Ops News

Oslo (AFP) – An Oslo court on Thursday rejected a legal challenge by the WWF environmental group against Norway’s bid to mine its seabed for minerals crucial to the green energy transition.

Paris (AFP) – Former Olympic champion Edgar Grospiron will be named next week as president of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, an official said Thursday.

Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday that Beirut rejected Israel’s demand to remain in five southern locations after a February 18 deadline for fully implementing a ceasefire deal.

London (AFP) – Olympic 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson has been forced to abandon a world record attempt this weekend after the British middle-distance star withdrew from her own event, the Keely Klassic, with a hamstring injury.

Seoul (AFP) – North Korea is demolishing a venue that for decades hosted tearful reunions of families separated by the Korean War and the division of the country, Seoul said Thursday, decrying the “inhumane” move.

Hong Kong (AFP) – Asian markets mostly rose Thursday and oil prices extended losses as forecast-topping US inflation was overshadowed by hopes for an end to the Ukraine war after news Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin had discussed peace talks.

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Under a vast canopy of tents in the Saudi city of Jeddah, religious artefacts are on display alongside contemporary art pieces, part of the kingdom’s bid to transform its ultraconservative image.

Cairo (AFP) – For the first time in nearly two years of war, soup kitchens in famine-stricken Sudan are being forced to turn people away, with US President Donald Trump’s aid freeze gutting the life-saving schemes.

Luliang (China) (AFP) – Moments after registering their marriage, Zhang Gang and Weng Linbin posed in front of a red backdrop adorned with a Chinese government emblem, fanning out the wad of cash they had received as an incentive to wed.

New York (AFP) – New York, Paris and Berlin are celebrating the anniversaries this year of iconic art installations that saw some of their most prominent landmarks wrapped in fabric by the late artists known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude.