Michoacan (Mexico) (AFP) – Incense fills the air and burning sticks light up the night in an Indigenous community in western Mexico where an ancient fire ritual has been brought back to life. Every year, the Purepecha people celebrate their New Year by taking a precious fire from village to village in the violence-ridden Michoacan state.
London (AFP) – Brits react to news that King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing surgery for an enlarged prostate. “I feel kind of bad for him, he waited all these years to be King,” says one woman.
Dhurnal (Pakistan) (AFP) – Like all the women in her town, Naeem Kausir, a 60-year-old former headmistress and her seven daughters are forbidden from voting by their male elders. Although voting is a constitutional right for all adults in Pakistan, some rural areas in the socially conservative country are still ruled by a patriarchal system of male village elders who wield significant influence in their communities. “A system is prevalent in Pakistan where women are not allowed to exercise their rights. If she wants to use her rights, a woman has to first seek approval from her family members,” explains legal expert Fatima Tu Zara Butt.
Jindayris (Syria) (AFP) – A year ago, Afraa al-Sawadi was pulled from the rubble of her family home still attached to her dead mother by the umbilical cord, after a devastating earthquake hit northwest Syria. Now in the care of relatives after the February 6, 2023 quake, which ravaged Turkey and Syria and killed nearly 60,000 people, she is among the orphaned children toughing it out in the war-ravaged country.
Bariloche (Argentina) (AFP) – Images of firefighters battling a forest fire in Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park. More than 3,000 hectares of native forest in southern Argentina haved burned in an uncontrolled fire that started on January 25 for reasons under investigation, provincial authorities have reported. IMAGES
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen tells the European Parliament in Strasbourg that “our farmers deserve to be listened to,” acknowledging that the bloc may not have made the case for the need for environmental and nature protectoins “convincingly”. A long list of grievances has prompted a mass protest movement by EU farmers, who in recent weeks have used tractors to block key roads to complain of shrinking income and rising production costs.
Dakar (AFP) – Senegalese lawmakers have voted to delay this month’s presidential election until December, an unprecedented move that has sparked international concern over the West African country’s stability. The bill was passed almost unanimously, after opposition deputies were forcibly removed from the chamber.
Tokyo (AFP) – Inter-Miami superstar Lionel Messi said Tuesday his strained leg muscle was “getting better” but could not guarantee he would be fit to play in the pre-season friendly in Japan this week. Two days ago, furious fans in Hong Kong booed Messi and club co-owner David Beckham, shouting “Refund”, after the Argentina great failed to take the field for a sold-out friendly.
Dakar (AFP) – Clashes between secruity forces and protesters erupted in the Senegalese capital Dakar following President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone presidental elections scheduled for February 25. Sall’s announcement was met with strong reactions from opposition MPs who have rejected the delay. “On the eve of the start of an electoral campaign, it is unacceptable to stop a process of this nature,” decried presidential candidate Khalifa Sall.
Viña del Mar (Chile) (AFP) – Residents of Villa Independencia, the epicentre of the disaster in Chile’s Vina del Mar, return to their fire-ravaged homes and begin to clean up. “I have nothing, I’m left with nothing but the clothes I’m wearing,” says one resident who lost everything. Blazing wildfires have killed at least 112 people in Chile and left hundreds missing and thousands of homes destroyed amid an intense summer heatwave.
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh says the Rafah border in southern Gaza is an “Egyptian-Palestinian affair” after accusing Israel of “trying to move the Rafah crossing to another location” during a cabinet meeting in Ramallah. The Gaza Strip is facing dire humanitarian conditions after more than three months of the Israel-Hamas war, during which aid has only been allowed to trickle in through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Copenhagen (AFP) – For the month of February, the Copenhagen Lights Festival is lighting up the Danish capital’s dark streets. The festival features around 50 light-based works from both established and up-and-coming light artists and designers.
