ZVORNIK (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (AFP) – A Bosnian firefighter rescues a half-submerged car from the freezing Drina river in eastern Bosnia. The country, like the rest of the region, has been hit by heavy rains and snowfalls since the weekend, leaving rivers swollen, homes flooded and causing power cuts.
Cúcuta (Colombia) (AFP) – At a border crossing into Colombia, Venezuelans burdened with suitcases and anxiety leave their country days after the US military strike that ousted the leftist leader Nicolas Maduro. While many welcome Maduro’s toppling, they remain uneasy as Trump claims to be “in charge” and Maduro loyalists swear in an interim leader.
Bogotá (AFP) – Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio says oil and economic interests are at the heart of the “conflict” between the United States and Venezuela, amid rising diplomatic tensions following a US military operation that resulted in the capture of deposed President Nicolas Maduro.
Paris (France) (AFP) – As Brigitte Bardot is laid to rest in her hometown of Saint Tropez, here’s a look at some of the key moments of the French film icon’s life, including the controversy she courted with her far-right views. BRIGITTE BARDOT
Ghoriyan (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Clutching a photo of her late teenage son, Mah Jan recalls how he left their village in western Afghanistan in search of a better life in Iran, only to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. Habibullah is just one of at least 18 migrants who died last month while trying to cross illegally into Iran from Afghanistan’s Herat province, according to officials.
Harbin (China) (AFP) – Fireworks light up the night sky over huge illuminated ice sculptures as China’s annual Harbin Ice Festival officially opens.
London (AFP) – London Zoo carries out its annual animal stocktake, a process dating back two centuries. The stocktake sees the zoo officially record more than 8,000 animals on an international conservation database.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates a mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St Peter’s Basilica, after closing the Holy Door, marking the end of the Jubilee year. “After this year, will we be better able to recognise a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbour in the foreigner, and fellow travellers in those who are different?”, he asks.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates a mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St Peter’s Basilica, after closing the Holy Door, marking the end of the Jubilee year. “After this year, will we be better able to recognise a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbour in the foreigner, and fellow travellers in those who are different?”, he asks.
Nuuk (AFP) – “You don’t know if he should be taken seriously or not,” says Kunuk Evaldsen, a business owner in Nuuk, Greenland, following comments made by US President Donald Trump in which he repeated his desire to annex the mineral-rich autonomous Danish territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Trump’s designs on the Arctic territory. “This is not something we appreciate,” says Christian Keldsen, director of the Greenland Business Assocation. “It is not acceptable in the civilised world.”
New York (AFP) – Dozens of protesters for and against US intervention in Venezuela gathered Monday outside a federal court in New York, where ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared for his first court hearing.
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Liam Rosenior has been confirmed as Chelsea’s new head coach on a six-and-a-half-year deal, saying the opportunity to succeed Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge was too good to turn down. Rosenior has just three years’ experience as a manager, with Hull City and most recently with French club Strasbourg, and has never coached in the Premier League. But he had been widely touted as the frontrunner to succeed Maresca since the Italian left Chelsea last week.
