Kerch (AFP) – Thick black smoke rises from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, to Russia. Russian investigators have launched a probe, adding that a truck “had exploded” on the automobile part of the bridge.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian forces have recaptured nearly 2,500 square kilometres (965 square miles) of territory from Russia in a counteroffensive that began late last month.
Johi (Pakistan) (AFP) – Four months after the start of record monsoon rains linked to climate change, the standing water has curdled into a pestilent soup breeding malaria, cholera and dengue. The UN has warned of a “second wave” of catastrophe.
Dohuk (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Yezidis gather at the Lalish temple for the annual autumn assembly, the largest and most important Yezidi festival.
Na Klang (Thailand) (AFP) – Thailand is in mourning the day after a massacre that left 37 people dead, most of them children in a nursery. Police say the gunman – a 34-year-old former police sergeant who was sacked from the force over drug use – had an addiction to yaba, a methamphetamine in pill form.
Prague (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrive at the informal EU summit in Prague.
Prague (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron announces a fund, initially worth 100 million euros ($98 million), for Ukraine to directly buy weapons and other material it needs in its war against invading Russia. Macron was speaking after an EU summit in Prague.
Hanga Roa (Chile) (AFP) – A forest fire that tore through part of Easter Island has charred some of its fabled monumental carved stone figures, known as moai.
“The news shocked us,” says a Buenos Aires resident, reacting to Lionel Messi’s announcement that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will “surely” be the last of his career.
Lima (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells reporters that Washington is reviewing options on its relationship with Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and other OPEC+ nations agreed to large cuts in oil production.
