Canuto (Ecuador) (AFP) – Ecuadorans in Canuto cast their votes to decide who will lead the violence-wracked Andean nation through its worst crisis in half a century. Sixteen candidates are vying to become president for the next four years, including hawkish young incumbent Daniel Noboa and his leftist opponent Luisa Gonzalez. IMAGES
Dakar (AFP) – Several relatives of people who have died or disappeared while attempting to emigrate from Senegal attend a prayer session to remember their loved ones on a beach near the capital Dakar. The ceremony was part of “Commemor-action”, an international drive to support the families of those who have died or disappeared while trying to emigrate.
Bogotá (AFP) – Indigenous people of the Colombian Amazon warn that deforestation and drug trafficking will likely increase if USAID support ends due to Trump’s decision. Osvaldo Muca, President of OPIAC (National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon), urges the Colombian government to replace USAID financial support, as its absence “could have serious consequences” in the Amazon territories.
San Pedro Sula (Honduras) (AFP) – A plane carrying deported Honduran migrants from the United States lands at Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport where Antonio Garcia, the Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister, says there’s a lot of anxiety among migrants in the United States who fear being deported if they leave their homes.
Hezbollah supporters burn tyres on a road leading to Beirut’s international airport after visiting US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus warned against any presence of the Iran-backed group in Lebanon’s new government, saying it was “defeated” in its war with Israel.
New Orleans (AFP) – “I just want it to be a fun game, not be political”, says a football fan ahead of the Super Bow, as Donald Trump will attend the game. “It is a good thing that he joins and see how people enjoy themselves”, says another, as the attendance of a sitting US President will be the first for the biggest annual event in the American sporting calendar. The Super Bowl’s high-profile halftime concert on Sunday could be an opportunity for anti-Trump sentiment, with rapper Kendrick Lamar, who has been critical of the president in the past, headlining the show.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that North Korean troops are back on the front line in Russia’s Kursk region, after reports that Moscow had withdrawn them after suffering heavy losses.
Bengaluru (India) (AFP) – Every morning Indian farmer R Murali follows the same routine, opening an app on his phone to check if his pomegranate trees need water, fertiliser or at risk from pests. The 51-year-old is one of a growing number of farmers in India’s vast agricultural sector turning to artificial intelligence. The country’s crops are often hit by water shortage, floods or extreme weather, and the new technology offers some respite to those who can afford it.
Bangkok (AFP) – Bangkok’s skyscrapers lie shrouded by a thick layer of pollution haze, which continues to cause health concerns for residents of the Thai capital. On 31 January, the city ranked seventh on a list of the world’s most polluted, with air monitor IQAir recording the level of cancer-causing PM2.5 particles at 86 micrograms per cubic metre, far above the measure of 15 considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization.
Miami (AFP) – Empty shelves and eye-watering price tags greet those looking for eggs in supermarkets across the United States, where bird flu has hit poultry farms and triggered a nationwide egg shortage. With various strains of the virus detected, including at least one causing severe symptoms in humans, mass culls have been carried out on flocks, severely reducing the supply of a staple product.
Beijing (AFP) – China says it “regrets” Panama’s decision to pull out of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), accusing the United States of using “pressure and coercion to smear and undermine” the project, a massive infrastructure initiative aimed at expanding Beijing’s clout overseas. On 6 February, Panama confirmed it had withdrawn from the BRI, following threats made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Chinese influence on the Panama Canal. Since winning the US election in November, President Donald Trump has refused to rule out using force to seize the canal, built by Washington over a century ago and later handed over to Panama.
Washington (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes US President Donald Trump’s proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza as “the first original idea to be raised in years”. Speaking in Washington DC, where he met with Trump, Netanyahu says “I think it is worth listening very carefully to this idea.”
