Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck northern Afghanistan overnight, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 300, officials confirmed on Monday. The tremor, which struck shortly before 1am local time, caused widespread damage in the provinces of Balkh and Samangan, where most of the casualties were recorded. Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the health ministry, said in a video message that the preliminary toll stood at 20 dead and around 320 injured. The United States Geological Survey reported that the quake’s epicentre was located 22 kilometres west-southwest of Khulm, at a depth of 28…

The mayor of Uruapan, a municipality in Mexico’s western state of Michoacán, was shot dead on Saturday evening in front of dozens of residents and visitors who had gathered in the town’s historic centre to mark the Day of the Dead. Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, who had been in office for just over a year, was attacked by an unidentified gunman who fired seven shots at close range. The mayor was rushed to hospital but later died of his injuries, according to the state prosecutor, Carlos Torres Piña. A city council member and one of the mayor’s bodyguards were also…

The result, announced by the national electoral commission, grants Ms Hassan a five‑year mandate to govern the east African nation of 68 million people. She first assumed office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.

The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has confirmed that he apologised to the United States president, Donald Trump, over a political advertisement attacking tariffs, while also revealing that he had urged Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, not to broadcast the controversial campaign. Speaking to reporters on Saturday following an Asia‑Pacific summit in South Korea, Carney said he had delivered the apology privately during a dinner hosted by South Korea’s president earlier in the week. “I did apologise to the president,” he told journalists, echoing remarks made by  Trump the previous day.   The advertisement in question, commissioned by Ford, featured a clip…

Two men lost their lives in New York City on Thursday after torrential rainfall overwhelmed drainage systems, flooded streets, and left parts of the city paralysed. The storm, which brought record-breaking downpours to several boroughs, caused widespread disruption to transport and renewed concerns about the vulnerability of basement dwellings during extreme weather. Emergency services were called to a townhouse in Brooklyn at approximately 4.30pm after reports of a man trapped in a flooded basement. A scuba team recovered the body of a 39-year-old, who was carried away by firefighters through water that had risen to calf height on the street…

“Tanzanians should expect great change from our party, which is committed to transforming the country.”

President Donald Trump was presented with a golden crown by his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, on Wednesday, in a ceremony that coincided with the announcement of a long‑awaited $350bn trade agreement between Washington and Seoul. The crown, a replica of one from the ancient Silla kingdom whose capital was Gyeongju, was offered as a symbol of friendship during Trump’s visit to South Korea for the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings. The American leader was also awarded the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, the country’s highest decoration, named after the national flower. The gesture came just a fortnight after millions…

Fears are mounting for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced it had seized control of the city following a year-long siege. The RSF said on Sunday that it had taken the army’s main base in the city, located in the Darfur region, and declared it had “extended control over the city of El Fasher from the grip of mercenaries and militias”. The claim, if confirmed, would mark a significant shift in Sudan’s civil war, which has raged since April 2023. The Popular Resistance, a local…

The United States and China have agreed a framework for a trade deal just days before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in South Korea, easing fears of a renewed escalation in global trade tensions. The agreement was forged on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia on Sunday, where US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the deal would remove the immediate threat of 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports due to take effect on 1 November. It will also include provisions for a final settlement…

Sami HamdiA British journalist and political commentator, Sami Hamdi, has been detained by United States immigration authorities at San Francisco International Airport, prompting accusations that the move represents retaliation for his outspoken criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The journalist, who has been touring the United States to speak at events organised by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), was taken into custody on Sunday morning. Cair described the detention as “a blatant affront to free speech” and alleged that Hamdi’s only offence was to criticise a foreign government. The organisation has called for his immediate release, stating that…