Manavgat (Turkey) (AFP) – The baby loggerhead sea turtles emerge from their eggshells and begin their first challenge in life: a wobbly dash across the sand to the moonlit waters of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast — sometimes with a helping hand from volunteers. Despite grave threats from humans and predators such as birds, crabs and ants, protection measures are bearing fruit on Turkey’s southern coast.
Mount Popa (Myanmar) (AFP) – The Taung Kalat shrine perched on an extinct volcano in Myanmar once thronged with the bustle of pilgrims praying to flower-eating spirit Popa Maedaw, but civil war has largely cut the complex off from the faithful. With the plains around it a battle zone, the shrine is now quiet apart from a few handfuls of tourists and monkeys.
Bogotá (AFP) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro approves the “No More Olé” bill banning bullfighting in the country, marking the end of a practice that was constitutionally recognized as culturally rooted. Standing before a crowd gathered at the traditional bullring in downtown Bogota, renamed Plaza Cultural La Santamaria, President Petro says he hopes it will become a center for “life instead of death.”
Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladeshi student protest leader Nahid Islam talks to AFP from his hospital room in the capital Dhaka, bruised and battered and fearing for his life.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says that an Israeli operation in the main southern city of Khan Yunis killed 70 people and wounded more than 200, after Israel warned its forces would “forcefully operate” in the area.
Taoyuan (Taiwan) (AFP) – Taiwan launches weeklong war games aimed at more realistically simulating an attack from China amid a growing threat of conflict.
Eldoret (Kenya) (AFP) – Kenyan rangers move quickly but carefully as they handle the giraffe that’s just been darted by a veterinarian on a farm in Sergoit, in western Kenya, the first stage of an operation to move it hundreds of kilometres away.
Jacksonville (AFP) – Vice President Kamala Harris — who is the first female, Black and South Asian vice president in US history — received the endorsement from President Joe Biden after he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race over health concerns and has won the crucial backing of Democratic heavyweight Nancy Pelosi, to lead the party against Donald Trump in November.
Daruvar (Croatia) (AFP) – Croatian national police chief Nikola Milina confirms that six people were killed in a shooting at a nursery home in a small town in country’s east. The victims include five residents of the home and one employee, with police arresting the gunmen shortly after. According to media reports, the perpetrator’s mother was among those killed.
Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladesh’s top court has pared back contentious civil service hiring rules but failed to mollify university student leaders, whose demonstrations against the scheme sparked nationwide clashes that have killed at least 150 people.
Washington (AFP) – Americans in Washington, California and New Year react to Joe Biden dropping out of the US presidential election and endorsing Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee.
Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis expresses hope that the Olympic Games in Paris would offer “an opportunity to establish a truce in wars, demonstrating a sincere desire for peace,” during the traditional Angelus prayer.
