Busan (South Korea) (AFP) – A US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, arrives at Busan Naval Base in South Korea. Seoul’s military said the arrival was “in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats”. The aircraft’s arrival comes as North Korea plans to launch a satellite between November 22 and December 1, according to Japan’s coast guard.
Uttarkashi (India) (AFP) – Forty-one Indian workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for 10 days were seen alive on camera Tuesday for the first time, looking exhausted and anxious, as rescuers attempted to create new passageways to free them. Excavators have been removing tonnes of earth, concrete and rubble from the under-construction tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand since November 12, after a portion of the tunnel collapsed.
El Khiyam (Lebanon) (AFP) – Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese border town of Khiam. The border area between the two countries has seen daily exchanges of fire, particularly between Hezbollah and Israel, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war triggered by the October 7 attacks on Israel by Gaza-based Hamas.
Arbil (Iraq) (AFP) – Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, sees flash floods caused by heavy rain.
Hong Kong (AFP) – A Hong Kong transport hub was taken over Sunday by googly eyed aliens, extraterrestrial jellyfish and a cast of eccentric characters — all part of a live performance by British artist Sam Cox, better known as Mr Doodle.
Fontainebleau (France) (AFP) – A hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly two million euros, according to the French auction house, Osenat, in Fontainebleau. It went for 1.932 million euros – breaking the previous record for a Napoleonic hat, held by the same auction house, of 1.884 million euros in 2014 shelled out by a South Korean businessman.
Uttarkashi (India) (AFP) – Indian rescuers are battling to free 41 men trapped in a road tunnel for nine days since 12 November, as they prepare to dig an entirely new shaft after previous efforts failed. The tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand is part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s infrastructure project aimed at cutting travel times between some of the most popular Hindu sites in the country, as well as to improve access to strategic areas bordering rival China.
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the world must “act urgently” to calm the Israel-Hamas war as he hosted diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations in Beijing. China has sought to play a greater role in the Middle East, facilitating a historic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran and sending an envoy to the region to push for a ceasefire in the conflict.
Beijing (AFP) – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrives in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and a delegation of foreign ministers from the Palestinian Authority, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The delegation is in Beijing this week for talks aimed at a “de-escalation” of the current Israel-Hamas conflict. China has sought to play a greater role in the Middle East, facilitating a historic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran and sending an envoy to the region to push for a ceasefire in the conflict.
Bireun (Indonesia) (AFP) – Three boats filled with more than 500 Rohingya refugees landed in Indonesia’s westernmost province on Sunday, a UN agency said, in one of the biggest arrivals since Myanmar launched a military crackdown on the minority group in 2017.
