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Washington (AFP) – White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says that Washington believes “20 or more Americans” are missing after a surprise attack by militant group Hamas in Israel, adding that this does not mean that all of them are hostages. Hamas are believed to be holding at least 150 hostages in Gaza, mostly Israelis but also foreign and dual nationals. The unprecedented assault has been met with a barrage of air strikes and a total siege of the Gaza Strip.

Near Izyum (Ukraine) (AFP) – A mobile dental clinic and a team of volunteer dentists treat Ukrainian soldiers near the front line. “Treating teeth is probably the number one problem after back pain,” says 29-year-old combat medic Yevgen Gorbunov, “due to lack of vitamins, stress and nerves, teeth are the first to crumble.”

Gardena (United States) (AFP) – Kurt Cobain’s left-handed Fender Mustang “Skystang I” electric guitar, which he played at Nirvana’s last ever performance, a few weeks before he committed suicide, is on display near Los Angeles before it goes on auction.

Bago (Myanmar) (AFP) – Residents of Myanmar’s flood-hit Bago city navigate the city’s submerged streets, salvaging food and belongings from their waterlogged homes, after record rainfall triggered floods that authorities said have displaced 14,000 people. “My house is flooded. This is the first time my house has been flooded in my life,” says Phwar Than Hme, a 101-year-old resident of Bago.

Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the creation of “an independent sovereign Palestinian state” a “necessity”, while meeting Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Moscow.

Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) (AFP) – Strong winds hit the popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast as Hurricane Lidia makes landfall as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, threatening to bring flooding and mudslides according to forecasters. Lidia came ashore near Puerto Vallarta packing maximum sustained winds of around 140 miles (220 kilometers) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. IMAGES

Washington (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel “in the coming days to engage our Israeli partners directly about the situation on the ground” as Israeli forces conduct a war against Hamas following an attack on Israel.

New York (AFP) – Zixiao “Gary” Wang, co-founder of the FTX crypto platform, leaves court as the federal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried continues in New York.

London (AFP) – Hundreds gather in central London at separate rallies in support of Palestinians and Israelis. On 7 October, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented assault against Israel, which has been met with a barrage of air strikes and a total siege on the Gaza Strip. The war’s death toll has already passed 3,000, including roughly 1,500 Hamas militant deaths.

Guatemala City (AFP) – Riot police disperse protesters outside McDonald’s in Guatemala City amid demonstrations denouncing what some claim is a campaign to prevent president-elect Bernardo Arevalo from taking power. IMAGES