Russians Set Fire to At Least 3 Polling Stations on First Day of Election (www.themoscowtimes.com)
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Eliminates Means Testing, Provides Free High School & University Education for Residents (open.substack.com)
Seoul enhances infertility aid in response to 0.55 total fertility rate (www.chosun.com)
East Asia countries birth rate crisis continues. In response to total fertility rate of 0.55, Korea enhances infertility aid.
'Kyoto is not a theme park': Tourists to be banned from city's famous geisha district (news.sky.com)
Israeli settlers cross into Gaza, build 'symbolic' outpost (www.972mag.com)
From the first moments of the war, it was clear that right-wing Israeli politicians and settler leaders sensed an opportunity to radically shift the status quo in Israel-Palestine. For months, calls to resettle Gaza — often in the same breath as calling to expel the Strip’s 2.3 million Palestinian residents — have been...
Israeli military review of Gaza aid convoy deaths finds most killed in stampede (www.reuters.com)
France becomes the first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution | Semafor (www.semafor.com)
Retired Catholic bishop charged with sexual offenses in northwest Australia (abcnews.go.com)
Houthi strike on British-owned ship causes huge oil leak in Red Sea, U.S. says (www.haaretz.com)
MFBC...
Arabs put to vote a UN resolution demanding an immediate Gaza cease-fire, knowing US will veto it (apnews.com)
Israeli soldiers fire at Palestinians approaching aid trucks in Gaza (www.aljazeera.com)
Desperate Palestinians rushing toward aid trucks to fetch food in central Gaza were forced to flee after Israeli troops opened fire on them amid the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave....
Ukraine’s Zelensky Signs Medical Marijuana Bill, A Step He Says Can Heal ‘Pain, Stress and Trauma Of War’ With Russia (www.marijuanamoment.net)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially signed a bill to legalize medical marijuana—a step that he and other officials say can help soldiers address physical and mental wounds incurred during the nation’s war with Russia....
Japan loses crown as world’s third-largest economy after it slips into recession (www.theguardian.com)
Japan has been eclipsed by Germany as the world’s third-biggest economy and has slipped into recession, according to data released Thursday, as the country battles a weak yen and an ageing, shrinking population....
Al Jazeera journalist outed as Hamas commander by IDF (nationalpost.com)
Helsinki police seize opioid 'more dangerous than fentanyl' | Yle News | Yle (yle.fi)
Irish athletes boycott women's basketball tournament against Israel next month due to war in Gaza (allisrael.com)
Nayib Bukele re-elected as El Salvador president in landslide win (www.theguardian.com)
Voters reward Bukele for gang crackdown that has transformed security in central American country...
An Execution Binge in Iran (time.com)
Nazanin Boniadi is an Iranian-born human rights activist, actress and 2023 Sydney Peace Prize Laureate. Roya Boroumand is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran....
Sorry Appin, We’re Not Taking Down Our Article About Your Attempts To Silence Reporters (www.techdirt.com)
Ethiopia to ban importation of non-electric cars (apanews.net)
APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics on Tuesday announced that it will not allow vehicles to enter into the country unless they are electric ones....
Germany uncovers Russian disinformation campaign on X (www.euractiv.com)
Germany has uncovered a major “pro-Russian disinformation campaign” using thousands of fake accounts on X to try and stir anger at Berlin’s support for Ukraine, a media report said on Friday (26 January)....
Russian forces employing new poison gas grenades, says armament research centre (www.pravda.com.ua)
A Hindu temple built atop a razed mosque in India is helping Modi boost his political standing (apnews.com)
Three decades after Hindu mobs tore down a historical mosque, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the consecration of a grand Hindu temple at the same site on Monday in a political move to boost his party ahead of a crucial national vote....
Washington to Israel: Turn the lights back on in Gaza (www.politico.com)
The Biden administration is pressing Israel to restore telecommunications access to Gaza amid a massive blackout that has stretched a record six days and left millions of Palestinians without power or internet....
EU bans ‘misleading’ environmental claims that rely on offsetting (www.theguardian.com)
Terms such as “climate neutral” or “climate positive” that rely on offsetting will be banned from the EU by 2026 as part of a crackdown on misleading environmental claims....
