World News: 19 February 2023

They protested in China - now they've gone missing
Thousands rallied against restrictive Covid policies in the so-called White Paper protests, holding up blank white sheets in the dark. It was a rare show of criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping.
Police made few arrests at the time. Now, months on, scores of those protesters are in police custody, say Chinese activists, with one group estimating there have been more than 100 arrests.

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Anti-war protests held across Munich outside the Security Conference
Around 10,000 protesters gathered at the southern German city’s Königsplatz - one of more than a dozen demonstrations across the city which drew together anti-NATO protestors, pacifists and pro-Kurdish activists.
Meanwhile, on the Odeon Plaza, a pro-Ukraine rally was held, calling for more military aid and international support for the war-torn country.

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Free trade, armed conflict dominate African Union summit in Addis Ababa
Africa is reeling from a record drought in the Horn and deadly violence in the Sahel region and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the two-day African Union summit aiming to address these issues and jumpstart a faltering free trade pact.
Most of the sessions are being held behind closed doors at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, with more than 30 presidents and prime ministers in attendance.

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New Zealand's cyclone death toll at 11, thousands still missing
Cyclone Gabrielle struck the country’s north on Monday, bringing widespread flooding, landslides and power cuts, and the level of damage has been compared to Cyclone Bola in 1988. That storm was the most destructive on record to hit the nation of five million people.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the storm is New Zealand’s biggest natural disaster this century. He said more fatalities are possible with 6,431 people still missing.

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Mexico's Lopez Obrador orders ministry to step up lithium nationalization
Mexico holds important potential lithium deposits, a highly sought material for the production of electric vehicle batteries.
Studies suggest Mexico may have some 1.7 million tonnes of lithium. While close to a dozen foreign companies have active mining concessions that aim to develop potential lithium deposits, Lopez Obrador has saidall of them will be "reviewed," which has cast a cloud over the sector's future prospects.

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Israeli missile strikes building in central Damascus, five dead
For almost a decade, Israel has been carrying out air attacks against suspected Iranian-sponsored weapons transfers and personnel deployments in neighbouring Syria. Israeli officials have rarely acknowledged responsibility for specific operations.
The raids — which in recent months have targeted Syrian airports and air bases — are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict whose goal was to slow down Iran’s growing entrenchment in Syria, Israeli military experts say.

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