AFP UK

Panama City (AFP) – Presidential candidate and former president of Panama Martin Torrijos casts his vote in the country’s presidential elections. IMAGES

Panama City (AFP) – Panamanian presidential frontrunner and conservative lawyer Jose Raul Mulino, of the Realizing Goals (Realizando Metas) political party, casts his vote in the country’s presidential elections. IMAGES

Porto Alegre (Brazil) (AFP) – People navigate in boats through the flooded streets of Porto Alegre, Brazil, as floods and mudslides have killed at least 66 and forced more than 80,000 to flee their homes, according to authorities. IMAGES

Panama City (AFP) – Panamanians begin voting in the country’s presidential elections, featuring a crowded field of eight candidates, with the protege of an ex-head of state convicted of corruption in the lead. IMAGES

Panama City (AFP) – Polling stations open in Panama City, Panama, for the country’s presidential elections, featuring a crowded field of eight candidates, with the protege of an ex-head of state convicted of corruption in the lead. IMAGES

Porto Alegre (Brazil) (AFP) – Images of monster floods and waterlogged streets in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Floods have devastated the state of Rio Grande do Sul, of which Porto Alegre is the capital, leaving at least 60 people dead and 70,000 evacuees. IMAGES

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s demand to end the war in Gaza in order to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal, saying it would be a “terrible defeat” for Israel. Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has accused Netanyahu of sabotaging the truce talks, the latest bid to halt the devastating almost seven-month-long war that has triggered worldwide protests.

Tel Aviv (AFP) – Thousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the veteran right-wing leader to negotiate with Hamas to bring back the hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has accused Netanyahu of sabotaging truce talks in Cairo, the latest bid to halt the war in Gaza which has raged for more than half a year and devastated the coastal Palestinian territory.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says the country has ordered the seizure of Al Jazeera’s broadcasting equipment after the government decided to shut down the Qatar-based news channel in the country, with which it has had a long-running feud. Karhi accuses Al Jazeera, several of whose journalists have been killed and wounded as a result of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, of being the Palestinian militant group’s “mouthpiece”. Al Jazeera has fiercely condemned Israel’s decision as “criminal” and accused it of systematically targeting its employees in the Gaza Strip.

Porto Alegre (Brazil) (AFP) – A group of volunteers drive through the flooded streets of the hard-hit southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, rescuing stranded residents as they go. At least 66 people have been killed in raging floods and mudslides affecting the South American country, with more than 80,000 forced to flee their homes in a disaster Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva blames on climate change.

Birmingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – After Britain’s opposition Labour party trounced the ruling Conservatives in a host of mayoral races and local elections, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urges Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election “as soon as possible”. Speaking after Labour’s Richard Parker unexpectedly beat Conservative incumbent Andy Street to become Mayor of the West Midlands in another hammer blow for Sunak, Starmer says the election results show “the country wants change”.

Eaubonne (France) (AFP) – American swimmer Bill May, 47, could become the first man to compete in artistic swimming at the Paris Olympics. The team events, long the preserve of women, are being opened up to mixed genders for the first time, with men now allowed to compete. [COMPLETE VID34QK2EW_FR]