(AFP) – Russia’s army chief, Valery Gerasimov, visits Moscow’s troops in Ukraine and says the Kremlin’s forces have seized a dozen eastern villages in February, according to the defence ministry. “In two weeks of February, despite severe winter conditions, combined forces and military units of the joint task force liberated 12 settlements,” says Gerasimov.
London (AFP) – The UK’s most famous feline, Larry the cat, marks 15 years as the country’s chief mouser patrolling the corridors of power of 10 Downing Street. At an estimated 19 years old, Larry has outlasted five prime ministers, upstaged visiting world leaders, and is currently living with his sixth housemate, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Paris (France) (AFP) – 40 skaters from over 20 countries are performing at the Zenith venue in Paris in Holiday on Ice’s new show, “Horizons.” Among them is Canadian Daniel Villeneuve, who has left competition behind and now embraces “the love of skating” and “having fun”. “Everyone loves the feeling of flying, of gliding, it’s magical,” he says.
Munich (Germany) (AFP) – “Europe needs to step up and has to take on its responsibility” when it comes to security, says European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen during the 62nd Munich Security Conference. She adds that Europe and Britain need to cooperate more closely “on security, on economy, on defending our democracies”.
Munich (Germany) (AFP) – During a speech at the 62nd Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United Nations has played “virtually no role” in resolving international conflicts. He says “it took American leadership and partnership with many of the countries here today just to bring the two sides to the table in search of a still elusive peace.” This comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and Europe, amplified after US President Donald Trump said he wanted to annex Greenland.
La Havane (AFP) – A fire brakes out at a refinery in Cuba’s capital, as the island nation already struggles under a US blockade of oil deliveries. IMAGES
Tumbler Ridge (Canada) (AFP) – “She is forever my baby, because that’s what she was. She was a baby,” says Sarah Lampert, whose 12-year-old daughter Ticaria Lampert was killed in a mass shooting at a local school in the remote Canadian mining town of Tumbler Ridge. Eight people were killed in the shooting and dozens more injured. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is due to visit the remote mining town.
Zanesville (United States) (AFP) – “Don Colossus,” a 15-foot statue depicting US President Donald Trump, is at the center of a dispute between the Ohio-based sculptor who created it and the cryptocurrency investors who commissioned it. Sculptor Alan Cottrill says the group of investors who ordered the statue haven’t fully paid him yet. “They’ve been actually illegally using, infringing on my copyright of my original piece of art right up to the present day,” he adds.
Munich (Germany) (AFP) – “We need interceptors, we need the ammunition to make sure Ukraine can stay strong in the fight” says Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, speaking at the 62nd Munich Security Conference. “What I will also be doing today and tomorrow is make clear that the Russians are not winning this…” Rutte says. “This so-called Russian bear is not there.”
Rio de Janeiro (Brésil) (AFP) – King Momo and the Queen of the Carnival kick off the vibrant festivities of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Carnival as they receive the key to the city from Mayor Eduardo Paes during the official opening ceremony. IMAGES
Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) election committee spokesman Mahdi Amin calls the party’s sweeping election win “a victory of the people” and says it will “ensure a free land again where every citizen’s rights and freedom will be protected”. The BNP secured a landslide victory in the first elections since a deadly 2024 uprising, winning a majority of more than two-thirds of the available seats.
Ganvié (Benin) (AFP) – On the ‘Lover’s Canal’ in Ganvie, a lake village in Benin, love can flow in unusual ways. Long a place for chance encounters, this stretch of water has over the years become a favoured meeting spot for young men and women in search of a soulmate. “It’s here that we still meet our sweethearts, that we swap our numbers scribbled on little bits of paper,” says fisherman Paulin Agbokounou.
