Berlin (AFP) – A ‘freedom’ party is held at the Brandenberg Gate and art installations line the route where the wall stood. The historic moment 35 years ago led to the collapse of communism in eastern Europe and the reunification of Germany.
Amsterdam (AFP) – “A full investigation will take place in the Netherlands on the question if the Dutch authorities, if we, as Dutch authorities, acted properly,” says Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp while meeting his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Amsterdam. Saar’s visit comes a few days after violent clashes erupted in Amsterdam following a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax.
Calais (France) (AFP) – Beyond the ever-growing list of refugees who have died in the Channel while trying to reach England, another list exists – that of the missing. For two long weeks, Osama, a young Syrian, has been searching for his father, who he lost contact when their dinghy sank.
Moscow (AFP) – Russian prosecutors on Friday demanded a six-year prison sentence for a paediatrician accused of criticising the Ukraine campaign during a private appointment, in a case that demonstrates the extent of repression gripping Russia.
Amsterdam (AFP) – Violence that erupted overnight in Amsterdam following a Europa League football match between host team Ajax and Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv represents an “explosion” of anti-Semitism that has “not been seen in a long time,” says the city’s mayor Femke Halsema.
Dhaka (AFP) – More than 65,000 cases of dengue have been recorded in Bangladesh at the start of November, as climate change turns the disease into a year-round crisis, leaving some paediatric wards packed with children squeezed two to a bed. The Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue — identifiable by its black and white striped legs — breeds in stagnant pools, and cases once slowed after the monsoon rains faded.
Kinshasa (AFP) – Like many others operating a street stall, Papy Kalume’s livelihood is precarious. Despite the challenges, Kalume finds that running his own business is still more profitable than working in a hair salon.
El Plateado (Colombia) (AFP) – A soldier was killed and another seriously injured in a motorcycle bomb attack attributed to FARC dissidents in a conflict-ridden region in southwestern Colombia, according to authorities. In a video released by the army, the roof of a house is seen destroyed, debris on the ground, and soldiers along the street where the vehicle exploded in the town of El Plateado, in the department of Cauca. IMAGES
Pyongyang (AFP) – Hundreds of people line the streets of North Korea’s capital Pyongyang to welcome home the under-17 women’s football team following their World Cup victory.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli police detain two French gendarmes at the Eleona, a religious sanctuary owned by France in Jerusalem, which French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot was meant to visit. The two were released briefly after. “I will not enter the Eleona Domain today, because Israeli security forces entered with weapons, without prior French authorisation without agreeing to leave today,” Barrot said at the scene shortly after meeting Israel’s outgoing foreign minister. IMAGES
Teddington (United Kingdom) (AFP) – British Paralympic equestrian Natasha Baker, a six-time dressage riding gold medallist, credits the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) for teaching her how to ride a horse and says without the charity, “there’s no way I would have achieved what I’ve achieved”. Founded in 1969, the charity does valuable work in the community, with 450 centres around the UK helping those with extra needs get into horse riding and possibly follow Baker’s path to success.
Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – Spanish army divers say they will keep working for “as long as it takes” as they search for those missing after the country’s deadliest floods in a generation. The disaster killed 219 people, most of them in the eastern Valencia region, and the death toll is widely expected to rise.
