| | | | | | | Hello. EU leaders have just unlocked a €50bn aid package for Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel has announced. We're closely following the developing story here. In Phnom Penh, Laura Bicker speaks with Cambodians working in sweltering brick kilns and breathing black smoke from the refuse of the country's fast fashion industry. I also have a few sport stories for you - about surfing in Ghana, Formula 1 dealings, and taxidermy bear stealing. Well, the last one is not a sport yet. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | EU leaders unlock €50bn support package for Ukraine |  | | Viktor Orban was the only EU leader opposing the aid package for Ukraine during their last meeting in December. Credit: Reuters |
| | All 27 European leaders have agreed to a €50bn ($55bn; £43bn) aid package for Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel has said. Support for Kyiv's war effort was the main item on the agenda for today's European Council summit. There had been fears that Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban would block the aid package, as he had already back in December. Up until now, the issue had been pitting Mr Orban against his 26 counterparts. As it turned out, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "grateful" to all 27 EU leaders. Aside from the Ukraine funding, EU leaders will have to address the farmers' protests spreading throughout the continent. Agriculture is one of the EU's most important policy areas, and tractors from multiple countries have been rolling into Brussels to protest against what they see as unfair environmental measures. | | | | |
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| | | | | | | AT THE SCENE |  Phnom Penh, Cambodia | | Extreme heat fuelled by fast fashion | | Workers in Cambodia's brick kilns say they are working in "burning prisons" - environments so hot that their body temperatures raise to fever levels. The ovens are often fuelled by scraps from the fast fashion industry - making their work even more hazardous. | | | | Outside the kiln, Kosal, a father of two, scoops up a mix of fabric, plastic and rubber that he shoves into the hatch before shutting it quickly. Black smoke seeps through the cracks as children - his and other kiln workers' - run past. "I am used to the black smoke. I don't notice it any more," he says. "I have to keep these fires burning for 24 hours. My wife and I split the work between us." The children crawl over bags bulging with clothing offcuts - more fuel for the kiln from Cambodia's $6bn garment industry. Kosal's three-year-old girl, her hair caked in dust, skips past a pile of Disney-labelled clothing. Most are flannel pyjamas embossed with images of Anna and Elsa from Frozen. They are made for children living in colder climates. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | The surfing girls of Ghana |  | | The surf culture in West Africa is centuries-old - but now women are taking part. Credit: Ben Lalande |
| | Defying gender norms and parental worries, young women have been at the forefront of a surfing boom in Busua, a fishing town in Ghana. Now the small beach resort is hosting the country's only female surf club and is attracting interest - and funding - from around the world. Ride the wave with Mike Henson's story. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Broken your resolutions? | | If you didn't make it through January, try these tips for setting goals. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | As far as books go, this tale concerns "one of the holy grails", according to a British TV antiques specialist. But the text in question - a first edition of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit - was picked up for just £1.50 ($1.90) at a car boot sale. The new owner knocked down the vendor from £2, having been impressed by the book's "jazzy" jacket, and had quite the reaction when he realised how much it could be worth. |
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