Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Every morning, pensioner Valentyn Dudkin takes his trombone with him outside his block of flats and plays the Ukrainian national anthem. He is supported every day by his wife Valentyna, who holds the Ukrainian flag. Valentyn is often joined by his neighbours for the morning ‘concert’.
Dong Nai (Vietnam) (AFP) – A thick layer of dust from the construction of a huge airport in Vietnam has been blanketing nearby neighbourhoods for months. Located 40 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, the four-runway Long Thanh airport is forecast to transport 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo annually once finished.
Brussels (AFP) – For those working on the frontline of Europe’s war on drugs, breaks are rare, even at Easter. Belgian customs officials have discovered a batch of ‘chocolate’ bunnies made from solid MDMA, a total of 2kg of the raw material used to make the party drug ecstasy. Belgium is known as the gateway to Europe for Latin American cocaine, but the country is now also increasingly being used as a hub for European-made synthetic drugs being sent around the world. “People are now buying on the dark web” explains Florence Angelici, a spokesperson for the Belgian Finance Ministry, “with a few clicks, you buy what you want.”
Tzucacab (Mexico) (AFP) – As night falls in Mexico’s Yucatan jungle, veterinarian Omar Garcia extracts blood and fluids from a bat as part of an investigation aimed at preventing the next potential pandemic. The goal of the project is to detect zoonoses, diseases transmitted from animals to humans. As well as disease detection, the project also speaks to communities in areas at risk, like the Yucatan peninsula, where deforestation has brought humans into closer proximity with wild and disease-bearing animals.
Pingtan (China) (AFP) – Images of a Chinese warship and helicopters deployed to the Taiwan strait on Friday, two days after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The meeting sparked an angry reaction from Beijing, which vowed a “firm and forceful” response.
Taoyuan (Taiwan) (AFP) – Returning to Taiwan after a round of diplomatic visits, President Tsai Ing-wen thanks “all my fellow citizens, both at home and abroad…for your solidarity and cooperation”. Tsai has been visiting Taiwan’s remaining allies in Latin America and on Wednesday travelled north to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a rendezvous that sparked fury in Beijing.
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning says the “Taiwan question is not an issue of democracy” and “some countries exaggerate the false narrative of democracy versus authoritarianism” in an attempt to contain China, an approach she goes on to describe as “extremely dangerous.”
Paris (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in nationwide protests in France Thursday against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms. The controversial reforms seek to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Klungkung (Indonesia) (AFP) – Indonesian animal experts were preparing Thursday to conduct an autopsy on an 18-metre whale that died after washing up on a beach in Bali. Forensic experts are investigating the cause of its death.
Blumenau (Brazil) (AFP) – Mourners hold a candlelight vigil for four children who were killed by a man armed with a small axe at a preschool in the southern Brazilian city of Blumenau. The attacker also wounded four other children before turning himself in to the police.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Israel launches air strikes on the Gaza Strip, after vowing to retaliate over a barrage of cross-border rockets fired from Lebanon, which it blamed on Palestinian groups. IMAGES
Washington (AFP) – The White House says that US President Joe Biden “is not focused” on the indictment of former commander-in-chief, Donald Trump. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says that Biden is instead focused on building an economy “that leaves no one behind”. In the same press conference, Jean-Pierre addresses China’s response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States, saying there is no reason for Beijing to “overreact”.
