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Santiago (AFP) – Voters cast their ballots as polls open in Santiago for Chile’s presidential and parliamentary elections, dominated by concerns over rising crime and immigration. IMAGES

Mexico (AFP) – Protesters throw rocks at police in front of the government palace during a Generation Z march against President Claudia Sheinbaum. Youth-led protests that rallied under the loose umbrella title of “Gen Z”, referring to those aged under 28, initially erupted on September 8 in Nepal after a government ban on social media. IMAGES

Mexico (AFP) – Protesters clash with police in front of the government palace during a Generation Z march against President Claudia Sheinbaum. Youth-led protests that rallied under the loose umbrella title of “Gen Z”, referring to those aged under 28, initially erupted on September 8 in Nepal after a government ban on social media. IMAGES

Mexico (AFP) – Demonstrators confront Mexican riot police during a protest led by Generation Z against the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at Zocalo Square. Youth-led protests that rallied under the loose umbrella title of “Gen Z”, referring to those aged under 28, initially erupted on September 8 in Nepal after a government ban on social media. IMAGES

Teheran (AFP) – Hundreds of people gather at a mosque in northern Tehran to pray for rain, with Iran gripped by one of its worst droughts in decades. Rainfall in the capital has this year been at its lowest level in a century, local officials say, and half of Iran’s provinces have not seen a drop fall in months.

Guayaquil (AFP) – Ecuadorans will vote on November 16 on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s Trump-friendly president more power. Nearly 14 million Ecuadorans are set to vote on four questions that will decide how the country tackles rampant drug violence and addresses economic reforms.

Vatikanstadt (AFP) – Pope Leo XIV receives more than 100 film industry professionals inside the Apostolic Palace, including Cate Blanchett, Alison Brie, Judd Apatow, and Viggo Mortensen. The Vatican says the invitation to the world of cinema was intended to explore “the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values”.

Teheran (AFP) – When Paniz Faryoussefi mounts the podium and reaches for her baton, she represents more than just the hope of a thrilling orchestral performance. The 42-year-old is the first female philharmonic conductor in Iran, a country where women’s professional and cultural lives are still heavily restricted.

Ezeiza (AFP) – Powerful explosions have torn through an industrial park near Argentina’s capital, sparking a huge blaze and injuring more than 20 people. Firefighters were still battling to put out the fire early the next day, according to local media, after authorities earlier warned it would be challenging to bring the blaze under control.

Belém (AFP) – COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago seeks to ease tensions with Indigenous protesters, acknowledging shortcomings in Brazil’s climate policymaking while insisting the government was committed to defending Indigenous interests at the UN climate summit. On Tuesday, Indigenous protesters forced their way into the COP30 compound, clashing with security personnel, some of whom sustained minor injuries. Then on Friday, dozens of Indigenous protesters blocked the entrance for roughly two hours to spotlight their struggles in the Amazon.

Bradford (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The sky above Bradford lights up during the city’s UK City of Culture celebrations, as hundreds of drones recreate the David Hockney’s most famous paintings.

Tokyo (AFP) – Tech firms are racing to bring robots into everyday life. From Japan to China, massive sums are being poured into “physical AI,” a booming sector that could put more than a billion humanoid robots in homes and workplaces by 2050.