Darret Ezza (Syria) (AFP) – Overnight Syrian regime shelling hits the town of Darret Ezza, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo in Syria, killing and least three people and injuring several others.
Vakhdat (Tajikistan) (AFP) – While some Afghan refugees are trying to rebuild their lives in Tajikistan, away from the dangers they faced across the border, others dream of starting new lives abroad. Tajikistan has taken in an estimated 10,000 Afghan refugees, but they are not allowed to live in any of the major cities. Former English teacher Bibikhawa Zaki, 25, who fled Afghanistan with her family a few months before the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, says she wants to leave Tajikistan for Canada, which has pledged to take in 40,000 Afghan refugees.
Rangpo (India) (AFP) – Sikkim’s Rangpo has witnessed widespread destruction after deadly flash floods which were triggered by a glacial lake burst in the northern part of the Himalayan state. At least 40 people have died with dozens still missing and thousands stranded across the remote state. Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.
Ulaanbaatar (AFP) – Mongolia’s storied circus performers say that years of state neglect for their craft have left them few spaces left to train — but are determined to restore the country’s long-lost love for the big top.
Ariha (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, assess the damage at the site of regime shelling in the village of Ariha in the northwestern rebel-held Idlib Province. The heavy bombardment by government forces came in apparent retaliation to a drone strike at a Syrian military academy that killed 112 people in government-held Homs on Thursday 5 October. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Syrian state media blamed “armed terrorist organisations” for the attack. Swathes of Idlib province are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria branch. The jihadist group has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.
Sydney (AFP) – Years after unprecedented fires ripped through large swathes of Australia’s east, volunteer brigades on the frontlines are bracing for a return to catastrophic conditions. In Picton, South of Sydney, New South Wales Rural Fire Service senior deputy captain Andy Hain says he worries that two years of wetter-than-average conditions will mean plenty of fuel for wildfires, and whether people are prepared for the return of bushfires. In Wisemans Ferry, a river town north of Sydney, volunteers who battled the horrific blazes of the “Black Summer” in 2019-2020 before facing down several damaging floods are readying for a return of fire to the dense bushland around their homes. Former Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Greg Mullins says half a century of battling fires made it clear that climate change drives worsening disasters. Mullins, a founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, says volunteers are increasingly being challenged by intensifying fires and floods around the world.
Mestre (Italy) (AFP) – “I don’t feel like a hero”, says restaurant owner Bujar Bacaj, who managed to pull two children to safety from a bus that plunged from an overpass in northeastern Italy, killing 21 people.
Mexico City (AFP) – At a press conference in Mexico City, the United States and Mexico pledge to step up efforts to tackle the cross-border flow of drugs and illegal migration.
New York (AFP) – Floods, storms, droughts and fires, fuelled by global warming, have displaced at least 43.1 million children between 2016 and 2021 from 44 countries, and this is only “the tip of the iceberg”, warns UNICEF, deploring the lack of attention paid to these particularly vulnerable victims.
San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua) (AFP) – Over a thousand endangered sea turtles lay their eggs at La Flor beach in San Juan del Sur, on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast.
