New Delhi (AFP) – Hindu devotees bathe in India’s sacred but highly polluted Yamuna river to the mark the first day of Chhath Puja, a four-day long festival dedicated to Hindu sun god Surya.
Bogotá (AFP) – “We do not kneel. We will not take a step back,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro tells his supporters at a rally on Bolivar Square in Bogota, as he and his family are placed on a US sanctions list. The US Treasury has blacklisted Gustavo Petro, first lady Veronica Alcocer, his eldest son Nicolas, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, banning them from travel to the United States and freezing any US assets they hold. The rupture caps months of personal friction between US President Donald Trump and Petro over US deportations and strikes on suspected drug boats off the coast of South America.
Tokio (AFP) – Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says she will bring US ties to “new heights” in talks with President Donald Trump, while taking a swipe at China. The comments come three days before Trump, who wants Tokyo and other allies to boost their military spending, is due to visit Japan on his way to crunch talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
London (AFP) – Big Ben’s timekeepers are preparing for Sunday’s clock change, one of the busiest nights of the year for parliament’s clock mechanics, who are charged with changing 2,000 clocks. Towering over the UK capital and its parliament, the clock will be stopped briefly to adjust for the switch to winter time — one of only two occasions each year when it is allowed to pause.
Kopenhagen (AFP) – Giant pumpkins are carved with chainsaws to be illuminated in Copenhagen’s annual Halloween competition, with this year’s winner weighing 903.5 kg. The pumpkins are carved in Tivoli Gardens, and will be donated to Copenhagen Zoo after Halloween celebrations end, where elephants and other animals can to eat them.
Miami (AFP) – “I’ve been happy since I arrived here, so I’m very happy to continue,” states football player Lionel Messi as he signs a contract extension with Inter Miami, which will see the Argentine superstar remain in Major League Soccer until the end of the 2028 season.
Gummatapura (AFP) – Dozens of devotees from the southern Indian village of Gummatapura battle it out with cow dung for the Gorehabba festival, a local celebration marking the conclusion of India’s festival of light, Diwali. The festival is unique to the village where locals believe their god — Beereshwara Swamy — was born in cow excrement. Some Hindus believe cows and everything they produce is sacred and purifying.
Budapest (AFP) – “Brussels has decided to go to war”, says Orban to his supporters during a demonstration in Budapest, as he calls the Coalition of the Willing a “war alliance”. Orban — who has close ties with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin despite Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine — blames Brussels for impeding Trump’s “mission” to try to end the war in Ukraine.
Mae Sot (AFP) – Men swim across the Moei river to Thailand after a military raid on KK Park, one of Myanmar’s most notorious scam centres, sent hundreds of people fleeing across the border. Sprawling compounds where internet fraudsters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.
Paris (AFP) – The director of the Louvre admits there was inadequate security camera coverage of the outside walls of the museum, three days after a brazen daytime heist stunned the French capital. Senators grill Laurence des Cars over how thieves were able to make off with an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) in jewels from the world-famous museum in just seven minutes. The heist has renewed scrutiny of security at French museums.
London (AFP) – Dozens of young people gather on Hampstead Heath in north London to join a collective ‘Scream Squad’ event. Led by content creator Mona Sharif, participants count down and unleash a cathartic group scream against the city skyline. Sharif says she started the trend after seeing similar TikToks in the United States and quickly drew more than a thousand followers.
Vatikanstadt (AFP) – King Charles III becomes the first head of the Church of England to pray publicly with a pope in a Vatican service led by Leo XIV. It is also the first time a reigning English or British monarch has prayed publicly with a pope since English king Henry VIII broke with Rome 500 years ago.
