AFP UK

Minneapolis (United States) (AFP) – “Our neighborhoods and communities have been brutalized by them. So any decrease in the numbers and the severity is just a huge relief,” says Kyle Wagner, a protester in Minneapolis, reacting to news that some federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations will leave the city from January 27. In a marked change of tone, Trump said he had sent his top border enforcer Tom Homan — whom the president described as “tough but fair” — to Minneapolis, replacing controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.

Istanbul (AFP) – For centuries, cats and Istanbul’s residents have been very close, an ancestral culture that remains even today. When stray cat Kanyon’s bed was stolen at a shopping mall, residents decided to build him a new home. He’s not alone: according to City Hall, Istanbul has more than 160,000 cats living on its streets who are regularly fed and fussed over by the city’s 16 million residents. “Istanbulites are animal lovers,” says 57-year-old Gaye Koselerden, adding, “They can even curl up on the most expensive duvet. No one would say a word.”

Hyderabad City (Pakistan) (AFP) – Rusted nails hold used infusion tubes on the wall of a clinic run by one among hundreds of thousands of unqualified doctors operating across Pakistan. Dozens of patients visit the small roadside shop each day in the southern Sindh province. “I have spent so much time in this field. I have worked with several doctors. Thanks to God, I have confidence to diagnose a patient and treat the disease,” says Abdul Waheed, who opened the facility a few months ago outside Hyderabad city.

Rome (AFP) – Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says that overall security for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan will be managed by Italy, with any involvement of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement force (ICE) in collaboration with Italian police. “If they come, they will come to cooperate, not to intervene on the streets,” the minister tells reporters. + COMPLETES 946Z6CQ +

Tokyo (AFP) – Hundreds gather to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years as ties between the Asian neighbours fray.

Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Footage from the Israeli army shows what it says is the operation to recover the body of Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, which also claims he was repatriated to Israel for burial. The removal puts an end to a lengthy process to locate and return the last of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas militants during their October 2023 attack on Israel.

Jerusalem (AFP) – As the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, have been identified and are being repatriated to Israel for burial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the next step is “disarming Hamas and demilitarising the Gaza Strip […] not reconstruction” in a speech to Parliament.

New York (AFP) – New Yorkers take part in a snowball fight in Brooklyn’s McCarren Park, as a major winter storm sweeps through vast expanses of the United States. “I think we all needed a little bit of levity and lightness” and “to remember that we’re all community and we can look out for each other,” one participant tells AFP.

Minneapolis (AFP) – Protesters march through the streets of Minneapolis following the fatal killing of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents, before gathering at a growing memorial near the site of the shooting to mourn and demand accountability. Pretti was killed less than three weeks after another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, was shot dead by an ICE agent — on a street just over a mile (1.6 kilometers) away.

Taipei (AFP) – An American climber took on Taiwan’s tallest building on Sunday, without ropes or safety gear, in a daring feat that drew hundreds of spectators to the tower’s base and many more online through a live Netflix broadcast. “The Taipei 101 is actually an incredibly family-friendly climbing objective,” Alex Honnold told reporters after completing the feat. “For most climbs you go to some far-flung place, you don’t have cell service… Here we Facetime the kids, we fly home tomorrow… it’s pretty chill.”

Yangon (Myanmar) (AFP) – Polls close in the final round of Myanmar’s month-long election, with the dominant pro-military party on course for a landslide in a junta-run vote critics say will prolong the army’s grip on power. The elections are the first to be held by the military junta that came to power after the 2021 coup. “We hope for a situation where we can live peacefully and comfortably,” says one voter. Another worries that the elections are “unlikely to be free and fair.”

Philadelphia (AFP) – Images posted on social media show snowfall and snow clearing operations across the US, from Texas to Pennsylvania. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that up to 240 million Americans could be affected by the storm.