Miaodao archipelago, Shandong province (China) (AFP) – As international negotiators gather in South Korea to try to broker a plastic deal, one Chinese artist is raising awareness about the problem through his work. Fu Junsheng creates art from the plastic waste he collects from a forgotten beach in China’s Miaodao islands.
Zibqīn (Lebanon) (AFP) – As tens of thousands of Lebanese head back home following the ceasefire announcement, many are finding their towns and villages have been devastated by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Seoul (AFP) – South Korea’s capital was blanketed by the heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago.
Ankara (AFP) – Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is “pleased” with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. “We expect all parties, especially Israel, to fulfil their responsibilities to the letter in order to maintain calm on the ground,” he says. Hours after the ceasefire came into force, Turkey said it was ready to give Lebanon the “necessary support for the establishment of internal peace”.
Nienburg (Germany) (AFP) – The Grigoryeva twins Anastasia and Elizaveta, 20, escaped Russia after authorities prosecuted them for protesting against Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, while their father, a paratrooper, fought with the Russian army. Now living in exile in Germany, the two sisters vow to continue their anti-war activism.
London (AFP) – Ahead of the first stage of voting on a bill to legalise assisted dying in the UK, AFP speaks to both sides of the debate. Palliative care consultant Amy Proffitt opposes the “practicalities” of the bill, saying that she “as a doctor, cannot determine coercion — I have no legal training whatsoever.” Anil Douglas, on the other hand, whose father secretly took his own life, believes that “if the bill had been in place when my father died, he could have had a much safer, kinder, more compassionate death”.
Seoul (AFP) – More than 100 volunteers participated in a mass kimchi-making event at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul. Three thousand heads of salted cabbage were used to make kimchi, which will be delivered to vulnerable communities.
Seoul (AFP) – More than 100 volunteers participated in a mass kimchi-making event at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul. Three thousand heads of salted cabbage were used to make kimchi, which will be delivered to vulnerable communities.
Tokyo (AFP) – Passers-by stop and stare at the ramshackle, hand-built concrete tower that looks like it has been lifted right out of a Japanese animation and dropped onto a real-life Tokyo street. It’s creator, Keisuke Oka, spent almost 20 years making the distinctive four-storey Arimaston Building.
Sidon (Lebanon) (AFP) – A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect in the early hours of Wednesday after more than a year of fighting that has killed thousands of people.
Rovaniemi (AFP) – From his Lapland town of Rovaniemi, Santa Claus is preparing for Christmas. But after Finland’s hottest summer, there is not a snowflake in sight. “We can see that the climate change is true,” he laments while sitting on an armchair. “And it’s affecting the reindeer. It’s affecting the life here in the Arctic.” In the touristic Santa Claus Village, visitors brave the rain to get a glimpse of the magic.
Bukarest (AFP) – Romanians share their views after far-right pro-Russia candidate Calin Georgescu secured a surprise lead in Romania’s presidential election Monday. Georgescu was in pole position with almost 23 percent after the first round of voting, a political earthquake in the country of 19 million people.
