United Kingdom (AFP) – Red hot debris rains through the sky above the Turks and Caicos Islands after the SpaceX Starship exploded minutes after its launch from the company’s base in Texas. The incident is the second consecutive flight on which SpaceX has lost its rocket’s upper stage, with a January launch also ending with the craft disintegrating over the Caribbean.
Miramar (Panama) (AFP) – With dreams of a new life in the United States torn apart by President Donald Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, migrants gather in the Panamanian town of Miramar, hoping to take boats home. The Central American country has seen a flood of arrivals from the north and a sharp decrease in the number crossing from the south following the Trump administration’s canceling of asylum appointments and promise of mass deportations.
Beijing (AFP) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says his country and the United States must “coexist peacefully,” adding that the two could “become partners, achieve mutual success, and prosper together”. Yi’s comments come amid an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, triggered by US President Donald Trump placing tariffs on Chinese imports.
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron says the “the only imperial power I can see in Europe today is Russia,” hitting back at Russian President Vladimir Putin over comments likening him to emperor Napolean Bonaparte. Speaking after a summit on Ukraine and European security, Macron says he and his country have “respect and friendship” for the United States and are “entitled to demand the same in return.”
Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis has recorded and released an audio message thanking those who have been praying for his recovery, his voice breathless as he nears three weeks in hospital with pneumonia. The message was broadcasrt in St Peter’s Square.
Sunāmganj (Bangladesh) (AFP) – Nargis Akhter is one of thousands of of Bangladeshi women working as “skilled birth attendants” to help mothers through delivery. Their use over the past twenty years has coincided with dramatic improvements to maternal health outcomes in Bangladesh — a country where 30 percent of women nationally give birth without the assistance of a doctor, nurse or midwife, according . IMAGES
Fitzgerald (AFP) – The CEO of a plant producing peanut paste for severely malnourished children worldwide says the US Agency for International Development (USAID) reinstated his contract after canceling it last week. “It’s been a yo-yo effect. We receive a memo from USAID to stop, then a restart, then a cancellation. Fortunately, last night, they reinstate the contract,” says Mark Moore, CEO of MANA Nutrition in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Brüssel (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanks EU leaders for standing by Ukraine’s side as the bloc kicks off crisis talks on confronting US President Donald Trump’s pivot away from Kyiv and its transatlantic partners. “We are not alone,” says Zelensky as he arrives for the summit, adding, “Thank you so much for everything.”
Brüssel (AFP) – The heads of state and government of the 27 member countries of the European Union arrive for an emergency summit to discuss Ukraine and European defence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also present to participate in some of the meetings.
Nuuk (AFP) – Wearing an “American badass” T-shirt emblazoned with Donald Trump’s picture, Jorgen Boassen walks to a painting at Nuuk’s Cultural Centre showing the US President in Inuit costume looking at minerals by a fjord. An avid Trump fan, the Greenlander also took part in a highly publicised visit by Trump’s son Donald Jr in January, but he says he is against a US takeover of Greenland.
Moskau (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to discuss extending his country’s nuclear deterrent to European partners is a “threat”, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Macron announced the possible extension of France’s nuclear deterrent to European partners on Wednesday, as Europe scrambles to respond to Donald Trump’s upending of the transatlantic alliance.
Currumbin (Australia) (AFP) – A tropical cyclone lingered off Australia’s eastern coast, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons. ++ COMPLETES WITH VIDI_36ZF4ZW ++ =
