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Neubeuern (Germany) (AFP) – Three-year-old Laurent Schwarz may still be wearing nappies but his paintings have earned him social media fame and the nickname of Germany’s “mini-Picasso”.

Lima (AFP) – A Peruvian court has sentenced former president Alejandro Toledo to more than 20 years in prison for accepting multi-million-dollar bribes from scandal-hit Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.

Canberra (AFP) – King Charles visits Australia’s capital Canberra, where he made a speech warning about the perils of climate change and paid tribute to Indigenous people. But as the clapping receded, an Indigenous lawmaker drew gasps with her own interjection.

Maputo (AFP) – Riot police in Mozambique fire tear gas to disperse a crowd in Maputo, where shops are closed ahead of a planned protest against alleged electoral fraud. Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who ran for president in the election on 9 October, had called for a general strike to contest early results showing the ruling Frelimo party ahead.

Tyrus (AFP) – Israel has conducted air strikes hitting a Lebanese association linked to Hezbollah, accusing it on Monday of financing the group’s weapons, as it expands the scope of its raids beyond military targets. Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi says the country’s forces hit some 30 targets belonging to the Hezbollah-linked financial firm Al-Qard al-Hassan. The strikes mark an expansion of Israel’s nearly month-long war with Hezbollah, as it seeks to degrade the group’s ability to fund operations.

Port Angeles (AFP) – Enthusiasts and experts collect mushrooms during a field trip near Port Angeles in Washington state, but the dozens of species they found represent just a tiny fraction of life that is neither flora nor fauna. Of the at least 2.5 million species of fungus thought to exist on Earth, scientists have described around 150,000 — six percent — says mycologist Amy Honan. There is a burgeoning awareness of the importance of fungi, whose role is also set to come up for discussion at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP16 meeting in Colombia, which kicks off on Monday.

Malmö (AFP) – A robot is playing a cello during a concert in the Swedish city of Malmo in what has been described as the first joint performance between a symphony orchestra and a machine. The piece named “Veer” was written by classical composer Jacob Muehlrad and performed by the Malmo Symphony Orchestra with the guest soloist robot on the cello.

Cali (Colombia) (AFP) – The world’s biggest nature protection conference opens in Colombia with its president calling for urgent action and financing to reverse humankind’s voracious destruction of biodiversity. IMAGES

(AFP) – Zombies, ghouls, and other creatures participate in Santiago’s Zombie Walk — with thousands strutting their scary looks on the streets of the Chilean capital ahead of Halloween.

Chisinau (AFP) – Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu blames “criminal groups” working with “foreign forces” — alluding to Moscow — for a tight referendum on joining the EU. Moldova’s razor-thin vote in favour of joining complicates Sandu’s quest for her small former Soviet republic to enter the bloc. Although accession talks with the EU are expected to continue, Sandu faces a tough battle to defend her agenda, with a new electoral test looming in November. Russia on Monday said the country’s president must “prove” claims there had been foreign interference.

Kopenhagen (AFP) – Up to 1,000 women and children needing medical care will shortly be evacuated from Gaza, says the World Health Organisation’s Director for Europe, Hans Kluge. The WHO Europe has already facilitated 600 medical evacuations from Gaza to seven European countries since the latest war began there in October 2023.

Harlem (United States) (AFP) – From Mexico City to Paris and New York, Liam Payne fans have gathered at vigils around the world to pay their respects to the late singer who died on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.