Paris (AFP) – When asked about the controversial rallies in France celebrating the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, French government spokesperson Sophie Primas evokes words she says were used by the far-right figurehead himself: “In death, even the enemy has the right to respect”.
Vatikanstadt (AFP) – Pope Francis watches circus artists perform after giving a speech during his general audience at the Holy See. The show includes acrobatics, dance and a couple of elephant costumes.
Brüssel (AFP) – The EU rejects Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg’s charge that the bloc engaged in “censorship” with its tech regulations, a day after the online giant slashed its content moderation policies in the United States. “We absolutely refute any claims of censorship on our side,” European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho tells reporters in Brussels.
Brasilia (AFP) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets crowds outside the Planalto presidential palace after the end of the ceremony held on the anniversary of the attack by supporters of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro on January 8, 2023. This was Lula’s first notable appearance since undergoing emergency brain surgery on December 2024.
Gurgaon (AFP) – Carterpuri, or the “village of Carter”, was abruptly renamed from Daulatpur Nasirabad after an hour-long visit by the late US president Jimmy Carter in 1978. The renaming was suggested by India’s then-prime minister Morarji Desai, who accompanied Carter on the visit to the small hamlet, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from New Delhi. As news of Jimmy Carter’s death reached the village, residents paid their respects by hosting a condolence meeting.
Panama City (AFP) – Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez Acha welcomes Venezuelan opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia at the Presidential palace in Panama City. Gonzalez Urrutia is due to hold a meeting with Panama President Jose Raul Mulino. Venezuela is on tenterhooks as it braces for pro- and anti-government protests — the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s swearing-in for a third term rejected by the opposition and much of the international community as illegitimate. Exiled Gonzalez Urrutia is on an international tour to drum up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step aside. IMAGES
Pacific Palisades (United States) (AFP) – A ferocious wildfire in the upscale Los Angeles suburb of Pacific Palisades burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday, as hurricane-force winds tore through the region.
Caluire-et-Cuire (AFP) – To mark the tenth anniversary of the January 2015 attacks in France, cartoonist Lacombe talks to AFP about the “shock” of the deadly attack by Islamist gunmen on the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Twelve people died in the attacks, including eight editorial staff, while a separate but linked hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris by a third gunman on January 9, 2015, claimed another four lives.
Yarmuk (AFP) – Residents of Syria’s Yarmuk, located on the outskirts of Damascus, return home after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. Yarmuk camp, established in the 1950s to house Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their land after Israel’s creation, had become a key residential and commercial district over the decades. As Syria sank into civil war in 2011, around 140,000 residents fled the following year, and few have found their homes still standing in the eerie wasteland that used to be Yarmuk.
Pueblo Garzón (AFP) – A town in sleepy rural Uruguay may not be the most obvious location for an international art festival, but Pueblo Garzon has big ambitions to join the world’s cultural hotspots. More than 20 artists from countries including Brazil, Singapore, South Korea and the United States took part in the three-day CAMPO Artfest in late December. The 8th edition of the event, created by American photographer Heidi Lender, drew around 6,000 visitors to the town with fewer than 200 residents.
Jerusalem (AFP) – “We see a lot of airflights coming in to Damascus, and a lot of meetings with high officials,” says Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar Tal during a press conference in Jerusalem as he warns the international community about Syria’s new authorities and their change in appearance that “disguise the real essence of this group.”
Washington (AFP) – A major winter storm covers Washington, DC, in snow. Residents of the US capital take part in a giant snowball fight and remove snow from sidewalks and cars. The storm blanketed a large swath of the central and eastern United States in snow and ice — disrupting travel for millions and contributing to at least five deaths — before heading offshore.
