AFP UK

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – At least 28 people have been injured after a car crashed into a crowd of striking workers in the German city of Munich, with officials reporting that some of the victims are in a life-threatening condition. A car drove into the crowd before being shot at by police, who arrested the driver, at 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker. The incident follows a string of similar events in Germany and comes amid an already inflamed debate on migration in the run up to federal elections on 23 February. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the suspect should be punished and deported.

Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia) (AFP) – Offering a distraction to nervous flyers at Skopje’s airport, Dino is the North Macedonian capital’s ‘Zen Dog’. The four-year-old golden retriever pays frequent visits to the airport where he creates “a more relaxed atmosphere,” says Maja Bajalska Georgievska, head of communications for the company operating the site.

Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – NATO defence ministers are meeting in Brussels in the wake of a call between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin that has raised fears that Ukraine will be cut out of peace talks. Trump’s opening of talks with Putin has shocked many in Europe, who insist Kyiv and its allies must be involved in negotiations to end the nearly three-year war.

Traiguén (Chile) (AFP) – Wildfires ravage southern Chile, including Traiguen in the Araucania region, scorching thousands of hectares and forcing evacuations. IMAGES

Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – “We’re being stabbed in the back,” says Shale Tobe, the vice president of a Canadian steel service center in Toronto after US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to begin enacting tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on March 12.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Emergency services and police at the site the morning after a Russian missile strike hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv killing at least one person and wounding three, the city’s mayor said, after authorities issued a ballistic alert.

Montpellier (AFP) – “This is quite an exceptional event. In fact, it’s the first cheetah birth in Europe in 2025,” says a veterinarian at the Montpellier Zoo, where three cheetah cubs were born on January 24. It is a vulnerable species and breeding in captivity is rare.

Stockholm (AFP) – Dozens of people observe a minute of silence and flags are flown at half-mast in Stockholm a week after a mass shooting in the Swedish city of Orebro, the worst in the country’s history, killed 10.

San Fernando de Henares (AFP) – Former Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales says he is “totally sure” Jennis Hermoso consented to his kiss after the Women’s World Cup Final in 2023. “She gave me permission,” he tells his trial, in which prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half year sentence for sexual assault and allegedly coercing the player to downplay the incident.

Nicolosi (AFP) – Lava flows from Mount Etna in southern Italy during a night-time eruption. Explosions and ash emissions from the volcano have increased, primarily from the summit craters. Meanwhile, a lava flow emerging from a fracture at the base of the Bocca Nuova crater is cutting the side of the volcano in two and has expanded further.

Palmyra (AFP) – Syrians are once again picnicking and smoking shisha amid the ruins of ancient Palmyra, once desecrated by jihadists but still awe-inspiring, and open to the public following the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad. The city’s renowned ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were twice overrun by the Islamic State group, which proceeded to destroy many of the most famed structures.

Berlin (AFP) – Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz says the European Union would present a united front to Washington after US President Donald Trump signed executive orders imposing 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminium. “If the United States leaves us no other choice, then the European Union will act together,” Scholz says in parliament.