Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to “save people” from Moscow-held Ukrainian territories, on the final day of annexation votes which have been condemned as a sham by Western leaders.
Da Nang (Vietnam) (AFP) – People take refuge across Vietnam, preparing for a storm that forecasters predict will be one of the biggest to ever hit the Southeast Asian country.
In space (AFP) – “Our first planetary defense test was a success,” DART mission systems engineer Elena Adams says after a NASA spaceship struck an asteroid seven million miles away in order to deflect its orbit, succeeding in a historic test of humanity’s ability to prevent a celestial object from devastating life on Earth.
Tokyo (AFP) – Guests at the funeral of the assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrive at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo for his state funeral.
Tokyo (AFP) – Hundreds of protesters against the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gather in a street near the Nippon Budokan ahead of the state funeral. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead on July 8 while campaigning, and a publicly funded state funeral honouring him will be held on September 27. IMAGES
Mexico City (AFP) – Clashes erupt during a protest in Mexico City on the eighth anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students. Investigators last month branded the atrocity a “state crime” involving the military and other institutions.
Tokyo (AFP) – Members of the public lay flowers to honour assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, as thousands of Japanese and foreign dignitaries gather in Tokyo on Tuesday at a rare state funeral that has sparked controversy and protest.
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Young Ukrainian ‘geeks’ make drones — for both reconnaissance and destruction — in the basement of a house near the Donbas frontline. A short distance from their base and less than two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the Russian lines, a navigator and a pilot prepare a drone to drop a bomb on Russian positions.
Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says he is confident that Russian citizens who have gone abroad will eventually return home at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi. “Let them run” he says, adding that the “majority” of those who left Belarus in 2020 are “asking: take us back”.
LARSI CHECKPOINT (Georgia) (AFP) – Russian vehicles flock to cross the Georgian border after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation. Regional Russian authorities says 2,300 private vehicles were waiting to enter Georgia at one crossing.
