AFP UK

Brasília (AFP) – Brazil has appointed its first Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, who will head the country’s newly created Ministry for Indigenous Affairs. The move comes after former president Jair Bolsonaro’s pursuit of policies hostile to both the climate and indigenous communities. The country’s new president, Luiz Inacio Lula, campaigned in part on promises to protect the Amazon rainforest, and Guajajara has vowed to hold him to them.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Gathering in Kyiv’s Maidan Square with pictures and banners, the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war are trying to raise awareness for their loved ones in the hope that they could be returned. “I was looking and asking everywhere,” says Svitlana, whose son has been held for eight months, “I even wrote to the other side, DPR and LPR (the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples’ Republics). I don´t know where my child is.”

Beijing (AFP) – For an equestrian sports industry pegged back by its reliance on expensive imported horses, Zhuang Zhuang, China’s first competition-approved clone, has presented an opportunity to break free. The popularity of equestrian competition in China has taken off in recent years, but horses costing “from a few million to 10 or 20 million yuan” has put the halters on it.

Lützerath (Germany) (AFP) – German police continue their operation to clear anti-coal protesters from the abandoned town of Luetzerath. 2,000 activists set up a camp in the village, which is set for demolition to enable the expansion of the neighbouring Garzweiler coal mine. Around 200 protesters still remain, clinging to trees or on the roofs of buildings, as police work to dislodge them.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister, Ganna Malyar, says the country’s forces are fighting to retain control of Soledar, a town in the eastern Donetsk region, but the situation remains “difficult”. Malyar describes the battle as “the fiercest and heaviest fighting” and says that Russian forces are “suffering heavy losses”.

Planada (United States) (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders in California on Tuesday as the state was ravaged by the latest in a barrage of storms that have left at least 17 people dead. Torrential downpours caused flash flooding, closed key highways, toppled trees and swept away drivers and passengers — including a five-year-old-boy who remains missing in central California.

Cairo (AFP) – Many Egyptians complain they can no longer afford food or find jobs as prices “change every day”, after the local pound lost half its value on January 11 compared to March, following a third central bank intervention as part of an International Monetary Fund loan agreement.

Bakhmut (Ukraine) (AFP) – Elena Molchanova is one of only five doctors left in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which lies in ruins following months of Russian attacks. Despite life-threatening circumstances, she holds fast. “I am a little afraid, but it is okay. I need to do my job. No matter what,” she says.

Cusco (Peru) (AFP) – The deadly clashes have spread to the tourist city of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, where one protester was killed and more than 20 people, including six police officers, were wounded. IMAGES

Brasília (AFP) – Security measures outside Planalto Palace, National Congress and Supreme Federal Court, amid rumours of pro-Bolsonaro protests after supporters of ex-president Bolsonaro stormed the seat of power during riots that triggered an international outcry.

Mubende (Uganda) (AFP) – Ugandan health officials and the country’s WHO representative have announced the end of a deadly Ebola outbreak. On September 20, 2022 Uganda declared an outbreak of the Sudan Ebola strain, which killed 55 people and caused the two districts at the centre of it to be locked down for two months. In line with the WHO rules, which say a disease outbreak is over if there are no new cases for 42 days, Ugandan officials report that the last confirmed patient was discharged on November 30.

London (AFP) – Ambulance drivers and paramedics in the UK have staged their second walkout in two months as they call for better pay and conditions. Those on the picket lines today in London say they have suffered “real-terms pay cuts” as inflation soars into double-digits. In the midst of widespread industrial action, which has seen NHS nurses, passport officials, postal workers and rail staff walk out in recent months, the UK government has proposed controversial new legislation that would force unions to provide a “minimum service”.