AFP Video

Tehran (AFP) – One year since nationwide protests erupted across Iran in reaction to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, the issue of the hijab remains a sore spot. But an unrelenting economic crisis has left most Iranians too preoccupied with making ends meet. “They need first to address the economic problem, then they can gradually work on social problems,” says Raha, a 34-year-old accountant. Iran’s economy has been reeling from US sanctions since 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal.

Washington (AFP) – Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, arrives at a court in Washington, DC, where a landmark case pitting the US government against Google over the dominance of the company’s world-dominating search engine begins.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says current US authorities have created “an anti-Russian spirit and mindset” in American society. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, Putin adds: “I don’t think there will be any changes to American foreign policy regarding Russia, no matter who is chosen as president.”

A Russian passenger Airbus A320 flying from the Black Sea resort of Sochi to the Siberian city of Omsk with 167 people on board makes an emergency landing in a Siberian field. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the aircraft made the emergency landing for a technical reason and opened a criminal case on the violation of air traffic safety rules. No casualties were reported. Russia’s aviation industry has been struggling to get new parts to repair planes due to Western sanctions over Moscow’s Ukraine offensive.

Manila (AFP) – Philippine Nobel laureate and veteran journalist Maria Ressa speaks to media after being cleared of the final tax evasion case charged against her and a news site she had co-founded. “Guys, it’s up to us. We hold the line, and this proves that we can hold the line,” Ressa says.

Vladivostok (Russia) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin tells Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing that ties between Russia and China “have reached an absolutely unprecedented, historical level” during their meeting at the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Zhang adds that China’s trade with Russia will hit record $200 billion in 2023.

Muçum (Brazil) (AFP) – Residents in the southern Brazilian town of Muçum salvage belongings from destroyed homes after a cyclone killed nearly 50 people. Dozens are still missing.

Vladivostok (Russia) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin tells Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing that ties between Russia and China “have reached an absolutely unprecedented, historical level” during their meeting at the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Zhang adds that China’s trade with Russia will hit record $200 billion in 2023.

Washington (AFP) – The United States describes Russian President Vladimir Putin as desperate over the Ukraine conflict in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Having to travel across the length of his own country to meet with an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterize it as him begging for assistance,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters.

Santiago (AFP) – Clashes erupt between Chilean protesters and the police in the capital Santiago during a march in memory of the victims of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. 50 years after the coup d’etat that brought the Chilean general to power, Chile remains divided among those who defend the dictatorship and those who repudiate it. Under Pinochet, more than 3,200 people were killed or disappeared by security forces and some 38,000 were tortured.