India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following intense U.S.-led diplomatic intervention, ending days of cross-border missile strikes and escalating military conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations. The ceasefire was announced Saturday afternoon by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, declaring the deal a success of “Common Sense and Great Intelligence” after 48 hours of backchannel diplomacy spearheaded by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE…
Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso
The Brazilian government has officially declined a request from the U.S. State Department to classify two of the country’s most notorious criminal gangs, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), as terrorist organizations, according to Brazil’s National Secretary of Public Security, Mario Sarrubo. The request was made during a high-level meeting between U.S. and Brazilian officials on Tuesday in Brasília, where American delegates raised concerns over the transnational reach of these gangs, alleging they operate in several U.S. states and pose a security threat. “We don’t have terrorist organizations here,” said Sarrubo following the meeting. “We have criminal…
Food aid for one million refugees in Uganda has been cut off entirely this week, as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) grapples with a deepening funding crisis. The abrupt halt has triggered widespread fear of starvation, instability, and forced repatriation across Africa’s largest refugee-hosting nation. The WFP sounded the alarm weeks ago, urgently appealing for $50 million to continue supporting refugees escaping war and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. However, with international donors pulling back, the agency has now confirmed that it can no longer feed over half of Uganda’s refugee…
Brazil’s cities are facing an unexpected public health crisis: scorpions. Researchers have warned that the arachnids are “taking over” urban environments, with more than 1.1 million stings reported between 2014 and 2023, a staggering 250% increase over the last decade. Published in Frontiers in Public Health, a new study attributes this surge to rapid, unplanned urbanisation combined with the escalating effects of climate change. Makeshift housing in favelas, poor waste management, and crumbling infrastructure have created ideal breeding grounds for scorpions, while hotter temperatures and erratic weather patterns have supercharged their survival. “Urbanisation in Brazil has profoundly reshaped ecosystems,” said…
President Donald Trump abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, on Thursday, marking the latest in a string of high-profile dismissals by the administration and prompting immediate backlash from lawmakers and library advocates across the country. In an email obtained by NBC News, Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel, delivered the news to Hayden on behalf of the president: “Your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately.” A spokesperson for the Library of Congress later confirmed the termination. Robert Newlen, the institution’s Principal Deputy Librarian, informed staff shortly afterward that he would assume duties as…
The Pentagon has issued a new directive ordering the removal of up to 1,000 openly transgender service members from the military, following the Supreme Court’s greenlight for the Trump administration’s controversial ban to take effect while legal challenges continue. The directive, released Thursday, gives all remaining transgender personnel 30 days to self-identify before being subject to medical record reviews and potential discharge. This marks the most aggressive enforcement yet of the administration’s policy against transgender individuals serving in uniform. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who signed the order, made no effort to temper his position. “No More Trans @ DoD,” he…
In a new diplomatic push to end the grinding war, Ukraine and top officials from the United States, France, Britain, and Germany have discussed ways to pressure Russia into accepting a 30-day ceasefire. The talks, held online, focused on a U.S.-backed proposal that Ukraine has signaled willingness to implement immediately. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, revealed details of the conversation on Thursday, saying the parties agreed that “a complete and unconditional ceasefire should be the first step towards a just and sustainable peace.” Senior officials involved included U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg,…
Organised criminal gangs wield such power over prisons across England and Wales that they are corrupting staff, fuelling violence, and enforcing drug debts behind bars, according to prisons minister James Timpson, who says the scale of the problem is so severe it “keeps me awake at night”. In a candid interview with The Guardian, Timpson revealed that a “beefed up” counter-corruption unit had prosecuted 37 prison staff members last year alone, with authorities intensifying efforts to sever the growing ties between criminal gangs and prison officers. “Serious organised crime is a big problem, a huge problem,” Timpson said. “It’s one…
Taiwan’s newly inaugurated president, Lai Ching-te, has drawn a bold historical parallel between his island nation and the European democracies that stood on the brink of war with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, warning of the growing threat posed by modern authoritarian regimes. In a striking speech delivered to foreign dignitaries gathered in Taipei to commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe, a first-of-its-kind official observance by Taiwan, Lai emphasised the shared values and common challenges faced by Taiwan and democratic nations across the globe. “Eighty years after the end of the European war, the message of…
In a dramatic turn of events, five members of Venezuela’s political opposition who had taken refuge in the Argentinian ambassador’s residence in Caracas have safely arrived in the United States, following what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as a “rescue operation.” The five individuals had been sheltering at the diplomatic residence since March 2024 to avoid arrest by President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which accused them of inciting violence and attempting to destabilize the country. Among the group were the campaign manager and communications director for opposition leader María Corina Machado. Rubio confirmed their arrival on U.S. soil in a…
