Bateke Plateau (Gabon) (AFP) – Footage shows rare evidence of an endangered chimpanzee using a stick as a tool in Gabon’s Bateke Plateau National Park. The footage was captured by the National Agency for National Parks of Gabon (ANPN) and Panthera, an NGO working for the preservation of wildlife in the region.
Manila (AFP) – After heatwaves last year forced millions of children out of school, the Philippines has shifted the school year earlier and tried to equip classrooms to ensure the higher temperatures caused by climate change do not interfere with learning.
Libreville (AFP) – A short boat ride away from the capital Libreville, soft white sandy beaches, lush greenery, and a national park teeming with wildlife, of the Pointe-Denis peninsula could be one of Gabon’s best kept secrets. The African nation which touts itself as the “Last Eden” is hoping to double the number of foreign tourists it attracts a year, likely to be priority for the winner of the April 12 presidential election.
Moscow (AFP) – Moscow has seen almost a month’s worth of snowfall in the last few days, with Russian forecasters noting that the return of winter weather to the capital in April is rare.
Washington (AFP) – Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about its parent company Meta, alleges to US senators that the social networking giant collaborated with the Chinese government. Meta’s family of apps is currently blocked in China. The company’s communications director told AFP the testimony was “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.”
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – The EU says it is “ready to make deals” as it pauses planned tariffs on US goods following President Donald Trump’s U-turn on massive duties. “We want a negotiation. We want to talk”, says Olof Gill, spokesman for the European Commission in Brussels.
Santo Domingo (AFP) – Relatives, friends, and Dominican President Luis Abinader attend the wake of merengue singer Rubby Perez in Santo Domingo. Perez died after the roof of a crowded nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed while he was performing on stage. IMAGES
Santo Domingo (AFP) – Teams continue to work at the Jet Set nightclub as authorities announce the death toll has climbed to 218, the Dominican Republic’s worst disaster in decades. IMAGES
Kinshasa (AFP) – THE HERDS, an international public art and climate action project which is taking life-size animal puppets on a journey through major cities in Africa and Europe, begins it’s trek in DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa. The epic journey which ends in the Arctic Circle aims to highlight the impact of climate change on animals.
Beijing (AFP) – US tariffs go “against the whole world” and have “seriously impacted the stability of the global economic order” says Beijing, after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 125-percent levy on China.
Cairns (Australia) (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that it is “quite clear” that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs “doing harm to the United States”.
Taipei (AFP) – Stocks on the Taiwan Stock Exchange surge in early trading, tracking global markets higher, after US President Donald Trump suspended his highest trade tariffs, except for those on China. “I believe Taiwan has a very high chance of benefiting” from a US-China trade war, stock analyst Alex Lin tells AFP.
