Raglan (Australia) (AFP) – Kangaroos flee a bushfire that forced evacuations of towns in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Hot and windy conditions were continuing to drive blazes toward homes near the small town of Raglan, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) northwest of Melbourne, with warnings conditions could worsen throughout the night.
Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – “Our main goal is to provide healthy, clean and nutritious meals to displaced people,” says a member of the NGO “World Central Kitchen” as volunteers prepare food in a kitchen tent in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Heavy fighting is rocking besieged Gaza as aid agencies warn of looming famine and new talks are held in Cairo towards an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Cape Town (AFP) – From an old BMW painted in colourful shapes to abstract works and historic photographs, a retrospective of celebrated South African artist Esther Mahlangu opens this week at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town, before going on an international tour. The exhibition follows the 88-year-old painter and mural artist’s unusual trajectory from rural South Africa to global acclaim. With no formal art training, Mahlangu earned an international reputation with works referencing her Ndebele heritage using skills passed down for generations. “It’s in my genes to paint Ndebele,” she says.
Kabul (AFP) – With the end of decades of war in Afghanistan in 2021, motorists are taking advantage of newfound security to pit their souped-up cars against each other in races, or show off drifting skills.
Taipei (AFP) – The chairman of the US House of Representatives committee on China said Thursday that support in his country’s legislature for Taiwan was “extremely strong”. “I actually think support for Taiwan in the United States Congress… I see growing and extremely strong support for Taiwan,” said Mike Gallagher, who is heading a five-member delegation on a visit to the self-ruled island.
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Deprived of visiting rights after the October 7 Hamas attack, families of Palestinian detainees in Israel are trying to reach their loved ones by radio as prisons cut off communications during the Israel-Hamas war. The October 7 attack, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people in Israel. In Israel’s retaliatory military offensive, at least 29,313 people, mostly women and children, have been killed.
Patiala (India) (AFP) – Angry farmers in Punjab launch firecrackers towards Indian police, who attempt disperse them with tear gas, as thousands of protesting farmers make a fresh attempt to reach the capital New Delhi after failing to reach a deal with the government on demands for higher crop prices.
Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – People gather around the bodies of Gazans killed in Israeli strikes, bidding farewell to their loved ones at the Najjar hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Heavy fighting rocked besieged Gaza on Wednesday as aid agencies warned of looming famine, a day after a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire was blocked by a US veto.
Shanghai (AFP) – Jewellers in China are considering a new and fast-growing consumer base — younger people, who are increasingly keen to buy gold, seeing it as a safe investment in uncertain economic times. Experts say millennials and Gen Z are “becoming a huge driving force” in the rising popularity of gold.
Pristina (AFP) – Fevzi Aliu, a chicken farmer in Kosovo capital Pristina, counts among the animals under his care several specimens of a unique local species. Known as ‘Kosovo Longcrowers’, these largely black-feathered roosters can issue their hoarse crow for almost 90 seconds without stopping. “This cockerel is my favourite,” says Fevzi Aliu, pointing to Arab, one of his ‘Kosovo singers.’
London (AFP) – Stella Assange says attempts to extradite her husband, jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, to the US to face espionage charges over the publication of secret military and diplomatic files are a criminalisation of journalism and the truth. “They want impunity, they don’t want to be scrutinised and journalism stands in the way,” she tells supporters outside the UK court where Assange’s lawyers are making a last-ditch bid to fight the extradition.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposes a meeting with the Polish government to solve the border blockade, which he says is threatening the supply of weapons to Kyiv’s army at the front. “I have instructed my government to be on the border between our countries as soon as possible, by February 24,” he says.
