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Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he “respects completely” the decision made by his Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp to step down at the end of the season. Speaking ahead of the sides’ Premier League clash on Sunday, Guardiola hails Erling Haaland’s “massive” contribution, saying that the Norwegian forward is getting back to his best “step by step” following a recent injury lay-off.

Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – In the midst of a humanitarian crisis, with warnings of mass starvation mounting, people in Rafah, southern Gaza, are buying Ramadan lanterns in an effort to raise spirits ahead of the holy month. For Muslims worldwide, Ramadan is a time of prayer and joyful evening meals, but in Gaza “there is no joy deep inside,” says one man displaced from the Jabalia refugee camp.

Abiquiu (United States) (AFP) – After months of strict secrecy, the replica town used in Christopher Nolan’s historical biopic “Oppenheimer” is set for a tourist boom. In the real city of Los Alamos – an hour’s drive from the set – officials have reported a leap in visitors since the billion-dollar film’s release last year and, amid the Oscars buzz, the owners of Ghost Ranch, where the set was built, are planning to start running “Oppenheimer Tours”.

Beijing (AFP) – China criticises the US for “abusing its national power,” following the arrest of a Chinese Google software engineer over the alleged theft of trade secrets. Linwei Ding, 38, also known as Leon Ding, was arrested in California on Wednesday after allegedly transferring confidential information from Google’s network to a personal account while being secretly affiliated with Chinese-based companies in the AI industry.

Larnaca (Cyprus) (AFP) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says a maritime corridor between Cyprus and Gaza will open “hopefully this Sunday”, establishing a route for aid deliveries into the war-torn territory.

Bangkok (AFP) – Hundreds of women march from Bangkok’s Democracy Monument to Government House, the offices of Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Decked out in purple, many of the marchers demand improvements to the kingdom’s laws on maternity leave.

Dajabón (Dominican Republic) (AFP) – While tension and violence caused by criminal gangs persist in Haiti’s capital, in the border province of Dajabon, in the Dominican Republic, commercial exchange continues as normal. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, has been in turmoil for years with armed gangs taking over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence that has left its economy and public health system in tatters. IMAGES

El Alto (Bolivia) (AFP) – In a classroom in Bolivia’s second city, El Alto, a group of predominantly indigenous Aymara women are learning self-defense. In a country where government data shows that eight in 10 women experience violence at least once in their lives, the “Warmi Power” project has a keen fanbase. Seeking to “merge psychology with self-defense” – as director Laura Roca puts it – the program has trained 35,000 women across Bolivia since 2015.

Van Wyksdorp (South Africa) (AFP) – In South Africa’s arid Western Cape, the environmental organisation Jobs 4 Carbon is planting spekboom, a shrub that it hopes will rehabilitate the area’s degraded soil. The red-stemmed bush used to dominate the area, before decades of over-grazing and land mismanagement destroyed it. N°34K23UJ

Rome (AFP) – Describing a “catastrophic hunger situation” in the Gaza Strip, where “there is a complete breakdown of civil order,” the World Food Programme’s Deputy Executive Director says airdrops are not able to deliver the aid needed. “We are talking about hundreds of thousands of people,” says Carl Skau, “the airdrops is not an option.”

London (AFP) – For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, the London Underground is holding auditions to select the best buskers to perform across the city’s transport network, which sees 3.5 million users daily. From a total of 450 musicians who applied, 280 made the shortlist for 10 days of auditions, with a wide variety of instruments and talents due to be showcased in the hope of receiving a license.

Canberra (AFP) – Malaysia’s prime minister attacks “the differing responses by the West to human suffering,” saying that the region’s reactions to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza “defy reasoning”. Anwar Ibrahim’s comments come as he speaks in Canberra, Australia, where he also warns the West that measures to limit China’s development are – in Beijing’s eyes – “an attempt to deny their legitimate place in history.”