World Briefing: January 30, 2025

Eyewitnesses and hospital sources have told the BBC that at least a dozen people have been killed in a crush at a huge religious festival in northern India. There is still no official confirmation of how many people have been injured or killed. The BBC’s Samira Hussain describes scenes of “absolute chaos” at the river bank, with clothes, shoes, blankets and backpacks strewn on the ground as crowds tried to escape. Officials had predicted up to 100 million people were expected to attend the bathing day at the Kumbh Mela - one of the world’s biggest religious festivals. But, despite the famous bathing ritual being suspended by organisers, the BBC’s Vikas Pandey says “tens of thousands are still trying to take the holy dip”

As of 12:00 India time (06:30 GMT), nearly 42 million pilgrims had performed bathing rituals at Prayagraj, officials said. They added that nearly 200 million people have bathed in the river since the festival began on 13 January. Millions more are expected to visit before it ends on 26 February - BBC

Brussels Airlines cancelled its Wednesday flights to and from Kinshasa amid violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, as anger spilled over about the conflict raging in the east of the country. The airline runs a daily Brussels-Kinshasa return service. “The decision to resume operations will be made after a thorough and careful assessment of the security situation,” the Belgian carrier said in a statement. Protesters in Kinshasa furious over international inaction on Tuesday targeted the embassies of Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, France, Belgium and the United States. Supermarkets were also looted and piles tyres burned during chaotic demonstrations in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital. France, the EU and Kenya condemned the embassy attacks. Protesters accused Rwanda and Uganda of actively supporting the armed group M23 which after a lightning offensive in North Kivu province with the support of Rwandan troops entered the regional capital Goma on Sunday -RTHK

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend a crisis meeting with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame scheduled for Wednesday, state media said, after Rwanda-backed fighters entered the Congolese city of Goma - AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is not ready to sign a peace treaty with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he has again called “illegitimate.” “If he wants to participate in negotiations, I will select people who will conduct these negotiations,” the Russian leader said. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that if Russia does not sign a peace agreement in the near future, it will face large taxes, duties and sanctions - Radio Liberty

The U.S. military transferred around 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland this week in order to deliver them to Ukraine, three sources with knowledge of the operation tell Axios. Getting more Patriot missiles to Ukraine has been a top priority for the Pentagon to help Kyiv defend against Russia’s attacks on its critical infrastructure. This is also the most significant delivery of weapons from Israel to Ukraine since the Russian invasion almost three years ago.

A federal judge on Tuesday afternoon temporarily blocked part of the Trump administration’s plans to freeze all federal aid, a policy that unleashed confusion and worry from charities and educators even as the White House said it was not as sweeping an order as it appeared. The short-term pause issued by US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan prevents the administration from carrying through with its plans to freeze funding for “open awards” already granted by the federal government through at least 5 p.m. ET Monday, February 3 - CNN

Prosecutors in Rome have opened an investigation against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and two government ministers for repatriating a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Meloni announced on Tuesday. She revealed the investigation over allegedly aiding and abetting Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, in a video posted on social media. She said her justice and interior ministers and an under-secretary are also targeted in the investigation. Meloni’s government has been under fire from the opposition, human rights groups and the ICC itself for releasing al-Masri on a technicality after he was arrested in the northern city of Turin on a warrant from the international court - Euronews

A lab technician has been accused of being the only member of a Bulgarian spy ring able to pull off a plot to steal the mobile numbers of Ukrainian soldiers training in Germany. Katrin Ivanova, 33, was told by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC at the Old Bailey that she had been described by the plotters’ leader as the most technically adept member of the group and that she was necessary to the planned surveillance in Stuttgart. Prosecutors say that Ivanova was part of a spy ring of Bulgarians living in the UK who were involved in a plot, on behalf of Moscow, to steal phone numbers of Ukrainian soldiers training on Patriot air defence systems at the Patch barracks in Stuttgart. Morgan highlighted a message sent by Orlin Roussev, the leader of spy ring, to Jan Marsalek, a Russian agent believed to be based in Moscow, which said he wanted to send to Stuttgart “the minion who will operate the IMSI”, a sophisticated device able to mop up thousands of nearby phone numbers. The prosecutor said Ivanova was “the chief minion” being referred to – but in reply she denied being able to operate the surveillance device. She said she had not been trained to use an IMSI catcher, or even heard of it until after her arrest in February 2023. Ivanova said she had now seen the text message and others like it, in disclosures ahead of the trial, but insisted she knew nothing of discussions between Roussev and Marsalek at the time. “They refer many times to minions, not only to me,” she said, and denied being the person referred to. Prosecutors later highlighted a message that her partner, Bizer Dzhambazov, 43, had sent her in October 2022 asking her to bring “the big IMSI for me to be able to prepare it and set with the laptop” as part of a trip to Roussev’s home in Great Yarmouth. Ivanova acknowledged receiving the message, but said it meant nothing to her - The Guardian

Israel has insisted it will not back down over its plan to close down the Gaza operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), the UN relief agency for Palestinians, even though critics say the move will jeopardise urgent humanitarian aid efforts. Israel has ordered the UN agency to vacate its headquarters in East Jerusalem by Thursday, after the Israeli Knesset passed a law on 28 October banning its operations in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It has not yet said how it will implement a related law ending all Israeli government cooperation with Unwra, which could come into force on the same day and strangle its operations in the West Bank and Gaza. In a standoff about the legitimacy of Israel’s effort to close Unrwa, the UN declined to make contingency plans for other agencies to take over. A report last week from the Peace Research Institute in Oslo warned: “The principled approach by the UN not to do contingency planning is understandable, but it is a train wreck waiting to happen. The suffering of the population, particularly in Gaza, will increase dramatically as the backbone of the humanitarian operation crumbles without an alternative structure being in place.” Trump’s nominee as envoy to the UN, Elise Stefanik, told the Senate foreign relations committee that US policy was to defund Unrwa and that Israel had a biblical right to the entire West Bank. The US provided $422m to Unrwa in 2023, double the donation of any other country. As a result, Unrwa faces a financial hole - The Guardian

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s beleaguered government is planning a stimulus package to help businesses and Canadians if Donald Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian goods, but the scale of the relief will depend on the scope of the tariffs, sources tell CTV News. They also say that the aid could reach pandemic-level relief, but the response will be contingent on how big Trump’s tariffs are. Specific programs also have yet to be designed, according to sources.

Jim Acosta, a CNN anchor who earned notice for grilling Trump administration officials in the White House Briefing Room, said Tuesday that he was leaving the network after nearly 20 years. Mr. Acosta announced the decision at the end of his 10 a.m. show, which will be his last for CNN. He is stepping down after clashing with the network over a decision to move his show to start at the midnight hour, a cable news backwater, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The network is moving Wolf Blitzer, a well-known CNN anchor, into his time slot, along with a co-anchor, Pamela Brown. Mr. Acosta’s show is third place in his time slot for total viewers, behind both MSNBC and Fox News, though he has outperformed his MSNBC competitor in the key demographic for advertisers. In a statement, CNN said it was grateful for Mr. Acosta’s track record of “dedication and commitment.” - NYT

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