Hanoi (AFP) – Waist deep in water, rice farmers in northern Vietnam are harvesting what they can in the wake of Typhoon Yagi, which brought devastating flooding to the region in early September. The storm killed nearly 300 people in Vietnam and caused severe damage to key facilities in what is a major production hub for global tech firms.
Beijing (AFP) – China’s foreign ministry says it is “deeply shocked” by Israel’s air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon after at least 558 people, including 50 children, were killed in the deadliest bombardment since a devastating war in 2006. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire for almost a year, following Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – American actor Meryl Streep speaks up for Afghan women and girls at the United Nations, urging the international community to do more to “stop the slow suffocation” of half the population.
Wajima (Japan) (AFP) – Two huge earthquakes 17 years apart robbed Shoichi Miyakoshi first of his wife, and then his home. Now, his temporary dwelling flooded after heavy rains deluged Japan’s Noto Peninsula, he must start afresh again. “It’s now September and will soon be October, then the winter will be right here,” Miyakoshi told AFP. “I have to start over, through another cold winter”.
Kutupalong (Bangladesh) (AFP) – “Dead bodies were lying everywhere,” says Mohammad, one of thousands of Rohingya who have entered Bangladesh in recent months, fleeing what they say is worsening violence in Myanmar. Fighting near the border has escalated and refugees making the crossing say they been targeted by drone and mortar attacks. Experts have pointed to the forced recruitment of Rohingya by armed groups as a cause of what they say are retaliatory attacks on refugees, carried out by rebels fighting against Myanmar’s military junta. Around a million Rohingya live in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing a 2017 military crackdown that followed decades of persecution against the Muslim ethnic minority group.
Scranton (United States) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visits an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as part of a trip to the United States during which he will explain Kyiv’s plan to end the war. Zelensky’s visit will take in New York and Washington as he tries to secure the go ahead to use Western weapons on targets inside Russia, a strategy that is yet to be approved by the supplying states.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Ukraine and its allies are facing “the reality of Putin weaponizing winter,” says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as he convenes a G7+ ministerial meeting to address support for the Ukrainian energy sector, which Russian forces continue to pummell. The meeting comes days after EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced 35 billion euros, backed by frozen Russian assets, would go towards helping Ukrainians “keep warm.”
Berlin (AFP) – The leaders of Germany’s far-right AfD hail the party’s electoral success after coming a narrow second place in a regional vote in Brandenburg, falling just behind the centre-left SPD of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “We are the only party that has consistently achieved successful results,” says co-leader Alice Weidel, reflecting on gains made in recent regional votes in Thuringia and Saxony.
Dunstable (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Several vehicles lay stranded in a flooded street in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, to the north of London, after heavy rains battered the area. The local fire service says it has responded to 11 emergency incidents and police have warned residents against travelling in the stricken areas.
Colombo (AFP) – Residents in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, are hoping for change following the country’s election of its first leftist president in Anura Kumara Dissanayaka. The previously fringe politician, whose party led two failed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s before renouncing violence, has ridden a wave of support since Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic meltdown.
Colombo (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s first leftist president, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, is sworn into office, vowing to restore public faith in politics. The leader of the People’s Liberation Front warned, however, that he had no magic solution to the hardships suffered following an unprecedented economic crisis.
Kolkata (AFP) – Fans of India’s tram system hail it as the “glory” of Kolkata and an integral part of how the megacity grew, but the 151-year-old network is under threat.
