Moscow, Feb 18, 2026 (AFP) - 'Close our eyes': To escape war, Muscovites flock to high culture

NAMPA / AFP

2026-02-18

In front of Moscow's ornate Bolshoi Theatre, its soft yellow lights illuminating a snowstorm in the Russian capital, Valentina Ivakina had come to "escape today's problems". It is a knowing reference to the war that has been raging between Russia and Ukraine for the past four years, with Muscovites increasingly turning to culture and art to detach from the reality of the conflict, unleashed by the Kremlin's February 2022 offensive. Concert ha......

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Tokyo, Feb 18, 2026 (AFP) - Japan PM Takaichi reappointed following election

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Sydney, Feb 18, 2026 (AFP) - Australia bars citizen held in Syria from returning home

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