Hong Kong (AFP) – Thousands of spectators pack the streets of Hong Kong’s Tai Hang neighbourhood to witness the resurrection of the city’s fire dragon dance, following a three-year break caused by the pandemic.
Washington (AFP) – A US State Department report warns that China is spending billions of dollars globally to spread disinformation, threatening to cause a “sharp contraction” in freedom of speech around the world.
Rankus (Syria) (AFP) – Years of fighting, severe drought and a gruelling economic crisis have left Syria’s beekeepers struggling to stay afloat.
Buenos Aires (AFP) – Hundreds of protesters march through Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires in favour of the decriminalization of abortion and access to sexual education, on the Day for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean. IMAGES
Khnatsakh (Armenia) (AFP) – Residents in the village of Khnatsakh, on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, live in fear of an invasion by Azerbaijani troops. Should an attack occur, a network of caves in the surrounding hills is ready to act as a shelter, as they did in 2020. Until the 2020 war, the village was controlled by Armenia as a “buffer” around breakaway Karabakh. Since Azerbaijan’s victory in 2020, Yerevan pulled back and Khnatsakh found itself surrounded by military outposts.
Erez (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Gazan workers gather on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel as they wait to cross. Israel has reopened the crossing after two weeks of deadly clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers.
Once Brewed (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The Sycamore Gap tree, a Northumberland iconic landmark and one of the UK’s most photographed trees was “deliberately felled” overnight, according to Northumberland National Park authorities. Located next to the Roman-era Hadrian’s Wall in northeast England, its picturesque setting was even featured in films.
Puerto Real (Spain) (AFP) – Since the time of the Phoenicians and for centuries afterwards, traditional salt production was the source of the Cadiz Bay’s fame and wealth, before it gradually disappeared. Of the 160 sea salt producers that existed at the beginning of the 20th century, only four are still operating. Among them is Juan Carlos Sanchez de Lamadrid, who believes that salt of Cadiz can “return to its former glory.”
Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan) (AFP) – Azerbaijani security forces escort former Nagorno-Karabakh separatist leader, Ruben Vardanyan, as he is placed in pre-trial detention. On September 28, a Baku court charged Vardanyan with financing terrorism and creating an illegal armed organisation, for which the 55-year-old could be jailed for up to 14 years. Vardanyan headed the disputed region between November 2022 and February 2023.
Yerevan (AFP) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says “there will be no Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh” in the coming days as people continue to flee the region taken by Azerbaijani forces. An act of “ethnic cleansing,” he accuses. On 28 September, Armenian authorities reported that 65,000 refugees had arrived in the country, half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population.
Yerevan (AFP) – The Armenian government says that “66,500” people have arrived from Nagorno-Karabakh after the region fell under Azerbaijani control. The figure represents more than half of the territory’s ethnic Armenian population.
Paris (AFP) – Ten days after pieces from his collection were stolen, Olivier Rousteing presents his Balmain Spring/Summer 2024 show in Paris. We take a look backstage at the excitement just hours before the show.
