AFP UK

Madrid (AFP) – Dogs, cats, turtles, and even ferrets are being blessed in Madrid by a priest on the day of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals.

Manila (AFP) – Philippine Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa and her online news outfit Rappler were on Wednesday acquitted of all four charges of tax evasion filed against her, an appellate tax court said. Speaking outside the court she said, “facts win, truth wins, justice wins,” while struggling to hold back tears.

Vatican City (AFP) – From dogs, cows, rabbits and horses to chickens and geese –- animals are being honoured and blessed in St. Peter’s Square by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. The Vatican is celebrating St. Anthony of Abbot, patron saint of animals.

London (AFP) – In central London’s Soho district, Westminster City Council has decided to tackle the issue of public urination in a new way -– by treating the walls with “anti-pee paint.” The paint creates a water-repellent layer, splashing back urine and other liquids.

Lugansk Oblast (Ukraine) (AFP) – On the frontline of the Lugansk region, a Ukrainian artillery unit fires on Russian positions with a British L119 howitzer gun. The weapon is part of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to intensify military support to Ukraine this year by matching or exceeding £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion). “If Western partners supply their artillery weapons and shells, this is immediately felt on the battlefield. We can adequately respond to the enemy and create conditions for advancing,” says Oleksandr, commander of the unit.

Ghazni (Afghanistan) (AFP) – At the Ghazni Court of Appeal in eastern Afghanistan, an old man sentenced to death for murder pleads for his life. The 75-year-old admits to having killed a relative. Under the strict interpretation of Sharia ordered by the Taliban’s supreme leader, he faces public execution — with the sentence carried out by a relative of his victim. AFP had rare access to a court in Ghazni to see how sharia justice is being administered since the Taliban returned to power in August last year.

Fiji (Fiji) (AFP) – The sea has already swallowed the village graveyard in Togoru, Fiji, and long-time resident Lavenia McGoon is dreading the day it claims her house. She has piled old rubber car tyres under the coconut trees that line the beachfront, hoping this makeshift seawall will at least buy her some time. The 70-year-old believes climate change, and the creeping ocean, will inevitably force her family to leave.

Beijing (AFP) – China’s Commissioner for the National Bureau of Statistics, Kang Yi, says the country’s population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades. “By the end of 2022, the national population was 1.41 billion people, a decrease of 0.85 million over that at the end of 2021.”

Hung Yen (Vietnam) (AFP) – On a farm close to Hanoi, Le Van Hien picks out his best bird among 2,000 ‘dragon chickens’ — a breed with legs as thick as a brick that can fetch up to $2,000 a head, popular among the wealth during Lunar New Year. The lumpy legs of the Dong Tao chicken — named after the commune where they’re bred in northern Vietnam — are considered a delicacy and are a particularly popular dish among the wealthy during Vietnamese new year, known as Tet.

Shanghai (AFP) – As Chinese authorities report that the country’s population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades, residents of Beijing and Shanghai give their views. Some see population decline as “inevitable” at a time when young people are increasingly choosing not to have children. The Chinese population stood at around 1,411,750,000 at the end of 2022, Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported, a decrease of 850,000 from the end of the previous year.

Athens (AFP) – People queue to pay their last respects to Greece’s former and last king, Constantine II, ahead of his funeral in Athens. Constantine, who died last week at the age of 82, was the king of Greece until 1973, when a military junta abolished the monarchy.

Darra Adamkhel (Pakistan) (AFP) – The town of Darra Adamkhel lies within Pakistan’s conservative tribal belt, where decades of militancy and drug-running in the surrounding mountains earned it a reputation as a “wild west” waypoint between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But a short walk away from the gun market, a town library is thriving.