappe will play next season as the striker’s contract in the French capital comes to an end. Mbappe is expected to reveal in the coming days whether he will join Real Madrid or accept a lucrative offer to stay at PSG.
Unknown (AFP) – Ukraine’s last soldiers still in Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steelworks have been ordered by Kyiv to stop fighting, says a commander of the far-right Azov battalion leading the trapped units. The soldiers, blockaded in the giant steelworks for weeks, have become a symbol of Ukraine’s fierce resistance to Russia’s invasion.
