Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis sends prayers to the victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow, following a Palm Sunday Mass at St Peter’s Square. “I assure my prayer for the victims of the cowardly terrorist attack carried out the other evening in Moscow,” he says.
Kraków (Poland) (AFP) – The Polish Defence Minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, has announced that a Russian cruise missile launched against towns in western Ukraine violated Polish airspace. “The missile was under constant surveillance by Polish radiolocation systems. If there had been the slightest indication that this missile was heading for a target on Polish territory, it would of course have been shot down,” he says during a press conference in Krakow. Poland has said that it would demand an explanation from Moscow.
Moscow (AFP) – Images show the outside building of the court in Moscow where some of the suspects arrested in connection with concert hall attack will be going on trial. At least 133 people were killed when camouflaged gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, and then set fire to the building on Friday evening. IMAGES
Courseulles-sur-Mer (AFP) – High school students visiting from Canada retrace the footsteps of their ancestors who lost their lives during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, actively participated in the Battle of Normandy. In total, 90,000 Canadian volunteers took part in the battle, of whom 5,500 died.
Moskau (AFP) – Muscovites queue to donate blood for the victims of an attack on a suburban concert hall. The city centre is almost empty, and the Red Square is closed. “I think it’s the duty of each citizen now; it’s something we must do (to donate blood), and it’s not so difficult to do it,” says Alexandra.
London (AFP) – Catherine, Princess of Wales, on March 22 announced that she has cancer and is in the early stages of chemotherapy, asking for “time, space and privacy” as she completes her treatment. There has been rampant speculation about Kate’s health and whereabouts, particularly online. Catherine, Princess of Wales, is a central figure in Britain’s royal family who has won fans for her supportive role alongside William, the future king.
Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyan medics are taking part in a protest march over pay and working conditions in the capital, Nairobi, amidst an ongoing nationwide doctors’ strike that is paralysing health services. At the centre of the row is the government’s move to slash the salaries of medical interns and delay employing them on permanent and pensionable terms.
Rafah (AFP) – At the gates of Gaza, on the Egyptian side of the border, the UN chief, Antonio Guterres, calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” as the war between Israel and the Palestinian militants Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip. “Palestinians in Gaza, children, women, men remain stuck in a non-stop nightmare”, he added. Despite warnings that an operation in Rafah would cause mass civilian casualties and worsen the humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza after nearly six months of war between Israel and Hamas militants, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would press ahead with the attack.
Krasnogorsk (AFP) – An attack on a concert hall leaves at least 133 people dead, Russia’s Investigative Committee says, warning the toll could rise. People died both from gunshot wounds and from smoke inhalation after a fire engulfed the packed venue in Moscow’s northern Krasnogorsk suburb. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on March 22.
Berlin (AFP) – The German and French Defence ministers announce an agreement on a future joint tank project (MGCS) concerning the division of labour between manufacturers. This is a key factor in breaking the deadlock on the project, which divergent interests have so far plagued.
Miami (AFP) – Shakira attends her ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’ album release party in Miami.
Jerusalem (AFP) – In a small hotel near the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, where she received radiotherapy for breast cancer, Palestinian Rim Abu Obeida is gripped by anxiety. She is one of a group of Palestinian patients living in limbo as a top Israeli court weighs whether to send them back to war-torn Gaza now that their treatment is completed.
