Latest news with #Velikoretsky
AFP
14 hours ago
- Politics
- AFP
Video shows a Russian pilgrimage, not Israelis evacuating over Iran strikes
Israel's attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, triggered retaliatory measures by Iran and turned the decades-long enmity between the two into a rapidly-spiralling military conflict. A video compilation circulating on Facebook in Ethiopia claims to show Israelis fleeing cities en masse following a warning from Iran. However, this is false: the video shows footage from the Velikoretsky religious pilgrimage in Russia, which took place earlier this month, as well as people setting off en masse to collect a medicinal fungus on a mountainside in Nepal. The text accompanying the video post in Amharic reads: 'Israelis leave cities due to Iran's warning to evacuate their cities.' Image Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 19, 2025 'Happy trip,' reads the English text overlay, accompanied by an emoji of the Israeli flag. The 29-second video is composed of three clips divided into two sections. In the top half of the screen, hundreds of people are seen walking in a hilly, dry landscape. In the bottom half of the screen, a crowd of people are shown walking down a street, all headed in the same direction and most of them wearing large backpacks. Then, a crowd is seen from above crossing a bridge. The video was published on June 17, 2025, and has been shared more than 190 times since. A similar post was also posted here on Facebook and shared more than 5,000 times. Israel-Iran conflict After decades of bad blood and a long shadow war, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign on 13 June 2025, to which Iran responded with a barrage of missiles and drones. AFP reported that as of June 19, 2025, more than 200 Iranians and Israelis were killed in the missile attacks on both sides, with hundreds more wounded (archived here). A hospital in southern Israel was hit when Iran fired a barrage of missiles, while the Israeli army said it had hit an "inactive nuclear reactor" in Arak, Iran. International media also reported that on June 15, 2025, Iranian forces warned Israelis to leave their country in the face of increasing rocket attacks (archived here). However, the video does not show Israelis fleeing their cities. Velikoretsky pilgrimage AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. For the footage of the crowd walking in the street and across a bridge, the search results include an X post from June 6, 2025 (archived here). Важное событие, о котором МОЛЧАТ практически все СМИ 22 тысячи православных русских людей идут Великорецким крестным ходом. Идут во славу Христа, Богородицы и Николая Угодника 22 тыс человек оставили дела и работу, чтобы несколько дней молиться Господу о прощении грехов — olga_1205 (@k_ollga) June 6, 2025 Text in Russian accompanying the video indicates that it shows thousands of Russians who took part in the Velikoretsky religious pilgrimage earlier this month. The Velikoretsky is a Russian Orthodox procession that takes place in early June every year, covering 110 miles (177 kilometres) and passing through 12 locations in the Kirov region (archived here). The official website for the city of Kirov featured a story about the pilgrimage held earlier this month on June 3, 2025, which includes a picture corresponding to the footage (archived here). Image Screenshots of the image from Kirov's website (left) and the false post, taken on June 18, 2025 Meanwhile, search results for the clip of people walking in the hills established that it was originally posted on Telegram on June 2, 2025, more than a week before the start of the Israeli-Iranian conflict. The clip shows a crowd of people in search of a medical fungus known as Yarsagumba around Mount Dolpa in western Nepal. Every year, people head to the highlands of Dolpa to harvest Yarsagumba, a rare and highly valued medicinal fungus (archived here). Neither of the three clips is related to Israel or the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The Citizen
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
24 hours in pictures, 5 June 2025
24 hours in pictures, 5 June 2025 Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world. An activist from the People's Ethical Treatment of Animals group (PETA) protests over reptile skin sales outside a Louis Vuitton store in Hong Kong, China, 05 June 2025. PETA campaigned against the purchase of goods made from reptile skin, demanding that 'LVMH 'leave pythons in peace'. Picture: EPA-EFE/BERTHA WANG A vehicle pulls a trailer carrying plastic for recycling along Malibongwe Drive in Randburg, 5 June 2025. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen An aerial view shows a destroyed house in the water from the river Lonza after the formation of a lake on the last houses of the village of Blatten, after a massive avalanche, triggered by the collapse of the Birch Glacier, in Blatten, Switzerland, 05 June 2025. A large part of the village of Blatten, located in the Loetschental Valley in the canton of Valais, was buried under masses of ice, mud and rocks. Numerous houses were destroyed, and one person is missing. Between May 19 and 28, several million cubic meters of rock fell from the Kleines Nesthorn mountain above Blatten. This created a nine-million-tonne debris cone on the Birch Glacier, which ultimately collapsed on 28 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/MICHAEL BUHOLZER Sara Errani (L) and Andrea Vavassori of Italy celebrate after winning the Mixed Doubles final match against US players Taylor Townsend and Evan King at the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 05 June 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/TERESA SUAREZ Orthodox pilgrims take part in the annual Velikoretsky Cross procession near Monastyrskoe village, Russia, 05 June 2025. During the Velikoretsky procession, which has been held since the beginning of the 15th century in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, pilgrims cover a distance of 150 kilometers over six days, and is held annually from 03 to 08 June. Picture: EPA-EFE/VALERY MELNIKOV Muslim pilgrims gather on Mount Arafat during the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage, southeast of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 05 June 2025. Over one million Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from abroad for this year's Hajj season, according to Saudi Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary. Picture: EPA-EFE/STRINGER Britain's King Charles III (C) meets members of the public at Old Spitalfields Market during a visit to Old Spitalfields Market and SXSW London festival in London, Britain, 05 June 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/TOLGA AKMEN A horse grazes next to a campsite during the Appleby Horse Fair in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Britain, 05 June 2025. Held annually in the first week of June, the horse fair is Europe's largest traditional Romani and Traveller gathering, attracting tens of thousands of people to watch as horses are bathed in the River Eden and paraded along the 'flashing lane' for potential buyers. Picture: EPA-EFE/ADAM VAUGHAN Horses are paraded along the 'flashing lane' during the Appleby Horse Fair in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Britain, 05 June 2025. Held annually in the first week of June, the horse fair is Europe's largest traditional Romani and Traveller gathering, attracting tens of thousands of people to watch as horses are bathed in the River Eden and paraded along the 'flashing lane' for potential buyers. Picture: EPA-EFE/ADAM VAUGHAN A Coca-Cola employee walks past a demonstration lead by Greenpeace and aimed at raising awareness about the environmental impact of plastic waste, and pushing for alternative solutions like reusable packaging in front of the Coca-Cola headquarters in Rosebank, Johannesburg on June 5, 2025. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP) A Pearly King joins Chelsea Pensioners as they take part in the 2025 Chelsea Pensioners Founder's Day at the Royal Hospital Chelsea on June 05, 2025 in London, England. Founder's Day celebrates the founding of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 1681 by King Charles II. (Photo by) People use plastic sheets to cross the Buriganga River during rain in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 05 June 2025. The 2025 World Environment Day theme is 'Putting an End to Plastic Pollution.' This theme focuses on addressing the widespread environmental impact of plastic pollution, urging collective action to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic waste. The global campaign aims to unite governments, communities, and individuals in a shared mission to tackle this issue. Picture: EPA-EFE/MONIRUL ALAM Cattle owners transport their sacrificial animals by boat to a livestock market in Dhaka city for sale ahead of Eid al-Adha, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 04 June 2025. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslim holidays celebrated each year, marking the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, the most sacred place in Islam. During the holiday, Muslims slaughter sacrificial animals and split the meat into three parts – one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. Picture: EPA-EFE/MONIRUL ALAM MORE: 24 hours in pictures, 4 June 2025 Share this article
