Sydney (AFP) – Holding rainbow flags and chanting, people demonstrate against the late cardinal George Pell in Sydney outside St Mary’s Cathedral where thousands attended his funeral service. Pell, a Vatican powerbroker who rose from humble beginnings in small town Australia, died in Rome in January, aged 81. IMAGES
Washington (AFP) – After temporarily hanging up his boots last year, star American football quarterback Tom Brady announces his retirement at the age of 45 after a storied career that included a record-breaking seventh Super Bowl victory in 2021. Brady holds many NFL records, including for the most games won and most Super Bowl MVP awards achieved by a player.
Kinshasa (AFP) – At a mass in front of more than a million people in Kinshasa, DR Congo, Pope France offers a prayer for peace across the country and Africa. About 40% of the DR Congo’s some 100 million people are Catholic.
Lerwick (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The “Up Helly Aa” Viking festival returns to the port town of Lerwick on the Shetland Islands off the north coast of Scotland with a new feature: women are now allowed to take part in the longship-burning parade.
Orlando (AFP) – Former president Jair Bolsonaro vows “to remain active in Brazilian politics,” despite him leaving the country after his defeat in the last election by leftist Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. He has repeatedly cast doubt on the integrity of the election, and on January 8 hundreds of his supporters stormed the seat of power in Brasilia, ransacking the presidential palace, the Congress and the Supreme Court.
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning says that NATO “exaggerates” the threat of China, referring to alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg’s comments during his visit to Japan. Stoltenberg met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday and said afterwards they had agreed to “remain united and firm” in the face of security threats from China, North Korea and the Ukraine war.
Kinshasa (AFP) – Pope Francis condemns what he terms “economic colonialism” in Africa, on a visit to mineral-rich DR Congo. “Hands off Africa… It is not a mine to be stripped nor a terrain to be plundered,” the pontiff says, to applause, in an address at the presidential palace in the country’s capital Kinshasa.
Various (Myanmar) (AFP) – Streets empty and shops closed in protest across Myanmar on the second anniversary of the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. The country’s economy has been paralysed following the military power grab in February 2021 and subsequent fighting between the junta and anti-coup rebels. N°33884X6
Protest artist Elena Osipova opens an exhibit of her paintings denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite government efforts to snuff out any criticism. At its opening in Russia’s second largest city, Saint Petersburg, Osipova says she is not afraid of speaking out.
New York (AFP) – Some of French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe’s earliest illustrations of New York City are on display at FIAF (French Institute Alliance Française), in an exhibition entitled “Signature Sempe” that also includes some of his famous New Yorker covers as well as drawings from Le Petit Nicolas, a series of French children’s books.
Yangon (AFP) – Streets in Yangon are empty as Myanmar marks the second anniversary of the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. Activists called for people across the country to close businesses and stay indoors from 10 am (0330 GMT) to 4 pm. Roads leading to the famous Shwedagon pagoda — a Buddhist shrine that dominates Yangon’s skyline and is usually thronged by worshippers — were largely deserted. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military’s power grab and bloody crackdown on dissent, which has sparked fighting across swathes of the country and tanked the economy. IMAGES
Bangkok (AFP) – Protestors gather outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok on the second anniversary of the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. Western powers launched a fresh broadside of sanctions against the Myanmar generals on the anniversary, but previous rounds have shown little sign of throwing the junta off course. IMAGES
