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.
Washington (AFP) – The United States says that Russia has shown it is not a reliable partner after Armenia blamed Moscow for failing to prevent Azerbaijani forces’ capture of Nagorno-Karabakh. “Russia has shown that it is not a security partner that can be relied on,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters.
Cape Town (AFP) – Homes were washed away and filled with mud and floodwater after a river bank burst and heavy rainfall hit South Africa’s Cape Town area. The settlement in Sir Lowry’s Pass village in Western Cape remains flooded and residents are facing a hard few days with nowhere to go after their homes were destroyed in the flooding.
Nakhichivan (Azerbaijan) (AFP) – Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says he is “confident” in the successful reintegration of ethnic Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region into Azerbaijani society after Baku seized control of the breakaway enclave. Aliyev was speaking at a press conference in the enclave of Nakhichivan, following a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A key supplier of advanced weaponry to Baku, Erdogan described Azerbaijan’s operation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region as a “source of pride.”
Mogadishu (AFP) – Women engineers are finding success in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, where security improvements and business growth have spurred a construction boom in recent years. Often supervising male labourers twice her age, civil engineer Faduma Mohamed Ali is hard at work. “I was the only female student in my university class,” she says. Women make up less than one third of the workforce in Somalia, but many are trying to break conservative barriers in the east African country.
Sémè-Kraké (Benin) (AFP) – Families grieve their loved ones after an explosion at a contraband fuel depot in Benin killed at least 34 people on 23 September. “Four members of my family perished in the flames”, says Antoine Djanta. The fire erupted at a warehouse for smuggled fuel in the southern Benin town of Seme Podji near the border with Nigeria.
Al-Barduqali (Syria) (AFP) – While some children in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib region return to school, many others do not have classrooms to go to or have been forced to work instead to support their families. Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, many educational facilities have been destroyed and the country has plunged into a crippling economic crisis. 90% of the population has fallen below the poverty line according to the United Nations, and most families cannot afford to send their children to school.
Bangkok (AFP) – For millions of Chinese tourists, Thailand used to be a land of water fights, lantern festivals and delicious food. But thanks to social media rumours and a blockbuster movie, the kingdom’s image among many Chinese people is now one of dangerous illegality and scam border compounds – causing visitor numbers to plummet.
Kabul (AFP) – A wushu team from Afghanistan will compete in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, after battling financial worries in Afghanistan. They are part of a delegation representing the country in 15 sports for the first time since the Taliban seized power in 2021.
Ouistreham (France) (AFP) – Tens of thousands of enthusiasts and curious onlookers gather on the beach at Ouistreham, in Calvados, to watch 80 vehicles built before 1947 go head-to-head in drag races.
Eilat (Israel) (AFP) – The Red Sea’s spectacular coral reefs face a new threat, marine biologists warn — the mass death of sea urchins that may be caused by a mystery disease. Because the long-spined creatures feed on algae that can suffocate corals, their die-off could “destroy our entire coral reef ecosystem,” warns scientist Lisa-Maria Schmidt.
Sarmin (Syria) (AFP) – Two civilians have been killed after government forces fired rockets that struck a displaced persons’ camp in Syria’s rebel-held northwest.
