Bratislava (AFP) – Slovakia’s populist party, which wants to stop military aid to Ukraine and is critical of the EU and NATO, holds a press conference after winning the parliamentary elections. The Smer-SD party led by former prime minister Robert Fico scored 23 percent in Saturday’s vote, beating the centrist Progressive Slovakia at 18 percent.
Neu Delhi (AFP) – Afghanistan’s embassy in India suspended operations, more than two years after the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul following the collapse of the Western-backed government. The closure follows reports that the senior diplomats had left India in recent months, with infighting among those remaining in New Delhi.
Chegutu (AFP) – At least nine miners were killed when a shaft in a Zimbabwean gold mine collapsed, the miners federation said.
Vayk’ (AFP) – After Azerbaijan’s army overran the Nagorno Karabakh enclave in a lightning offensive last week, nearly 90 percent of the region’s ethnic Armenian population have fled out of fear of the victorious force.
Idrac-Respaillès (France) (AFP) – Originally famous for its foie gras, the Gers region in France is now growing tropical shrimp. Increasingly hot summers and attentive breeders have made the region home to another speciality.
New York (AFP) – Heavy rains in the northeastern United States leave parts of New York City under water, with flooded streets and highways with half-submerged cars. An official state of emergency has been declared for the city and its surrounding areas.
Bratislava (AFP) – Bratislava residents cast their ballots in a tight early election on 30 September seen as key to whether Slovakia will keep supporting neighbouring Ukraine after a campaign marked by disinformation.
Sweida (Syria) (AFP) – Hundreds of Syrians protest in the southern city of Sweida as women play a growing role in the anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the province for over a month, activists say. The move by the government to end fuel subsidies last month dealt a heavy blow to Syrians reeling from more than a decade of war and economic woes.
Malé (Maldives) (AFP) – Voters in the Maldives go to the polls on September 30 to decide their next president in an election seen as a referendum on whether to hitch their fortunes to China or India, both vying for influence in the tropical paradise.
Belo Horizonte (AFP) – Three decades ago, Brazilian researchers began studying a curious side effect of banana spider bites: the toxin left victims with a painful and persistent erection. Scientists were inspired to develop a synthetic molecule using some properties of the spider’s poison to create a gel to treat erectile dysfunction.
