Tokio (AFP) – “It is not nuclear arms that have deterred the use of the weapons, but it was what we have done that has deterred the use of them”, says a member of Japan’s Nihon Hidankyo during a press conference in Tokyo, the day after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize was awarded Friday to the grassroots movement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors pushing for a nuclear weapons ban.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Cities around Israel are quiet, with markets closed, flights stopped, and public transport halted as observant Jewish people fast and pray on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It is the first time in decades that Israel observes the Day of Atonement while fighting wars on multiple fronts. Despite the holy day, Israeli forces are continuing operations against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Bogotá (AFP) – A bear wanders through an arid landscape once abundant with water in the hills above Bogota, the Colombian capital, which is facing a severe water crisis. The video was posted on X by Acueducto, the company that manages Bogota’s water supply, as the city has been subject to rationing due to low water levels in a nearby reservoir since April. The dry spell — which scientists have linked to climate change — has also caused fires to burn out of control across the continent.
Bargny (Senegal) (AFP) – Cracked, collapsed walls, damaged roofs and sunken buildings are commonplace in Bargny, a coastal town just outside the Senegalese capital Dakar. The cause: rising sea levels linked to global warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, populations living along Africa’s coastline are particularly at risk.
Dadat (Syria) (AFP) – “We’ve been sleeping on the ground for two days, but we can’t sleep at all. How can we sleep on gravel, with the bitter cold at night and the scorching heat during the day?” says a Syrian refugee who fled Israeli bombardment in Lebanon, after a four-day journey to the rebel-held areas of northern Syria. Lebanon became home to hundreds of thousands of Syrians since the 2011 deadly Syrian civil war. But heavy Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have prompted more than 400,000 people, most of them returning Syrian refugees, to cross back into the war-torn country.
Rome (AFP) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calls on the international community to stop selling weapons to Israel. “In light of everything that is happening in the Middle East, the international community should stop exporting weapons to the government of Israel,” he tells reporters in Rome after a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. His comments come as fighting in the Middle East spreads from Gaza into Lebanon and neighbouring Syria, raising fears of an all-out conflict in the Middle East.
Longboat Key (United States) (AFP) – A man clinging to a cool box is rescued by the US Coast Guard approximately 30 miles off Longboat Key, Florida, following Hurricane Milton. The hurricane has killed at least 11 people, felled trees, ripped roofs off buildings and left a trail of destruction along the Florida coast, just two weeks after another devastating storm.
Baghdad (AFP) – Since the defeat of IS in 2017, a fragile stability in Baghdad has allowed a greater focus on the Iraqi capital’s infrastructure and cultural scene. In partnership with an association of private banks, the Baghdad municipality has taken on major restoration projects aimed at boosting tourism in the historic city.
(AFP) – Satellite images show Hurricane Milton from the International Space Station ahead of it’s landfall on Florida’s west coast. The powerful storm, now a category 4, has since left a trail of destruction as it crashes into the US state, sparking tornadoes and flash floods.
St. Petersburg (United States) (AFP) – Parts of the roof of St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field baseball stadium, home of Major League Baseball team the Tampa Bay Raysin, is ripped off by Hurricane Milton’s strong winds. The hurricane leaves a trail of destruction as it crashes into Florida’s coast, sparking tornadoes and flash floods across a US state reeling from another massive storm two weeks earlier.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – More than a year into the Israel-Hamas war, Gazans in the southern city of Khan Yunis are set on preserving their Palestinian heritage. While Mohamed Sha’at has been clearing the historic Mamluk-era Barquq castle from rubble, Ramadan Ahmed, a researcher and artist, has spent decades collecting antiquities from destroyed museums and carving rocks to document the reality of Gazans under Israeli siege and bombardment.
Berlin (AFP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects claims that Berlin has imposed a de facto stop on arms exports to Israel and says more will be sent soon. Speaking in front of the German parliament, he states: “we have not decided to stop delivering weapons. We have delivered weapons, and we will deliver weapons.” His comments come with fighting in the Middle East spreading from Gaza into Lebanon and neighbouring Syria, raising fears of an all-out conflict in the Middle East.
