Berlin (AFP) – Germany’s defence minister says that Russia’s attacks on Ukraine demonstrate “a contempt for humanity” and “violate international law.” The comments from Boris Pistorius come just hours after a wave of strikes on Kyiv, in which at least six people were killed.
Arslanbap (Kyrgyzstan) (AFP) – The Arslanbob forest, the world’s largest wild walnut grove, has been slowly fading for years, hit by the overgrazing of livestock, illegal logging and rising temperatures. For locals, walnuts are a bread-and-butter issue, and now their future might be in danger.
Beijing (AFP) – Young Chinese are paying to “time-travel” into the past, dressing in flowing Han clothing, or hanfu, and dining among pavilions and zither music, as immersive ancient-themed restaurants surge in popularity despite a slowing economy.
Chile (AFP) – Chilean presidential frontrunner Jeannette Jara holds her final campaign event at Sotomayor Square in Valparaiso (center) before the first round of voting on November 16. Jara is leading polls but faces an uphill battle against the far-right if, as expected, the election goes to a runoff on December 14. The former labor minister, who joined the Communist Party at the age of 14, is running on behalf of a broad center-left coalition. IMAGES
Santiago du Chili (AFP) – Chile’s presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei arrives to final campaign event ahead of elections on November 16. Matthei, the candidate of the mainstream right, is a former minister and ex-mayor of the wealthy Santiago suburb of Providencia. Matthei’s father was a member of Pinochet’s military junta. IMAGES
Berlin (AFP) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that fewer young Ukrainian men should come to Germany as refugees. He also says he will ensure the incentives for Ukrainian men already in Germany to work “outweigh the incentive to remain in the welfare system.”
Pjöngjang (AFP) – Yellow ginkgo leaves adorn the streets of Pyongyang in North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated nations.
Seoul (AFP) – Students arrive at Yongsan High School in Seoul on one of the most important days for South Korean teenagers: the college entrance exam. More than 550,000 students registered for the Suneung, for which the authorities are taking extraordinary measures, including halting flights, to minimise distraction.
Paris (AFP) – Ten years on from its worst attack, France pays tribute to those killed in Paris in 2015. In a series of shootings and suicide bombings, jihadists killed 130 people in and around the French capital on the night of November 13, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. The only surviving assailant remains in prison, where he is serving a life sentence.
Myawaddy (Myanmar) (AFP) – Myanmar’s military says it is demolishing nearly 150 buildings in a crackdown on a notorious internet scam compound bordering Thailand — including a gym, a spa and a karaoke parlour.
Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump signed a bill to end the longest government shutdown in US history — 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game.
Kiew (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledges a “clean-up and reboot” of state-run nuclear agency Energoatom after anti-corruption investigators opened a major probe into the country’s energy sector, which led to the sacking of Justice Minister German Galushchenko, a former energy minister accused of orchestrating a $100-million scheme to secure kickbacks. The case is the latest to trigger accusations that Zelensky’s team are weaponising the judicial system following last month’s arrest of Volodymyr Kudrytsky, who led national energy company Ukrenergo until 2024, on embezzlement accusations.
