La Guaira (Venezuela) (AFP) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrives in Venezuela and is greeted by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil at Simon Bolivar International Airport, prior to his visit to the Miraflores Palace, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez. IMAGES
Cali (Colombia) (AFP) – Scene after an attack on a Colombian military base that left one person injured, one month before the first round of the presidential election. A bus was burned just a few meters from the military post in Cali. IMAGES
Lisse (Netherlands) (AFP) – Millions of tulips are in full bloom during the peak of spring at the famous Dutch floral park of Keukenhof in Lisse, thirty kilometres from Amsterdam. The tulip garden attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world every day during the eight weeks it is open. “It’s amazing,” says one visitor. “I didn’t realise tulips were so many different shapes”.
New York (AFP) – Celebrities walk the red carpet for the TIME100 Gala, celebrating Time Magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Among the honorees for 2026 are Claire Danes, Ethan Hawke, Zoe Saldana and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Arlington (United States) (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Europe should start “doing less talking and having less fancy conferences” and “get in a boat” to secure the Strait of Hormuz. “We are not counting on Europe. But they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do,” he says during a Pentagon briefing.
Brandenhusen (Germany) (AFP) – Rescue teams are deployed in the Baltic Sea to save a humpback whale that has beached itself again in shallow waters off the German coast. After being freed twice, the 13.5-metre (44-foot) long mammal became stranded again just a few hours after its last rescue.
Copenhagen (AFP) – Hot air balloons light up central Copenhagen as thousands of people gather at a free event in City Hall Square in celebration of the NightGlow Festival. “It’s very cool, there are massive balloons and it’s cool how they do everything… I just want them to lift at some point. Come on now!” says one spectator. While the balloons did not take off, they were lit up to the sounds of famous songs, such as the Star Wars theme tune and songs by Swedish producer Avicii.
Busuma (Burundi) (AFP) – More than 470 refugees, mainly from South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leave the Busuma camp in Burundi as part of a UN repatriation operation. The United Nations repatriated the first group of Congolese who fled to Burundi from the conflict in the DRC, among the thousands who fled a surge in violence last year.
Nicosia (AFP) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says that he has “no worries at all” following press reports suggesting that the United States was considering suspending Spain from NATO in retaliation for its opposition to the war against Iran. During a European Union summit in Cyprus, Sanchez calls the war “a big mistake” and says he hopes for prompt “deescalation”.
Barikot (Afghanistan) (AFP) – The UN estimates about 12,000 schoolchildren in Afghanistan have been displaced or had their education severely disrupted due to the ongoing conflict with Pakistan. AFP visited the Afghan border village of Barikot where the school has been smashed by shells and the playground left deserted after weeks of war.
Tokyo (AFP) – Table tennis robot ‘Ace’ competes against a professional ping pong player during project tests, in footage shared by Japanese tech group Sony. The robot uses a network of cameras and AI to perform complex, real-time interactive tasks with accurate predictions of the ball’s trajectory.
London (AFP) – Members of the British public express mixed opinions as both chambers of the country’s parliament approve a bill to ban children aged 17 and under from buying cigarettes during their lifetime. “I think it’s a really good idea,” says nurse Christine Methnani. “Teenagers will never start to smoke and be peer pressured into smoking cigarettes,” she adds. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Reece Mellor argues that “it will 100% become more of a black market thing where people get them (cigarettes) off the streets”.
