AFP UK

Pushkar (India) (AFP) – Revellers across India and Nepal smear each other with colours and water to celebrate the Hindu spring festival of colours.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Seven people, including a teenager and two pregnant women, have been injured after Ukrainian air defence systems downed Russian ballistic missiles over the capital Kyiv. “It most likely was a ballistic missile, a “Cyclone”, the air alarms don’t detect it because its speed is high enough,” says Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko from the site of the attack.

Amman (AFP) – United Nations chief Antonio Guterres defends the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, describing it as the “one ray of light for millions of people” during a press conference as he visits the Wihdat refugee camp in the Jordanian capital Amman. His remarks come as the agency faces a financing crisis after several key donor countries cut off funding following Israeli accusations that several UNRWA staff in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

Saint-Aignan (France) (AFP) – A baby yellow-backed duiker was born in early March at Beauval zoo, the only park in France to house this near-threatened species. “We’re the only zoo in France to have this species, we have a couple. And we are the first zoo in France to have a baby, Malia, who was born a fortnight ago,” says a head caretaker at the zoo.

Duque de Caxias (Brazil) (AFP) – Torrential weekend rains have pounded the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, leaving at least 25 people dead.

Paris (AFP) – Dozens of aproned servers in Paris compete in a race designed to show off the profession ahead of the Olympic Games.

Krasnogorsk (Russia) (AFP) – People gather outside the Crocus concert hall near Moscow to lay flowers in tribute to the victims of the attack on Friday, 22 March which left at least 137 dead, including three children.

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis sends prayers to the victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow, following a Palm Sunday Mass at St Peter’s Square. “I assure my prayer for the victims of the cowardly terrorist attack carried out the other evening in Moscow,” he says.

Kraków (Poland) (AFP) – The Polish Defence Minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, has announced that a Russian cruise missile launched against towns in western Ukraine violated Polish airspace. “The missile was under constant surveillance by Polish radiolocation systems. If there had been the slightest indication that this missile was heading for a target on Polish territory, it would of course have been shot down,” he says during a press conference in Krakow. Poland has said that it would demand an explanation from Moscow.

Moscow (AFP) – Images show the outside building of the court in Moscow where some of the suspects arrested in connection with concert hall attack will be going on trial. At least 133 people were killed when camouflaged gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, and then set fire to the building on Friday evening. IMAGES

Courseulles-sur-Mer (AFP) – High school students visiting from Canada retrace the footsteps of their ancestors who lost their lives during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, actively participated in the Battle of Normandy. In total, 90,000 Canadian volunteers took part in the battle, of whom 5,500 died.

Moskau (AFP) – Muscovites queue to donate blood for the victims of an attack on a suburban concert hall. The city centre is almost empty, and the Red Square is closed. “I think it’s the duty of each citizen now; it’s something we must do (to donate blood), and it’s not so difficult to do it,” says Alexandra.