Pope Leo XIV celebrates a mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St Peter’s Basilica, after closing the Holy Door, marking the end of the Jubilee year. “After this year, will we be better able to recognise a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbour in the foreigner, and fellow travellers in those who are different?”, he asks.
Nuuk (AFP) – “You don’t know if he should be taken seriously or not,” says Kunuk Evaldsen, a business owner in Nuuk, Greenland, following comments made by US President Donald Trump in which he repeated his desire to annex the mineral-rich autonomous Danish territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Trump’s designs on the Arctic territory. “This is not something we appreciate,” says Christian Keldsen, director of the Greenland Business Assocation. “It is not acceptable in the civilised world.”
New York (AFP) – Dozens of protesters for and against US intervention in Venezuela gathered Monday outside a federal court in New York, where ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared for his first court hearing.
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Liam Rosenior has been confirmed as Chelsea’s new head coach on a six-and-a-half-year deal, saying the opportunity to succeed Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge was too good to turn down. Rosenior has just three years’ experience as a manager, with Hull City and most recently with French club Strasbourg, and has never coached in the Premier League. But he had been widely touted as the frontrunner to succeed Maresca since the Italian left Chelsea last week.
In the dense hill forests along Bangladesh’s border with war-torn Myanmar, villagers are losing limbs to landmines, casualties of a conflict not of their making.
Wilman Gonzalez picks through the wreckage of his home as he describes how a bombing killed his 78-year-old aunt Rosa during the US raids that toppled Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
Beijing (AFP) – China “strongly condemns” the US assault on Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the US’s brazen use of force against a sovereign state and forcible control of its president,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian says during a press briefing.
Tokyo (AFP) – A Japanese sushi entrepreneur shows off a giant bluefin tuna at his restaurant after he paid a record $3.2 million for it at a prestigious annual new year auction in Tokyo’s main fish market, smashing the previous all-time high. The tuna was then butchered and turned into sushi, selling for around 500 yen ($3) per roll.
Altadena (United States) (AFP) – Altadena was hardest hit by the fires that ravaged parts of the sprawling US metropolis of Los Angeles in January 2025, destroying thousands of homes and killing 19 people. Slowly, however, the suburb is coming back to life. Amid the thousands of empty lots, a few frames are beginning to rise from the ground. But there is palpable anxiety that this diverse town, home to a sizable African American population, will lose its soul because people cannot afford to rebuild.
Beijing (AFP) – People flock to a frozen lake in China’s capital as ice rinks open across the city, skating around on bikes, sleds and bicycles. Temperatures in Beijing regularly drop well below freezing in the winter months.
“It’s been a bad start from the beginning. I think he couldn’t cope with the pressure,” says a Manchester United fan after Ruben Amorim was sacked by the club, bringing a dramatic end to his turbulent 14-month spell as manager of the struggling Premier League giants.
Caracas (AFP) – People gather in the streets of Caracas near Venezuela’s congress, as a new legislative year is inaugurated. Delcy Rodriguez was recognized as the country’s interim president on January 4, after former president Nicolas Maduro was removed from power by US forces. Rodriguez served as vice president of Venezuela under Maduro. IMAGES
