Karachi (AFP) – The death toll from a mall fire in Pakistan’s biggest city rose to at least 55 people, as emergency workers scour the building’s charred remains for more victims. A government committee has launched an investigation, but the cause of the inferno was not immediately clear.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – An Israeli air strike killed AFP freelancer Abd Raouf Shaat and two other journalists in Gaza, the territory’s civil defence agency said, while the military said it struck “suspects” operating a drone. Shaat had contributed regularly to AFP as a photo and video journalist. The other journalists killed in the strike are Mohammed Salah Qashta and Anas Ghneim.
Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – President Donald Trump demands immediate talks on acquiring Greenland in a hardline speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but says that while the United States possesses “unstoppable force” it will not use it to take the Arctic island from Denmark.
Al-Hol Camp (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s army enters the country’s vast Al-Hol detention camp that houses relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists, after Kurdish forces withdrew the previous day. Located in the country’s northeast Hasakeh province, Al-Hol houses around 24,000 people, including 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 women and children of 42 nationalities.
Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – California Governor Gavin Newsom urges European leaders to “stop trying to appease” Donald Trump, saying the US president’s tariff threats over Greenland are “madness” and “insulting” to Europe. “The European Union should hit him in the face and push back very aggressively. Fight fire with fire. Trump is weak,” Newsom says on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
New York (AFP) – People take to the streets in New York, Boston, and Burbank to mark the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, with many voicing their opposition to the methods used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Gaza (Mozambique) (AFP) – Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) shares footage of a rescue in the flood-stricken Gaza province. Heavy rain and storms in Mozambique and South Africa have killed at least 150 people, authorities say.
Guatemala City (AFP) – Guatemalans call for an iron fist to stamp out gang violence after the murder of nine police officers and riots in several prisons, which led to the declaration of a state of emergency on January 18.
Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – EU chief Ursula von der Leyen vows that Europe’s response to US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats on Greenland will be “unflinching”. Her comments come during the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – President Emmanuel Macron decries US President Donald Trump’s threat to countries opposing his plans to seize Greenland as “useless aggressivity”. “We do prefer respect to bullies,” he says at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Hasakeh (Syria) (AFP) – Clashes erupt on Turkey’s border between police and pro-Kurdish protesters angered by a Syrian military offensive targeting Kurds. Syria’s government has since announced a four-day ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Nuuk (AFP) – Greenlanders say US President Donald Trump “should stay away” as he ramps up his campaign to take over the vast Arctic island. “We live peacefully here,” office worker Nina Carlsen tells AFP. “So I’m fine without him.”
