AFP Video

Bodrogkeresztur (Hungary) (AFP) – They come in their tens of thousands by chartered plane, bus and even helicopter to the shrine of Hungary’s “Miracle Rabbi” to pray for health, wealth and marriages for their children. Once a year, orthodox Jews from all over the world descend on a sleepy Hungarian village in search of divine intervention. Yeshaya Steiner, known as Rabbi Shayele, died in 1925 after devoting his life to feeding the poor and performing wonders for Jews and Gentiles alike in the tiny eastern village of Bodrogkeresztur.

Brussels (AFP) – Belgian-American fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg’s iconic wrap dress gets its own retrospective at the Fashion and Lace Museum in Brussels. The designer started making wrap dresses in her twenties and now, aged 76, she has created an exhibition of her work. “People ask me, you know, the wrap dress, the wrap dress, I made the wrap dress. But really the wrap dress made me” she says during an interview with AFP. “At 25, I was making 25,000 wrap dresses a week. I really lived an American dream as a young European and it was fascinating”. The exhibition is the first dedicated the designer, its organisers say.

Lima (AFP) – Facing a lack of drinking water and no internet connection to do homework, girls from poor neighbourhoods in dusty hills of Lima find in ballet dancing not only a break from their problems but a chance to build a better life. To cover the expenses of clothing, shoes and travel for competitions, their teacher, a former professional dancer, has created a system in which students and parents recycle and sell second-hand clothes and food.

Dohuk (Iraq) (AFP) – Years after being kidnapped by the Islamic State, thousands of people from Iraq’s non-muslim Yazidi minority are still missing. But their families refuse to give up. “We ask all countries of the world to help us find out the fate of our captured relatives, whether they are still alive or not, so that we can be relieved of this pain,” says Bahar Elias. Her husband Jassem and their son Ahmed’s whereabouts are still unknown.

Sahara (Morocco) (AFP) – It is one of the world’s hottest and most gruelling endurance races: the Marathon des Sables kicks off in Morocco, with 1200 runners tackling the 6-day, 251 kilometre-ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert.

E. Jean Carroll, the former columnist accusing Donald Trump of rape and defamation, arrives at a district courthouse in New York for the start of her civil trial against the ex-president. Images also show Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina arriving and Carroll supporters demonstrating outside the courthouse. The start of the trial comes just weeks after Trump’s arraignment on criminal charges related to a hush-money payment made to a porn star just before the 2016 election.

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, concludes his speech during a Security Council meeting on the Palestinian question by leading a walk-out of the Israeli delegation. Before marching out, Erdan lights an electric candle in honor of Israelis who’ve died in terrorist attacks. “I’m sorry but I refuse to spend this sacred day listening to lies and condemnation,” referencing Israeli Independence Day. “This debate disgraces the fallen and Israel will not take part in it,” he adds.

Residents recall the scene after multiple munitions explosions occurred at a Pakistan police station that killed at least 12 people and injured 50 on Monday in Kabal town of Swat Valley, in the northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which neighbours Afghanistan.

“After sixty hours on the road to get to Bogota, escaping the persecution of the dictatorship, defying the Maduro regime, they are taking me out of Colombia,” says Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido on a plane in Bogota, about to fly off to the United States .Guaido was in Bogota for a conference on his crisis-torn country, according to an opposition source. The Colombian foreign ministry has not confirmed the move, though Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva earlier said Guaido’s visit could face obstacles because “he entered (the country) in an inappropriate way.”

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Nearly 200 people from more than 20 countries, including elderly women and babies asleep in their parent’s arms, disembark from a naval frigate in Jeddah on Monday night after fleeing violence in Sudan. Fighting has broken out between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief and a deputy commander who leads the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.