San José (AFP) – Cuban embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica, after the Central American country decided cut diplomatic ties with Cuba by closing its embassy in Havana and telling Cuba to withdraw its diplomatic staff from the Costa Rican capital. IMAGES
Tehran (AFP) – Images posted on social media on March 17, 2026 appear to show Iran’s Basij paramilitary force attempting to disperse crowds gathered for Chaharshanbe Suri, an ancient Iranian festival of light and fire marked before Nowruz, in Tehran, with gunshots heard in the background. The locations of these videos have been verified by AFPTV teams in Paris with the help of satellite images.
Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – Israel repeatedly strikes three densely populated central Beirut neighbourhoods the morning of 18 March, with Lebanese authorities reporting a death toll of at least 12 including a director in Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on 2 March when militant group Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading to a response of intense Israeli strikes on multiple regions around the country and ground operations in the south.
(AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says that Israeli forces have killed Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib. The announcement, the day after Iranian security chief Ali Larijani was confirmed killed in an Israeli strike, is part of a longstanding strategy by Israel to target its enemy’s leaders.
Port Sudan (Sudan) (AFP) – The soft sounds played by musician Assem Abdel Aziz of a blues tune float through a Port Sudan school-turned-shelter, home to 120 Sudanese artists displaced by three years of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. For filmmaker Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, “it’s a blessing that all of these artists found each other in the same place.”
Moscow (AFP) – Russia condemns the killing of Iranian security chief Ali Larijani, after ally Tehran vowed retaliation for the death of the military official killed in an Israeli airstrike. Moscow is a close ally of Iran and has condemned the US and Israeli attacks. Larijani had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in January, at a time when US navy ships were heading towards Iran ahead of the US-Israeli air campaign launched at the end of February.
Dakar (AFP) – Senegal football fans slam the decision to strip the country of its Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and give it to Morocco, saying “Africa has been humiliated” by the move as their country demands an investigation. In Rabat, Morocco, where the match was played, fans are decidedly in favour even if less emotional, as they prepare their final shopping ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of Ramadan.
Jérusalem (AFP) – Images show interceptions in the sky over Jerusalem as Israeli air defense systems operate following sirens warning of rockets fired from Iran. IMAGES
Mexico City (AFP) – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum welcomes Spanish King Felipe VI’s acknowledgement that abuses were committed during Spain’s conquest of the Americas. “It is a gesture of rapprochement from the King,” says Sheinbaum.
Seoul (AFP) – Nearly 10 months have passed since the release of KPop Demon Hunters, but many foreign tourists still visit one of its locations — Naksan Park in Seoul. The film won two Oscars and is Netflix’s most-watched original film.
Novo Airão (Brazil) (AFP) – Riverine communities and scientists release around 1.500 Amazonian turtles at Jau National Park, on the Rio Negro in the Amazon rainforest, as part of a program to assist the reproduction of the species. “If you don’t help nature, it will eventually come to an end,” says farmer Eduardo Siba.
Touba (Senegal) (AFP) – Despite the dust and the heat, thousands of members of a unique Senegalese Muslim community, the Baye Fall, are busy preparing the iftar meal for breaking the Ramadan fast — but they themselves neither fast, nor pray. They belong to one of four Sufi brotherhoods, the Mourides, with followers gathering every year from across the country to distribute meals.
