Ahmedabad (India) (AFP) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi casts his ballot in the city of Ahmedabad, during a third round of voting in the country’s ongoing election, which is taking place in seven phases over six weeks. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win a third term in the marathon vote.
Porto Alegre (Brazil) (AFP) – Rescue teams and residents navigate the flooded streets in Brazil’s Porto Alegre after an unprecedented deluge hit the city. The rain has abated, but hundreds of municipalities are in ruins amid fears that food and drinking water may soon run out.
Paris (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is willing to launch an initiative with France for a worldwide truce during the Olympic Games after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Paris (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping toast during a state dinner at the Elysee Palace, given to mark the Chinese leader’s visit to France. IMAGES
Kagtaou (Chad) (AFP) – For decades, cotton has sustained southern Chad. But the prized crop is now under threat as cotton farmers are struck by climate change and conflict with herders. In Kagtaou, some say they have been “abandoned” by the government and are now pinning their hopes on the presidential candidate Succes Masra in the May 6 election.
Malmö (Sweden) (AFP) – Eurovision stars walk the turquoise carpet in cloudy Malmo, Sweden. This year’s contest has been overshadowed by calls for Israel to be excluded over its military offensive in Gaza, which the organisers rejected.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – At the Intelligence Towers area, west of war-torn Gaza City, Palestinians race to avoid being hit by airdropped boxes of humanitarian aid as they rush to collect the precious cargo. The coastal Palestinian territory has been devastated by seven months of war following Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,683 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Guatemala City (AFP) – Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo says he has asked Congress for legal reform to remove Attorney General Consuelo Porras from office amid a corruption investigation. The country’s top prosecutor, who he accuses of plotting to oust him, is already under US and EU sanctions for corruption. “I cannot allow this injustice to continue,” he states.
(AFP) – In a small house near the front line, the location a closely guarded secret, around 40 Ukrainian soldiers gather to celebrate Orthodox Easter. “A spiritual relief” for most of the soldiers, tired after more than two years of harrowing warfare against Russia. Further south, commander Mykola Panychenko preferred to stay away from the service led by a visiting chaplain, stating: “Here, at the front, in these trenches, there is much more death than God.”
Chanthaburi (Thailand) (AFP) – The pungent durian has been farmed in Thailand for hundreds of years and is one of the kingdom’s most lucrative exports. But a vicious heatwave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiralling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry.
