Budapest (AFP) – Thousands of Hungarian protesters wearing drab, mainly grey clothes gather at a rally in central Budapest seeking to poke fun at Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent clampdown on LGBTQ rights and diversity.
Boulogne-sur-Mer (France) (AFP) – SailLink’s catamaran, a British start-up focused on making sailing a low-carbon alternative to ferries across the English Channel, is setting off on its first paid journey. These trips, beginning this week, are expected to run daily. “What SailLink is, more than anything, is symbolic proof, demonstration that things can be done differently,” said Andrew Simons, founder and captain of SailLink.
Brasilia (AFP) – Images of Brazilian hospital in Brasilia, where Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro is undergoing intestinal surgery, a source close to his entourage told AFP, after he was hospitalized for pain linked to a 2018 stabbing attack. IMAGES
Canuto (Equateur) (AFP) – Ecuadorans begin voting in Canuto in a too-close-to-call presidential election pitting the incumbent, security hawk Daniel Noboa, against a charismatic leftist challenger Luisa Gonzalez in a country plagued by drug-related violence. IMAGES
Callao (Peru) (AFP) – Three British brothers set off from Lima to Sydney on a nonstop rowing journey across the Pacific Ocean, aiming to break a time record and raise funds for their NGO. IMAGES
Dohuk (Iraq) (AFP) – People compete in the Iraqi Paragliding Championship held over the Zawa mountain on the outskirts of Dohuk in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian emergency services release a video showing responders at the scene of two fires in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv after early morning strikes on Ukraine’s capital. Posting on Telegram, the Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said three people have been injured in the strikes.
Basra (Iraq) (AFP) – Every Friday, many Iranian peddlers cross the border into southern Iraq to sell essential goods and household items in the markets of Basra, which serve as a haven for Iranians grappling with sharp currency depreciation and soaring inflation amid economic sanctions.
Jakarta (AFP) – Shopkeepers cheer for smartphone buyers in Jakarta after Apple’s latest smartphone went on sale following a monthslong ban in Indonesia. The marketing and sale of iPhone 16 models was prohibited by the government in October over Apple’s failure to meet regulation requiring that 40 percent of smartphone components be made from local parts. Apple has agreed to invest $150 million in building two facilities in the country — one in Bandung in West Java province to produce accessories, and another in Batam for AirTags.
Jena -> United States (AFP) – A US judge has ruled that Palestinian organizer and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, giving his legal team until April 23 to appeal the decision. Supporters denounced the move as an attempt to silence criticism of the “occupation of Palestine” at a press conference held after the ruling in Jena, Louisiana.
Natal (Brazil) (AFP) – Images of the Rio Grande Hospital in Natal, in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, where Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is hospitalized, with “severe pain” in his abdomen six years after he barely survived being stabbed. IMAGES
Libreville (AFP) – Gabon, a small central African nation which touts itself as the “Last Eden”, attracts around 350,000 foreign visitors a year. It wants to double that figure, a likely priority for the winner of Saturday’s presidential election. Key to that effort could be the charms of Pointe-Denis, a peninsula where wealthy Gabonese and expats from Libreville head to escape the city for a few days. Some pockets of the destination equally aim to develop community tourism, aimed at “regular Gabonese people”, says guide Gerard Adande Avili.
