Russian forces employing new poison gas grenades, says armament research centre (www.pravda.com.ua)
Gaza health ministry says 20 Palestinians killed in strike on food aid queue (www.reuters.com)
Hungary supports Sweden's NATO membership, PM Orban tells Stoltenberg (www.reuters.com)
State Dept. pauses funding for UN agency amid allegations employees involved in Israel attack: Any UNRWA employee involved will be prosecuted, the agency warned. (abcnews.go.com)
Tobacco use declining despite industry interference: WHO (news.un.org)
Thai woman charged over lion cub filmed cruising resort in Bentley (www.theguardian.com)
Sawangjit Kosoognern charged with illegal possession after video showing animal being driven around Pattaya gains 2.6m views...
EU threatens to silence Hungary if it blocks Ukrainian funds (www.politico.eu)
Leaders may consider invoking the “nuclear option” of kicking Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán out of the EU voting process....
UN agency investigates staff suspected of role in 7 October attack on Israel (www.theguardian.com)
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees suspected of involvement in the 7 October attacks in Israel by Hamas, and that it had severed ties with those staff members....
Cheap but lethally accurate: how drones froze Ukraine’s frontlines (www.theguardian.com)
For four months, Russian troops have been trying to seize the eastern Ukrainian village of Synkivka. On a map, this looks easy. Their forward position is on the edge of a forest. It is a mere 500 metres away from the Ukrainian frontline and a shattered collection of cottages....
Support for far-right AfD eases after Germany-wide protests - polls (news.yahoo.com)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) dropped slightly in two polls published on Tuesday after 10 days of nationwide protests against the far-right party, although it remained firmly in second place....
Israel Tries to Rebut Genocide Charge by Declassifying Cabinet Decisions (www.nytimes.com)
Israel Tries to Rebut Genocide Charge by Declassifying Cabinet Decisions...
U.N. agency probes staff suspected of role in Oct. 7 attacks on Israel (www.reuters.com)
Germany to supply Ukraine with 80 tanks in 2024 (news.yahoo.com)
Berlin plans to provide Ukraine with additional IRIS-T air defense systems and more than 80 Leopard-1A5 main battle tanks in 2024, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Jan. 24....
Ecuador police destroy over 20 metric tons of cocaine (news.yahoo.com)
QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean Police on Thursday destroyed some 21.5 metric tons of cocaine which they seized over the weekend as part of a military offensive declared by the government to combat organized crime....
Thousands across Austria to take part in protests against far right (www.theguardian.com)
Israel Builds Buffer Zone Along Gaza Border, Risking New Rift With U.S. (archive.ph)
Beginning last November, an Israeli soldier and members of his reserve unit worked day after day in a northern section of the Gaza Strip to create a wasteland....
Only five bodies delivered to Belgorod morgue after mysterious Russian plane crash, Ukrainian intelligence suggests (www.cnn.com)
Ukraine says it has intelligence suggesting only five bodies were delivered from the crash site of a Russian military transport plane to a nearby morgue, a Ukraine military intelligence official told CNN, casting doubt on Moscow’s claim that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in the explosion....
Israel rejects Hamas Gaza war truce, lays out own terms (www.newarab.com)
The proposal comes following Netanyahu's rejection of a Hamas offer that sought an end to the war in return for the release of the remaining hostages....
Philippines, Vietnam Set to Sign Coast Guard Pact Amid Competing Sea Claims (www.bloomberg.com)
The Philippines and Vietnam are set to sign a cooperation agreement between their coast guards as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. boosts partnerships in the region amid lingering tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea....
Henry Okello Oryem: Uganda minister says people dying of hunger are 'idiots' (www.bbc.com)
A Ugandan government minister is facing criticism after calling those who have died of hunger in his country “idiots”....
Russia's parliament approves property confiscation for spreading 'fakes' about army (news.yahoo.com)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s State Duma on Wednesday passed the first stage of a bill allowing the confiscation of property from those convicted of a number of crimes including spreading “deliberately false information” about the Russian army....
A pair of UK museums return gold and silver artifacts to Ghana under a long-term loan arrangement (apnews.com)
Two British museums are returning gold and silver artifacts to Ghana under a long-term loan arrangement — 150 years after the items were looted from the Asante people during Britain’s colonial battles in West Africa....
Over 2,200 people victim of sexual abuse by German church staff (www.euronews.com)
The authors of the report estimate that at least 3,500 people have committed sexual abuse and say that the figures are only “the tip of the tip of the iceberg”....
UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban (www.bbc.com)
The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years of negotiations on a post-Brexit agreement....