AFP UK

Kahramanmaras (Turkey) (AFP) – Two months after a deadly earthquake killed more than 50,000, and weeks before a presidential election, Kahramanmaras, in southeastern Turkey, has creaked back into life. Much of the fury directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in the wake of the disaster has begun to fade in a province that gave him three quarters of its vote in Turkey’s last election. One Kahramanmaras resident, shopkeeper Latif Dalyan, believes “we couldn’t have done better. It wasn’t easy.”

Beijing (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron says China can “play a major role” in resolving the war in Ukraine. Speaking in Beijing, at the beginning of a three-day trip, the French leader looks to China’s “close relationship with Russia” as a way to stop the fighting.

Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin tells new US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy that Washington’s foreign policy “in the end led to the current Ukrainian crisis”. The address comes as Putin swore in 17 international ambassadors in the Kremlin.

New York (AFP) – Pro and anti-Trump protesters rally outside the Manhattan Criminal Court where the former US president was arraigned in a hush-money payment case. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges.

Wellington (AFP) – Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivers her final speech to parliament, using her last address to reflect on her leadership.

Palm Beach (United States) (AFP) – Donald Trump offers a defense of his conduct Tuesday in his first remarks since being charged over hush money payments to a porn star. “I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump tells an audience of several hundred donors, political allies and other supporters after returning to Mar-a-Lago, his beachfront mansion in southern Florida.

Mumbai (AFP) – Under the glow of a ring light in the spare bedroom of a Mumbai high-rise apartment, Indian make-up maven Debasree Banerjee has found fans across the world with a simple philosophy: brown is beautiful.

Los Angeles (AFP) – Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen arrives at the hotel in Los Angeles where she will be meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday.

Beijing (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Beijing for a visit in which he hopes to dissuade China from supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while also forging closer ties with a crucial trade partner.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Clashes erupted inside the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem early Wednesday as Israeli police said they had entered to dislodge “agitators”, in a move denounced as an “unprecedented crime” by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The fresh violence came nearly halfway through Ramadan and as Jews prepared to celebrate Passover. The mosque, which is Islam’s third holiest site, is built on top of what Jews call the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli forces deploy around Jerusalem’s Old City, blocking access to the Lion’s Gate, as ambulances circulate, after clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the Al-Aqsa mosque. IMAGES

West Palm Beach (United States) (AFP) – Supporters greet Donald Trump’s motorcade driving past them after landing in Florida, en route to his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he plans to deliver an evening speech. IMAGES