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Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians inspect damage and mourn relatives killed in an airstrike that hit a tented area in a school-turned-shelter for the displaced in the Al-Daraj district of central Gaza City. Gaza’s civil defence agency reports that at least 20 people have been killed since midnight on 20 September in strikes on Gaza City, as Israel presses its new offensive to capture the territory’s largest urban centre.

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – People celebrate on the first day of the annual Oktoberfest beer festival in the German city of Munich, which will last two weeks and has gathered more than 6 million visitors in the previous year.

Lagos (AFP) – On World Cleanup Day, Nigerian conservationists set free two rescued sea turtles, a 32-kg male and a 24-kg female, after the animals were accidentally caught in fishermen’s nets. The release is led by Chinedu Mogbo, founder of the Greenfingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative, which has cared for endangered species since 2012 and currently shelters six turtles and around 150 other wild animals.

Kramatorsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Near bloody battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in east Ukraine, a very different kind of conflict is taking place – one for believers’ souls. Two rival Orthodox churches — one set up with the Ukrainian government’s backing in 2018 and an older church tied to Moscow — hold services in Kramatorsk, a town about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front line. Kyiv has sought to ban the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), arguing Russia has used it to spread influence.

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump bashes US media coverage that he claims is unduly negative and therefore “illegal,” stoking a debate over free speech following the suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s TV show by ABC.

Yiwu (China) (AFP) – Tariff fears are hurting World Cup merchandise orders at Shang Yabing’s Chinese knitwear factory, where racks of scarves bear the logos of national teams from Ireland to Tanzania. Manufacturers in China’s export hub Yiwu would normally already be inundated with World Cup orders ahead of next summer’s football tournament, this time hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. But a rollercoaster ride of a trade war between Washington and Beijing is causing uncertainty for international buyers.

Moscow (AFP) – Farmers travel from across Russia to take part in Moscow’s annual ‘Aptekarsky Ogorod’ giant vegetable exhibition, pitting their giant pumpkins, zucchini and watermelons against each other. This year’s winning pumpkin weighs in at 969kg.

Salzburg (Austria) (AFP) – The European Commission presents a fresh package of sanctions against Russia for approval by member states, as the bloc seeks to up the pressure on Moscow over the war on Ukraine. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says the package would target crypto and banks, and seek to speed up the phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports.

Nairobi (AFP) – Surrounded by incubators, a red tube snaking into her tiny nose, four-day-old Grace-Ella is being fed donated breastmilk at Nairobi’s Pumwani Maternity Hospital. It is the only facility in Kenya offering the life-giving service. “Before I accepted, I was a bit sceptical because it gave me some feeling of guilt like I could not give my daughter my own breastmilk,” says her mother, Margaret. “If it can help her not to starve, then why not?”

Korissía (Greece) (AFP) – Deep-sea divers inspect the wreck of the HMHS Britannic, the Titanic’s sister ship that sank off the coast of Greece in 1916. A first batch of objects has been recovered from depths greater than 120 metres (394 feet). The ship was one of three transatlantic passenger lines built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, the first of which was the infamous RMS Titanic.

Unknown (AFP) – US President Donald Trump says TV networks whose hosts criticise him on their late-night shows could “maybe” have their broadcasting licenses revoked, after ABC indefinitely suspended host Jimmy Kimmel. “They’re not allowed to do that. They’re an arm of the Democrat Party,” Trump says on his return flight from a state visit to Britain.

Lyon (AFP) – French protesters stage a day of nationwide protests and strikes in a show of anger over President Emmanuel Macron’s austerity policies, causing widespread disruption. Public transport stalled and schools closed as hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets for demonstrations marked by sporadic clashes with the police.