Fraud in Ukrainian voting booths, combat videos from Afghanistan, and more

Story 1: Ukraine

On October 28, Ukrainians voted for their new members of parliament. The international community was worried that the vote might be marred by fraud - and indeed, there was plenty of rule-breaking. Our Observer, who worked as an election monitor, shows us some of the violations her nonprofit organization recorded - on video.

The “Regions party” – which is the party of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych – came in first, with 30 percent of the vote. But local authorities have promised to hold new elections in districts where violations took place.

Story 2: United States

22 million. That’s the number views for the latest video posted on the YouTube channel “Funker530”. This channel is full of raw footage sent in by soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. They film their combat missions with cameras attached to their helmets. Kayla William, an Iraq war veteran, tells us more.

Story 3: World

Now on to the best images sent in by our Observers from around the world this week.

We begin in Beijing, where the Communist Party’s 18th congress was held on November 8. This was a once-in-a-decade event, so the authorities kept security very tight - so tight that they banned the sale of kitchen knives throughout the city! And to buy a remote-controlled plane, people had to register with their names, just in case it was used for mischief. Taxis, meanwhile, were forced to take out their window handles so that their passengers wouldn’t be able to throw any subversive leaflets onto the streets.

Now on to Labé - the second biggest city in Guinea. Our Observer Fatoumata Binta Diallo witnessed a protest in which students demanded that their headmaster be given her job back. They believe she was fired because of political reasons, since she is an opposition activist. The protest ended in violent clashes, and local schools were closed for several days.

Last stop, Saudi Arabia. On November 1rst, a truck carrying flammable liquids exploded, killing 22 people and wounding about a hundred more. The flames severely damaged nearby buildings. A passerby took out his camera to film the rescue operation, only to notice that quite a few people were in fact stealing from the wreckage.