Pope tells Italians they need to have more babies (www.euronews.com)
Italy’s birth rate, already one of the lowest in the world, has been falling steadily for about 15 years and reached a record low last year....
Pro-Palestinian hunger strike at Princeton University marks 1 week (newjersey.news12.com)
It comes after 13 students were arrested for trespassing late last month during a protest....
UN officials describe "absolutely catastrophic" conditions in Gaza (www.motherjones.com)
Georgia: Thousands rally in protest at 'foreign influence' bill (www.bbc.com)
Tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Saturday evening to protest a controversial “foreign influence” bill backed by the government....
The Long, Tortured Road to Biden’s Clash With Netanyahu Over Gaza War (www.nytimes.com)
President Biden laid it out for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel long before letting the public know. In a conversation bristling with tension on Feb. 11, the president warned the prime minister against a major assault on the Gaza city of Rafah — and suggested that continued U.S. support would depend on how Israel...
Canada: Quebec warns of 'humanitarian crisis' amid surge in asylum requests (www.france24.com)
Chinese zoo under fire after dyeing dogs to resemble pandas (www.nbcnews.com)
Two “panda dogs” in a new exhibit are actually Chow Chows dyed black and white, state media reported, citing zoo officials....
Man Booked For Using VPN In J&K's Rajouri, 3rd Such Case In 2 Days (www.ndtv.com)
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/15187023
Spy scandal: Why did a Polish judge 'defect' to Belarus? (www.dw.com)
Polish prosecutors will likely file espionage charges against a Polish judge who fled to Belarus, where he is now seeking asylum....
A Palestinian teen was standing on the street when Israeli troops shot him dead (www.haaretz.com)
A boy stands on a Tul Karm street watching as Israeli troops move toward the city's refugee camp. Soldiers fire shots from hundreds of meters away and one of their bullets slams into the boy's chest. Qais Nasrallah was 14 at his death
Malaysian ex-PM"s wife sued over $346m of luxury goods (www.bangkokpost.com)
1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is among companies that are suing the wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak for allegedly obtaining over US$346 million worth of luxury goods through misappropriated funds.
How dirty Russian money taught Latvia to get serious on sanctions (www.politico.eu)
Centralizing the policing of sanctions could serve as a model for other EU countries....
34 dead in floods, cold lava from Indonesia's Mount Marapi; 16 missing (www.channelnewsasia.com)
Protesters lay mock coffins in Milan over workplace safety in Italy (www.euronews.com)
One of Milan’s iconic squares, was filled with symbolic coffins by Italy’s second-largest union to highlight the issue of workplace fatalities....
Sudan conflict: Two children killed as bomb falls near Darfur hospital (www.bbc.co.uk)
UN General Assembly backs Palestinian bid for membership (ddnews.gov.in)
Switzerland's Nemo wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest after event roiled by protests over war in Gaza (www.thestar.com)
Eurovision 2024 : one country got booed by the crowd ! Croatian rocker Baby Lasagna got 2nd place.
The risky task of investigating corruption in wartime Ukraine (english.elpais.com)
The Ukrainian branch of the NGO Transparency International issued a statement on January 17 warning that ‘attacks on journalists are becoming systematic’...
Fire at Volgograd oil refinery as Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s energy sector intensify (novayagazeta.eu)
China is still harassing dissidents who fled in the 1990s (www.bbc.com)
Three decades ago, Chinese dissidents were being smuggled out of the country in a secret operation called Yellow Bird - but as one of them tells the BBC, Beijing is still pursuing them....
Russia launches major assault in Kharkiv region (www.euronews.com)
Russia targets the border city of Vovchansk with intense airstrikes and rocket attacks as part of its major new assault on eastern Ukraine....
A parliamentary election runoff puts hard-liners firmly in charge of Iran's parliament (apnews.com)
Iran’s hard-liners won most of the remaining seats in an election run-off to give them full control over the country’s parliament, authorities said Saturday, while not sharing any details on the turnout....
Israel orders people in more areas of Gaza's Rafah to evacuate (www.reuters.com)
Israel called on Saturday for Palestinians in more areas of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah to evacuate and head to what it calls an expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, in a further indication that the military is pressing ahead with its plans for a ground attack on Rafah....
Terrified families flee Rafah as Israel set to open all-out assault (www.theguardian.com)
Tens of thousands of Palestinians were fleeing Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, on Saturday, after Israeli warnings to evacuate before an imminent military assault that will open a bloody new phase of the seven-month-long conflict....