Ankara (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says talks on ending the war in Ukraine should not take place “behind the backs” of those affected by “Russian aggression”. Speaking in Ankara at a press conference alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zelensky urges the involvement of Ukraine and its European allies in the “development of the necessary security guarantees.”
Aadaïssé (Lebanon) (AFP) – Residents of the southern Lebanese village of Odaisseh return to destroyed homes as the army deploys to border villages vacated by Israeli troops. Israeli forces withdrew from all but five points in south Lebanon, allowing displaced residents to return to border villages largely destroyed in more than a year of hostilities.
Belle-en-Ile-en-Mer (Morbihan) (France) (AFP) – Much has been written about suspected sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, but the UN says fishing trawlers, not spies, are causing most of the damage. “Generally, around 80 percent of cable cuts are attributed to fishing and anchoring,” explains Tomas Lamanauskas, deputy head of the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union.
Beijing (AFP) – China says it hopes “all parties and stakeholders can participate” in talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, ahead of a meeting in Saudi Arabia between top US and Russian diplomats.
Paris (AFP) – European leaders at an emergency meeting in Paris Monday were divided on how to respond to US President Donald Trump’s dramatic policy shift on Ukraine, with France and Britain pushing for security guarantees and Germany bristling at suggestions troops could be deployed.
Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – A Delta Air Lines jet with 80 people onboard crash-landed Monday at Toronto’s main airport, officials said, flipping upside down and leaving at least 18 people injured but causing no deaths.
Mexico City (AFP) – Mexico will take Google to court if it insists on changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name to “Gulf of America” for Maps users in the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum says during her daily press conference. She said her government had written again to the US company arguing that President Donald Trump’s executive order on the subject only applies to the part of the continental shelf belonging to the United States.
Berlin (AFP) – Veterans of the German anti-fascist movement, the “Omas Gegen Rechts”, or “Grannies Against The Right”, have ramped up their demonstrations ahead of the federal election on February 23, with the far-right AfD party performing well in the polls.
Bristol (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he wants the UK and Europe “to step up” in the response to the war in Ukraine, ahead of a meeting of European leaders in Paris to address Washington’s shock policy shift on the war. Starmer’s comments come after he wrote in a British daily newspaper that he was ready to send troops to Ukraine if it was needed to ensure the security of Britain and Europe.
Kolkata (AFP) – It’s the end of the road for Kolkata’s beloved yellow taxis. Numbers of the Hindustan Ambassador, which first rolled off the assembly line in the 1950s, are dwindling fast, and a recent court ruling means that those that do remain will be forced off India’s roads entirely in the next three years. “The end of these taxi cars also marks our end,” says Kailash Sahani, who has sat behind the wheel of an Ambassador cab for the past four decades.
Moscow (AFP) – US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to end an “absolutely abnormal period in the relations between the two great powers,” says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking on the eve of high-level talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
Taiwan (AFP) – Taiwan’s iguana population has exploded since the spikey-backed giant lizards were introduced from Central and South America more than 20 years ago as exotic pets. Now, armed with slingshots, harpoons, and darts, bounty hunters are being hired by the government to cull the lizard population invading neighbourhoods and ravaging crops.
