Vladimir (Russia) (AFP) – The Kremlin’s most prominent critic Alexei Navalny has died in an Arctic prison, say Russian authorities, announcing his death a month before an election poised to extend Vladimir Putin’s hold on power. Navalny’s death after three years in detention and a poisoning which he blamed on the Kremlin deprives Russia’s opposition of its figurehead at time of intense repression and Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine.
Tokyo (AFP) – Wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with delicious fillings, “onigiri” rice balls are shaking off their reputation as a cheap and uninspiring snack in Japan, and enticing hungry converts abroad.
Cairo (AFP) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva calls to “stop the killing and collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza, in a speech delivered before a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo at the delegate level on the situation in the Strip. TO COMPLETE VID34JD67K_EN
Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip warned this week of medicine shortage, saying 350,000 people in Gaza who have chronic diseases do not have medication amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Athens (AFP) – Greece’s parliament overwhelmingly adopts a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption in a landmark reform promoted by the conservative government despite opposition from the powerful Orthodox Church.
Athens (AFP) – Greece’s parliament overwhelmingly adopts a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption in a landmark reform promoted by the conservative government despite opposition from the powerful Orthodox Church.
Geneva (AFP) – Humanitarian chiefs at the United Nations in Geneva say they have run out of words to describe the horrors unfolding in Gaza, stressing that states and especially Israel cannot “offload” responsibility for the carnage onto aid workers. “It will not be our fault if people suffer, it will be the fault of those who decide to make them suffer,” Martin Griffiths, United Nations aid chief, says.
Lima (AFP) – A Lima police squad with an officer disguised as a bear paid a surprise visit with romantic gifts to capture two women members of a drug trafficking gang on the eve of Valentine’s Day. For some time now, local police have been tricking criminals with disguises and operations launched on special dates.
London (AFP) – Supporters of Julian Assange, including his wife Stella and the editor in chief of Wikileaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson, hold a press conference ahead of his final appeal against extradition from the UK to the United States. The US wants to put the Australian publisher on trial for divulging American military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A two day hearing is set to begin at the High Court in London on February 20.
Kharkiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Under the constant threat of rocket attacks, children in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv have started going to school underground. In September 2023, a school was established in the city’s metro network. “The children who come here are frightened by the war and they are in a stressful situation”, says school director Olha Belykh. “Teachers, tutors and psychologists work with them here, providing psychological and medical assistance.”
Nezahualcóyotl (Mexico) (AFP) – More than a thousand couples get hitched in a free mass wedding near Mexico City on Valentine’s Day. The municipality of Nezahualcoyotl has organized this celebration for 11 years, and the event has now reached a record number of participants, with some 1,200 couples.
Yerevan (AFP) – Azerbaijan is planning a “full-scale war” against Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says, two days after a skirmish on their border left four Armenian troops dead. Tensions between the two Caucasus neighbours have remained high since Baku re-captured the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh last September in a lightning military offensive.
