Padang (AFP) – Pernandi returns to where his house used to stand after surviving deadly flooding in Indonesia. Relentless rains have caused floods and landslides across parts of Asia, with Indonesia and Sri Lanka the hardest hit. Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season, but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms.
London (AFP) – In a yearly tradition going back to 1947, a Norwegian spruce arrives in London, where it will “grace” Trafalgar Square during the Christmas period, with a lighting ceremony planned for Thursday evening. Paul Dimoldenberg, Lord Mayor of Westminster, says, “It really is the start of Christmas for many people in London”.
Hongkong (AFP) – Hong Kong official Woo Ying-ming describes how a substandard “batch of netting” was installed on scaffolding on Wang Fuk Court, the scene of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades which days earlier killed 151 people. 13 people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter as investigators work to piece together what led to the catastrophic fire taking hold so fast in a complex of high-rise apartments.
Kongens Lyngby (AFP) – A rare magnum of Dom Perignon vintage 1961 champagne, served at the wedding of King Charles III and Princess Diana in 1981, is set to go on auction in Denmark. The bottle is estimated to be worth between 500,000 and 600,000 kroner (between 77,600 and 93,000 US dollars). The current owner of the magnum, a collector who does not want his identity to be made public, obtained the bottle from a London dealer.
Sydney (AFP) – Mia Bannister’s skin is inked with a eulogy to her teenage son Ollie, whose suicide after a battle with anorexia and online bullying pushed her to fight for world-first laws in Australia to get kids off social media.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Hundreds of Israelis protest outside President Herzog’s residence following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he had submitted a pardon request. Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, and argues the long-running cases are tearing the country apart. IMAGES
Tegucigalpa (AFP) – Election officials count votes after polls closed in Honduras’ general election following a campaign dominated by US President Donald Trump’s threat to cut aid if a conservative candidate loses. IMAGES
Tegucigalpa (AFP) – People cast their ballots for Honduras’ next president in the final hour of a tight election, after a campaign dominated by threats from US President Donald Trump to cut aid if his preferred conservative candidate loses. IMAGES
Brasilia (AFP) – Bolsonaro supporters gather in front of Brasilia’s National Museum to demand amnesty for the former president, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup. Organizers expected a bigger turnout, but fewer than 100 people attended. IMAGES
Tegucigalpa (AFP) – Presidential candidate of the National Party Nasry Asfura votes in Honduran elections in Tegucigalpa. Hondurans are electing a president in a closely contested election, under the threat from United States President Donald Trump, who urged votes for the right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura, warning that aid to the country would be cut otherwise. IMAGES
Arica (Chile) (AFP) – Migrants wait under the scorching sun of the Atacama desert in Chile to cross the border into Peru. Fears that far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast could deport undocumented migrants if elected are pushing many to leave. Peru’s government declared a state of emergency at its southern border with Chile due to the influx of people.
Tegucigalpa (AFP) – Candidate Rixi Moncada, from the ruling Libre party, votes on the Honduran presidential and legislative elections. Hondurans are electing a president in a closely contested election, under the threat from United States President Donald Trump, who urged votes for the right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura, warning that aid to the country would be cut otherwise. IMAGES
