Tel Aviv (AFP) – Israelis chant slogans and hold placards during a demonstration in Tel Aviv calling for the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants since the October 7 attack.
Antwerp (Belgium) (AFP) – The pumpkin regatta in Kasterlee (Antwerp) is a unique event in Belgium, a kayaking competition in large hollow-out pumpkins. “Every year we start small pumpkins and every year we get from the bigger pumpkins the seeds and mix them to make every year bigger and bigger pumpkins. This year we have pumpkins of more than 1000 kilos” explains Gert Peeters, the organiser and pumpkin patch owner.
Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians search through the rubble for survivors, amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, after Israeli strike. “We were asleep peacefully. Around 1 am, we heard the loud explosion of the strike, and the doors came off and the windows shattered, and black dust and smoke covered the whole place,” says one Gazan.
Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis pleads for an end to the Hamas-Israeli conflict amid fears it could widen. “War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!” Francis says after his traditional Angelus prayer in Rome’s Saint Peter’s Square. Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people. Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,650 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swathes of densely populated Gaza to smouldering ruins.
Bron (France) (AFP) – Employers and jobseekers move and sweat together at a dance workshop organized by Pôle emploi near Lyon to facilitate recruitment. “There was really a release” from dancing and “you feel better” before the interview, explains one candidate. “Normally, it’s CV-sending, reception, face-to-face interviews, very formal, and here, what’s interesting is the aspect of getting moving, dancing, anonymity, not knowing who’s who, which helps to de-stress,” adds a recruiter.
Nantou County (Taiwan) (AFP) – A Taiwanese couple decked out in a tux and gown embrace in front of a mountain of trash in an unorthodox wedding photo — one the environment-conscious bride hopes will discourage her guests from generating unnecesary garbage. Greenpeace campaigner Iris Hsueh and her fiance are having their “environmentally friendly wedding” in January, and have asked guests to bring their own containers for taking home leftovers.
Cairo (AFP) – “Egypt affirms and reiterates its complete rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians and their exodus to the Egyptian territories in Sinai” says Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the International Peace Summit in Cairo.
Cairo (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warns against displacing Palestinians from Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem during the International Peace Summit in Cairo, adding “we will remain steadfast on our land no matter what the challenge is.”
Rafah (Egypt) (AFP) – Trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt into war-torn and besieged Gaza start passing through the Rafah border crossing on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the militant movement which rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people.
Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – Thousands of supporters wait for the arrival of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a welcoming rally at a park in Lahore. The three-time Pakistani prime minister is set to return home on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile, primed to make a political comeback ahead of elections. IMAGES
