Hue (Vietnam) (AFP) – Centuries-old buildings in Vietnam’s former imperial city of Hue, a UNESCO world heritage site, are flooded by brown water as heavy rainfall inundates the country’s central coastal region since the weekend. IMAGES
Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – Authorities in Lahore, Pakistan, deploy “anti-smog guns” to curb air pollution ahead of the winter smog season. Pakistan regularly ranks among the world’s most polluted countries, with Lahore often the most polluted megacity.
Caribbean sea (AFP) – A US Air Force plane from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, flies into the eye of Hurricane Melissa, as the category 5 Hurricane approaches Jamaica. Jamaican officials have called on the public to get to higher ground and shelters ahead of the storm’s arrival, with the prime minister warning it could be hugely destructive.
Tokyo (AFP) – US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime minister Takaichi sign an agreement “securing” the supply of critical and rare earth minerals. The US leader is on a two-day visit to Japan, sandwiched between a trip to Malaysia and a meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that could ease the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. IMAGES
Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says that ties between Moscow and Pyongyang are developing “as planned” as he hosts North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in the Kremlin. A video posted on the Kremlin’s Telegram account shows Putin greeting and shaking hands with Choe, the latest in a flurry of diplomatic exchanges between the two countries, coming days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to advance military ties with Moscow.
Yaoundé (AFP) – President Paul Biya, 92 years old and in power since 1982, is re-elected as president for an eighth term in Cameroon with 53.66% of the votes, result rejected by rival candidate and former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who came second. Anti-Biya protests, ongoing for weeks, risk a major escalation after the vote with police seeming to fire live rounds at protesters.
Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Argentinians take to the street after the Javier Milei — the right-wing firebrand whose “chainsaw” economic programme has pushed through massive cuts in a bid to drive down rampant inflation — wins a major victory at his country’s midterm elections. Milei’s La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party rebounded from a series of setbacks to win 40.7 percent of the votes cast for members of Congress, far outpacing the opposition in an election closely watched by jittery investors.
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the level of suffering caused by fighting in Sudan’s famine-stricken city of El-Fasher is “unbearable”, after paramilitary Rapid Support Forces say they have seized full control of the city. At a press conference on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, the United Nations chief also notes that “more and more external interference” is undermining the possiblity of a ceasefire.
Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Argentinians take to the street after the Javier Milei — the right-wing firebrand whose “chainsaw” economic programme has pushed through massive cuts in a bid to drive down rampant inflation — wins a major victory at his country’s midterm elections. Milei’s La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party rebounded from a series of setbacks to win 40.7 percent of the votes cast for members of Congress, far outpacing the opposition in an election closely watched by jittery investors.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Residents and rescue workers clear rubble from a residential building in Kyiv after overnight Russian drone attacks killed at least three people and wounded dozens more, according to the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Hong Kong (AFP) – A giant inflatable Labubu floats on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour as part of a new installation. Tourists and locals alike snap selfies at a media preview with the elf-like creature that has taken the world by storm, causing Chinese maker Pop Mart’s profits to soar. The installation, which runs until November 1, also includes sculptures of Elmo from Sesame Street, Japanese manga creation Doraemon and McDonald’s mascot Grimace.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel alone will decide which countries it will allow to join a planned international security force in Gaza. Under a US-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, a coalition of mainly Arab and Muslim powers is expected to deploy troops in the devastated Palestinian territory.
