Tokyo (AFP) – Japan’s space agency, JAXA, names its first new astronaut candidates in over 13 years, with a surgeon and a climate scientist chosen from more than 4,000 applicants. Ayu Yoneda, a 28-year-old surgeon, will become just the third woman ever to join the two-year space training programme. “I was elated” she says, “the reason I dreamt about becoming an astronaut goes back to my childhood.”
Donetsk Oblast (Ukraine) (AFP) – In Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the scene of some of the war’s longest-running and bloodiest fighting, soldiers hold positions just a few hundred metres from the enemy. For the Ukrainian 68th Brigade, not far from the city of Vugledar, the only thing separating them from nearby Russian troops is a wide and heavily mined field, littered with the wreckage of armoured vehicles.
Lima (AFP) – Workers from Peru’s Ministry of Health fumigate El Sauce cemetery in Lima after the country declared a “health emergency” in 13 departments due to a dengue outbreak. “It’s important to attack the spread of this mosquito” explains Martin Ramos Hidalgo, a biologist at the Health Ministry, as workers search for larvae in bags of water under flowers left in the cemetery. Peru has, so far in 2023, recorded more than 11,500 cases of dengue and 16 deaths as a result of the disease. The numbers represent a 72% increase from the same period in 2022.
Firozabad (India) (AFP) – Cricketer Sonam Yadav could not afford sports shoes when she was younger, but now the 15-year-old is set to play in India’s Women’s Premier League and says the money will transform life for her family. Sonam was the youngest player drafted for the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 tournament when she joined Mumbai Indians at auction and took home a cheque for one million rupees ($12,000).
Tešanj (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (AFP) – With steady growth and an unexpected boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bosnia’s home-grown furniture industry has proven a rare success story in the impoverished Balkan country that has been plagued by decades of economic malaise following a disastrous civil war in the 1990s.
Seoul (AFP) – New South Korean reality show “Physical: 100” pits men and women in peak condition against each other in ultra-difficult physical challenges.
SODA SPRINGS (United States) (AFP) – A blizzard warning is underway in the mountains of Northern California, with the Sierra Nevada experiencing exceptional snowfall exceeding 11 metres cumulatively in some places. It’s good news for ski resorts, but creating dangerous conditions for drivers.
Los Angeles (AFP) – US actress Courteney Cox unveils her Walk of Fame Hollywood star, surrounded by “Friends” co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow. Cox, who played Monica Geller in the hit-series from 1994 to 2004, says “It means the world to me that I’m going to be here forever, recognized for my work in this business. That means so much to me”.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong is scrapping its mask mandate from 1 March, Chief Executive John Lee announces, ending the financial hub’s last major Covid curb as it seeks to emerge from the pandemic.
Beijing (AFP) – China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismisses the accusation from the US Department of Energy that the coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak. The department now joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation in believing that the pandemic, which has left nearly seven million people dead, was the result of a mishap in a Chinese research facility.
Adiyaman (Turkey) (AFP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asks for forgiveness over rescue delays while visiting one of the areas hit hardest by the deadly earthquake earlier this month. Erdogan, who is seeking another term as president after two decades in power, has received strong criticism from earthquake survivors in Adiyaman in the southeast. In the last election in 2018, Erdogan handily beat his secular opposition rival in that province.
Hawara (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are left reeling after deadly violence and arson by Israeli settlers targeted a town where two Israeli brothers were killed. Dozens of Israeli settlers set homes and cars ablaze in the northern town of Huwara overnight, after a day of Israeli-Palestinian talks in neighbouring Jordan aimed at quelling a surge in violence in the Palestinian territory.
