AFP UK

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.

Quito (AFP) – Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa and Venezuela’s opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia meet at Carondelet Palace in Quito. IMAGES

Shantou (Chine) (AFP) – Physical exertion and deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes have long excluded women from lion dancing, but one troupe in southern China is training female dancers in an attempt to revitalise the tradition. Lion dancing mixes acrobatics, martial arts and theatre and is believed to bring prosperity and protection from evil spirits.

Kinshasa (AFP) – Protesters are targeting the French and Belgian embassies in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa, criticising international inaction amid the escalating conflict in the country’s east. The M23 armed group and Rwandan soldiers have entered the city of Goma following days of deadly fighting with government forces.

Goma (RD Congo) (AFP) – Pro-Rwandan forces have entered the besieged city of Goma, the regional capital of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following days of fierce and deadly fighting with government forces. The conflict has cut off water supply and electricity to local residents calling for the international community to help.