In space (AFP) – A spacewalk by two Russians was ended abruptly due to a problem with the battery in cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev’s suit, though at no point was he in any danger, say US and Russian space agencies. Russian mission controllers on Earth ordered Artemyev back to the airlock, more than two hours into his trip outside the International Space Station (ISS).
Putrajaya (Malaysia) (AFP) – Malaysian ex-premier Najib Razak arrives at court to begin a final appeal to overturn his jail sentence for corruption in the 1MDB scandal. Depending on the verdict, the trial could see him either locked up or free to launch a political comeback.
Mykolaiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – At the Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University in Mykolaiv, workers clear up debris after a double missile strike amid the Russian invasion. “It is clear that they want to completely destroy Ukraine’s education, destroy the Ukrainian spirit, destroy everything Ukrainian”, says university rector Leonid Klymenko.
Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona residents pay tribute to victims of the 2017 Las Ramblas attack, with Pere Aragones, the head of Catalonia’s regional government, and Barcelona mayor Ada Colau also present. Dozens of people observed a minute’s silence on the tree-lined Las Ramblas boulevard where a van mowed down pedestrians leaving behind a trail of bodies five years ago.
Kennedy Space Center (United States) (AFP) – NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket is slowly rolled out aboard a giant Crawler vehicle to a launchpad, ahead of its planned lunar mission.
Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyan president-elect William Ruto promises to promote a political culture where “everybody can speak to everybody about everything in every way they want and nobody is going to victimise them”.
Yangon (AFP) – Vehicles and commuters struggle to make their way through flooded streets in Myanmar’s Yangon after heavy rains fell on the commercial hub. “Normally, it takes one hour to get back home but now it’s been already over two hours because of flooding”, says student Yan Myo Aung.
Sydney (AFP) – Australia’s ex-prime minister Scott Morrison denies he effectively ran a shadow government during his time in office, saying it was necessary during the pandemic to secretly appoint himself to several ministerial posts. “I believed it was necessary to have authority to have what were effectively emergency powers to exercise in extreme situations”, Morrison said at a press conference on Wednesday. The revelations have sparked a political firestorm in Australia, with his successor Anthony Albanese promising a rapid investigation and accusing Morrison of carrying out an “unprecedented trashing of our democracy”.
Kubinka (Russia) (AFP) – Russia aims to promote its arms industry at the “Army 2022” military forum near Moscow, almost six months after the start of the conflict in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin opened the forum, saying the Russian weapons had been proven “in real combat conditions”.
Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – In the middle of war, hundreds of men are burrowing deep underground to provide energy security to Ukraine. Like most Ukrainians, the miners say they are concerned over the future of the country, and are doing their part to help those on the frontlines. “We are with them in spirit, but after all, the coal also needs to be mined by someone” says one miner.
