Kamyanka (Ukraine) (AFP) – The eastern Ukrainian village of Kamyanka, on the outskirts of Izyum, used to be home to 1,200 people. But after months of war and occupation by Russian forces, when Ukrainian soldiers recaptured the village in September, just 15 residents remained. One family managed to survive in the midst of heavy fighting and near total destruction.
Buffalo (AFP) – The monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the Christmas weekend continues to inflict misery on New York state. A Buffalo resident describes the last five days as the “worst thing I’ve ever seen.”
Washington (AFP) – Visitors step on the frozen Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, after the extreme weather over the weekend sent temperatures to below freezing in all mainland US states.
Nashville (AFP) – Passengers are stranded at Nashville International Airport after several Southwest Airlines flights were cancelled due to a severe winter storm.
Taipei (AFP) – Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen announces an extension in mandatory military service from four months to one year, citing the threat from an increasingly hostile China. Beijing considers self-ruled, democratic Taiwan a part of its territory, to be taken one day, by force if necessary, and the island lives under the constant fear of a Chinese invasion.
Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese residents are preparing for change after Beijing said it would scrap mandatory Covid quarantine for overseas arrivals, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation. “The travel plans I made three years ago may finally become a reality,” a Beijing resident says.
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin says China will scrap mandatory quarantine on arrival, further unwinding years of strict virus controls as the country battles a surge in cases.
San José (AFP) – Cowboy hats and boots, in the purest “wild west” style, flood the streets of downtown San José to proudly display the horse culture in Costa Rica, as jockeys participate in the traditional ‘El Tope’ parade.
Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – Cyclists in Pakistan’s smog-smothered Lahore are enduring hazardous pollution levels, abuse from drivers and social stigma in a campaign to get people to ditch their cars.
Washington (AFP) – People walk over the frozen Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, DC, as a historic winter storm and Arctic blast engulf the US.
Buriram (Thailand) (AFP) – As the sun came up, 13 Thai Eastern Sarus cranes were released into the wild, noisily flapping over a rippling reservoir in northeastern Thailand, the latest effort to revive the almost-extinct species in the kingdom. More commonly known as Thai cranes, the birds nearly disappeared from Thailand roughly 50 years ago — they were last spotted in the wild in 1968 — before a collaboration between the Thai government, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo and United Nations to save them.
Rohingya refugees, including women and children, receive emergency treatment after their boat carrying nearly 200 people landed on the coast of Indonesia’s western Aceh province, according to authorities.
