Buenos Aires (AFP) – Fans in Buenos Aires and Zagreb react as the final whistle in their semi-final blows, with a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina thumping 2018 runners-up Croatia 3-0 to set up a World Cup final against either France or Morocco.
Doha (AFP) – Fans arrive at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium ahead of the World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Unexpected heroes of the war in Ukraine, lift mechanics in Kyiv are working around the clock to free residents trapped by power outages. The Ukrainian capital, a city in which many live in high-rise accommodation, continues to suffer Moscow’s attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure and unpredictable lift stoppages are just another challenge facing Ukrainians as the fighting continues.
Lamongan (Indonesia) (AFP) – Umar Patek, convicted for making the bomb used in the deadly 2002 Bali bombing, visits a de-radicalisation foundation in East Java, in his first appearance in front of the media since being released on parole. The 2002 blasts killed 202 people, including many foreign nationals, and Patek’s early release, just halfway through a 20 year sentence, has angered survivors and the relatives of those killed.
Beijing (AFP) – China said the situation was “stable” Tuesday on its border with India, after New Delhi reported a fresh stand-off between the two countries’ militaries on their disputed Himalayan frontier last week.
London (AFP) – Mick Lynch, the General Secretary of the RMT, says “the government is provoking the situation” by blocking a deal between his union and Network Rail. Speaking outside London’s Euston Station during a 48-hour RMT strike, Lynch apologises to travellers for the disruption which will continue in the run-up to Christmas, but adds that “our members have been put in an impossible position.”
London (AFP) – Train passengers around the UK are enduring another two days of industrial action on the nation’s railway network, as pay talks between the rail union RMT and Network Rail bosses fail to find a resolution. Travellers have already been hit by snow and freezing conditions and now face further disruptions, also affecting some London Underground services — where lines are shared with Network Rail. IMAGES
Brussels (AFP) – EU ministers arrive at the Extraordinary Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in Brussels to discuss mechanisms for capping gas prices on the European market. Images shows arrivals of Agnes Pannier-Runacher, French Minister for the Energy Transition; Mikulas Bek, Chairman and Czech Minister for European Affairs; Andrej Stancik, Slovak State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs; Raffaele Fitto, Italian Minister for European Affairs, Cohesion Policies and the NRRP; Tytti Tuppurainen, Finnish Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering and Jozef Sikela, Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industry and Trade. IMAGES
London (AFP) – Outdoor swimmers take to near-freezing water in London after the first snowfall of the winter.
Yeoncheon (South Korea) (AFP) – Scene outside the military base where BTS member Jin starts his mandatory military duty, the band’s first member to enlist since a hiatus announcement this year left fans heartbroken over the K-pop juggernaut’s uncertain future. IMAGES
Jukkasjärvi (Sweden) (AFP) – 200 kilometres above the Arctic Circle lies the Esrange Space Center which, since the late 1960s, has been a rocket range and scientific research base. Surround by thousands of square kilometres of icy wilderness, the site, originally founded for the study of auroras, is now locked in a race with other space stations to be the first to launch satellites from mainland Europe.
Solihull (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The deaths of three boys who fell into a frozen lake in Solihull, near the city of Birmingham, are a “tragedy beyond words”, says the Area Commander of the region’s fire service, Richard Stanton. The boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, were rushed to hospital in a state of cardiac arrest on Sunday 11 December.
