Donetske (Ukraine) (AFP) – With bawdy songs and violin solos, a live concert near Ukraine’s front line offers troops a chance to unwind and at least temporarily clear their heads of warfare. Performed by fellow soldiers, the intimate show is staged at a recovery centre for Ukraine’s 23rd mechanised brigade in the eastern Donetsk region.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Following a long night of talks in Brussels, the European Union has agreed to begin membership negotiations with Kyiv. Despite the decision, made in the face of opposition from Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, not all Ukrainians are filled with optimism. While EU membership talks were agreed, Orban refused to greenlight another 50 billion euros in support to Ukraine over the next four years.
Beijing (AFP) – Visitors to a section of the Great Wall in Badaling on the outskirts of Beijing are faced with biting winds and freezing cold weather conditions. Temperatures have plunged in China’s capital over the past few days, bringing the city’s first snowfall of the winter season.
London (AFP) – Matthew Gill, a media lawyer, provides analysis of the UK High Court ruling that Prince Harry was a victim of phone hacking by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers. He says that while the outcome is hugely significant for Harry, the case will also be important for the “100-plus others who are celebrities claiming against the Mirror for voicemail interception”.
Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Heavy rains, flooding and cold temperatures have worsened already difficult living conditions for displaced Gazans staying in temporary shelters at camps in the south of the besieged strip. Israel’s offensive in Gaza continues despite mounting international calls for restraint. The war began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials. The Israeli army launched a massive retaliatory campaign that has killed more than 18,700 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has said. Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets towards Israel throughout the war, the vast majority of which have been intercepted by air defences, according to the Israeli military.
Lviv (Ukraine) (AFP) – President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulates Ukrainians following the European Union’s decision to open accession talks with the country.
Kathmandu (AFP) – Nepali influencer Anjana Aryal went from homemaker to entrepreneur by sharing recipes on TikTok, but her lucrative business collapsed last month when the Himalayan republic banned TikTok.
Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) (AFP) – Venezuela and Guyana pledge not to resort to force to settle a long-simmering territorial dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region. The two nations have agreed “directly or indirectly will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances, including those consequential to any existing controversies between the two states,” according to the joint statement read out by Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where talks are taking place. SOUNDBITE
Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) (AFP) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart Irfaan Ali begin talks in the Caribbean aimed at easing tensions over Caracas’s claims on Guyana’s oil-rich Essequibo region. IMAGES
Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) (AFP) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart Irfaan Ali begin talks in the Caribbean aimed at easing tensions over Caracas’s claims on Guyana’s oil-rich Essequibo region. IMAGES
