AFP News Agency

🏊‍♀️ Chinese swimming sensation Yu Zidi added to her fast-growing reputation as the 13-year-old phenomenon beat multiple Olympic medallist Regan Smith in the women's 200m butterfly in a personal-best time in Shenzhen. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbD

🇮🇳 Mumbai rings in local new year with colourful 'Gudi Padwa' festival Huge crowds of Hindu devotees pack the streets of a southern Mumbai neighbourhood to celebrate the "Gudi Padwa" festival, which marks new year in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

🇳🇴 Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit said she was "manipulated" by convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in an interview broadcast Friday in which she sought to explain their close relationship. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbX

BREAKING Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit says she was "manipulated" by convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in an interview broadcast Friday in which she sought to explain their close relationship

🇨🇳 🇺🇸 China will be in a stronger position to extract concessions from Donald Trump when the US president finally visits Beijing after becoming entangled in his Middle East war, analysts say. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbn

💉 A deluge of weight‑loss drugs is set to transform the global fight against obesity as India prepares to unleash low‑cost generic versions of injections like Ozempic after a key patent expired Friday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbe

🇨🇳 Pop Mart shoppers offer mixed thoughts on upcoming Labubu movie Shoppers at Pop Mart's flagship store in Shanghai have a mixed reaction to the announcement of an upcoming Labubu movie.

🇰🇷 K-pop megastars BTS have released a new album, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in Seoul that will go ahead despite leader RM being advised to rest his injured ankle. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbd

🇵🇭 Filipino jeepney drivers protest against high fuel prices Lining the streets of Manila, the drivers of the city's jeepney minibuses protest against soaring fuel prices in the midst of the Middle East war, as well as what they say is a lack of government support.

🇨🇳 Seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan made professional snooker history on Friday by crafting the highest break ever of 153 at the World Open in China. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbM

🇰🇵 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Ju Ae tried out the country's new battle tank in large-scale military drills, state media reported on Friday, in the latest sign that she was being groomed as his heir. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbg

🇫🇮 Finland tops happiness index, Afghanistan ranked bottom Finland has maintained its position as the world's happiest country for a ninth year running, according to the World Happiness Report, with Afghanistan at the bottom of the list.

🇧🇷 Amazonian turtles released in Brazil's Rio Negro Riverine communities and scientists release around 1.500 Amazonian turtles at Jau National Park, on the Rio Negro in the Amazon rainforest, as part of a program to assist in the reproduction of the species.

🇮🇷 🇺🇸 Firefighters battled a blaze at a giant oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday after a fresh drone attack as Iran kept up a wave of strikes on its neighbours and vowed there was "no concern" about its missile production. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLbp

🇸🇩 Sudanese artists cling to their craft in displacement shelter The soft sounds of a blues tune float through a Port Sudan school-turned-shelter, home to 120 Sudanese artists displaced by three years of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

🇰🇷 KPop Demon Hunters brings global fans to Seoul’s old city wall Nearly 10 months have passed since the release of KPop Demon Hunters, but many foreign tourists still visit one of its locations -- Naksan Park in Seoul. The film won two Oscars and is Netflix's most-watched original film.

Trump gets approval for gold coin in his likeness u.afp.com/SLLn

Different types of naval mines. AFP Infographic showing the different types of naval mines that the United States has accused Iran of using in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim denied by Tehran, which used this strategy on a large scale during its war against Iraq in the 1980s

Fireworks explode over 'ninots' during the "Nit de la Crema" (the night of the burning) on the last night of the Fallas Festival in Valencia. The 'fallas' —gigantic cardboard structures depicting current events and celebrities, with individual figures known as 'ninots' (meaning 'doll' in Valencian language) — are burned in the streets of Valencia as a tribute to Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the carpenters' guild 📷 Jose Jordan

K-pop megastars BTS released a new album Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band's Korean roots and identity, as buzz builds ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul u.afp.com/SLLb

Fifteen women urge France to investigate the former European head of modelling agency Elite for possible links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein u.afp.com/SLLZ