Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, complaining that his talks with Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war “don’t go anywhere.” The sanctions came hours after Russia’s latest overnight barrage on Ukraine killed at least seven people.
Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – The floods in the Valencia region on 29 October 2024 claimed the lives of more than 230 people and caused colossal material damage. In addition to businesses, belongings and lives being lost, the water and mud also deprived many families of their memories. Thanks to a university-led initiative, hundreds of family photographs hung to dry at a laboratory, fragile reminders of birthday celebrations and summer vacations, have been rescued from ruin.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Vice President JD Vance warns the United States and allies face a “tough task” disarming Hamas and building a peaceful future for Gaza during a visit to Jerusalem, as Washington seeks to reassure Israel over the next steps in its ambitious ceasefire deal.
La Paz (AFP) – Hundreds of Bolivians, mostly young university students, take to the streets of central La Paz for a second night to protest the results of the presidential election. Marching to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and then to downtown, they claim there was fraud in the vote count, and that conservative, right wing candidate Jorge Quiroga was the true winner of the contest.
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Former Belarusian political prisoner Sergei Tikhanovsky, imprisoned for almost five years and released this summer, tells the European Parliament in Strasbourg that a “transfer of power” in Belarus is “imminent”, but warns Europe must “become an active player” in the country. The popular opposition blogger, sentenced to 18 years in 2020 for challenging Belarus’s long-time autocratic leader Alexander Lukashenko, is the husband of the exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Arctic (AFP) – Brazilian navigator Tamara Klink says she encountered “very little” sea ice on her solo sail through the Northwest Passage — a rare feat that would have been impossible without an icebreaker ship three decades ago. In September, the 28-year-old became the second woman and the first Latin American to complete the perilous Arctic journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, which has only become possible due to melting ice caused by climate change.
Lisbon (AFP) – Lisbon has opened its cemeteries to the public, offering guided night tours by torchlight for a fourth year to showcase the rich architectural and historical heritage of the city’s resting places. “There is a lot to see in a cemetery at night. We can see the architecture, the history, the lives of other people,” says a visitor on a night tour of the Prazeres cemetery, built in 1833.
Rawalpindi (Pakistan) (AFP) – Despite winning the right to medically transition in 2018, many transgender people in Pakistan still turn to unqualified surgeons because of a lack of trained doctors, high costs and cultural taboos.
Tokyo (AFP) – Sanae Takaichi has become Japan’s first woman prime minister: as the country’s fifth premier in as many years, she leads a minority government and has a long to-do list, not least handling the scheduled arrival of US President Donald Trump next week.
Washington (AFP) – Heavy machinery tears down a section of the East Wing of the White House as construction begins on President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom, which he has said will be built entirely with private money.
Paris (AFP) – France’s ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy becomes the first former head of an EU state to be jailed, continuing to proclaim his innocence as he enters a Paris prison. France’s right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012 was found guilty last month of seeking to acquire funding from Moamer Kadhafi’s Libya for the campaign that saw him elected.
Tāplejung (Nepal) (AFP) – Nepal’s mountains including Everest have long drawn climbers from across the world, but a growing community is exploring hidden Himalayan summits promising solitude and the chance to be first to the top. “They come here for unknown peaks to do first ascents or find new routes,” says Nepali climber and guide Vinayak Malla.
