Yakutsk (Russia) (AFP) – In Yakutsk, a city in Russia’s east Siberia, 450km south of the Arctic circle, local weather services warn that temperatures could sink as low as -62°C. “It feels like this is the coldest winter” says one resident, where the abnormal cold is even lower than the -40°C temperatures locals are used to.
Goroimari (India) (AFP) – Hundreds of villagers gather at a lake in India’s northeastern state of Assam to celebrate 2023’s harvest festival of Bhogali Bihu.
Dnipro (Ukraine) (AFP) – A strike on a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has killed at least 21 and wounded more than 70, officials said, as the president blasted Russian “terror”. Rescuers dig through the rubble of the damaged building after the deadly strike.
Protaras (Cyprus) (AFP) – People waterski and kayak through flooded streets in Protaras, a seaside resort in Cyprus, after torrential rains.
Florence (Italy) (AFP) – Using gentle, circular motions, an art restorer gently cleans the painting of a half-nude woman that was censored more than 300 years ago by a prudish descendant of Michelangelo. The piece by Artemisia Gentileschi, the Italian Baroque’s trailblazing woman artist, is undergoing a months-long restoration to rediscover her original vision, hidden for centuries under a thick layer of strategically placed paint.
Gangasagar (India) (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims and holy men gather at the confluence of the River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal during the Gangasagar Mela to take a ‘holy dip’ on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Stepanakert (Azerbaijan) (AFP) – A blockade by Azerbaijanis of the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh has left supermarkets and pharmacies in the territory’s capital Stepanakert with bare shelves, further isolating the beleaguered majority-Armenian population. Residents describe daily power cuts, internet outages, and shortages of food, heat and medicine.
Lützerath (Germany) (AFP) – Police clash with anti-coal demonstrators in the village of Luetzerath, in western Germany, which is due to be destroyed to make space for an open-cast coal mine extension. Luetzerath — deserted for some time by its original inhabitants — is set to disappear to make way for the extension of the adjacent open-cast coal mine, one of the largest in Europe, operated by energy firm RWE.
Jenjarom (Malaysia) (AFP) – A Buddhist temple in Malaysia is lighting up thousands of lamps and lanterns to greet the approaching Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan 22. As an annual event since 2004, the dazzling light show matches the upcoming “Year of the Rabbit” with scores of illuminated rabbit structures and festive decorations at the Dong Zen Temple in coastal Jenjarom town, central Selangor state.
Vienna (AFP) – Thousands attend the legendary Flower Ball in Austra’s neo-Gothic city hall, kicking off the city’s glamorous winter ball season after two years of cancellation due to covid restrictions. Known for being one of the most beautifully decorated winter balls among the approximately 450 hosted in the Austrian capital each season, the Flower Ball showcases mesmerising floral arrangements skillfully crafted out of 100,000 blossoms.
