Brooklyn (United States) (AFP) – The Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York kicks off the holiday season with giant luminous sculptures and artworks nestled in the landscapes. “You can hear the holiday music, it’s a good gateway into the season”, says a visitor.
Bangkok (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Thailand on Thursday for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is due to focus on pandemic recovery and the war in Ukraine.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – The first snow of the winter falls on Maidan Square in Kyiv, blanketing its statues and anti-tank obstacles as the Ukrainian capital faces blackouts and power outages from a fresh series of Russian strikes targeting the country’s energy infrastructure.
Dubai (AFP) – Every weekend, migrant workers in Dubai play informal cricket matches on spare patches of ground.
Bangkok (AFP) – Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron who will join rulers from the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum for the high-level talks. IMAGES
Seoul (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is greeted by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo upon his arrival in Seoul for a two-day official visit to South Korea.
Washington (AFP) – The United States has “seen nothing that contradicts” the Polish government’s assessment that a deadly explosion in Poland near the country’s border with Ukraine was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile, says Vedant Patel, a US department of state spokesperson, during a briefing in Washington.
Nusa Dua (Indonesia) (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron states that “the G20 does not want war,” as he discusses Ukraine and Russia’s return to the negotiating table at a press conference in Bali following the end of the G20 summit.
Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) – Showered with applause and chants of “Lula!”, Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva makes a splash at a UN climate conference in Egypt, his first foreign trip since his election. Expectations are high for Lula to protect the Amazon after rampant deforestation seen under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. At COP27, Lula vowed to fight deforestation, offered to host UN climate talks in the Amazon region in 2025, and pledged to make Brazil a leader in the global battle against climate change again.
Palm Beach (United States) (AFP) – Supporters of former US President Donald Trump celebrate his presidential campaign announcement as they stand on a bridge near his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) (AFP) – Migrants in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, hoping to enter the United States, say they are “super happy” about the decision of a US federal judge to throw out Title 42, which allowed the use of public health rules to block the entry of asylum-seeking migrants. The ruling marked the apparent end of a controversial Donald Trump-era policy that has been criticized as cruel and ineffective.
Tokyo (AFP) – Nodding along to catchy music is not just a human habit, according to Japanese scientists who have discovered that rats also move to the beat of songs by stars like Lady Gaga. Researchers at the University of Tokyo played Mozart, Queen and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” to rats wearing miniature sensors on their heads to detect even their tiniest movements. They found that the rodents have an innate ability to synchronise their bodies to the beat, which was previously believed to be a skill unique to people.
