Auckland (AFP) – Streets in Auckland are flooded as torrential rains devastates the New Zealand city, killing at least four people. Last week the country’s largest city saw 249 millimetres of rainfall on Friday, smashing the previous record of 161mm in a 24-hour period.
Lima (AFP) – Protesters and police clash in Lima after Peruvian lawmakers once again failed to agree on a plan to bring forward elections in a bid to end weeks of deadly protests that have brought parts of the South American country to a standstill. IMAGES
Kinshasa (AFP) – Pope Francis is greeted by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa for the first leg of an Africa visit that will also include neighbouring South Sudan.
Ipswich (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Faced with a cost-of-living crisis and plummeting temperatures, many vulnerable Brits are being forced to turn to public libraries offering “warm spaces”, free food and other charitable services this winter.
Sydney (AFP) – New Wallabies coach Eddie Jones tells the media in Sydney that he’s “not the messiah” as he sets his sights on taking Australia to victory at the Rugby World Cup in France this year. The veteran maverick was lured back to coach the national side for a second stint after Dave Rennie’s shock sacking earlier this month.
Maribo (Denmark) (AFP) – Meet Big Joe, a dinosaur whose fossilised skeleton is considered to be one of the most complete of its kind in the world: from April, an exhibition will open at the Knuthenborg Safaripark’s Museum of Evolution with the large Allosaurus front and centre.
Los Angeles (AFP) – “Like family”: the Jonas Brothers pay tribute to their fans as the US pop rock band unveil their Hollywood Walk of Fame star on the boulevard.
Moscow (AFP) – Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov claims that Russian troops have “liberated” the village of Blagodatne, north of the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut. Russia has been seeking to seize Bakhmut for months in some of the heaviest fighting since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February last year.
Fiumicino (Italy) (AFP) – Images of Pope Francis as he embarks on the papal plane in Rome’s Fiumicino airport before it takes off. This is his fifth visit to Africa, flying to the Democratic Republic of Congo and then South Sudan to plead for peace in the two violence-plagued nations. His plane is expected to land around 3:00 pm local time at Kinshasa’s Ndjili airport. IMAGES
Bongabon (Philippines) (AFP) – Even before his onions are fully grown, Philippine farmer Luis Angeles races to harvest the crop and cash in on eye-watering prices for a vegetable that has become a luxury item in the country. Onion prices have soared in recent months, reaching as high as 800 pesos (nearly $15) a kilogram in Manila supermarkets, making them more expensive than chicken or pork. Experts and farmers said the high prices are due to different reasons, including high production and transport cost. But the agricultural industry is facing bigger problems: aging farmers and fewer people interested in farming.
