Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, used to be a guaranteed earner for Pakistan’s small shops and businesses. But soaring inflation and political turmoil has dampened the shopping spirit as many worry they won’t even make enough to pay their rent.
Beijing (AFP) – A fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital, leaving nearly at least 29 people dead and scores of other people injured. Twelve people, including the hospital’s director, have been detained in connection with the fire.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Neon signs once transformed Hong Kong’s oldest neighbourhoods into a kaleidoscope of luminous colour after dark, but most have been removed with a few lucky ones now piled up in a ramshackle yard.
Wilmington (United States) (AFP) – Fox News reached a $787.5 million settlement Tuesday in a defamation case brought by voting technology company Dominion that alleged the network knowingly aired false claims linking its machines to a conspiracy to undermine the 2020 US presidential election.
New York (AFP) – Firefighters are on the scene of a parking garage collapse in New York, where authorities say one person has died and four others have been rushed to hospital.
Wilmington (United States) (AFP) – Fox News reaches a settlement for $787.5 million in a major defamation case, avoiding a high-profile trial that would have tested the extent of free speech rights for media in America. The settlement represents “vindication and accountability,” the voting machine company’s lawyer says during a press briefing. “Lies have consequences,” he adds.
Khartoum (Sudan) (AFP) – Smoke rises in Khartoum as fighting between the army and paramilitaries in Sudan enters a fourth day. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in the battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Mumbai (India) (AFP) – Apple opens its first retail store in India, underscoring the US tech titan’s increasing focus on the South Asian nation as a key sales market and alternative manufacturing hub to China.
Avdiivka (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the heavily bombarded frontline town of Avdiivka in the east of the country, where he hands out awards to soldiers, according to images released by the Ukrainian Presidency.
London (AFP) – Coach Carlo Ancelotti declares Real Madrid the “kings of the competition” as he looks ahead to his team’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Chelsea. “We are just a small part of the grand history of this club that has won the competition 14 times… We will be ready to play our best,” the man known to fans as “Don Carlo” adds.
Unknown (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Ukraine’s Kherson and Lugansk regions to meet with military commanders, according to images released by the Kremlin. If true, it marks the first time Putin has visited the frontline regions, which are partly controlled by Russian troops, since Moscow annexed them along with two others last September.
Karachi (Pakistan) (AFP) – After midnight during Ramadan, floodlights turn Karachi’s streets and courts into urban cricket pitches, where dozens of young Pakistani men smack taped-up tennis balls across the city.
