Caracas (AFP) – Venezuelan police clash with protesters demanding salary rises marching towards the presidential palace in Caracas. The police fired tear gas to disperse around 2,000 protesters who were heading towards the presidential palace. IMAGES
Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Environmental activists protested outside the Argentine Congress as lawmakers debated and later approved an amendment to the so-called Glacier Law, which authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive glacier and permafrost areas. Promoted by President Javier Milei, the bill opens the way for mining metals such as copper, lithium, and silver in frozen parts of the Andes Mountains.
Beijing (AFP) – A spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry says “Lebanon’s sovereignty and security should not be violated” after Israel carried out strikes on the country, threatening a fragile truce.
Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Environmental activists protested outside the Argentine Congress as lawmakers debated and later approved an amendment to the so-called Glacier Law, which authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive glacier and permafrost areas. Promoted by President Javier Milei, the bill opens the way for mining metals such as copper, lithium, and silver in frozen parts of the Andes Mountains.
London (AFP) – A new exhibition at Buckingham Palace pays tribute to the fashion of Queen Elizabeth II, in what is the largest display of her clothes ever mounted. The London exhibition runs until October 18 and marks 100 years since the late monarch’s birth.
Islamabad (Pakistan) (AFP) – Across the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, rooftops are dotted with solar panels, a sign of the country’s widespread adoption of the renewable energy source, which analysts say has cushioned it from the full impact of the Middle East war. According to a recent study from Renewables First and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Pakistan avoided more than $12 billion in oil and gas imports up to February this year as a result of its uptake of solar around 2018, with projections that it could save a further $6.3 billion by the end of 2026.
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – The EU Commission hails the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran as “a step back from the brink.” The truce was announced barely an hour before the deadline imposed on Tehran by US President Donald Trump to agree a deal or face obliteration. “It is crucial that negotiations for enduring solution to conflict continue,” says EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.
New York (AFP) – Protesters in New York express doubt over a two-week ceasefire announced between the United States, Israel and Iran. The truce came barely an hour before a deadline imposed on Tehran by President Donald Trump to make a deal or face obliteration. “Anytime people aren’t dying, that’s good,” says Lindsey Cole, who sees the truce as “clear market manipulation.” Another of those protesting against the war, Matthew Cavalletto, thinks “we may have to go through this all again in just a couple of weeks.”
Siem Reap (Cambodia) (AFP) – Cambodia unveils a statue of the landmine-hunting rat, Magawa, the only rat ever awarded the PDSA Gold Medal for animal bravery. The giant African pouched rat, originally from Tanzania, helped detect over 100 mines and other unexploded ordinance covering an area equivalent to 20 football pitches. Cambodia remains littered with mines, discarded ammunition and other arms from decades of war starting in the 1960s.
Paris (France) (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron says “around 15 countries” are involved in a mission to restart maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, following a two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. Speaking at a Defence Council meeting at the Elysee Palace, Macron says the aim is to implement “a strictly defensive mission, in coordination with Iran,” to reopen the vital oil thoroughfare.
Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald says Iran is “not too strong at all,” adding “but we’re soon going to find out, aren’t we?” as he speaks next to the Easter Bunny at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, an event that opens the South Lawn to children to mark the holiday. He also praises the rescue of two servicemen shot down over Iran and lauds the US military: “I built it in my first term and I didn’t know I was going to be using it this much in my second term,” Trump says.
Ayutthaya (Thailand) (AFP) – Thai police seize 1.6 tonnes of ketamine and crystal methamphetamine buried under cabbages in the bed of a pickup truck, with the driver arrested on drug trafficking charges. The Thai man, aged 39, was arrested over the weekend when he stopped his truck at a petrol station in central Ayutthaya province, police said.
