Ahmedabad (India) (AFP) – Revellers across India smear and throw colours at each other, dancing to music as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours. Holi is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month. “It’s significance lies in bringing people together,” says Bhavik, a reveller covered in purple powder.
Naypyidaw (Myanmar) (AFP) – The World Food Programme will be forced to stop providing vital food aid in Myanmar, “because of a shortfall in funding” says Michael Dunford, head of operations for the agency in the war-torn country. “We had aspirations to be reaching up to 1.1 million people.” The lack of funding is down to donors not meeting WFP’s requirements. “This includes the US, but it’s definitely not only the US,” says Dunford.
Tirana (AFP) – TikTok has been banned in Albania after authorities in the country ordered all internet service providers to block access to the Chinese-owned social media app. The ban was first announced last December after the killing of a 14-year-old, the culmination of a confrontation that started on TikTok. “Social media is holding our children hostage,” says teacher Trendelina Zhupa.
Montevideo (AFP) – Stargazers across the Americas are treated to a dramatic “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse. The celestial spectacle is the first of its kind since 2022, although this time the event is a “Micromoon”, with the moon at its furthest point from Earth, the opposite of 2022’s “Supermoon.” The awe-inspiring phenomenon was visible in some parts of Europe and Africa as well.
London (AFP) – Once boasting a social media following of more than 170,000, writer and artist August Lamm has ditched her smartphone and is urging others to downgrade to “dumb” phones to counter social media addiction. “When your whole social life is online, you can feel popular,” she says, adding that she “would never go back” to using a smart device. According to UK telecoms regulator Ofcom, Brits aged 25 – 34 spend on average more than four hours per day glued to their phone screens.
Naples (Italy) (AFP) – A 4.4-magnitude earthquake in southern Italy has left buildings damaged and sent several people to hospital with minor injuries, officials say. The quake struck in the early hours and was followed by several smaller tremors, sending residents fleeing into the street. The Campi Flegrei area around Naples is the caldera — or hollow — left behind by a massive eruption 40,000 years ago. Specialists say another full-blown eruption in the near future remains unlikely.
Kharkhorin (Mongolia) (AFP) – Mongolian herder Zandan Lkhamsuren lost all but two of his 280-strong flock of sheep in last year’s deep freeze — known as a ‘dzud’ — an extreme weather event that is becoming more frequent and more intense in a country badly affected by climate change. Across Mongolia, more than seven million animals were killed, over a tenth of the country’s total. The loss wiped out most of Lkhamsuren’s income, meaning his family couldn’t afford the tuition fees for his two daughters, who were both meant to start at Ulaanbaatar university.
Paris (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe will be back to captain France in the upcoming Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, confirms coach Didier Deschamps. Mbappe has not played for the national team for the last six months.
Bogotá (AFP) – Police investigate the site of a grenade attack that killed three people and wounded nine others in Bogota, the Colombian capital. The attack follows a similar incident in the same neighborhood three weeks ago, with police saying it was the result of a drug turf war between rival organized crime groups.
Sao Paulo (AFP) – More than 300 trees have fallen, leaving at least 74,000 people without electricity and causing one death due to heavy rains in Sao Paulo. IMAGES
Jujan (Ecuador) (AFP) – Vehicles navigate flooded streets in Guayas province, southwest Ecuador, following heavy rains. According to official reports, since January, the rains have left at least 19 dead and affected more than 100,000 people in the South American country. IMAGES
Buenos Aires (AFP) – Demonstrators clash with police during a protest of pensioners supported by football fans against the government of President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires. IMAGES
