AFP UK

Pope Francis expresses his compassion for the victims of the recent attacks in Norway, Afghanistan and England stressing that “violence begets violence.”

Moscow (AFP) – Russia has recorded 1,000 coronavirus deaths over 24 hours for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with the country’s jab drive at a standstill and few restrictions in place.

Stockholm (AFP) – Swedish activist Greta Thunberg says upcoming climate talks in Glasgow, billed as humanity’s last chance to avoid catastrophic global warming, were unlikely to “lead to big changes”. Thunberg, whose Fridays For Future movement has inspired massive street protests around the world, said activists need to keep on “pushing” for real change.

In space (AFP) – A Russian film crew bid farewell to the International Space Station crew before returning to Earth after spending 12 days on the International Space Station (ISS) shooting scenes for the first movie in orbit. The Russian crew is set to beat a Hollywood project that was announced last year by “Mission Impossible” star Tom Cruise together with NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The crew travelled in a Soyuz MS-19 spaceship to film scenes for “The Challenge”.

Navan (Ireland) (AFP) – Eight years ago, death metal fan Randal Plunkett, whose family have presided over Dunsany Castle northwest of Dublin for nine centuries, began his “radical” rewilding project. The 38-year-old vegan, an unlikely successor to ancestors depicted in sober portraits lining the walls of the grey stone castle, evicted livestock and dismissed lawnmowers to allow nature to take its course.

Tampa (AFP) – ZooTampa in Florida vaccinates a skunk with a specific vaccine developed exclusively for animals. The zoo in Tampa has begun to vaccinate animals who have been identified as most susceptible to Covid-19. The use of the special vaccine, which was developed exclusively for animals by the Michigan-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis, has been used for vaccinating those species that are known to be more vulnerable to contracting the virus in other zoological organizations throughout the United States. ZooTampa says it has received a shipment of approximately 220 doses – enough to vaccinate roughly 19 species which includes 93 animals such as Florida panthers, skunks, otters and primates.

Leigh-on-Sea (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In a rare show of unity, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Keir Starmer visit the scene where lawmaker David Amess was killed in Leigh-on-Sea, east of London, along with the Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle and Home Secretary Priti Patel. Amess, 69, was talking with voters at a church when he was stabbed to death, in what the police have said was a terrorist attack.

Farah (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Radio station Urooj once teemed with journalists producing news bulletins, but since the Taliban came to town, Ebrahim Parhar sits alone, broadcasting hours of religious sermons.

Hartford (United States) (AFP) – US President Joe Biden tells reporters that Bill Clinton is “doing fine” after he talked to him on the phone. The former US president is in hospital as he undergoes treatment for a reported case of sepsis.

Hanoi (AFP) – In a hot and stuffy room at her house in Hanoi, Tran Thanh Thuc holds up a delicate silk scarf and begins snipping it into tiny pieces, ready to paste onto her works of art. For four decades, Thuc has been recreating Vietnamese landscapes using vibrant shades of fabric cut from scarves, traditional ao dai — or whatever material she could find during years of poverty in the 1980s.

Montaña de Sorte (Venezuela) (AFP) – Every October 12, known in Venezuela as the Day of Indigenous Resistance, thousands of believers gather on Mount Sorte in the northwest of the country. This year, the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented the meeting from taking place in 2020, is at the heart of the ceremonies as participants remember its victims.

Amneville (France) (AFP) – France’s Amnéville zoo presents its newest resident, Mosl, a 50 kg baby rhinoceros born of a conservation programme for the species.