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Ningde (China) (AFP) – A wizened farmer leads a buffalo into a misty clearing in the banyan trees in Xiapu, eastern China. The scene is idyllic, but entirely fabricated. The region’s popularity has soared among Chinese city dwellers nostalgic for an idealised agrarian past and able to look past the artificial creations. Residents’ scenes have gone viral on social media, with Xiapu appearing in hundreds of thousands of TikTok and Red Note posts.

Tokyo (AFP) – In front of around 3,500 fans gathered at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, sumo wrestling’s newest grand champion, or ‘yokozuna’, receives the ancient sport’s highest rank. Hoshoryu, a 25-year-old Mongolian-born wrestler, is sumo’s 74th yokozuna, with his promotion coming after he claimed two major titles.

Now living amongst the destruction caused by days of fighting between the Congolese army and the Rwanda-backed M23 group, residents of the eastern DR Congo city of Goma are plagued by fear and uncertainty. Many are without food and those wounded by the violence face a struggle to receive healthcare from strained hospitals. “We’re like a boat without a captain,” says Isaac Mastaki.

Thailand (AFP) – Footage retrieved from cameras damaged by heavy rain last year shows a rare Bengal tiger with three cubs in a national park in Thailand. Until the new footage was accessed, park rangers had last year only spotted a single cub with its mother in Kaeng Krachan National Park. The three cubs are estimated to now be around six months old.

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid have “the resources to get through” the Champions League play-off round, says coach Carlo Ancelotti. Speaking before it was announced that his side would face Manchester City, Ancelotti predicts that the two-legged tie will be “difficult and fun”. Real finished 11th in the Champions League table, missing out on automatic qualification to the round of 16 awarded to the top eight.

Dakar (AFP) – Architect Carole Diop leads a tour of Dakar’s historical buildings, to highlight the danger to the architectural treasures now endangered by the Senegalese capital’s growing appetite for construction. “The price of a square metre is around 3,000 euros,” she says. “Buildings, even those of historic value, are worth less than the land on which they stand.”

Udon Thani (Thailand) (AFP) – The families of Thai farm workers held for over a year in Gaza cheered and wept with relief Thursday as they were freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

Goma (RD Congo) (AFP) – “We’re here in Goma to stay” says Corneille Nangaa, head of a coalition of groups including the Rwanda-backed M23, pledging they will march to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa to “protect the population against the uncivil”. The movement has seized most of the regional trading hub Goma in recent days after a lightning offensive against government forces.

Washington (AFP) – A US passenger plane has collided mid-air with a military helicopter above the city of Washington. The aircraft was carrying 64 people, including important figure skating athletes, when it crashed into the Potomac River, prompting a major emergency response and the grounding of all flights. Army officials say the helicopter was carrying three soldiers on a “training flight”.

Khan Younès (Territoires palestiniens) (AFP) – Surrounded by Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters struggling to hold back the crowd, Israeli hostages Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. The handover is part of an exchange deal with Israel, reached after more than 15 months of war.

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump has unveiled a surprise plan to detain thousands of undocumented migrants in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba’s military prison used to detain terrorism suspects since the 9/11 attacks. The announcement comes as he signs the Laken Riley Act, a bill cracking down on migrant criminal suspects.

Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – A months-old lion cub has been rehomed at Lahore’s Safari Zoo after being confiscated from a Pakistani YouTuber who received the golden cub as a wedding gift in December. Influencer Rajab Butt has avoided jail after agreeing to broadcast animal welfare content.