Peru (AFP) – Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan MacLean set off in a carbon fiber dinghy from Lima, aiming to reach Sydney in Australia 9,000 miles (14,500 kilometres) away in about four months. The three Scottish brothers have embarked on the mammoth journey from Peru hoping to set a record time for rowing across the Pacific Ocean.
Berck (France) (AFP) – The 38th Berck International Kite Festival gets underway on a sunny day in Northern France. Tens of thousands of visitors stroll along the Berck seafront to watch the kites dance in the sky. The kite flyers have been preparing for a long time, especially the acrobats, who rehearse their performance right up until the last minute. This year, North and South America are in the spotlight, with a team from Colombia coming to highlight their tradition.
Canuto (Equateur) (AFP) – Opposition candidate Luisa Gonzalez casts her vote for presidential election in Ecuador, who is bidding to become Ecuador’s first woman president and facing the incumbent Daniel Noboa. IMAGES
Budapest (AFP) – Thousands of Hungarian protesters wearing drab, mainly grey clothes gather at a rally in central Budapest seeking to poke fun at Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent clampdown on LGBTQ rights and diversity.
Boulogne-sur-Mer (France) (AFP) – SailLink’s catamaran, a British start-up focused on making sailing a low-carbon alternative to ferries across the English Channel, is setting off on its first paid journey. These trips, beginning this week, are expected to run daily. “What SailLink is, more than anything, is symbolic proof, demonstration that things can be done differently,” said Andrew Simons, founder and captain of SailLink.
Brasilia (AFP) – Images of Brazilian hospital in Brasilia, where Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro is undergoing intestinal surgery, a source close to his entourage told AFP, after he was hospitalized for pain linked to a 2018 stabbing attack. IMAGES
Canuto (Equateur) (AFP) – Ecuadorans begin voting in Canuto in a too-close-to-call presidential election pitting the incumbent, security hawk Daniel Noboa, against a charismatic leftist challenger Luisa Gonzalez in a country plagued by drug-related violence. IMAGES
Callao (Peru) (AFP) – Three British brothers set off from Lima to Sydney on a nonstop rowing journey across the Pacific Ocean, aiming to break a time record and raise funds for their NGO. IMAGES
Dohuk (Iraq) (AFP) – People compete in the Iraqi Paragliding Championship held over the Zawa mountain on the outskirts of Dohuk in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian emergency services release a video showing responders at the scene of two fires in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv after early morning strikes on Ukraine’s capital. Posting on Telegram, the Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said three people have been injured in the strikes.
Basra (Iraq) (AFP) – Every Friday, many Iranian peddlers cross the border into southern Iraq to sell essential goods and household items in the markets of Basra, which serve as a haven for Iranians grappling with sharp currency depreciation and soaring inflation amid economic sanctions.
Jakarta (AFP) – Shopkeepers cheer for smartphone buyers in Jakarta after Apple’s latest smartphone went on sale following a monthslong ban in Indonesia. The marketing and sale of iPhone 16 models was prohibited by the government in October over Apple’s failure to meet regulation requiring that 40 percent of smartphone components be made from local parts. Apple has agreed to invest $150 million in building two facilities in the country — one in Bandung in West Java province to produce accessories, and another in Batam for AirTags.
