AFP UK

Dhaka (AFP) – The Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery, a beacon of interfaith harmony in a time of religious tensions, opens its doors to the needy during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. It provides free meals for hundreds of the capital’s poorest residents to break their fast each evening. Its work resonates in an environment of political upheaval marked by the ouster of autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina last summer, which left religious minorities fearful of persecution in the Muslim-majority nation.

Chile (AFP) – Chilean fishermen clash with the police during a protest in Valparaiso against a proposed fishing law that aims to redistribute quotas between artisanal and industrial fishers. IMAGES

Seoul (AFP) – South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, says wildfires raging in the country’s southeast have become the worst in the nation’s history. The wildfire outbreaks have killed at least 24 people, according to officials.

Kabul (AFP) – Until Taliban authorities took power in Afghanistan, women like Fatima were able to freely sell their hair to be made into wigs, bringing in crucial cash. Last year Taliban authorities imposed vice and virtue laws regulating everyday life for men and women, including banning sales of “any part of the human body” including hair.

Denver (AFP) – On a wall of presidential portraits in the Colorado state capitol, an empty space sits next to the image of former president Barack Obama. The eastern US state has removed Donald Trump’s portrait after Trump deemed it “deliberately distorted” on his Truth Social platform.

Sumy (AFP) – In Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy, the toll from a Russian strike on March 24 has risen to 101 wounded, including 23 children, according to officials. The strike hit a residential area in the city near the Russian border as negotiations were taking place in Riyadh.

Sanaa (AFP) – One in two children under the age of five in Yemen is acutely malnourished, according to the United Nations. “This catastrophe is not natural. It is man-made,” UNICEF’s Yemen representative Peter Hawkins tells a press briefing in Geneva, speaking from Sanaa.

Aysen (AFP) – A wildlife foundation transfers fifteen rheas, a bird similar to an ostrich, from Argentina to Chile in an effort to repopulate the country with the species that is under threat of extinction.

Tokio (AFP) – Tourists and residents enjoy the start of cherry blossom season in Tokyo, with the full bloom of the white Somei Yoshino variety expected this weekend.

Skopje (AFP) – Thousands march in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, calling for justice for the victims of a devastating nightclub fire and an end to corruption. Fifty-nine people were killed, and nearly 200 others were injured in the blaze that ripped through Club Pulse in the eastern town of Kocani during a hip-hop concert on March 16. More than 30 people, including high-ranking officials, are suspected of breaching security standards.

Peking (AFP) – China accuses the United States of “interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs” after President Donald Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on imports from countries that bought oil and gas from the South American nation.

Surabaya (Indonesia) (AFP) – Indonesia’s new military law has sparked protests across the country, with critics arguing that the amendment expands the role of the armed forces in civilian affairs. Dozens of people were arrested in Surabaya after violent clashes broke out between the demonstrators and riot police.