Cali (Colombia) (AFP) – Volunteers and rescue workers in Cali continue to clear rubble and try to locate earthquake survivors as the critical 72-hour window for rescue operations neared its end. The magnitude 7.4 quake, the strongest to hit Colombia this century, has killed 265 people, injured more than 3,500 and left almost 500 missing, according to local authorities. IMAGES
Castellón de la Plana (Spain) (AFP) – Day briefly turns to night in Spain, as the country witnesses its first total solar eclipse in more than a century, plunging it into eerie darkness in one of nature’s greatest spectacles. “It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” says 54-year-old Anabel Poveda.
Getxo (Spain) (AFP) – One of nature’s greatest spectacles –- a rare total solar eclipse –- casts its shadow, briefly turning day into night in Russia’s remote Arctic north and western Iceland before heading towards mainland Europe. Supplies of special viewing glasses were in high demand, as a partial eclipse was visible across Europe, as well as in Canada, the northern United States and northwest Africa.
Turkistan (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – In an effort to tackle severe droughts that plague the country, Kazakhstan has turned to cloud seeding, using special aircraft to disperse a substance that sticks to cloud droplets, making them heavy enough to fall as rain. Kazakh authorities are betting on the technique to reduce the impact of drought and water shortages in its southern Turkestan region, the country’s leading cotton-growing region. “We are not creating the cloud,” explains Adnan Yarmohammed, an Emirati official involved in the initiative, adding, “We are just enhancing the cloud that’s already available.”
Rothbury (AFP) – A leading UK conservation charity is crowdfunding £30 million to buy a swathe of rolling moorlands and woodlands, in the largest land sale in England for three decades. The estate hosts thousands of hectares of “rare beauty” owned by an English lord and could become one of the UK’s biggest sanctuaries for biodiversity. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we can’t let this go,” says Peter Batchelor, the project’s managing director at The Wildlife Trusts.
Rescuers and volunteers continue to search for survivors underneath the rubble and clear debris in Pereira after an earthquake that killed more than 200 people and demolished scores of buildings in the west of the country. Colombia has declared three days of mourning for victims. IMAGES
Fontanil de los Oteros (Spain) (AFP) – British astrophysicist Graham Jones and his team have travelled to northern Spain, where the eclipse will be visible in its entirety, a phenomenon that “hasn’t come to mainland Europe since August 1999,” he says. Across Europe, people have been scrambling to buy special eclipse glasses to safely observe the sun, with many retailers selling out.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to seize ships belonging to European countries in retaliation for plans to intercept and seize Russian vessels suspected of being part of Moscow’s ‘shadow fleet’. “We will be forced to respond in kind,” Putin says while overseeing naval drills in Russia’s Far East.
Vatican City (AFP) – During his weekly audience at St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV expresses solidarity with all the victims of the earthquake in Colombia, which has killed at least 240 people, while rescue efforts continue. “I assure you of my prayers for their families and for all those affected by this tragedy. I express my gratitude to all those working in rescue and relief operations,” he says before a large audience of worshippers.
Prahovo (Serbia) (AFP) – At its lowest level on record, the Danube has revealed the wrecks of a Nazi fleet in an area between Serbia and Romania. Dozens of these warships were sunk in the autumn of 1944 by the German army in an attempt to slow the Red Army’s advance along Europe’s second-longest river.
Beijing (AFP) – Customers in Beijing enjoy free access to AI tools at a bar that has become popular among developers, startup founders, and investors through the Chinese social media platform WeChat. Located in Zhongguancun, nicknamed “China’s Silicon Valley”, the AGI Bar features two boxy Nvidia workstations used to host DeepSeek V4 Flash on-premises.
Shiwa mine (Afghanistan) (AFP) – In Afghanistan’s northeast Badakhshan province, dozens of excavators operate day and night to extract gold from the mountains where villagers and their livestock once roamed. Some residents in the area have profited from the gold rush, only to regret it later, such as farmer Muhammad Amin.
