Tyre (Lebanon) (AFP) – Lebanese cross the remains of the Qasmiyeh bridge at sunrise after the ceasefire took effect, hours after it was targeted by Israel. A ten-day ceasefire deal agreed between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Thursday, as US President Donald Trump said he was trying to set up the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries. IMAGES
Cerros de la Plaza (Colombia) (AFP) – Where there used to be ice, now there are only rocks: one of the glaciers in a chain of snow-capped mountains in the Colombian Andes has vanished due to the high temperatures driven by climate change. Satellite images show how the ice sheet covering the mountain gradually shrank from 2015 until it disappeared in March 2026.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Southern Lebanon “will become a destruction zone for Hezbollah terrorists,” says Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defri, after the Israeli army’s chief of staff said he has ordered areas south of the country’s Litani river to be turned into a Hezbollah “kill zone” as troops press a major offensive there. Lebanon says more than 2,100 people have been killed and more than one million displaced in the conflict, which the country was pulled into when militant group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in support of its backer Iran on 2 March.
Geelong (Australia) (AFP) – Columns of fire engulf a crucial Australian oil refinery in Geelong, Victoria, after a chain of explosions. No workers were harmed in the fire, the cause of which is as yet unclear. The blaze at the Viva fuel plant, southwest of Melbourne, has prompted fears of shortages as Australia seeks to bolster energy supplies amid disruption caused by the war in the Middle East.
Bamenda (Cameroon) (AFP) – Pope Leo XIV calls for a “decisive change of course” towards peace in a world which he says is “ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, as he speaks during an address at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in the city of Bamenda in Cameroon’s troubled northwest region. It comes after US President Donald Trump criticised the pontiff after he called for an end to violence in the Iran war.
General Lavalle (Argentina) (AFP) – Aerial shots show ‘Estancia La Guitarra’ — The Guitar Farm — surrounded by cornfields near General Levalle in Argentina. The more than 7,000 trees planted in the shape of a guitar since 1979 are a tribute from a farmer to his late wife, who loved the instrument and nature.
Barcelona (AFP) – A flotilla of some 40 boats sets sail from Barcelona for Gaza in a fresh bid to break an Israeli blockade and deliver aid to the devastated territory, according to organisers. The Global Sumud Flotilla had initially been set to depart from the Mediterranean port on 12 April, but the mission was postponed due to adverse weather conditions. Some 20 boats, which will join the maritime convoy, left the French port of Marseille on 4 April, and more ships are set to depart from Syracuse in Sicily on 24 April.
Amsterdam (AFP) – A 67-million-year-old triceratops skull twirls above a coral sculpture, the centrepiece of a new exhibition in the Dutch capital turning prehistoric fossils into art. The ‘Relics’ show at Amsterdam’s Art Zoo is set to display nine works by creative duo Jaap Sinke and Ferry van Tongeren that combine science and art. Van Tongeren says he hopes the exhibition will “add drama” to the fossils and highlight their aesthetic side.
Ghaziabad District (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Hundreds of men dig into the rocky bed of the Kunar River in eastern Afghanistan, searching for a few grams of gold dust as an alternative source of income. Thirty-five-year-old Gul Ahmad Jan is among the gold prospectors and says he can earn a substantial amount in just a week. “We can get up to about one gram of gold,” which can fetch up to 8,000 Afghanis ($125), he tells AFP.
Lima (AFP) – “We have not found any objective elements to say that the narrative of fraud could have concrete grounds at this point,” says the head of the European Union’s election observer mission, Annalisa Corrado, when asked at a press conference whether there was evidence of fraud in Peru’s elections. Official counts from Sunday’s elections, which ran into Monday due to logistical issues, show right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori as the front-runner with around 17 percent of votes, with more than 87 percent of ballots counted.
Budapest (AFP) – Hungary’s new leader, Peter Magyar, says he has told President Tamas Sulyok, a supporter of ousted prime minister Viktor Orban, that he should resign. “If he does not voluntarily step down from office, we will exercise the mandate granted to us by the voters and… we will remove him from office along with all the other puppets appointed by the Orban regime,” Magyar says, after his Tisza party won a two-thirds legislative majority in Sunday’s elections.
Madrid (AFP) – At Zoo Aquarium in Madrid, Bornean orangutan Surya has given birth to a male cub, a victory in the bid to conserve the species classified as critically endangered.
