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Chisinau (AFP) – Moldova’s President Maia Sandu and former President Igor Dodon cast their ballots in the country’s pivotal parliamentary elections. Dodon leads the Socialists, an opposition party that is pro-Russia. Sandu leads the Party of Solidarity and Action (PAS), a pro-EU party that has been pushing for Moldova to integrate into the EU. Sandu says that Moscow have been trying to “interfere” with Moldova’s elections — an accusation the Kremlin denies.

Saritag (Tajikistan) (AFP) – In a labyrinth of tunnels running beneath 4000-metre peaks, Tajik miners are scrabbling to secure antimony, one of the metals at the centre of a global race for rare minerals. According to the European Commission, 54 percent of the EU’s antimony imports come from Tajikistan. Just one Chinese-Tajik joint-owned company Talco Gold produces 10 percent of global supply.

Florencio Varela (Argentine) (AFP) – Police forces have cordoned off a house in Florencio Varela, a southern suburb of Buenos Aires, after the discovery of the bodies of two women and a girl buried in the garden. Their murder and torture was tied to narco activity and live-streamed, according to authorities, sparking outrage in the South American nation. IMAGES

Buenos Aires (Argentine) (AFP) – Thousands of protesters take to the streets of Buenos Aires to call for justice after the killing of two women and a girl. Their murder and torture was tied to narco activity and live-streamed, according to authorities, sparking outrage in the South American nation. IMAGES

Hong Kong (AFP) – Restaurant owners along a Hong Kong waterfront said they face millions in repair costs after Super Typhoon Ragasa sent waves crashing into their businesses, destroying furniture and equipment.

Washington (AFP) – Former FBI chief and prominent Donald Trump critic James Comey says on Instagram that he is “not afraid” and declares his innocence after being indicted on two criminal counts as the US president escalates a campaign of retribution against political foes. The charges come days after Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Comey and others he sees as enemies — a stunning departure from the principle that the Justice Department must be free of White House pressure.

Altadena (United States) (AFP) – Nearly nine months after devastating fires in Los Angeles, some residents are still unable to return to their homes as tests show that their houses are contaminated with heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, and zinc. “We have a two-year-old daughter, and if the soil is contaminated, we cannot live here,” says Altadena resident Lawrence Gjurgevich. “There’s no guarantee we’ll be back.”

London (AFP) – Member of Northern Irish rap group Kneecap Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh leaves London’s Woolwich Crown Court after it throws out a terrorism case against him. The performer, who goes by the stage name Mo Chara and had been accused of displaying a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at a gig, but judge Paul Goldspring ruled the “proceedings against him were instituted unlawfully and are null”. “This entire process was never about me,” Ó hAnnaidh says outside the court. “It was always about Gaza. About what happens if you dare to speak up.” AND SOUNDBITE

Beijing (AFP) – China says it hopes the United States will provide “open and fair” treatment for TikTok and other Chinese companies investing in the country, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on a proposed deal for a US version of the app that would see Chinese ownership reduced to 20 percent.

Mexico (AFP) – A truck burns in front of a military barracks in Mexico City during a demonstration over the disappearance and presumed murder of 43 students a decade ago. Hooded men reversed the truck into the gates and then set it on fire during the protest to mark the 11th anniversary of the disappearance of the students, who had been training to be teachers, from the southern town of Ayotzinapa. IMAGES

Nuuk (AFP) – Denmark has apologised to the victims of a forced contraception programme that ran in Greenland for more than three decades. Between the late 1960s and 1992, around 4,500 women forcibly received contraceptive devices in an effort by Danish authorities to reduce the birth rate of the autonomous territory’s Inuit population. “It’s indeed a special day,” says Tida Jette Ravn, for whom the apology, delivered in Nuuk by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, marks “a day of grief.”

Rome (AFP) – Italy’s Defence Minister says the “situation is worrying” for the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, after organisers reported several of the ships had been targeted by drones off the Greek coast. Speaking to the Italian parliament, Guido Crosetto says no country can “guarantee safety” for the flotilla, which departed Barcelona this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid. Crosetto also describes as “totally unacceptable” the alleged attacks on civilian vessels.