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Jakarta (AFP) – Shopkeepers cheer for smartphone buyers in Jakarta after Apple’s latest smartphone went on sale following a monthslong ban in Indonesia. The marketing and sale of iPhone 16 models was prohibited by the government in October over Apple’s failure to meet regulation requiring that 40 percent of smartphone components be made from local parts. Apple has agreed to invest $150 million in building two facilities in the country — one in Bandung in West Java province to produce accessories, and another in Batam for AirTags.

Jena -> United States (AFP) – A US judge has ruled that Palestinian organizer and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, giving his legal team until April 23 to appeal the decision. Supporters denounced the move as an attempt to silence criticism of the “occupation of Palestine” at a press conference held after the ruling in Jena, Louisiana.

Natal (Brazil) (AFP) – Images of the Rio Grande Hospital in Natal, in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, where Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is hospitalized, with “severe pain” in his abdomen six years after he barely survived being stabbed. IMAGES

Libreville (AFP) – Gabon, a small central African nation which touts itself as the “Last Eden”, attracts around 350,000 foreign visitors a year. It wants to double that figure, a likely priority for the winner of Saturday’s presidential election. Key to that effort could be the charms of Pointe-Denis, a peninsula where wealthy Gabonese and expats from Libreville head to escape the city for a few days. Some pockets of the destination equally aim to develop community tourism, aimed at “regular Gabonese people”, says guide Gerard Adande Avili.

Luque (Paraguay) (AFP) – The head of South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL calls on FIFA to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 nations in a one-off gesture for what will be the tournament’s 100th anniversary. In opening remarks to CONMEBOL’s 80th Congress, Paraguay’s Alejandro Dominguez says increasing the number of teams in the tournament will allow for a broader celebration of the World Cup. The 2030 edition of the tournament is set to be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after three opening matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

London (AFP) – A Tesla, destined to be scrapped, is destroyed with baseball bats and sledgehammers in London at an event organised by UK campaign group “Everyone Hates Elon”. The donated vehicle is smashed up to create an art piece “London vs Musk” that will be sold to raise funds for food banks.

Almaty (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – The latest prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington “helps build trust” between Russia and the US which was “destroyed by the Biden administration”, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. On 10 April, Russia freed dual US citizen Ksenia Karelina, convicted of “treason” over a donation to a pro-Ukraine charity, in exchange for alleged tech smuggler Arthur Petrov.

Bateke Plateau (Gabon) (AFP) – Footage shows rare evidence of an endangered chimpanzee using a stick as a tool in Gabon’s Bateke Plateau National Park. The footage was captured by the National Agency for National Parks of Gabon (ANPN) and Panthera, an NGO working for the preservation of wildlife in the region.

Manila (AFP) – After heatwaves last year forced millions of children out of school, the Philippines has shifted the school year earlier and tried to equip classrooms to ensure the higher temperatures caused by climate change do not interfere with learning.

Libreville (AFP) – A short boat ride away from the capital Libreville, soft white sandy beaches, lush greenery, and a national park teeming with wildlife, of the Pointe-Denis peninsula could be one of Gabon’s best kept secrets. The African nation which touts itself as the “Last Eden” is hoping to double the number of foreign tourists it attracts a year, likely to be priority for the winner of the April 12 presidential election.

Moscow (AFP) – Moscow has seen almost a month’s worth of snowfall in the last few days, with Russian forecasters noting that the return of winter weather to the capital in April is rare.

Washington (AFP) – Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about its parent company Meta, alleges to US senators that the social networking giant collaborated with the Chinese government. Meta’s family of apps is currently blocked in China. The company’s communications director told AFP the testimony was “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.”