Beijing (AFP) – Lianhuashan’s slopes have been kept snow-covered by ageing European snow cannons for more than 20 years, but the Beijing resort added its first Chinese snowmaker this ski season. The snow gun, made by Beijing-based Carving Ski, costs about a third less than Western brands. China’s snow-related equipment sales have surged almost fourfold since 2015.
Sainte-Rose (France) (AFP) – A month after the Piton de la Fournaise volcano erupted on France’s Reunion island, the lava flow continues to cool and has reached the ocean for the first time in 19 years.
Doha (AFP) – Diplomatic talks with Iran are only possible if it ceases its attacks, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari says, as Tehran presses its missile and drone campaign against Gulf states in the third week of the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on 28 February.
Chubynske (Ukraine) (AFP) – At a sanctuary near Kyiv, bears awaken from their winter hibernation. Two bears — Chada, a rare Tien Shan bear, and Synochok, a brown bear — emerge from their dens and begin moving around, marking the arrival of spring. Sanctuary founder Maryna Shkvyria says it has been the “hardest winter” since 2022. “All the men from our team are now at the front,” she adds.
Copenhagen (AFP) – Two Danish politicians from the Social Democrats party take to the sauna as they look for alternative ways to meet voters and present their case ahead of the general election on 24 March. “Campaigning also has to be fun,” says current minister of Justice, Peter Hummelgaard, who tries an ice bath for the first time between rounds in the heat. Meanwhile, the Green Left party, polling in second behind Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, hands out free kebabs.
Mexico City (AFP) – Mexico City’s central Zocalo square becomes the world’s largest soccer field, with more than 9,500 people gathering to set the Guinness World Record for the largest soccer class.
Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – “One Battle After Another” triumphs at the Oscars, winning six awards, including the coveted best picture statuette, beating “Sinners” in a thrilling finale to one of the most competitive awards seasons in recent years. the 2026 Oscars ceremony
At sea (AFP) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announces that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, choking a vital route for global trade. With the Middle East war raging on, those working on ships nearby are now trapped in the Gulf and exposed. “Every day on the ship, I can see missile launches and hear explosions, making me feel like I am in danger,” Wang Shang, a sailor on a tanker in the area, tells AFP.
Brasilia (AFP) – Scene outside hospital where former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was taken to after feeling unwell at the prison where he is serving a sentence for plotting a coup. Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a botched coup attempt after his 2022 election loss. He has suffered from recurring health issues after he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign event in 2018. IMAGES
Tianjin (China) (AFP) – Railway enthusiasts have flocked to join the first train from China’s capital Beijing to North Korea’s capital Pyongyang, six years after the international rail service was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cúcuta (Colombia) (AFP) – People are dismantling the stage and the installations that were initially planned to host the meeting between Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, and Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, a journalist from AFP present in Cucuta, in northeastern Colombia, has observed. The first foreign visit of Venezuela’s US-backed interim leader since taking power was abruptly cancelled just hours before she was due to arrive in Colombia. IMAGES
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun says that new trade investigations announced by the United States into dozens of countries are “political manipulation”. It comes after US President Donald Trump announced separate probes centred on overproduction and importing goods made with forced labour, targeting China, the European Union, Japan, India, among others.
