Washington (AFP) – A US passenger plane has collided mid-air with a military helicopter above the city of Washington. The aircraft was carrying 64 people, including important figure skating athletes, when it crashed into the Potomac River, prompting a major emergency response and the grounding of all flights. Army officials say the helicopter was carrying three soldiers on a “training flight”.
Khan Younès (Territoires palestiniens) (AFP) – Surrounded by Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters struggling to hold back the crowd, Israeli hostages Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. The handover is part of an exchange deal with Israel, reached after more than 15 months of war.
Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump has unveiled a surprise plan to detain thousands of undocumented migrants in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba’s military prison used to detain terrorism suspects since the 9/11 attacks. The announcement comes as he signs the Laken Riley Act, a bill cracking down on migrant criminal suspects.
Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – A months-old lion cub has been rehomed at Lahore’s Safari Zoo after being confiscated from a Pakistani YouTuber who received the golden cub as a wedding gift in December. Influencer Rajab Butt has avoided jail after agreeing to broadcast animal welfare content.
Tecoluca (Salvador) (AFP) – As part of President Nayib Bukele’s ongoing crusade against gangs in El Salvador, the government opened the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, which will soon mark its second anniversary. In this maximum-security facility, imprisoned gang members – who spoke to AFP under the watchful eye of prison guards – are well aware they will “never leave.” But rights activists say thousands rounded up under a state of emergency are innocent.
Pacific Palisades (AFP) – The house that Michael Kovac built is the only one on his street still standing after a huge fire raced through his Los Angeles neighborhood. Now, this architect says the city needs to learn from homes like his as it begins to rebuild. The walls are covered with non-flammable cement fiber siding, the windows are insulated to have the highest degree of protection against heat, the vents are covered in metal mesh, and the fireproof roof is topped with soil and vegetation.
Kairo (AFP) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says that the forced displacement of Gazans is an “injustice that we cannot take part in” after US President Donald Trump floated a plan to move Palestinians from the territory to Egypt and Jordan.
En Gedi (AFP) – The Dead Sea, nestled where Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian territory meet, has famously been dying for years. The shrinking sea’s highly salty waters are rapidly retreating due to industrial use and climate change, which is accelerating their natural evaporation. With war raging in the Middle East, efforts to tackle this ever-worsening ecological disaster appear to have dissolved, too. The Israeli government claims it is looking into several solutions, including building a desalination facility and forging a canal from either the north or the south to address the general water shortages in the region, including the Dead Sea.
Lerwick (AFP) – Squads take part in the ‘Up Helly Aa’ festival in Shetland’s main town of Lerwick, which celebrates the Scottish islands’ Viking past. The event, first held in 1881, is known for its festive parties that involve traditional Shetland dancing and copious alcohol consumption. The procession culminates in the participants using their flaming torches to set ablaze a replica Viking longship.
Prayagraj (AFP) – A pre-dawn stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering killed at least 30 people in India, with many more injured after a surging crowd spilled out of a police cordon and trampled bystanders. Deadly crowd incidents are a frequent occurrence at Indian religious festivals, including the Kumbh Mela, which attracts tens of millions of devotees every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj.
Bogor (AFP) – From incense offerings in Beijing to prayer rituals at temples in Bangkok and Taipei, hundreds of millions of people across Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year, ushering in the Year of the Snake.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Two British artists, Rob Aspire and Dominic Johnson-Hill, have painted colourful birds on abandoned houses on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, hoping to “bring them back to life” and raise awareness of biodiversity.
