AFP UK

Beer Yaakov (Israel) (AFP) – Wearing a safety belt, helmet and work boots, Raju Nishad navigates the scaffolding, hammering blocks that will form part of a building in a new neighbourhood in Beer Yaakov, in central Israel. He and other Indians are part of an Israeli government effort to fill a void left by tens of thousands of Palestinian construction workers barred from entering Israel since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.

Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – Tens of thousands demonstrate in the Spanish city of Valencia over the government’s response to devastating recent floods.

Tiflis (AFP) – Georgia has inaugurated a far-right governing party loyalist as president, escalating a political showdown moments after his pro-EU predecessor declared herself the “only legitimate president”. The inauguration of former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili ratchets up a months-long political crisis that has seen huge pro-European Union demonstrations. Outgoing head of state Salome Zurabishvili and protesters have declared Kavelashvili “illegitimate”, demanding a re-run of the October general elections that they say the governing Georgian Dream party rigged.

Zagreb (AFP) – “Croatia needs a peaceful life,” says Dragan Primorac, the presidential candidate backed by ruling conservative HDZ party, after casting his vote. He is polling second behind main rival and incumbent head of state, Zoran Milanovic. One of the two candidates is expected to be chosen in a runoff in two weeks. The election comes as Croatia deals with biting inflation, widespread corruption and a labour shortage.

Chester (AFP) – Conservationists in the UK and Portugal hail a pioneering snail breeding programme a success for saving two critically endangered species from extinction and spurring the release of 1,329 on a remote Atlantic island. The Desertas Island land snails were believed to be extinct. They had not been spotted for more than a century, until conservationists rediscovered a small population on Deserta Grande island, close to Madeira, in 2017.

Vatikanstadt (AFP) – Pope Francis sends his prayers to the victims of a plane crash in South Korea believed to have killed nearly 180 people. “My thoughts are with the many families in South Korea who are mourning today following the dramatic plane crash. I join in prayer for the survivors and the dead,” Pope Francis says after the Angelus prayer.

Muan (AFP) – Rescuers assess the wreckage at Muan International Airport after a Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Bangkok to South Korea crashed on arrival. The plane burst into flames after smashing into a barrier, killing everyone aboard except for two flight attendants plucked from the wreckage.

Seoul (AFP) – Hundreds of people gather in Seoul to protest against South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol two weeks after his impeachment. Rival protests from his supporters are also planned to take place around the country. Vast protests both for and against Yoon have rocked South Korea since he sought to impose martial law in early December, plunging the country into its worst political crisis in decades.

New Delhi (AFP) – Mourners in India’s capital gather to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92, prompting seven days of state mourning.

Guatemala City (AFP) – The United States deports Guatemalan migrants from its territory. The migrants walk down the runway after arriving at the Guatemalan Air Force Base in Guatemala City, during the last deportee flights of the year. Guatemala closes 2024 with more than 61,000 deported from the US, say Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM).

Damascus (AFP) – Syrians carry crosses and copies of Koran as they rally in Damascus’ Umayyad Square in celebration of the ousting of former president Bashar al-Assad, nearly three weeks after he fled to Russia, in the presence of fighters from the new administration parading in the square.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says in an evening address from Kyiv posted on social media that “several” wounded North Korean soldiers have died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accuses Russia of offering them “minimal protection”. Ukraine and its western allies say North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to support Russia’s army, in what is seen as a major escalation in the nearly three-year war following Moscow’s 2022 invasion.