Mateka (Lesotho) (AFP) – In northwest Lesotho, residents of the Kome Caves say their home is sacred and that they plan on staying there for as long as they live, despite problems with the water supply and access roads. The caves became a hideout for members of the Basia and Bataung tribes in the 19th century, when conflict and a severe drought ravaged the region.
London (AFP) – Damien Hirst burns hundreds of his paintings in front of cameras at the Newport street gallery in London, as part of his project “The Currency”. The burnt works are those that buyers have chosen to keep in the form of NFTs, after a sale of 10,000 paintings by the artist.
Brussels (AFP) – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says Russia was striking Ukraine’s infrastructure to make up for battlefield losses by its troops. “I think what we saw yesterday is actually a sign of weakness, because the reality is that they are not able to make progress on the battlefield. Russia is actually losing on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg tells journalists. SOUNDBITE
Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) (AFP) – A Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia, a Ukraine-controlled city in southern Ukraine, leaves the building of a car dealership in ruins. Moscow has carried out a series of mass strikes across Ukraine since Monday. Ukraine’s emergency services said on Tuesday that the overall toll had risen to 19 dead and more than 100 people wounded.
Izyum (Ukraine) (AFP) – As Russia launched a huge wave of missile strikes against Ukrainian cities Monday, defiant rail workers in the east of the country managed to restore a severed rail link.
Geneva (AFP) – Russia’s missile blitz on Ukrainian cities “may have violated the principles of the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law”, the UN says.
Tokyo (AFP) – Japan reopens its doors to tourists Tuesday after two-and-a-half years of tough Covid restrictions, with officials hoping an influx of travellers enticed by a weak yen will boost the economy.
Las Tejerías (Venezuela) (AFP) – “We don’t know if there are still people under this rubble,” says Isaac Castillo as residents help rescue teams comb through mud and debris in search of 52 missing people after a landslide swept through Las Tejerias in Venezuela, killing at least 36.
Na Klang (Thailand) (AFP) – Monks pray at a temple in northeastern Thai province of Nong Bua Lam Phu ahead of the cremation for the victims of nursery attack, which will be held early evening on Tuesday. Sacked police officer Panya Khamrab killed 36 people — 24 of them children — last Thursday in a gun and knife rampage, in one of the kingdom’s worst-ever mass killings.
Swat (Pakistan) (AFP) – 2,000 girls and boys walk out of classes accompanied by their teachers in protest after a driver was shot dead and a student critically wounded in an attack on a school bus in Pakistan on Monday. The Swat Valley, where the attack took place, was once overrun by the Pakistani Taliban, who notoriously shot Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on a school bus in the same city ten years ago. The area has seen a resurgence of militancy since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last year with a spike in attacks — mainly targeting security forces — in recent weeks.
Bangla Bazar (Bangladesh) (AFP) – Periodic flooding that inundates homes, markets and schools has always been part of the lives of millions of farmers and fishermen who crowd the riverbanks, some of the most densely populated areas of Bangladesh. Scientists say climate change has increased the severity and frequency of the phenomenon, with more erratic rainfall causing more cyclones and flash floods.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations denounces Russia as a “terrorist state” during an urgent General Assembly meeting to discuss Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions. “Russia has proven once again, that this is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible ways,” says Sergiy Kyslytsya, speaking after Russia launched a deadly barrage of missile strikes at cities across Ukraine.
