AFP UK

La Havane (AFP) – A fire brakes out at a refinery in Cuba’s capital, as the island nation already struggles under a US blockade of oil deliveries. IMAGES

Tumbler Ridge (Canada) (AFP) – “She is forever my baby, because that’s what she was. She was a baby,” says Sarah Lampert, whose 12-year-old daughter Ticaria Lampert was killed in a mass shooting at a local school in the remote Canadian mining town of Tumbler Ridge. Eight people were killed in the shooting and dozens more injured. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is due to visit the remote mining town.

Zanesville (United States) (AFP) – “Don Colossus,” a 15-foot statue depicting US President Donald Trump, is at the center of a dispute between the Ohio-based sculptor who created it and the cryptocurrency investors who commissioned it. Sculptor Alan Cottrill says the group of investors who ordered the statue haven’t fully paid him yet. “They’ve been actually illegally using, infringing on my copyright of my original piece of art right up to the present day,” he adds.

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – “We need interceptors, we need the ammunition to make sure Ukraine can stay strong in the fight” says Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, speaking at the 62nd Munich Security Conference. “What I will also be doing today and tomorrow is make clear that the Russians are not winning this…” Rutte says. “This so-called Russian bear is not there.”

Rio de Janeiro (Brésil) (AFP) – King Momo and the Queen of the Carnival kick off the vibrant festivities of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Carnival as they receive the key to the city from Mayor Eduardo Paes during the official opening ceremony. IMAGES

Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) election committee spokesman Mahdi Amin calls the party’s sweeping election win “a victory of the people” and says it will “ensure a free land again where every citizen’s rights and freedom will be protected”. The BNP secured a landslide victory in the first elections since a deadly 2024 uprising, winning a majority of more than two-thirds of the available seats.

Ganvié (Benin) (AFP) – On the ‘Lover’s Canal’ in Ganvie, a lake village in Benin, love can flow in unusual ways. Long a place for chance encounters, this stretch of water has over the years become a favoured meeting spot for young men and women in search of a soulmate. “It’s here that we still meet our sweethearts, that we swap our numbers scribbled on little bits of paper,” says fisherman Paulin Agbokounou.

Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) (AFP) – The domes and facades of mosques and government buildings are lit up in a colourful display for the 15th annual Sharjah Light Festival in the emirate of Sharjah.

Caracas (AFP) – Relatives of political prisoners chain themselves outside a detention center in Caracas after parliament postpones adoption of the amnesty bill. IMAGES

Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – NATO must be “more European-led”, says Secretary General Mark Rutte. “How does that work out? It means Europeans spending more, taking more responsibility for their own defence,” Rutte tells a press conference at a NATO summit in Brussels.

Istanbul (AFP) – The UN’s climate chief urges countries to unite against an “unprecedented threat” to international cooperation from pro-fossil fuel forces — issuing his appeal as US President Donald Trump rattles the global order. Speaking in Istanbul, as Turkey prepares to host the COP31 climate summit later this year, Simon Stiell, the head of the United Nations climate body, says, “COP31 in Antalya will place and will take place in extraordinary times. We find ourselves in a new world disorder… the very concept of international cooperation is under attack.”

Caracas (AFP) – Thousands take to the streets of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, on Youth Day as the government debates an amnesty bill. The landmark bill could be passed on February 12th, granting amnesty to political prisoners and marking an early milestone in the transition from the rule of toppled leader Nicolas Maduro. IMAGES