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World Monthly Headline News February 2023
Story by insider@insider.com (Mia Jankowicz)

A fire broke out at a coastal oil facility in southern Russia in the early hours of Tuesday, the aftermath of a possible drone strike by Ukraine deep into enemy territory. Details on the attack were difficult to come by: Fires broke out in the early morning, as videos and photos that lit up Russian social media appeared to show.

Neither Ukrainian nor Russian authorities verified the incident as an attack, though Russian outlets said drones were seen near the oil facility, run by government-controlled oil giant Rosneft. But an expert told Insider that Ukraine has the equipment to carry out such a strike. Similiar strikes, such as two on Russian air fields in December, have been attributed to Ukraine.

Local authorities said that the fire, at Tuapse oil depot on the Black Sea coast, spread to an area of around 200 meters square before being put out at around 3 a.m. local time. Tuapse is roughly 300 miles from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory as the crow flies. State news agency RIA Novosti said a drone had been seen overhead, while popular Telegram channels such as Baza and Face of War claimed that two drones struck the site.
Story by Zeleb.es

A threat against Germany
The President of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, suggested, in state television, that the Russian army should invade “East Germany”: a territory of the former GDR (German Democratic Republic).
CBS News

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries Tuesday of igniting and sustaining the war in Ukraine, dismissing any blame for Moscow almost a year after the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of its neighbor that has killed tens of thousands of people. In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Putin cast Russia — and Ukraine — as victims of Western double-dealing and said Russia, not Ukraine, was the one fighting for its very existence. "We aren't fighting the Ukrainian people," Putin said in a speech days before the war's first anniversary on Friday. Ukraine "has become hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country."

The speech reiterated a litany of grievances that the Russian leader has frequently offered as justification for the widely condemned war and ignored international demands to pull back from occupied areas in Ukraine. Observers are expected to scour it for signs of how Putin sees the conflict, which has become bogged down, and what tone he might set for the year ahead. The Russian leader vowed no military let-up in Ukrainian territories he has illegally annexed, apparently rejecting any peace overtures in a conflict that has reawakened fears of a new Cold War.
Reuters

MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner group, on Tuesday accused the Russian defence minister and the chief of the general staff of depriving his fighters of munitions and trying to destroy Wagner - actions he said were equivalent to treason.

A onetime catering entrepreneur who once shunned the public spotlight, Prigozhin has assumed an more public role since the start of the war in Ukraine a year ago, with his Wagner Group spearheading Russia's months-long battle for the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region. "There is simply direct opposition going on," Prigozhin said in a voice message posted on his Telegram channel. "This can be equated to high treason".
By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A senior lawmaker from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party called on Tuesday for the country to stop "fence-sitting" on Ukraine and provide it with military defences against Russia, which he accused of "terrorism".

The remarks by Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, were welcomed by Kyiv but met no immediate response from Netanyahu. While it has condemned the Russian invasion and provided Ukraine with humanitarian relief and protective gear, Israel has stopped short of widening the assistance to include defence technologies like missile interceptors.
Story by Aaron Bry

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that it was monitoring yet another possible spy balloon Saturday, according to a report from CNN. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Saturday afternoon that an "unidentified object" had been shot down. This comes after two potential spy balloons were recently shot down in U.S. airspace. The first traveled all the way across the country before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean last Saturday. Then, a second balloon was found floating above Alaska and was shot down on Friday.

U.S. officials have given some information regarding the first Chinese balloon that was shot over the Atlantic Ocean. According to the officials, the balloon was believed to have been more than 200 feet tall while fully inflated and carrying surveillance equipment the size of “two to three school buses” according to CBS. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned visit to China after the balloon was shot down. Chinese officials, including Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, have said that the aircraft posed no threat and inadvertently entered U.S. airspace, according to PBS.
JUSTIN SPIKE and ZEYNEP BILGINSOY

ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish justice officials targeted more than 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers extricated more survivors, including a pregnant woman and two small children, six days after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings. The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude and 7.5 magnitude quakes that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria nine hours apart on Feb. 6 rose to 33,179 on Sunday and was certain to keep increasing as search teams locate more bodies in the rubble.

As despair bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to assigning blame for the disaster in an earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria already suffering from years of civil war. Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sunday that some 131 people were under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes. While the quakes were powerful, victims, experts and people across Turkey are blaming faulty construction for multiplying the devastation.
By Tom Bateman and Laura Gozzi
BBC News, Hatay and London

Officials in Turkey say 113 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in Monday's earthquake. Turkish police have already taken at least 12 people into custody, including building contractors. Meanwhile, unrest in southern Turkey has disrupted rescue efforts in some places. The number of people confirmed to have died in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 33,000.

More arrests are expected - but the action will be seen by many as an attempt to divert overall blame for the disaster. For years, experts warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies. Those policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom - including in earthquake-prone regions. Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster's impact was made worse by human failings.

Emergency crews in Great Yarmouth, England, located the unexploded bomb in the River Yare prompting evacuations in the area.
Story by Daniel Stewart

Authorities in China's eastern Shandong province have announced the discovery of an "unidentified flying object" near the coast, amid preparations to shoot it down. Specifically, this object has been located in the waters of the Yellow Sea, near the coast of the city of Rizhao, according to the provincial maritime authorities in a statement reported by the Chinese state-run international newspaper 'Global Times'.
CNN-News18

A U.S. fighter jet on Friday (February 10) shot down over Alaska a high-altitude object that was the size of a small car, on the order of President Joe Biden, the White House said on Friday.
france24.com

Kahramanmaras (Turkey) (AFP) – Rescuers pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday, five days after an earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria, leaving more than 25,000 dead. Tens of thousands of local and international rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.

However, Austrian soldiers and German rescue workers called off their searches for several hours in southern Hatay, citing a difficult security situation and clashes between local groups. In the midst of destruction and despair, miraculous tales of survival continue to emerge. "Is the world there?" asked 70-year-old Menekse Tabak as she was pulled out from the concrete in the southern city of Kahramanmaras -- the epicentre of Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor -- to applause and cries praising God, according to a video on state broadcaster TRT Haber.
By Umit Bektas, Mehmet Caliskan and Khalil Ashawi

ANTAKYA, Turkey/JANDARIS, Syria, Feb 9, (Reuters) - Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 19,000 on Thursday. The rescue of a two-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities. The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit northwest Turkey.
CNN-News18

Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Over 9,000 Killed, more than 18,000 Hurt; WHO Says Death Toll Could Cross 20,000-Mark. Three big earthquakes – of 7.8, 7.6 and 6.0 magnitude – hit Turkey today killing more than 2,300 people and injuring thousands. The deaths and destruction are in Turkey and neighbouring Syria. The last two earthquakes hit hours after the first killer temblor of 7.8 magnitude. India and other countries are rushing aid. PM Narendra Modi reached out to quake hit-Turkey. “India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy,” the PM said. The government has decided to send rescue teams, medical teams and relief material.
By Cecilia Macaulay & Aleem Maqbool BBC News, London & Kinshasa

Pope Francis has celebrated one of his biggest Masses, with around a million attendees in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, estimates say. Huge crowds started to gather in Kinshasa well before dawn, including scores of schoolgirls dressed in white who danced along the Pope's route. A public holiday was declared, so as many people as possible could attend.

Around half of DR Congo's population is Catholic - the largest Catholic community in Africa. It is more than 37 years since a pope has visited the mineral-rich but conflict-ridden country. Pope Francis was greeted by jubilant scenes at at N'dole airport: "My joy is too huge that I think I am going to cry," Christella Bola told the Reuters news agency.
WION

Polls done in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany suggested that the willingness to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion is falling among its allies. Watch this live stream for more such news from the US.
CNN

Authorities scanning a remote Australian highway for a tiny missing radioactive capsule have found it by the roadside, after a challenging search likened to trying to find a needle in a haystack. #CNN #news
CBS News

Teachers, train drivers, civil servants and college lecturers are on strike in parts of the United Kingdom today as workers continue to call for better pay. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams joins Anne-Marie Green on "CBS News Mornings" to discuss the impact.
Matthew Loh

An Iranian couple in their early 20s have been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after posting a video of themselves dancing romantically, human rights activists said on Tuesday. Astiyazh Haghighi, 21, and her fiance, Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, were convicted of "promotion of impurity and indecency, assembly and collusion against national security, and propaganda against the regime," according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, the media platform of a human rights group in Iran. "On November 1, 2022, security forces arrested this couple violently at their home in Tehran," the agency wrote, adding that Haghighi was moved to a women's prison in Varamin County.
By Sophia Saifi, CNN


CNN — Several suspects have been arrested in connection with Monday’s suicide bomb blast in a mosque in Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar that killed more than 100 people. More arrests will take place following a major police investigation into the attack that injured another 217 people, Peshawar Police Chief Mohammad Aijaz Khan said. Authorities are also investigating how the attacker entered the mosque, Khan added. Families that live in the police compound where the mosque is located are being interrogated as police cannot rule out that the attacker may have been helped by someone internally.
CBS News

Hong Kong — A new law criminalizing the possession, consumption and selling of cannabidiol (CBD) came into effect Wednesday in Hong Kong, placing the substance on par with heroin in terms of legal classification. CBD, a non-psychoactive derivative of the cannabis plant, is touted by its users as reducing pain, stress, anxiety and inflammation. Hong Kong authorities, however, have said those claims "lack authoritative scientific proof" and have justified their ban by arguing the products could be converted into the intoxicating compound THC, which was already illegal in the city.

Penalties include possible life imprisonment and a fine of up to HK$5 million ($638,000) for importing, exporting or manufacturing CBD, which joins more than 200 other "dangerous drugs" that are prohibited in the territory. Possession or consumption could lead to seven years in prison and a HK$1 million ($128,000) fine.
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