Lac Rose (Sénégal) (AFP) – Senegal’s most famous lake, Lake Retba, is slowly regaining its iconic pink colour after three long years of a dull yellow hue brought on by the run-off from heavy rains. Its recovery is delighting visitors as well as locals.
New York (AFP) – A model of Hollywood’s favourite alien, E.T., made by the legendary special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, is going to auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The model appeared in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film of the same name.
Bangkok (AFP) – A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand. In Bangkok, the collapse of a building under construction has killed at least three people while dozens of others remain trapped. Myanmar has reported 20 dead so far and has declared a state of emergency while calling for international aid.
Bangkok (AFP) – A 30-storey building under construction collapsed in Bangkok after a powerful earthquake hit Thailand on Friday, trapping 43 workers, police and medics said. The massive building intended for government offices was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal. IMAGES
Montreuil-au-Houlme (France) (AFP) – Located in the north of France, the Suzi Handicap Animal shelter takes in and cares for animals that are disfigured, have been abused or even tortured. “We often hear people say here that we are a centre with only monsters. And I find that very hard because, for me, they are the most wonderful in the world,” says founder Stephanie Lisicki.
Andong (Corée du Sud) (AFP) – Mountains and forests continue to burn in South Korea as the country battles its worst-ever wildfires. At least 27 people have been killed with multiple raging blazes causing “unprecedented damage”, according to the acting president.
Flames spread across the side of a mountain above the village of Cheongsong-gun, in the North Gyeongsang Province, partially destroyed by the devastating forest fires that are ravaging the southeast of South Korea, the deadliest in the country’s history. IMAGES
Bogotá (AFP) – The United States and Colombia sign a cooperation agreement aimed at curbing illegal immigration and combating organized crime, during an official visit by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. “Today, we have signed a statement of intent for biometric cooperation, and it will reaffirm our strong and our resilient and enduring partnership that we have between the United States and Colombian,” says Noem during a joint press conference. SOUNDBITE
Images of Walmart in Mexico City after the US retail giant anounced that it will invest more than $6 billion in the country in 2025, despite President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars with Washington’s partners and competitors alike. IMAGES
Valparaíso (Chile) (AFP) – Chilean artisanal fishermen block cargo ships’ access to the port of Valparaiso as part of protests against delays in a fishing bill that aims to redistribute quotas between artisanal and industrial fishermen. IMAGES
Susya (Territoires palestiniens) (AFP) – “I felt like these were the last moments of my life.” Palestinian filmmaker and Oscar winner for the documentary “No Other Land”, Hamdan Ballal, recalls the events of 24 March in which he was arrested by Israeli police after being “brutally” attacked by settlers in his village of Susya, south of the occupied West Bank.
Paris (AFP) – A Franco-British mission will travel to Ukraine “in the coming days” to “prepare the structure of what the Ukrainian army of tomorrow will look like,” announces French President Emmanuel Macron during a press briefing following the Ukraine Security summit in Paris. European leaders agreed that sanctions against Russia should not be lifted, and instead ramped up, until Moscow halts its war against Ukraine.
