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Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomes Russian president Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan with an official ceremony. The Russian leader’s visit to Astana comes while Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi are in Uzbekistan, amid renewed diplomatic interest in the region. Central Asia’s former Soviet republics have sought to diversify their partnerships as Moscow’s sway over the region, which it considers as being under its sphere of influence, has waned since Russia began its assault in Ukraine.

Paris (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron calls for a “ceasefire” in Gaza as he opens a conference in Paris on aid for the Palestinian territory. The besieged strip has been under bombardment by Israel since the 7 October attacks by Hamas which killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials. “Civilians must be protected, and this is absolutely essential and non-negotiable,” says President Macron as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its second month. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed more than 10,500 people, mostly women and civilians.

Hialeah (United States) (AFP) – Former US President Donald Trump holds a rally in Hialeah, Florida, a few miles from the Republican presidential primary debate from where he was absent. “The Biden regime is trying to put their political opponents in jail, shutting down free speech, taking bribes and kickbacks to enrich themselves and their very spoiled children,” he says at the rally.

Tokyo (AFP) – Hachiko, Japan’s symbol of canine loyalty, celebrates his birth centenary this November, and continues to inspire locals and foreigners alike.

Tokyo (AFP) – For Japan’s criminal underworld, social media offers anonymity and a connection to anyone from teenagers to pensioners seeking to earn money and willing to commit crimes.

Cairo (AFP) – Speaking in Cairo, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk says the actions of Palestinian armed groups, as well as the “collective punishment” of Palestinian civilians by Israel amount to “war crimes”.

Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinian dual nationals and foreigners wait to pass through the Rafah border crossing from the southern Gaza Strip to Egypt. “We’ve been waiting for a while for our names to be added to the list,” says Mazen Danaf, a German passport holder. The Rafah crossing was opened on 1 November for three days before it closed again amid a dispute over the passage of ambulances. Departures resumed on 6 November.

Brussels (AFP) – Australian-American actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett addresses members of the European Parliament in Brussels. During her speech, Blanchett calls on Europeans to take action on the refugee situation and to provide urgent funding for humanitarian operations. “Humanitarians are near breaking point and what will you be left with when they are forced to go?,” says Blanchett.

Paris (AFP) – At the call of thirteen NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International, a group of people gather in front of the Eiffel Tower to call for an immediate “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, on the eve of the international humanitarian conference organised by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Yusef Salaam, exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ member, speaks to supporters and the media after winning a New York City Council seat. Salaam, one of five African-American and Hispanic teenagers wrongly convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park in 1989, one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in the United States, was elected to the New York City Council on November 7, 2023 evening, a highly symbolic victory celebrated in his Harlem neighborhood.

Paris (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron warns against those who “claim to support our compatriots of the Jewish faith by confusing rejection of Muslims with support for Jews”, in a clear allusion to the far right. He delivered his speech to the Grand Orient de France, the country’s main Freemason organisation, amid a surge in anti-Semitic incidents in the country.

‘There’s not much we can do,’ says Mathieu Barras, who owns a plot of land in northern France, where heavy flooding forced dozens of schools to close and rendered some roads only accessible by boat. The flooding came as heavy rainfall caused the nearby Slack river to overflow, submerging dozens of towns in the northern Pas-de-Calais region. A week earlier, more than a dozen people died across western Europe after Storm Ciaran brought heavy downpours and record winds.