Escuintla (Guatemala) (AFP) – Guatemalan police guard the surroundings of the Renovacion I maximum-security prison in Escuintla where gang-affiliated inmates had taken guards as hostages in retaliation for the government’s refusal to transfer gang leaders to a lower-security prison. Police managed to regain control of the prison and free the guards. IMAGES
Penco (Chili) (AFP) – Aftermath of a wildfire that burned out of control in Penco, in southern Chile. The wildfires, burning for two days now in the Nuble and Biobio regions, have killed at least 15 people and forced more than 50,000 to evacuate, the government says. IMAGES
Fans arrive at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat three hours ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations final. Host nation Morocco, looking to win the title for the first time in 50 years, face off against Sadio Mane’s powerful Senegal side.
Speaking about a potential US invasion of Greenland as the television shows Donald Trump almost continuously in her home, Nuuk resident Ulrikke Andersen tells AFP she has already made contingency plans to flee by boat and hide in a hut in South Greenland. “We are not naive. We know the strong military position the US has. We cannot fight them,” she adds.
Lisbon (AFP) – Portuguese citizens start to cast their votes in Lisbon for the first round of the presidential election. Polls predict Andre Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega (“Enough”) party, could top the first round but would lose round two, regardless of which of the other candidates he encounters there.
Mikhmas (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – “What happened here was an unusual attack. 60–70 settlers entered the encampment all at once”, says Musa Kaabneh, a resident of the Khirbet al-Sidra Bedouin community, where settlers set fire to two homes and two cars near the village of Mikhmas, east of Ramallah. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society says two Palestinians and two international solidarity activists were injured in the attack. While attacks by Israeli settlers affect communities across the West Bank, the semi-nomadic Bedouins are among the territory’s most vulnerable, saying they suffer from forced displacement due in large part to a lack of law enforcement.
Nuuk (AFP) – Thousands of people protest in the capital of Greenland against President Donald Trump’s plans for the US to annex the Danish autonomous territory. “We are not for sale. We are a free people, we have always been free people,” says Aviaq Brand.
Seoul (AFP) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says that the prospect of raising tariffs against countries contributing to Greenland’s security would be a mistake, adding that she has spoken with US President Donald Trump and that the issue should be addressed within NATO following what she describes as a lapse in communication among allies. The comments come during a meeting with the Italian press in Seoul, the final stop of Meloni’s Asia tour.
Lagos (AFP) – Amphibious excavators escorted by armed policemen roar through Makoko, Africa’s largest and most legendary floating slum, crushing hundreds of wooden shacks built on stilts above the lagoon in the heart of Lagos. “If they evict us from here, it will be very difficult for us to survive,” says mother of four Muibat Kpetosi.
Damascus (AFP) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issues a decree declaring Kurdish a “national language”, in an apparent gesture of good will towards the minority following clashes in past days. The Kurdish administration subsequently called the announcement “a first step” but said it “does not satisfy the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian people”.
Havana (AFP) – Cuba holds two days of tributes for the 32 Cuban soldiers killed during a US military operation in Venezuela on January 3 that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Twenty-one of the soldiers were from the Cuban interior ministry, which oversees the intelligence services, officials have said. The others were from the military.
Tehran (AFP) – Iran’s supreme leader says authorities “must break the back of the seditionists”, blaming US President Donald Trump for “casualties” after a deadly crackdown on protests against the country’s clerical leadership. Weeks of demonstrations have subsided after a crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead under an internet blackout.
