Moscow (AFP) – Dozens of people in Moscow take a dip in freezing water to mark Epiphany, a major holiday in Orthodox Christianity. The ritual marks the baptism of Jesus Christ and is said to cleanse the participant of sin.
Pasadena (United States) (AFP) – Pet owners are reunited with their animals at the NGO Pasadena Humane, which took in more that 500 pets when fires broke out in the Los Angeles area on January 6. Some were given to the organisation temporarily by evacuated residents while they had nowhere to keep them, and others are stray animals. Photos of the strays found are being published on the website of the shelter, allowing owners who had to leave them behind when they evacuated the fire to identify them.
Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) (AFP) – Mexican authorities give journalists access inside a 300-meter-long tunnel that was discovered on January 10 under the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Juarez. Authorities say the tunnel was linked to a natural sewage system at the border, and that investigations are ongoing to determine how long the tunnel had been in use, and as to how it was able to operate before its discovery.
Kolkata (AFP) – Protest outside Sealdah court in India, where 33-year-old Sanjoy Roy is found guilty for the rape and murder of a female doctor, a crime that sparked nationwide protests and hospital strikes last year. Roy is brought to court by a prison van and greeted by a crowd of protesters, held at bay by police officers, demanding he be given the death penalty.
Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) (AFP) – United States Customs and Border Protection agents put up barricades on the Paso del Norte International Bridge that connects Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez with El Paso, Texas. The barbed wire fencing is placed on the border as part of security exercises ahead of Donald Trump taking office for a second term as US president on January 20.
Washington (AFP) – Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, who have travelled to the US capital to attend Monday’s inauguration, share their disappointment after the announcement that the events will move indoors due to expected freezing weather. The change of plan means Trump will not stand on the Capitol steps overlooking the National Mall, which traditionally hosts a large crowd to welcome new presidents. Instead, the Republican president will give his Inauguration Address in the Capitol Rotunda.
Prayagraj (India) (AFP) – Keen to improve India’s abysmal crowd management record at large-scale religious events, organisers of the world’s largest gathering of humans are using artificial intelligence to try to prevent stampedes. Organisers predict up to 400 million pilgrims will visit the Kumbh Mela, a millennia-old sacred show of Hindu piety and ritual bathing which began on Monday and runs for six weeks.
Moscow (AFP) – Russia and Iran sign a new treaty underpinning their economic and military cooperation, in what both sides cast as a major milestone in their relations. The signing ceremony takes place in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. Moscow has looked to the Islamic republic as a strategic ally since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, worrying Western officials who see both as malign actors on the world stage.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – People clean up and inspect the damage after a Russian attack killed four people and injured three in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, according to the city’s military administration. Kyiv is frequently targeted by Russian drones and missiles, but deaths are rare in the capital, which is heavily protected by air defence systems and better able to fend off attacks than elsewhere in the country.
Singapore (AFP) – Indian world chess champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, and Indian chess grandmaster Koneru Humpy attend a felicitation event organised by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) in New Delhi. Gukesh beat China’s Ding Liren in December to become the youngest world champion and sees a bright future for chess in India.
Berlin (AFP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says US tech billionaire Elon Musk “endangers” democracy in Europe with his attacks on the continent’s leaders and support for the far-right.
Wuhan (China) (AFP) – Five years on from the pandemic, China’s Wuhan city in central Hubei province is buzzing with life, a far cry from the quiet streets and crowded hospitals during the world’s first Covid-19 lockdown on January 23, 2020. One such hospital built in days to treat the sick stands empty and a wall has been erected in front of the wholesale market where scientists believe the virus could have crossed over from animals to humans. “I think people (in Wuhan) are moving forward,” university student Jack He, who was in Wuhan during the lockdown, tells AFP. “These memories are getting fuzzier and fuzzier, but they still have an impact on us. It feels like those few years were particularly tough.”
