AFP UK

Simi Valley (United States) (AFP) – An American television classic, Little House on the Prairie, celebrated its 50-year anniversary with an event in Simi Valley, California, attended by thousands of fans. Fans of the show, which aired over 200 episodes between 1974 and 1982, took photos with sets recreated for the event, with some dressing up in period costumes. Meanwhile, members of the cast, including Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls in the show, signed autographs and shook hands with fans. “I think my father knew very well that this show will outlive all of us and continue on,” said Michael Landon Jr., the son of the late Michael Landon, who played Charles Ingalls.

London (AFP) – Two UK judges delayed a decision Tuesday on whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide further “assurances” in the case.

Kandhamal (India) (AFP) – Church walls crumble in India’s Kandhamal district, where brutal attacks on Christians 16 years ago means many survivors still worry about their minority’s place in a Hindu-majority nation. With India’s election on the horizon and Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win, many Christians fear they may once again become targets.

Belém (Brazil) (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meet with Indigenous leader of the Kayapo people, Raoni Metuktire, on the island of Combu off the coast of Belem, in the Brazilian Amazon. Macron has promised to discuss closer cooperation in the fight against illegal gold mining with Brazil, where he begins an emblematic state visit lasting almost three days following his trip to French Guiana. IMAGES

Belém (Brazil) (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron arrives on the island of Combu off the coast of Belem, in the Brazilian Amazon, with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Macron has promised to discuss closer cooperation in the fight against illegal gold mining with Brazil, where he begins an emblematic state visit lasting almost three days following his trip to French Guiana. IMAGES

Pando (Bolivia) (AFP) – Advancing deforestation is reducing harvests of the brazil nut in Bolivia, one of the seed’s main producers.

Bangkok (AFP) – Thailand’s parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill Wednesday, paving the way for the kingdom to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognise LGBTQ marriage equality.

Malindi (Kenya) (AFP) – Relatives of those who died in a doomsday starvation cult in Kenya view the remains of their loved ones. Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie is alleged to have incited his followers to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus” in what has been dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre”.

Jerusalem (AFP) – “I think the bad thing about the US decision in the United Nations Security Council was that it encouraged Hamas to take a hard line,” says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting with US senator Rick Scott in Jerusalem.

Caracas (AFP) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arrives at the National Electoral Council in Caracas to formally registers as a candidate in the country’s 2024 presidential elections. IMAGES

New York (AFP) – After a New York judge ordered Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges of paying pre-election hush money to a porn star to begin on April 15, the former president denounces the case as a politically motivated attack ahead of the November 5 presidential election when he will likely again face incumbent Democrat Joe Biden. Trump is accused of illegally using campaign funds to secure the silence of Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, about an alleged sexual encounter back in 2006.

Cayenne (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron, travelling in French Guiana, justifies raising France’s anti-terror ‘Vigipirate’ plan level, claiming that the Islamic State branch “involved” in the Moscow attack had carried out “several attempts” in France.