Punta Gorda (United States) (AFP) – Heavy winds and rain pummel Punta Gorda in Florida as Hurricane Ian intensifies to just shy of the strongest Category 5 level, threatening to wreak “catastrophic” destruction on the southern US state.
Vaalimaa (Finland) (AFP) – A Finnish border officer explains that they have seen an up to 40% increase in traffic on the border with Russia since Moscow’s military call-up announcement last Wednesday.
Gabrovo (Bulgaria) (AFP) – Once a booming industrial hub, the region of Gabrovo in the centre of Bulgaria now has the country’s lowest natural birth rate. As more and more young people move out in search of work, the number of newborns has dropped dramatically – from around 1000 babies born in 1985, to just 263 in 2021.
Port Charlotte (United States) (AFP) – Palm trees sway in the wind and heavy rain falls on Port Charlotte as Hurricane Ian barrels toward Southwest Florida after strengthening to to a Category 4 storm.
Tadif (Syria) (AFP) – In a frontline town divided by regime and rebel forces in northwest Syria, students return to classrooms in a bombed-out building with no glass in the windows, doors or electricity. Heavily damaged during Syria’s more than decade-long war, Tadif lies on what has turned into a quiet front line between regime forces and Ankara-backed rebels.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Speaking during a UN Security Council meeting, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia after “pseudo-referendums” in four Moscow-held regions. “There is nothing to talk about with the current President of Ukraine” he says, as residents of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions vote in Kremlin-organised referendums on whether to join the Russian Federation.
Fort Lauderdale (United States) (AFP) – Footage of high winds and flooded roads in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida after devastating western Cuba, leaving behind countless scenes of destruction.
Vienna (United States) (AFP) – During the pandemic, Andrea Diaz quit her bartending job in Virginia and started to rent her pet alpacas by the hour to cheer up stir-crazy Americans. Since the launch of her business in spring 2020, it has expanded from two alpacas to 14, including rescues.
Havana (AFP) – Havana is plunged into darkness by a countrywide blackout due to damage to its power network inflicted by Hurricane Ian, according to the state electricity company Union Electrica.
Paris (AFP) – Dior unveils its spring-summer 2023 collection against a grotto backdrop in the Jardin des Tuileries on the second day of Paris Fashion Week.
Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – Canadian writer Margaret Atwood and Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa join other writers and artists to read the work of Salman Rushdie during the Toronto International Festival of Authors 2022. Rushdie was brutally attacked while on stage during a conference in New York state in August.
Iguala de la Independencia (Mexico) (AFP) – Protesters use a stolen Pepsi truck to break into the Palace of Justice in Iguala de la Independencia, Mexico’s Guerrero state, where they throw firecrackers and rocks, and set the truck on fire. The demonstrators are demanding justice for the 43 students who disappeared in 2014, after investigators branded the atrocity a “state crime” involving the military and other institutions.
