Kharkiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Viktor gently cranks away at his old music box on the corner of a main road in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv, sending peaceful music tinkling out onto the city’s war-torn streets in an attempt to bring “happiness” to passers-by. “I’m happy when other people are happy,” says Viktor, as pigeons flock around him, almost moving to the music. “We lack happiness these days, you know?” he adds.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – In a video posted on social networks, president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says that key Ukraine town Lyman “is completely cleared” of Russian troops.
New York (AFP) – A stress-relieving sport that’s more affordable than tennis and a way to socialize in the pandemic era, pickleball is all the rage in New York, as the sport grows increasingly professionalized nationwide.
Moscow says it has withdrawn its troops from Lyman, a key town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, part of the territory that Russia claims to have annexed.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vows Turkey would not ratify the NATO membership bids of both Sweden and Finland until the promises made by the two Nordic countries are kept.
Disah (Jordan) (AFP) – Camels riden by robot jockeys take part in a race at the Sheikh Zayed race track in Disah, in Jordan’s southern Wadi Rum desert.
Barcelona (AFP) – French skyscraper climber Alain Robert, known as the ‘French Spiderman’, climbs the 144-metre tall ‘Glòries Tower’ in Barcelona with his son.
Fort Myers Beach (United States) (AFP) – Aerial images show devastating destruction of homes, piers, bridges and boats after Hurricane Ian swept through Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel in Florida.
Ouagadougou (AFP) – Military officers announce the removal from office of Burkina Faso’s junta leader. The dismissal of Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who came to power in a coup last January, was announced in a statement read out on national television.
Sigulda (Latvia) (AFP) – Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins votes in his country’s parliamentary elections, which polls say his New Unity Party is on course to win. The elections take place in the shadow of neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with pro-Kyiv forces such as Karins’ centrist party expected to perform best.
