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Paris (AFP) – The lights of the Eiffel Tower go out for several minutes as part of the international campaign Earth Hour. IMAGES

Bourges (AFP) – “It is a very dramatic turning point, a turning point because the risks are becoming increasingly clear,” says France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou while discussing the country’s defence industry.

Shendi (AFP) – Sudanese army spokesman Nabil Abdallah says “our forces completely destroyed the enemy’s fighters and equipment, and seized large quantities of equipment and weapons” in a statement broadcast on state television, as they recaptured the presidential palace in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after a fierce battle.

Rom (AFP) – Musician Felice Carella plays Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ for Pope Francis outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where he remains after 35 days of treatment for pneumonia. The Vatican reported earlier in the week that the 88-year-old pontiff has suspended the use of an oxygen mask, adding that his clinical condition was “improving”.

Costa Navarino (AFP) – Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and first African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday. With Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics, Trump will loom large in her agenda. “I have been dealing with, let’s say, difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old,” she says, adding that “communication will be key.”

Teotihuacán (AFP) – Members of Indigenous communities take part in a ritual in front of the Pyramid of the Sun while celebrating the spring equinox at the Teotihuacan archaeological complex.

Mexico City (AFP) – The access to Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport is partially blocked by Mexican teachers’ unions, protesting over a proposed reform that would raise the retirement age. IMAGES

Maiquetía (Venezuela) (AFP) – Venezuela flies home a plane full of its citizens from Mexico, most of them US-bound migrants whose journey came to a premature end as Washington cracks down on undocumented foreigners. IMAGES

London (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel urges England to play without fear after claiming they were “afraid” in a scathing assessment of their run to the Euro 2024 final under his predecessor Gareth Southgate. Tuchel will take charge of England for the first time when they face Albania at Wembley on Friday in their opening World Cup qualifier.

Helsinki (AFP) – Finland ranks as the world’s happiest country for the eighth straight year in an annual UN-sponsored World Happiness Report, while the United States falls to its lowest ranking ever. “We have quite a well-functioning society,” explains Frank Martela, an academic specialised in wellbeing and happiness research. “We have free elections, free speech, low levels of corruption.”

Brüssel (AFP) – The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, attends the European Summit in Brussels. In an address, he expresses his concerns about the situations in Ukraine and Gaza, lamenting that “death and destruction are back in Gaza”.

Damaskus (AFP) – The German flag waves once again over the newly reopened German embassy in Damascus. Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock officially reopened her country’s diplomatic mission, which closed in 2012 amid the Syrian civil war, on her second visit to the capital since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad more than three months ago.