World

In Cape Town, South Africa, the historic Bo-Kaap neighborhood, renowned for its colorful houses and the Auwal Masjid mosque built in 1794, is experiencing significant transformation. Beneath the call to prayer that has echoed for over two centuries, concerns are mounting over gentrification driven by rising property prices, foreign investor demand, and the rapid expansion of short-term rentals like Airbnb. Local photographer Yasser Booley, an eighth-generation resident, observes that the sale of homes to high-net-worth individuals, often disconnected from the local culture, is gradually "choking" the living heritage.

Provisional results announced by Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou on state television show that 82-year-old Denis Sassou-Nguesso has won the presidential election in the Republic of Congo with nearly 95% of the vote. His closest rival, Mabio Mavoungou Zinga of the Alliance party, garnered only 1.48%, with the results pending certification by the Constitutional Court, securing Sassou-Nguesso a fifth consecutive term.

Uzbekistan has dispatched a shipment of humanitarian aid weighing over 290 tons to the Afghan city of Hairatan. The delivery took place on March 18 and was timed to coincide with the Ramadan Hayit holiday, highlighting the country's ongoing humanitarian efforts in the region amid broader geopolitical challenges.

Samarkand has commenced the second phase of its urban transport modernization, which will see the addition of 250 new electric buses to its fleet. The total cost of the project is estimated at $120 million and is being implemented with financial support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Plans to expand the eco-friendly vehicle fleet were announced during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's visit to Samarkand.

The US and Israeli regimes claim their escalating military assault on Iran is about nuclear proliferation, deterrence, and regional security. However, recent developments suggest another, older logic at work. The deeper objective is not simply weakening Iran or forcing government change. It is safeguarding the mobility of oil – the lifeblood of the global capitalist economy.

The BBC has obtained footage and interviews from Tehran depicting a city of strained nerves, with constant anticipation of the next blast and relentless fear of the state security apparatus. Baran, a pseudonym for a businesswoman in her thirties, is now too scared to go to work: "With the start of the drone attacks, no one dares to go outside. If I open my door and step out, it is like gambling with my life."

Israeli forces struck a building in the Bashoura neighborhood in central Beirut, Lebanon, as reported by Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). An explosion and smoke were observed shortly after Israel issued an evacuation threat for the site. This attack was part of a deadly wave of Israeli strikes across Lebanon that killed at least 20 people and wounded 24 on Wednesday, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, with raids stretching from the capital through southern and eastern parts of the country.

Thirty years ago, countercultural thinkers declared the internet an independent space. Today, it is controlled by a handful of corporations. Were we deceived? In the beginning, it was just a game we have all played numerous times: select the squares with a stop sign, enter the text below, reassemble the puzzle – and check the box declaring, "I am not a robot." Yet, every time we select images determining whether what we see is a cat or a croissant, we end up working for Big Tech.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pledged "revenge" after Israeli strikes killed security chief Ali Larijani and commander of the Basij paramilitary forces Gholamreza Soleimani. Araghchi asserted that Tehran's political system remains strong as the conflict entered its 19th day.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has responded to takeover threats from Donald Trump, warning that the US would face "unbreakable resistance" if it attempted to seize the country. Diaz-Canel accused the US of threatening "almost daily" to overthrow Cuba's constitutional order by force, using as a pretext an economy weakened by Washington's own policies, which he claimed had "attacked and sought to isolate [Cuba] for more than six decades."

The Chairman of Qatar's General Authority of Customs, Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Jamal, has told Al Jazeera that there are no indicators calling for concern over shortages of goods or disturbances to supply chains inside the State of Qatar. He asserted that supply stability in Qatar is supported by diversified import sources, efficient logistics infrastructure, and sufficient strategic stocks of essential goods, dismissing fears amid heightened regional instability.

Fugitive Indian diamond dealer Nirav Modi is reportedly seeking to reopen his extradition case at the London High Court. According to Indian media outlets, including The Times of India and Press Trust of India, Modi claimed through his barristers that he faces a "real risk of torture" if extradited from the United Kingdom to India.