AFP Video

El Alto (Bolivia) (AFP) – In a classroom in Bolivia’s second city, El Alto, a group of predominantly indigenous Aymara women are learning self-defense. In a country where government data shows that eight in 10 women experience violence at least once in their lives, the “Warmi Power” project has a keen fanbase. Seeking to “merge psychology with self-defense” – as director Laura Roca puts it – the program has trained 35,000 women across Bolivia since 2015.

Van Wyksdorp (South Africa) (AFP) – In South Africa’s arid Western Cape, the environmental organisation Jobs 4 Carbon is planting spekboom, a shrub that it hopes will rehabilitate the area’s degraded soil. The red-stemmed bush used to dominate the area, before decades of over-grazing and land mismanagement destroyed it. N°34K23UJ

Rome (AFP) – Describing a “catastrophic hunger situation” in the Gaza Strip, where “there is a complete breakdown of civil order,” the World Food Programme’s Deputy Executive Director says airdrops are not able to deliver the aid needed. “We are talking about hundreds of thousands of people,” says Carl Skau, “the airdrops is not an option.”

London (AFP) – For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, the London Underground is holding auditions to select the best buskers to perform across the city’s transport network, which sees 3.5 million users daily. From a total of 450 musicians who applied, 280 made the shortlist for 10 days of auditions, with a wide variety of instruments and talents due to be showcased in the hope of receiving a license.

Canberra (AFP) – Malaysia’s prime minister attacks “the differing responses by the West to human suffering,” saying that the region’s reactions to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza “defy reasoning”. Anwar Ibrahim’s comments come as he speaks in Canberra, Australia, where he also warns the West that measures to limit China’s development are – in Beijing’s eyes – “an attempt to deny their legitimate place in history.”

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Forced to flee her home by Israeli bombardment, Asmaa Ahmed gave birth in the middle of the night in a Gaza City school that had no electricity.

Beijing (AFP) – China’s foreign minister Wang Yi calls Israel’s war in Gaza a “disgrace for civilisation” while speaking to journalists at a press conference.

Medellín (Colombia) (AFP) – Demonstrators march in Medellin against social reform projects of the government of Gustavo Petro and the violence that persists in the country despite peace negotiations with armed groups. IMAGES

Palawan (Philippines) (AFP) – With its windows shattered, a Philippine supply boat sits in the harbour of Palawan following a run-in with Chinese Coast Guard vessels. This week, Philippine authorities accused the Chinese boats of causing two collisions and using water cannon, actions they say left four crew members injured. The incident occurred in waters around Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where the two countries have competing territorial claims.

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Ten years on from her mother’s disappearance on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Grace Nathan still struggles to accept that she is gone. Like many of those who lost loved ones when the plane vanished, with all 239 people onboard, Grace feels a lack of closure. “The same questions we asked 10 years ago still haven’t been answered” she says. The flight became the object of the largest search in aviation history, but since its disappearance just a few fragments have been found.