AFP UK

ANANTNAG (India) (AFP) – When the cricket World Cup kicks off in India this October, several players will be carrying Kashmiri willow wood bats. But manufacturers in the region say over-exploitation of trees means their famous craft faces ruin. Supplies of willow wood are rapidly vanishing amidst rampant logging and insufficient replanting. The Kashmiri cricket bat industry supplies the bulk of global supply and is central to the contested region’s economy, employing some 120,000 people across 400 workshops.

Autlan de Navarro (Mexico) (AFP) – Mexican emergency services work at the scene after at least eight people died and two were left missing when heavy rain turned a mountain stream into a torrent of muddy floodwater that swept away villagers. Dozens of rescue workers have been deployed to search for the missing in Autlan in the western state of Jalisco.

Detroit (AFP) – Auto workers stand on the picket line outside Ford Michigan assembly plant as US President Joe Biden begins an unprecedented trip to join them, a day before rival Donald Trump makes his own bid for the blue collar vote. IMAGES

Meulaboh (Indonesia) (AFP) – A newborn elephant named Yuna takes its first steps in Aceh, Indonesia. Yuna’s birth on 20 September represented a significant addition to the conservation efforts of the critically endangered Sumatran elephants. There are less than 3,000 Sumatran elephants remaining in the world.

Seoul (AFP) – South Korea is hosting a rare meeting with senior Japanese and Chinese diplomats. The talks are seen as an attempt to ease Beijing’s concerns over Washington’s deepening security ties with Tokyo and Seoul. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has pulled his country closer to Washington and sought to bury the hatchet with Japan as the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea has grown.

Goris (Armenia) (AFP) – The streets of Goris, a town in Armenia near the border with Azerbaijan, fill up with cars and buses as refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh region arrive.

Guatemala City (AFP) – At least six people have died, with several others missing, after a river swept away shacks along its banks in the Guatemalan capital.

Beijing (AFP) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warns that Beijing will oppose the “wanton expansion of military alliances”, the latest in a string of warnings as the US deepens its security ties in the Asia-Pacific region.

Karima (Sudan) (AFP) – Prices have collapsed in the vital date industry, the latest economic sector to become a casualty of war in the northeast African country.

Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – Members of the Sikh community in Toronto protest in front of the Indian consulate in Toronto following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion that agents linked to New Delhi may have carried out the June 18 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist and Canadian citizen.

Villarrica (Chile) (AFP) – Chile’s military fly over the Villarrica volcano, considered the country’s riskiest and located in a tourist area, as authorities raised the alert level from yellow to orange after an increase in its activity.

Saltdean (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Dozens of dogs are splashing around an outdoor swimming pool in southern England, as part of Saltdean Lido’s “Dogtember” swimming sessions for both dogs and their owners.