Dry Tortugas National Park (AFP) – SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission capsule splashes down off the coast of Florida after making history when its crew conducted the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts. The Dragon spacecraft landed in the ocean at 3:37 am (0737 GMT), a webcast of the splashdown shows, with a recovery team retrieving the capsule and four crew.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Yemen’s Huthis that they “should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us” as he heads a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. A Yemeni rebel missile triggered a rush to shelters in central Israel, a rare incident that caused no casualties but again added to regional tensions nearly a year into the Gaza war.
Głuchołazy (AFP) – Storm Boris lashes central and eastern Europe with torrential rains and high winds. The rains have flooded streets and submerged entire neighbourhoods in some places while shutting down public transport and electricity in others. Seven people have died as a result of the storm, and thousands have been evacuated across the continent.
Undisclosed (AFP) – Released Ukrainian prisoners of war celebrate their return near the Ukraine-Belarus border on September 13. The release mostly concerned soldiers — including 23 women — captured around the siege of Mariupol in 2022. The following day, Moscow and Kyiv swapped an additional 103 prisoners of war each in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
Kerkennah (AFP) – Off a quiet Tunisian island, Sara Souissi readies her small fishing boat. As a woman in the male-dominated trade, she rows against entrenched patriarchy. Tunisian women have long played a major role in the fishing sector. But their work has been undervalued and unsupported, a recent study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found.
L’Alpe d’Huez (AFP) – Aerial images of the first snow to fall in France’s Alpe d’Huez ski area in Isere.
Corumba de Goias (AFP) – As fires continue to ravage the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, a rescue center in Brazil treats jaguars injured in the blaze. The wildfires have been aggravated by the country’s worst drought in seven decades, which experts attribute to climate change.
An Bord des Papstflugzeugs (AFP) – As the US election in early November approaches, Pope Francis says both the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are “against life”. On the papal plane after his tour of the Asia-Pacific, he says: “One discards migrants, and one kills children”. Despite his strong opinions, the pontiff emphasises the importance of voting, claiming “one has to choose the lesser of two evils.”
Avignon (France) (AFP) – Nearly 200 women and dozens of men gather outside an Avignon courthouse in support of Gisele Pelicot, whose husband is accused of secretly drugging her and inviting strangers to rape her in her own home for over a decade. Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted to the charges against him in a trial that started on September 2, while another 50 men aged 26 to 74 — including single men, married fathers and divorcees with everyday jobs — are also being tried for alleged involvement. Pelicot’s trial has been adjourned to September 16 after the suspect was excused from attending over his deteriorating health.
Hollywood (United States) (AFP) – Scottish actor Ewan McGregor gets his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For the unveiling of his Star, McGregor was accompanied by his family and wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region “slowed” the progress of Moscow’s troops in the Donetsk region.
Ujung Kulon (Indonesia) (AFP) – The sighting of the newborn Javan rhino calf in an Indonesian national park, following two other such discoveries this year, is boosting hope of preserving the rare species, considered one of the most endangered in the world.
