AFP UK

Tampa (AFP) – ZooTampa in Florida vaccinates a skunk with a specific vaccine developed exclusively for animals. The zoo in Tampa has begun to vaccinate animals who have been identified as most susceptible to Covid-19. The use of the special vaccine, which was developed exclusively for animals by the Michigan-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis, has been used for vaccinating those species that are known to be more vulnerable to contracting the virus in other zoological organizations throughout the United States. ZooTampa says it has received a shipment of approximately 220 doses – enough to vaccinate roughly 19 species which includes 93 animals such as Florida panthers, skunks, otters and primates.

Leigh-on-Sea (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In a rare show of unity, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Keir Starmer visit the scene where lawmaker David Amess was killed in Leigh-on-Sea, east of London, along with the Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle and Home Secretary Priti Patel. Amess, 69, was talking with voters at a church when he was stabbed to death, in what the police have said was a terrorist attack.

Farah (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Radio station Urooj once teemed with journalists producing news bulletins, but since the Taliban came to town, Ebrahim Parhar sits alone, broadcasting hours of religious sermons.

Hartford (United States) (AFP) – US President Joe Biden tells reporters that Bill Clinton is “doing fine” after he talked to him on the phone. The former US president is in hospital as he undergoes treatment for a reported case of sepsis.

Hanoi (AFP) – In a hot and stuffy room at her house in Hanoi, Tran Thanh Thuc holds up a delicate silk scarf and begins snipping it into tiny pieces, ready to paste onto her works of art. For four decades, Thuc has been recreating Vietnamese landscapes using vibrant shades of fabric cut from scarves, traditional ao dai — or whatever material she could find during years of poverty in the 1980s.

Montaña de Sorte (Venezuela) (AFP) – Every October 12, known in Venezuela as the Day of Indigenous Resistance, thousands of believers gather on Mount Sorte in the northwest of the country. This year, the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented the meeting from taking place in 2020, is at the heart of the ceremonies as participants remember its victims.

Amneville (France) (AFP) – France’s Amnéville zoo presents its newest resident, Mosl, a 50 kg baby rhinoceros born of a conservation programme for the species.

Tel Aviv (AFP) – Drone powerhouse Israel is translating the knowhow of air force veterans to the delivery of sushi and ice-cream, as companies tap their expertise to avoid collisions in increasingly crowded skies.

Kandahar (Afghanistan) (AFP) – +COMPLETES VID9PQ6EY+ Ambulances drive through downtown Kandahar in Afghanistan after a Shiite mosque was hit by explosions, killing at least 32 and wounding 53. The cause of the blasts has not been immediately identified, but they come exactly a week after a suicide bomb attack on Shiite worshippers in the northern city of Kunduz, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Idlib (Syria) (AFP) – “I didn’t know what a marathon was until today”, says one of a group of Syrian orphans taking part in a race in the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib. The event has been organised by an NGO in a bid to introduce children who have lost their parents in Syria’s ongoing conflict to different kinds of sports. Nearly 500,000 people have died in the conflict since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.

Warsaw (AFP) – South Korean pianist Su Yeon Kim, 27, is participating for the second time in the Fryderyk Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, Poland. After reaching the semi-final in 2015 and thanks to her experience, she hopes to go even further this year.

Green Bank (United States) (AFP) – The tiny US town of Green Bank is home to the over six-decade-old Green Bank Observatory, which requires radio silence to be able to peer deep into space to observe stars and black holes. Cell phone service is effectively barred, but the West Virginia town is changing: not everyone agrees about what comes next for this seeming digital age refuge.