Rome (AFP) – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says he is waiting to see how Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson plays out, but if confirmed, it would be “another victory for Ukraine”. The comment was made after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. SOUNDBITE
London (AFP) – Workers on London’s Underground network go on strike on Thursday 10 November, leaving commuters to find alternative methods of transport or work from home. The action by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Unite unions follows several prior walkouts this year amid a long-running dispute over job cuts, pensions and working conditions. IMAGES
Plévenon (France) (AFP) – After an unprecedented postponement due to the weather, the 138 sailors taking part in the Route du Rhum set off from Saint-Malo to attack the Atlantic Ocean, for a solo crossing to Guadeloupe, which the fastest should complete in a record time of six days.
Caracas (AFP) – Credit-hungry small business owners in Venezuela see new financing opportunities in private microfinance as they limbo through the economic crisis. The new initiative, called “Pídelo”, provides small loans to entrepreneurs from hairdressers to small business owners to expand their businesses.
Uttarkashi (India) (AFP) – From prime ministers and millionaires to labourers, Hindu faithful dream of trekking at least once in their lives to Gaumukh, where the waters of India’s holiest river, the Ganges, emerge from a Himalayan glacier. But the ice at the end of the arduous journey is receding rapidly and portends an increasingly dry future for a country of 1.4 billion people facing existential challenges from climate change.
Paris (AFP) – Paris’ Arab World Institute (Institut du monde arabe) holds a retrospective highlighting the dreamlike work of Baya, an icon of contemporary painting in her home nation of Algeria.
Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) – Demonstrators take to the streets to demand an end to fossil fuel funding at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre in Egypt, where this year’s COP27 climate conference is taking place.
Agogo (Ghana) (AFP) – Ghanaian environmental activist Chibeze Ezekiel has won recognition for steering his nation away from coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, and campaigning for clean energy as a pathway to development. Africa needs more funding to build the “technology to develop renewable or clean energy,” he says, a demand echoed by developing countries at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt’s seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden hails the US midterm elections as “a good day for democracy” and “a good day for America.”
Geneva (AFP) – A Ferrari race car of legendary Formula One driver Michael Schumacher will be auctioned next week by Sotheby’s. It is one of the highlights of the auction house’s “Luxury Week” in Geneva, along with exceptional jewels including a rare blue diamond estimated at between 10 and 15 million Swiss francs and a bracelet once belonging to Empress Eugénie of France.
Athens (AFP) – Protesters in Greece clash with riot police during a general strike and demonstrations over price hikes and spiralling inflation. “I chose to strike today rather than go to work. When I work 15 hours a day, it is the only weapon I have,” says health worker Giota Kokolessi.
Fairfax (United States) (AFP) – Americans go to a polling station in the city of Fairfax, in the state of Virginia, as voting opens in the United States midterm elections. These elections could give a parliamentary majority to the Republicans, limit the powers of President Joe Biden for the next two years and pave the way for a return of Donald Trump to the White House.
