London (AFP) – London’s world-renowned botanical attraction, Kew Gardens, has opened its annual “Christmas at Kew” lights installation, which takes visitors on an illuminated trail around the site. This year is the event’s 13th iteration. “It sells out almost every year that we’ve run it,” says Adam Thow, head of commercial operations at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Brazzano (Italy) (AFP) – Firefighters in Brazzano di Cormons, northeastern Italy, search for two people left missing by a mudslide that swept through a building. Overnight, the Friuli Venezia Giulia region was hit by torrential rains, leaving large areas under water and triggering an emergency operation drawing on specialised units from neighbouring regions.
Charlotte (AFP) – Residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, protest outside a Department of Homeland Security office in the city, which has become the latest target of immigration enforcement operations. Federal immigration officers have begun operation in the Democrat-run city, following crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago. Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has pushed for a massive wave of deportations, with aggressive immigration raids around the country sparking protests and allegations of rights violations.
Belém (Brazil) (AFP) – Images of people arriving at the COP30 venue and security measures in place for the start of the second week of talks at this summit held in Belém, in northern Brazil, the main gateway to the Amazon. IMAGES
Santiago (AFP) – Chile is heading for a high-stakes presidential run-off between leftist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right leader Jose Antonio Kast, as rising violent crime and migration fears dominate voter concerns and sharpen the country’s political divide.
Santiago du Chili (AFP) – Far-right presidential frontrunner Jose Antonio Kast greets supporters following first round results. Chile’s leftist former labor minister Jeannette Jara and far-right leader Kast will go head-to-head in a presidential run-off after topping the first round of voting in an election dominated by violent crime. IMAGES
Santiago (AFP) – Electoral staff start counting votes in a Providencia neighborhood polling station, in Santiago, in Chile’s general elections dominated by far-right calls for an iron fist on crime and mass migrant deportations. IMAGES
Quito (AFP) – Electoral staff count votes in a polling station in Quito, as Ecuadorans decide whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and begin a constitutional overhaul that could give Trump-friendly President Daniel Noboa more power. IMAGES
Olon (Ecuador) (Equateur) (AFP) – Polls close in Ecuador for a referendum on the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new Constitution that aims to give more power to the president. IMAGES
Santiago du Chili (AFP) – The polling stations for the presidential election in Chile start closing in Santiago, and the vote counting begin to elect the successor of the leftist Gabriel Boric. The favorites, according to surveys conducted before the blackout period, are the leftist Jeannette Jara, affiliated with the Communist Party, and the far-right José Antonio Kast, closely followed by the libertarian Johannes Kaiser. IMAGES
Manglaralto (Equateur) (AFP) – Ecuadorans in the coastal town of Manglaralto vote 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. IMAGES
Santiago du Chili (AFP) – Chile’s main left-wing candidate, Jeannette Jara, casts her vote in the country’s general election, dominated by rising crime and immigration, fueling far-right calls for an iron fist and Donald Trump-style threats of mass deportations. IMAGES
