Hpa-an (Myanmar) (AFP) – Myanmar’s ethnic Karen people celebrate the traditional new year, which falls on December 30 in 2024. People in Hpa-an, the capital of Karen State, hold a traditional ceremony in which they dance, sing and pray for a good harvest in the coming year.
Washington (AFP) – Outside the White House, Americans reflect on Jimmy Carter’s legacy following the death of the 100-year-old former US president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Milan (Italy) (AFP) – “In my opinion the new law is excessive,” says Morgan Ishak, visiting Milan days before a new ban on outdoor smoking comes into force. On January 1, 2025, the measure will ban the use of cigarettes in all public outdoor areas, including city streets, bars and cafes, unless it is possible to keep a distance of at least 10 metres between people, with a fine of up to 240 euros for anyone caught in breach of the rule.
Muan (South Korea) (AFP) – “It’s heartbreaking, unexpected things happened,” the sister of a passenger killed in South Korea’s deadliest plane crash tells AFP from Muan International Airport, a day after the Jeju Air plane carrying her brother crashed on arrival, killing 179 people.
Baku (AFP) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demands that Russia admit that it fired at an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet before it crashed, accusing Moscow of initially trying to cover up the cause of the fatal disaster. His comments come four days after the AZAL Embraer 190 plane crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, with Azerbaijani officials suggesting the aircraft was hit by Russian air-defences.
Beer Yaakov (Israel) (AFP) – Wearing a safety belt, helmet and work boots, Raju Nishad navigates the scaffolding, hammering blocks that will form part of a building in a new neighbourhood in Beer Yaakov, in central Israel. He and other Indians are part of an Israeli government effort to fill a void left by tens of thousands of Palestinian construction workers barred from entering Israel since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.
Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – Tens of thousands demonstrate in the Spanish city of Valencia over the government’s response to devastating recent floods.
Tiflis (AFP) – Georgia has inaugurated a far-right governing party loyalist as president, escalating a political showdown moments after his pro-EU predecessor declared herself the “only legitimate president”. The inauguration of former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili ratchets up a months-long political crisis that has seen huge pro-European Union demonstrations. Outgoing head of state Salome Zurabishvili and protesters have declared Kavelashvili “illegitimate”, demanding a re-run of the October general elections that they say the governing Georgian Dream party rigged.
Zagreb (AFP) – “Croatia needs a peaceful life,” says Dragan Primorac, the presidential candidate backed by ruling conservative HDZ party, after casting his vote. He is polling second behind main rival and incumbent head of state, Zoran Milanovic. One of the two candidates is expected to be chosen in a runoff in two weeks. The election comes as Croatia deals with biting inflation, widespread corruption and a labour shortage.
Chester (AFP) – Conservationists in the UK and Portugal hail a pioneering snail breeding programme a success for saving two critically endangered species from extinction and spurring the release of 1,329 on a remote Atlantic island. The Desertas Island land snails were believed to be extinct. They had not been spotted for more than a century, until conservationists rediscovered a small population on Deserta Grande island, close to Madeira, in 2017.
Vatikanstadt (AFP) – Pope Francis sends his prayers to the victims of a plane crash in South Korea believed to have killed nearly 180 people. “My thoughts are with the many families in South Korea who are mourning today following the dramatic plane crash. I join in prayer for the survivors and the dead,” Pope Francis says after the Angelus prayer.
Muan (AFP) – Rescuers assess the wreckage at Muan International Airport after a Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Bangkok to South Korea crashed on arrival. The plane burst into flames after smashing into a barrier, killing everyone aboard except for two flight attendants plucked from the wreckage.
