AFP Video

Dhaka (AFP) – The Mugda Medical College and Hospital, where Payel is being taken care of by her two sisters and mother, is the main battleground against the recent dengue outbreak in the Bangladesh capital after the viral fever took a record 1,030 lives and sent more than 210,000 people to hospitals this year. The 10-floor hospital has a capacity of 400 beds, but the record outbreak of dengue cases means the state-run clinic is treating nearly 1,000 patients in its wards and thousands more out-patients. Patients and their relatives had to lay out mats and lie on the floors. Visitors crowd anxiously outside the intensive care unit where patients who suffered dengue shock syndrome, the cause of death from the fever, are treated.

Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) (AFP) – Lit by the glow of molten metal, workers at Ukrainian steel plants are fighting to keep their industry afloat. Since Russia’s invasion, the sector — which is mainly found in frontline regions — has lost factories, staff and export hubs. Under constant threat of strikes and through intermittent power and water outages, plants have kept going in an attempt to prop up a key part of Ukraine’s conflict-battered economy.

Apatzingán (Mexico) (AFP) – A staple in Mexican cooking, the lime has become the latest agricultural product targeted by criminal gangs looking to extort farmers. This has caused some in the western state of Michoacan to abandon their groves, which has in turn driven prices up. Now, the trucks transporting limes are sometimes escorted by police as authorities try to act against powerful gangs.

Paris (AFP) – “There have been no confirmed cases of bedbugs” on public transport, says French Transport Minister Clement Beaune after Parisiens reported seeing them on trains. Beaune’s comments come as the French government said on Tuesday that it would host emergency meetings on surging bedbug numbers.

Mestre (Italy) (AFP) – Residents in Mestre, northeastern Italy, express their shock at a bus crash which killed at least 21 people and left a further 15 injured. “Coincidentally, I was late so I took the bus later” says Iana Morgagni, a student, “I was quite shocked”. But not everyone is as surprised, Gianluca Agostini describes the accident as “a tragedy foretold.”

Zagorá (Greece) (AFP) – Apple farmers in the Greek region of Zagora, which produces some of Greece’s finest apples, are reeling from the effects of devastating storms that have battered the Mediterranean country. “We have reduced production because of the weather,” says Greek apple farmer Stefanos Varoutas, “we will not even harvest half of the apples.” Villagers say up to 80 percent of the local road network has been destroyed by storms Daniel and Elias, meaning farmers in the village are struggling to reach their fields to harvest the fruit, threatening their livelihoods.

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis opens a major congress on the Catholic Church’s future amid tensions with conservatives on issues from LGBTQ believers to the treatment of divorcees. The general assembly of the Synod of Bishops gathers in the wake of an unprecedented two-year global consultation that will also address topics such as women deacons and priestly celibacy. It will take place over four weeks in Rome.

Bangkok (AFP) – Thailand’s Prime Minister promises that his government “will make sure that it doesn’t happen again” after a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall left two people dead and raised fresh questions about the kingdom’s gun control. Thailand has the highest rate of gun ownership in the region.

Jingdezhen (China) (AFP) – China’s “Porcelain Capital” Jingdezhen is attracting droves of young people drawn to the city in search of an escape from the pressures of urban life.

Al-Mahra (Yemen) (AFP) – As sands grow hotter, sea turtle eggs are rarely yielding male turtles, which require cooler temperatures during the incubation period.