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Tokyo (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida welcomes visiting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as they attend a guard of honour ceremony held in Tokyo.

Melsbroek (Belgium) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive at Melsbroek Air Base, northeast of Brussels, as Zelensky is expected to address EU parliament and attend a summit meeting. The Ukrainian leader greets Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium.

Geneva (AFP) – The UN’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Otto Pedersen, underlines that the emergency response in Syria “must not be politicised” following “one of the most catastrophic earthquakes the region has seen in about a century”.

Besnaya (Syria) (AFP) – Syrian civilians volunteer help the White Helmets rescuers as they search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings after a deadly earthquake shook the country and neighbouring Turkey, killing over 16,000. A leading UN official called for the facilitation of aid access to rebel-held areas in the northwest of Syria, warning that relief stocks will soon be depleted.

Paris (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday presses his western allies for more weaponry and in particular fighter jets during his first visit to France since the Russian invasion almost one year ago.

Yangon (AFP) – Once again, Ma Yu launches her makeshift polystyrene boat into a Yangon creek, ready for another day of trawling its filthy waters for plastic and tin cans. Floating along other “river cleaners”, they are gathering recyclable materials to sell to traders, their only source of income since losing their jobs following the 2021 military coup that upended the economy and sparked widespread unrest in Myanmar.

London (AFP) – East London becomes covered with a surreal splash of colour as clowns from all over gather for the 77th annual memorial of the legendary Joseph Grimaldi. After two years struck by Covid, dozens of clowns dressed in their best attire finally return to attend a special church service in memory of the father of modern clowning and all those who passed away.

Ḩājj Iskandar (Syria) (AFP) – Mourners bury the bodies of the family of a newborn baby who was pulled alive on Tuesday from the rubble of a home in the rebel-held town of Jandairis, after she was found still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in Monday’s massive quake. The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family.

Stockholm (AFP) – Sweden, the first country to introduce legal gender reassignment, has begun restricting gender reassignment hormone treatments for minors. With the number of diagnoses soaring, the medical community faces the dilemma of weighing precaution against the risks associated with not offering treatment to those suffering from gender dysphoria. According to health services, approximately 8,900 people have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria in Sweden between 1998 and 2021.

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis appeals for global solidarity with Turkey and Syria following a devastating earthquake, and thanks those risking their lives to help. Officials and medics said over 8,000 people had died in Turkey and over 2,000 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the total to at least 11,000.

Kahramanmaras (Turkey) (AFP) – At a press conference in Kahramanmaras, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the number of deaths in Turkey has risen to 8,574, in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.

Los Angeles (AFP) – “It’s just an honor to be named with the greats,” says LeBron James after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the top NBA scorer of all time. James finished the night with 38,390 career regular season points, three more than Abdul-Jabbar’s tally of 38,387, a record that had stood since 1984. SOUNDBITE