Surat Thani (Thailand) (AFP) – As the world’s largest producer of natural rubber, Thailand supplies almost 40 percent of global stocks of rubber in 2021. But the industry boom roughly a decade ago also comes with massive deforestation, plummeting biodiversity and soaring soil erosion. Thailand is working with its farmers to reward sustainable practices for the country’s rubber industry.
New York (AFP) – “We are extremely disappointed in today’s verdict,” Cesar de Castro, the attorney for Genaro Garcia Luna, tells reporters after his client, a once-powerful Mexican government minister, was convicted of narcotics smuggling charges by a US jury.
Appiano Gentile (Italy) (AFP) – Inter Milan train on the eve of their Champions League last 16 first leg against Porto.
Athens (AFP) – At a meeting with Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “strategic failure” as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to “systematically” continue the offensive that began almost a year ago. “One year after President Putin attacked Ukraine, It’s clear that his war has been a strategic failure in every way,” Blinken says in Athens at the close of a five-day trip to the region.
Warsaw (AFP) – US President Joe Biden arrives at the airport of Poland’s capital Warsaw. He is met by a Polish delegation as well as the US ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski. Biden gets in a vehicle where he will be taken to his hotel in downtown Warsaw by motorcade.
Azaz (Syria) (AFP) – “We’re afraid of ending up under the rubble like other people,” says Khadija al-Khalaf as she sits on the street alongside her children after running out of their home. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked northen Syria and neighbouring Turkey on Monday, two weeks after a devastating earthquake left nearly 45,000 dead across both countries.
Warsaw (AFP) – US President, Joe Biden, tells a crowd in Warsaw that Ukraine “stands strong… it stands tall, and most importantly it stands free”. SOUNDBITE
Warsaw (AFP) – US President, Joe Biden, tells a crowd in Warsaw that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, “thought autocrats like himself were tough and that leaders of democracy were soft, and then he met the iron will of America and the nations everywhere that refuse to accept a world governed by fear and force.” SOUNDBITE
Warsaw (AFP) – US President, Joe Biden, says “our support for Ukraine will not waver”, addressing a crowd in Warsaw, the Polish capital. Speaking after a visit to Kyiv earlier in the week, Biden says “the Ukrainian people’s love for their country will prevail.” SOUNDBITE
“Brutality will never grind down the will of the free. And Ukraine… Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia” says US President, Joe Biden, speaking to a crowd gathered outside Warsaw’s Royal Castle. Biden’s address comes after he visited Kyiv earlier in the week, ahead of the conflict’s first anniversary. SOUNDBITE
Warsaw (AFP) – Speaking outside the Royal Warsaw Castle, US President Joe Biden refutes the claims made by Russian President Putin that the West sought to harm Russia. “The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia” he says, “the West was not plotting to attack Russia.” Biden’s comments come after a surprise visit to Kyiv earlier in the week, ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. SOUNDBITE
São Sebastião (Brazil) (AFP) – Residents and rescue teams work to remove the mud that flooded the city of Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo State, after violent mudslides claimed the lives of at least 40 people.
