Vatikanstadt (AFP) – During his weekly Angelus prayer, Pope Francis calls for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and throughout the region”, adding that “disarmament is a moral duty”. Francis’ address comes as Egypt on Sunday hosts envoys for talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with heavy fighting ongoing in the nearly five-month-old war.
Beit Lahia (AFP) – The nursery department at Kamal Adwan Hospital struggles to cope with shortages of essential supplies and barely functional incubators while relying on solar energy for its operations. The unit has seen 13 children die from malnutrition, according to the doctor Ahmad Al-Kahlout.
Odessa (AFP) – Seven are confirmed dead, including a three-month-old baby and a two-year-old child, after an overnight drone strike on the southern port city of Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged the West to deliver more air defence systems as a wave of Russian missile, drone and artillery strikes killed several.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Competing claims have emerged since dozens of people were killed on February 28 in a scramble for aid in Gaza, with the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry saying Israeli forces shot them but the army insisting most died in a stampede.
Kapstadt (AFP) – Thousands march in Cape Town, South Africa, during the LGBTQ community’s annual Pride parade, which this year celebrates 30 years of freedom, including for LGBTQ people. Banners can be seen raising awareness for several causes, including a recent crackdown on LGBTQ rights in Ghana.
Dhaka (AFP) – Surviving victims are being treated in Bangladesh after a fire killed at least 46 people. Flames broke out in a popular biryani restaurant and quickly engulfed a seven-floor commercial building in an upscale neighbourhood of Dhaka on Thursday.
Port-au-Prince (AFP) – Gangs aiming to oust Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry wreaked havoc in the capital, as gun attacks near the international airport and a prison marked a second day of extreme violence. At least four police officers were killed on Thursday, and dozens have been wounded since the latest spate of brutality began.
London (AFP) – Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a rare Downing Street statement to the media in which he strongly criticises “Islamist extremists and far-right groups” who he says are “spreading a poison” of extremism. His statement comes after the issue of the Gaza war upended a by-election in Rochdale, with the Labour candidate withdrawing due to anti-Israel comments and the winning politician, leftwing firebrand George Galloway, pledging full support for the Palestinian people.
Campbeltown (AFP) – In the remote town of Campbeltown on the West Coast of Scotland, a one-woman vegan chocolate-making company is providing chocolates for the Oscars goodie bags. Fiona McArthur, who has created six chocolates based on the most tipped films, says “it’s mindblowing” that her chocolates will be going to the nominees for the main categories at this year’s awards.
Geneva (AFP) – A famine in the Gaza Strip “is almost inevitable” unless the Israel-Hamas war changes, the United Nations says. “The production of foodstuff within Gaza itself is almost impossible,” says Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA at a press briefing in Geneva.
