Our world in photos: July 1

MEXICO CITY — Looking pretty for pride: A participant smiles during the annual Gay Pride parade, marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024.

Proceeds from an $11 entry fee went to help fund a non-profit’s HIV and AIDS-related services.

Participants were required to wear heels at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) in height. An architect who claimed never to have worn heels won that contest.

HONG KONG — Once independent, Hong Kong has been considered a ‘special administrative region of China’ for a year: Pro-Beijing supporters hold Chinese flags to mark the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in Hong Kong, Monday, July 1, 2024. One of the world’s most densely populated territories, Hong Kong was under British rule until July 1, 1997. The city now maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under the principle of “one country, two systems.”

However, Hong Kong’s crackdown on pro-democracy activism has not abated; 14 activists were recently convicted, and a protest song that had gone viral has now been banned, with an appeals court ruling in favor of Hong Kong on the issue.

EAST SUSSEX — The Brits have devised a new way of electing politicians: Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey during a visit to Eastbourne Borough Football Club in East Sussex while on the General Election campaign trail, Monday, July 1, 2024. This is not the first physical stunt that the centrist leader, with characteristic self-deprecating humor, has pulled since the start of his campaign, reports the Associated Press. The 58-year-old Davey has tumbled off a paddleboard into England’s biggest lake, screamed atop a rollercoaster, splashed down a waterslide, and even undergone a summer makeover.

Davey pointed out that actions speak louder than words: speeches at podiums get less impact than stunts; he turned a recent tumble from a paddleboard into an event bringing awareness to sewage problems.

LOS ANGELES — He slapped someone so hard it formed a crater: Will Smith, center, performs during the BET Awards on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. During the awards ceremony, Usher was honored with lifetime achievement. Other BET winners included Tyla and Killer Mike; Ice Spice and Coco Jones were among the stars to rock the BET blue carpet.

The awards show, which the Black Entertainment Television network launched in 2001, celebrates Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy.

GAZA — Running out of places for refuge: Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip walk through a street market in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, June 29, 2024. The Israeli army on Monday, July 1, again ordered Palestinians to leave Khan Younis amid reported plans to launch a new attack in this part of Gaza on the grounds that it is hunting for freshly regrouped Hamas fighters.

Israel, during this time, also released the director of Gaza’s main hospital after several months of imprisonment on the grounds that he was harboring Hamas militants, reported the Associated Press on Monday.

JERUSALEM — Draft protests are heating up in Israel: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn trash during a protest against army recruitment in Jerusalem on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Israel’s Supreme Court last week ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men into the army, a landmark ruling seeking to end a system that has allowed them to avoid enlistment into compulsory military service. The protesters on Sunday also attacked members of their own sect, throwing rocks and, in one case, vandalizing the car of an ultra-Orthodox cabinet member. As ultra-Orthodox parties comprise a key percentage of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, they could potentially force new elections if they exit the government as a protest.

The protesters contend that a mandatory conscription would destroy a Jewish way of life that has lasted for generations. The wider public, including secular and non-religious Jews, has shown increased resentment of this exemption, especially since the Israel-Hamas War broke out almost nine months ago.

NEW YORK — Anticipating a Hulu documentary: Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum sings during her last service at the Masonic Hall, Friday, June 28, 2024, in New York. After leading the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ synagogue through the myriad ups and downs of the modern gay-rights movement for the last three decades, she is now stepping down from that role and shifting into retirement. The synagogue that she led for 32 years — Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in midtown Manhattan — will have to grapple with its identity after being defined by its celebrity rabbi for so long.

Rabbi Kleinbaum’s retirement leaves a gap in leadership during a time when the rights of LGBTQ+ persons, which many say were hard-won, are under attack from conservatives who aim to scale them back, including in transgender health care, school curricula and book censoring.

GREECE — Nature’s revenge — More fires, and experts say it’s no coincidence: A pine tree is on fire during a forest fire in the Keratea area, southeast of Athens, Greece, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Two large wildfires were burning Sunday near Greece’s capital of Athens, and authorities sent emergency messages for some residents to evacuate and others to stay at home and close their windows to protect themselves from smoke. Greece has seen a total of 52 wildfires erupt in the previous 24-hour period, 44 of which were tackled in the early stages, reports the Associated Press. However, authorities were still battling about eight fires by Monday evening local time.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during a Cabinet meeting on Monday that this summer “is predicted to be particularly dangerous” for wildfires.

LOS ANGELES — For footwear, plastic bags are in: Akon arrives at the BET Awards on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The designers may have taken an idea from service technicians who don booties over their shoes to avoid tracking in dirt. 

Also clad in bright red was Amirror, whose revealing jump dress also featured full-length gloves.

SEATTLE — ‘This game is boring. I’m going to watch something on my phone’: Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford lies on the ground after being unable to make the full throw to first base on a single by Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Santana during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. Minnesota took two of the three games in that series, winning 5-1 on Saturday and 5-3 on Sunday.

At present, the Seattle Mariners lead the American League West with a 47-39 record. The Twins are second in the American League Central, with a 47-37 record.