Photos: Recovery under way after floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand leave more than 1,000 dead, thousands missing and millions displaced.
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An injured boy sits in a camp for displaced people who fled from el-Fasher to Tawila, North Darfur. [Mohammed Jamal/Reuters]
The UN says more than 26,000 people fled el-Fasher in just two days, most on foot towards Tawila. [Mohammed Jamal/Reuters]
Displaced Sudanese who fled el-Fasher arrive in the town of Tawila. [AFP]
The capture of el-Fasher, the historic heart of Darfur, has sparked fears of mass killings. [AFP]
Pro-democracy groups described "the worst violence and ethnic cleansing" since Sunday as the army-allied Joint Forces accused the RSF of killing at least 2,000 civilians. [AFP]
Since the city’s fall on Sunday, videos have been shared reportedly showing RSF executions and abuse of civilians. [AFP]
The UN warned of "ethnically motivated violations and atrocities". [Mohammed Jamal/Reuters]
Approximately 177,000 civilians remain trapped in el-Fasher, according to the UN's migration agency. [AFP]
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President Donald Trump has either deployed or threatened to deploy the National Guard to almost a dozen US cities, all led by Democratic mayors. He says it's to fight crime, put down protests or to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Others call it an abuse of power.
Trump has used a law called Title 10 to federalise the National Guard and deploy it under his command. But some cities have blocked him from doing that by going to court. Trump says, as "a way to get around" that, he may invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, an act that a New York Times opinion piece called "America's most dangerous law".
That's because the Insurrection Act grants presidents emergency powers to deploy soldiers on US soil. The Act is usually used to control public unrest and to support civilian law enforcement, but only when things get really bad.
For instance, in 1861, when Confederate soldiers attacked Fort Sumter and started the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln invoked the Act to summon state militias to put down the rebellion.
In 1871, Congress amended the Act by granting the president new powers to fight white supremacists. President Ulysses S Grant then invoked the upgraded Act and deployed troops to South Carolina.
Race was again the cause of the Act being used when President Dwight D Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school desegregation in 1957.
And the last time it was invoked was in 1992, when four white police officers were acquitted of beating Rodney King, a Black motorist. President George HW Bush used the law to deploy troops after the verdict led to intense rioting in Los Angeles.
More than 30 years later, on October 15, 2025, Trump continued to build his case for more military actions. This time he called San Francisco "a mess", which led to a furious response.
On October 18, organisers of the "No Kings" rallies across the US estimated 7 million people turned out to protest against what they see as Trump's authoritarian tendencies, suggesting that no matter how much power Trump wields, public opposition seems intent on reining him in.
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Audacious is one word often being used to describe the Louvre heist on October 19, 2025. Priceless Napoleonic jewellery, gone in just seven minutes, proving yet again that big art makes for a big target.
Back in 1911, for example, Vincenzo Peruggia and, some say, two accomplices, hid in the Louvre overnight. In the morning, Peruggia just quietly slipped out with the Mona Lisa. Police recovered the painting two years later in Florence.
The theft of 13 artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990 by two men disguised as police officers is often called the biggest property crime in US history, valued at over $500m at the time. Among the stolen items, a Vermeer painting, one of fewer than 40 in existence. Nothing’s ever been recovered.
In 2000, three armed men sprang into action five minutes before Sweden’s national gallery in Stockholm closed. Two car bombs used as distractions and a speedboat getaway ensued. Two small Renoir paintings and a self-portrait by Rembrandt were eventually recovered.
Two years later, two men used a ladder to get on the roof of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. They smashed a window to get in and used a rope to escape. The two stolen Van Gogh paintings were recovered in 2016 in Italy during a Mafia investigation.
Some paintings just have the worst luck. A portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III is nicknamed ‘the takeaway Rembrandt’. It’s been stolen four times: in 1966, 1973, 1981 and 1983.
Another headline grabber: the Kunsthal heist in Rotterdam in 2012. Seven masterpieces, gone in less than three minutes after thieves broke in through a rear emergency exit. The paintings included works by Picasso and Matisse. The mother of one of the convicted men said she burned them all to protect her son, but later recanted her story.
The Dresden Green Vault heist of 2019 featured a homemade bomb that cut the power. Two men then entered through a window, smashed showcases and made off with 4,300 diamonds and other valuable stones worth $130m. Five members of the Remmo crime family in Berlin were later convicted, with most of the valuables recovered.
The recent Louvre heist was lightning fast. Two masked men used power tools to enter through a window. They made off with eight pieces of priceless jewellery … but in their haste they dropped Empress Eugenie’s crown. All in all, a royal mess.
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Supporters of Cameroon presidential candidate Issa Tchiroma protest in New Bell neighbourhood, Douala, Cameroon [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
Riot police officers arrest a protester in Douala. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
The regional governor said demonstrators “attacked” a gendarmerie brigade and police stations in two districts on Sunday. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
Members of the security forces remove barricades errected by protesters. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
A riot police officer aims his weapon towards protesters. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
The Constitutional Council is due to announce the final election results on Monday in the capital, Yaounde. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
Minister of territorial administration, Paul Atanga Nji, said on Saturday that the protests “create the conditions for a security crisis” and contribute to “the implementation of an insurrectionist project”. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]
Riot police break up opposition protests in Garoua. [Desire Danga Essigue/Reuters]
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Protesters carry placards and wave national flags as they march in the city of Gabes. [Mohamed Khalil/AFP]
Workers in Gabes launched a general strike following weeks of protests over the chemical factory pollution residents blame for a spike in serious health issues. [Mohamed Khalil/AFP]
Health Minister Mustapha Ferjani said on Monday that the government would build a cancer hospital in Gabes to deal with rising cases, but gave no timeline. [Mohamed Khalil/AFP]
President Kais Saied said earlier this month that Gabes was suffering an “environmental assassination” due to what he called criminal policy choices by previous authorities. [Mohamed Khalil/AFP]
Protesters brought the southern Tunisian city of Gabes to a standstill. [Bassem Aouini/AP Photo]
Protesters march through the city of Gabes. [Mohamed Messara/EPA]
The closed Gabes railway station after the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) called the regional general strike. [Mohamed Messara/EPA]
Shops, markets and schools shut down on Tuesday during the general strike. [Mohamed Messara/EPA]
A CGT phosphate processing plant in the southern city of Gabes. [Mohamed Khalil/AFP]
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Commuters drive to work through morning smog in New Delhi, a day after the Diwali festival. [Manish Swarup/AP Photo]
People light firecrackers to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. [Amarjeet Kumar Singh/Anadolu]
India's top court last week eased a blanket ban on firecrackers during Diwali, allowing limited use of “green firecrackers” that emit fewer pollutants. [Harish Tyagi/EPA]
On Tuesday morning, the city's Air Quality Index had climbed above 350 in several neighbourhoods, a level considered “severe” and dangerous to breathe, according to the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum exposure. [Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters]
The government's Commission of Air Quality Management said air quality is expected to deteriorate further in the coming days. [Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters]
A study in The Lancet Planetary Health last year estimated 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution. [Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters]
Morning smog on the day after Diwali in New Delhi. [Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters]
Commuters drive along a bridge crossing the Yamuna River in New Delhi. [Arun Sankar/AFP]
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Zuleikha Hashim Taleb, a 60-year-old Iraqi farmer, stands at her farm in the village of al-Mashab, in the marshes north of Basra, southern Iraq. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
A girl walks past abandoned homes, whose residents left due to water shortages, in the village of al-Mashab. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
Children walk home across a heavily polluted stream in al-Mashab. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
Spoiled dates at Zuleikha Hashim Taleb's farm. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
The water buffaloes of breeder Maryam Salman stand in a field in al-Mashab. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
In July, the government announced a desalination project in Basra with a capacity of 1 million cubic metres per day. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
Local residents said the brackish water is also affecting fish stocks. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
The International Organization for Migration has warned that increased water salinity is destroying palm groves, citrus trees and other crops. [Hussein Faleh/AFP]
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People rally at the 14th and U street corridor before marching to the national Mall during the "No Kings" protest in Washington, DC. [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]
Crowds gather to listen to Senator Bernie Sanders during the protests in Washington, DC. [Allison Robbert/AP Photo]
People gather in Times Square during the protests in New York. [Olga Fedorova/AP Photo]
Police watch as people take part in the "No Kings" protest in Chicago, Illinois. [Nam Y Huh/AP Photo]
People take part in the "No Kings" protest in Seattle, Washington. [Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo]
Protesters march during the protests in Portland, Oregon. [Jenny Kane/AP Photo]
Registered nurses march during the protests in San Francisco, California. [Don Feria/AP Content Services for National Nurses United]
Demonstrators hold signs during the protests in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [Gene J Puskar/AP Photo]
Protesters rally in Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. [Bill Barrow/AP Photo]
People hold up signs during protests in Denver, Colorado. [David Zalubowski/AP Photo]
Police on horseback disperse a crowd of protesters in Los Angeles, California. [Ethan Swope/AP Photo]
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Bankatiya Peak near Laspa village, in the northern Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
The abandoned village of Martoli. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Lichen grows on walls of abandoned stone houses in Martoli village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Kishan Singh, right, and Vijay Singh winnow buckwheat in Martoli village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Kishan Singh walks in his strawberry field in Martoli village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Prema Devi cooks inside her small eatery, catering to trekkers passing through on their way to the Nanda Devi Base Camp, in Ghanghar village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Trekking guides Pawan Koranga, left, and Raju Goswmi stop to catch their breath as they accompany a client to the Nanda Devi Base Camp. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Nomi Devi, left, sits outside her house and chats with a neighbor in Laspa village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
A man prepares to go back to his summer home, in Rilkot village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Motorcyclists make their way across a fast-flowing stream, on their way to the Nanda Devi Base Camp in Rilkot village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Travellers make tea as they wait for a mountain road to be cleared of debris near Laspa village. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
Nanda Devi peak as seen from Nanda Devi Base Camp. [Satish Sharma/AP Photo]
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People protest against the participation of the Israeli national football team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Italy, in Udine [Luca Bruno/AP Photo]
Pro-Palestinian protesters hold a large Palestinian flag as they gather in solidarity with Palestine in Udine. [Stefano Rellandini/AFP]
There is anger in Italy over the country’s football federation (FIGC) refusing to consider a boycott of matches against Israel. [Luca Bruno/AP Photo]
About 10,000 people attended the pro-Palestinian march in Udine. [Stefano Rellandini/AFP]
Chants of "Freedom for Palestine" and "Show Israel the red card" echoed through Udine as participants called for Israel to be banned from international sporting events. [Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu]
The Italian football federation said about 9,000 tickets had been sold for the match against Israel, well short of the reduced capacity of 16,000. [Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu]
Local authorities issued a slew of restrictions, including road closures and parking limits, and installed concrete barriers around the stadium to create security zones. [Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu]
At the end of the march, some protesters threw firecrackers and crowd control barriers at anti-riot police, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. [Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu]
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