United States President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, vowing to cut off its resources and cripple its operations.

As reported by Reuters, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Friday, accusing the court of targeting Americans and describing it as a “rogue court.”

“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said in a statement.

“That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate,” he added.

The sanctions came amid Washington’s longstanding opposition to the ICC, particularly over its arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and its past investigation into alleged crimes by US soldiers in Afghanistan.

The ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, condemned the move, saying it would not deter the court from carrying out its responsibilities.

“The sanctions are intended to undermine the rule of law internationally and the work that an independent judicial institution is doing,” Khan told Reuters.

Our work will continue across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions,” she added.

The ICC, established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has 125 member states, including all European Union countries.

The United States is not a member of the court, which is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.

The latest sanctions could have wider implications than previous US measures targeting individual ICC officials, as they could affect companies providing services to the institution.

US sanctions typically restrict American-based companies from conducting business with designated entities, potentially affecting banking, insurance and software services.

However, shortly after announcing the measures, the US Treasury issued four general licences allowing certain transactions involving the court’s telecommunications, software, pension payments and detainees.

The ICC had reportedly been preparing for possible sanctions against the institution by moving some office computers away from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives and making alternative arrangements for banking and health insurance.

Rubio said Washington had delayed the sanctions in the hope that the court and countries that are parties to its founding Rome Statute would address American concerns.

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” he said.

“We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defence, to rein in the court,” Rubio added.

The US secretary of state said the measures were structured to give ICC member states an opportunity to negotiate a resolution to Washington’s concerns.

Meanwhile, the sanctions announcement coincided with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former judge of the ICC Appeals Chamber who served from 2003 to 2008.

The Nobel committee said the award was intended to highlight the importance of international law at a time when judges and legal institutions were facing political pressure.

The development is expected to heighten diplomatic tensions between Washington and its European allies, many of which are members of the ICC.

President Donald Trump ruled out Thursday attacking Iran before the US midterms on November 3, saying Washington was holding “productive discussions” with Tehran.

Trump’s announcement on his Truth Social platform followed a surge in oil prices driven by media reports suggesting potential new US strikes prior to the elections.

“I want to make it clear to everybody that, while Iran is in very bad condition, both economically and militarily, and while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect…we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections,” he wrote.

“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.

The Atlantic magazine reported on Wednesday that the White House had asked the Pentagon to develop options to strike Iranian targets that could be used before the midterms.

The New York Times said Thursday the plans were being developed despite Trump’s “ambivalence.”

The surge in crude oil prices has also been fueled by persistent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic chokepoint for the global oil trade — as well as hostilities between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

Polls suggest American voters are strongly dissatisfied with fuel prices, which have soared since US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28 triggered the conflict.

Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, rallied to as high as $105.88 a barrel on Thursday before retreating to $104.28.

– Putin vows to help –

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Thursday to “do everything” to help end the Middle East war when he met Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian for talks ahead of a regional summit, Russian media reported.

“We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,” Putin said after arriving in Turkmenistan for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that starts Friday in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.

He added that Iran had made “real efforts to end the war,” according to Russian news agencies.

Russia and Iran have reinforced diplomatic and military links since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, becoming increasingly reliant on each other.

Trump has repeatedly insisted in recent weeks that the United States has effectively won the Iran war, despite ongoing unrest and a recent security threat that forced the withdrawal of American bombers from a base in England.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Tehran was “engaged in dialogue, but every time we negotiate with the United States, they attack again”, Iranian state media quoted him as saying at the talks with Putin.

Pezeshkian said the Islamic republic wanted to see a “final framework” to end the war.

But he accused the United States of “trying to impose its policies and views on all countries”.

“If the United States insists on pursuing a unilateral approach, a resolution will not be possible,” he said, according to state media.

– Approaching election –

The midterm elections will shape the final two years of Trump’s presidential term as his Republican Party risks losing its current grip on Congress.

Although Trump is not on the ballot, he is holding numerous rallies in an attempt to limit the damage or even turn the political tide.

Trump has warned he faces a possible third impeachment if Democrats retake the House of Representatives, and the White House is preparing for a slew of investigations into corruption and abuse of power.

The US president also sought to calm a furor on Thursday over his comments at a rally earlier this week that Iran could “take out” the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego.

The 80-year-old blamed the “fake and artificial news” for misinterpreting the remarks, which Democrats pounced on.

“In actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?” Trump said on Truth Social.

AFP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the firing squad execution of convicted military base shooter Nidal Hasan will be “public,” according to a video shared Thursday by the Pentagon.

“He’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec in a clip posted on X by various official Pentagon accounts.

“People need to understand that… there’s serious consequence for these types of things,” Hegseth said, speaking aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

Asked to clarify what Hegseth meant by the execution being “public,” a Pentagon spokesperson referred AFP to the US Army, which in turn said to contact the Pentagon.

According to rights group Amnesty International, at least 17 public executions are known to have been carried out last year — six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran.

The Pentagon announced earlier this week that US President Donald Trump had approved Hasan’s execution for the 2009 fatal shooting of 13 people at Fort Hood.

Twelve of the dead and 30 of the wounded were soldiers. Hasan was shot and partially paralysed by a civilian police officer who responded to the attack.

He was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 for carrying out the Al-Qaeda inspired attack.

The court that convicted Hasan was told that he was opposed to the US military’s occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he had spoken online with an alleged Al-Qaeda figure, radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen subsequently killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.

Hasan’s execution will be the first carried out by the US military since 1961.

AFP

The United States on Thursday filed new torture charges against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, bolstering a mounting criminal case against the pair held in US custody.

Maduro and Flores already face drug trafficking and firearms charges in the United States after they were snatched from their Caracas compound in an extraordinary US military raid in January.

A court filing made public Thursday shows both are now additionally charged with conspiracy to commit torture, stating that they “inflicted severe physical and mental pain and suffering.”

The alleged goal was to “repress and punish political opposition, silence dissent and perceived dissent, preserve and protect the power and authority of the members of the conspiracy, and intimidate, harass, and neutralise their opponents, including through kidnappings.”

Prosecutors detail apparent instances of unidentified victims, including US citizens, being shocked with electric wires, waterboarded and beaten while in Venezuelan detention.

Maduro and Flores are slated for a trial in New York next June and are currently being held in a Brooklyn jail.

AFP

France has suspended the use of stun grenades during student protests after a 15-year-old boy lost his hand in an incident involving police during demonstrations in the northern city of Lens.

As reported by the BBC on Wednesday, the Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez ordered the suspension pending clarification of what happened, amid conflicting accounts from authorities and protesters.

The incident occurred on Monday near Auguste Béhal High School in Lens, as demonstrations over school conditions continued across the country.

Authorities said the teenager picked up an anti-encirclement grenade that had been deployed by police before it exploded. Students, however, alleged that the boy was directly hit by a grenade fired by an officer

According to the local prefecture, police had been confronted by between 200 and 250 students who were throwing stones and fireworks.

Nuñez said the police watchdog, IGPN, had opened 18 investigations into whether officers used proportionate force during the demonstrations.

There is a police action that raises questions for all of us within the Ministry of the Interior; it’s what happened in Lens,” Nuñez told French radio RTL.

He said the use of stun grenades would remain suspended until the circumstances surrounding the incident had been established.

The grenades are classified as non-lethal weapons but release rubber projectiles when they detonate.

The Lens incident has intensified concerns over police tactics during the student demonstrations, which have spread from high school pupils to university students, parents and trade unions.

More than 500 schools were fully or partially closed on Wednesday following Tuesday’s nationwide protests. The Interior Ministry said 488 people were arrested and 43 security officers injured during the demonstrations.

Concerns over police conduct had already grown following another incident last week in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône, north-west of Paris, where a 14-year-old boy was hit in the face by a tear-gas grenade.

His lawyer said the teenager lost several teeth and suffered a fractured jaw. A police officer has been charged in connection with the incident.

Prosecutors also opened an attempted-murder investigation on Wednesday after a 17-year-old protester alleged that a police officer held his head underwater while trying to arrest him near a river in Belfort.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has condemned violence during the protests, saying 215 students, 85 school staff and 715 police officers had been injured since the demonstrations began in mid-September.

More than 6,500 people have been stopped or arrested during the unrest, according to the Interior Ministry.

President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting with Lecornu and other senior ministers on Tuesday as the government sought to find a way out of the escalating crisis.

Government figures estimated that more than 250,000 people participated in Tuesday’s demonstrations, while student unions put the turnout at around 450,000.

Further protests are planned for Thursday in Paris and other French cities.

The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has said the US is closely monitoring the case of a Russian laboratory worker, Darya Shipilova, who died last week after a reported accident at a plague research institute in Siberia.

The 28-year-old lab worker died of a suspected pneumonic plague infection, after which Russian authorities placed a hospital in quarantine and began monitoring nearly 200 people.

Speaking on Monday before leaving for a trip to Europe, Rubio said the US was actively monitoring the potential risk of a containment failure.

Rubio said, “We’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it.”

Rubio, citing what the Russians have released about the death, said it appeared that a worker in the lab had become infected and there was concern that the disease may have spread internally.

“There’s very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously. But, like anything else, something like that gets out, it just quickly spreads,” he said.

Shipilova became ill at work and died two days later, on October 2, at a regional hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov.

It remains unclear how she became unwell, although reports in Russian media suggested that Shipilova may have been infected after a mishap at the laboratory

Senior Russian officials have added to public disquiet by sending conflicting messages. Alexey Tsydenov, the head of the Buryatia region, which neighbours Irkutsk, initially wrote that Shipilova had died of plague before editing his post to say she had “possibly” died of the disease.

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s health watchdog, said Shipilova died from “pneumonia of unknown aetiology.”

It insisted that tests found no micro-organisms linked to her professional work and described the “sanitary and epidemiological” situation in the area as stable.

Also, the mayor of Shelekhov, Maksim Modin, said the inpatient department of a local hospital where the researcher was treated had been closed for quarantine, while people who had been in contact with her were placed under medical observation, The New York Times reported.

Earlier, Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said he had held an emergency meeting with Russia’s chief sanitary physician over a suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection.

Officials in neighbouring Buryatia initially referred to the woman as having died from plague before changing the wording to say she had “possibly” died from the disease

Russian authorities have since sought to reassure the public, saying the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region remained stable.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also urged the public and media to rely on official information rather than rumours and speculation.

Pneumonic plague is the most severe form of plague and can spread from person to person through respiratory particles.

The World Health Organisation says it can become fatal within 18 to 24 hours if untreated, but early treatment with antibiotics is highly effective.

Experts have nevertheless said the reported case does not currently indicate a wider outbreak.

Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, described the incident as appearing to be a rare laboratory accident and said it was unlikely to spread further.

The United States and European Union have said they are monitoring reports from the region.

Russia’s anti-plague institute conducts research into several infectious diseases, including plague, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis.

Human plague cases continue to occur in parts of the world but are generally treatable when diagnosed early.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision in a post on X on Monday, saying Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended the execution and Trump had approved it.

“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan.

“The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution,” Parnell said.

Hasan was convicted by a military jury in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder over the November 5, 2009, attack at Fort Hood, Texas.

He opened fire at a military facility where soldiers were undergoing processing for deployment, killing 13 people and injuring 32 others.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, was sentenced to death following the trial.

The approval sets in motion the process for his execution, although no date has been announced. The Army Secretary will determine when and where it will take place.

If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first by the US military since 1961

Turkey’s Football Federation chief on Monday denied any involvement in a scandal that has seen the country’s top refereeing official and several others arrested on graft charges.

Ferhat Gundogdu, head of the Central Referees Committee (MHK), and four others were on Saturday jailed pending trial on charges of manipulating the referee administration process.

They appeared before a judge at Istanbul’s Caglayan courthouse on several charges, including “official document forgery”, “breach of trust” and “illegal acquisition of personal data”.

The case appears to be linked to a vast illegal betting network that came to light a year ago.

“Don’t try and pin 30 years of corruption in football on me,” TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu told Hurriyet newspaper in an interview.

Let no-one try to blame me and my colleagues on the board… for the corruption, decay and lack of ethics that have existed in Turkish football for 15, 20 or perhaps 30 years,” said Haciosmanoglu, who has held the role for just over two years.

“For the future of Turkish football, we will be prepared, if necessary, not only to do our part but to assume the full weight of responsibility.”

Two other referees officiating in Turkey’s top-flight Super Lig, who were detained on Thursday night, were placed in pre-trial detention on Monday by an Istanbul court, media reports said.

Last week, Turkish media leaked an exchange of WhatsApp and other messages between the TFF chief and Gundogdu, suggesting a possible manipulation of referee ranking and promotion processes, as well as alleged preferential treatment.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek has said prosecutors are examining claims about “interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments, as well as the exams on rules”.

The scandal came exactly a year after the TFF suspended 149 referees on charges of illegal betting.

In an investigation involving 571 referees from the professional leagues, the TFF found 371 had sports betting accounts and 152 were actively placing bets.

Sports journalist Ayhan Sensoy, who wrote a 2024 book on the subject called “The Gambling Pit”, told AFP on Friday the arrests appeared to be a continuation of last year’s betting scandal, saying he doubted the current federation bosses had “any chance of staying in office.”

The Turkish Super Lig has attracted big-name signings, including Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah, who joined Trabzonspor from Liverpool in August.

AFP

Russian officials on Monday downplayed reports that a laboratory technician in Siberia had died of plague, insisting the situation was under control and that post-mortem tests had not found traces of the disease.

Reports on Friday that a 28-year-old woman named Darya Shipilova, who had been working for the anti-plague institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region, had died of plague sparked alarm.

The news outlet People of Baikal, citing unnamed sources close to the regional security services, said she may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.

Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.

But Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev said Monday that a special expert commission inspection in the region had found that “the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined aetiology.”

He said on Telegram that Russia’s consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor had determined, following tests, that “no microorganisms linked to the young woman’s professional work were found in her biological samples.”

He added that there had been “no new cases of staff from the anti-plague institute seeking medical attention” since the woman’s death.

Kobzev said the sanitary-epidemiological situation in Irkutsk was “stable.”

“The situation remains under our control and that of the experts.”

Asked about the situation on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to “rely on Rospotrebnadzor’s official statements rather than … rumours and speculations.”

Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, the most contagious type. Pneumonic plague can be fatal if not treated early, according to the World Health Organisation.

AFP

A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade as part of nationwide protests over classroom conditions that have disrupted lessons at hundreds of schools since last week.

Some students returned to classrooms, but others maintained actions outside their schools, ahead of a day of larger demonstrations expected on Tuesday.

Authorities said the teenager was injured in the northern town of Lens. A police union source said he appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police and that it exploded in his hand.

Since late September, students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of schools, complaining of teacher absences, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings ill-adapted to rising temperatures, among other grievances.

The unrest erupted just months before the 2027 elections that will determine the successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron.

The government has sought to address the grievances, while accusing hard-left activists of having hijacked the protest movement.

The French Human Rights League (LDH) on Monday accused security forces of using disproportionate methods against protesters, many of whom are legally minors.

We can see that in the instructions given to the police, there is no directive to show restraint, even though they are dealing with children,” LDH president Nathalie Tehio said.

– Dustbins ablaze –

More than 400 out of France’s 3,700 high schools, known as lycees, were partially or totally closed on Monday morning, the education ministry said.

A third of the 468 lycees for teenagers aged 15 to 17 were expected to be closed in the Paris region, authorities said.

In central Paris, dozens of teenage students demonstrated outside a school while passing cars honked their horns. Some classmates made their way inside to attend lessons.

“We’re missing our lessons to give you one,” read one cardboard sign outside the Turgot high school, located in Paris’s 3rd arrondissement.

In Bordeaux, in the southwest, some students returned to the classroom while others continued to demonstrate in the presence of riot police.

Some protesters outside the Gustave Eiffel high school set off fireworks in the direction of the police, who responded sporadically with tear gas, but overall the situation remained calm, AFP reporters said.

In the northern city of Lille, masked protesters destroyed bus shelters and set fire to dustbins, as police fired tear gas towards demonstrators.

The movement started on September 17 at a high school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, in support of teachers striking over a lack of staff and resources.

It gained momentum and spread across France, at times spiralling into vandalism, including the destruction of bus shelters, the burning of school entrances and clashes between protesters and security forces.

Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education minister.

More than 5,000 people, 85 per cent of them minors, have been arrested.

Protesters have also accused the police of using excessive force, and internal investigations have been opened into at least three instances of alleged police brutality.

– ‘Parental responsibility’ –

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu set out a timetable on Sunday urging local authorities to prioritise filling gaps left by long-term teacher absences and unfilled posts.

He called a meeting for Tuesday with regional presidents to discuss overhauling the country’s often-dilapidated school buildings.

The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of drawing on public funds.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon defended the bill.

“When you have 14-, 15-, 16-year-olds who, at 9 am, are burning bus shelters or — perhaps even more seriously — the high school where they study, that raises the question of parental responsibility,” she told the Europe1/CNews broadcaster.

Lecornu has said the draft law could allow compensation payments to be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits while preserving a minimum income threshold.

The head of the main CGT labour union, Sophie Binet, slammed what she called a “populist announcement”, which she said would “end up targeting the most vulnerable families”.

AFP

United States President Donald Trump has threatened lengthy prison sentences for fraudsters targeting Americans through Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programmes, warning that state and local politicians who knowingly fail to stop fraud could be held personally liable for the losses.

Trump made the announcement in a video released on Saturday, calling on Congress to pass legislation introducing mandatory minimum sentences for people who steal from the benefit programmes.

He said the proposed legislation would eliminate probation as an option for offenders convicted of the fraud.

“Under our proposal, probation is no longer an option for the fraudsters. If you steal from the American people, you will go to prison and for a long period of time,” Trump said.

The President added that the length of prison sentences would depend on the amount stolen, while repeat offenders would face doubled sentences.

And the more you steal, the longer you’ll stay in that prison. Not only that, but if you’re a convicted fraudster who gets caught stealing from the American people a second time, your sentence will be doubled,” he said.

Trump said the proposed legislation would also target public officials who knowingly ignored fraud despite having the authority to stop it.

He argued that state and local politicians who failed to act should bear financial responsibility for the losses suffered by American taxpayers.

Under our proposal, if a state or local politician knows about fraud and has the ability to stop it, but does nothing about it, they can be personally liable for the full loss of the American taxpayers’ money that they should have stopped and they should have saved,” he said.

Trump said the measures were intended to deter people from defrauding the government and discourage politicians from ignoring fraudulent activities they could prevent.

“This legislative proposal will make fraudsters think long and hard before they keep stealing from the American people and will make crooked and corrupt politicians think also long and hard before they ignore fraud that they can stop and that they should stop,” he said.

Medicare and Medicaid are government programmes that provide health coverage to eligible Americans, while Social Security provides benefits including retirement income.

Trump ended his message with a warning to people involved in fraud, saying, “So from now on, fraudsters, we’re watching you.”

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will invite US President Donald Trump to lead his ring walk before his clash with British rival Anthony Joshua.

Fury and Joshua are set to fight in Cardiff on December 11 and the self-styled ‘Gypsy King’ is keen for Trump to join the procession to the ring at the 80,000-capacity Principality Stadium.

Fury met Trump at the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in June and wore a cap emblazoned with the words “Donald Trump for Prime Minister” after having his United States travel ban lifted by the 80-year-old.

“I’ll definitely make that offer to my old buddy, old pal, and we’ll see if he’s available,” Fury said.

Probably unlikely because of the situation he’s in at the moment, being the President of the United States.”

Meanwhile, Fury insists his clash with Joshua is merely preparation for his true priority — a trilogy fight against Oleksandr Usyk, to whom he has lost twice already.

“I don’t have any intention of retiring after Joshua. I’m using this bum as a warm-up for Usyk,” he said.

“This is a bum to me and I can guarantee that on the night when I knock him spark out he won’t know what time it is. And then I want the rabbit (Usyk) in New York City.

“This year will be the most active year for me since 2018. I’ve done 12 rounds with a 6ft 8in Arslanbek Makhmudov and I’ve done seven rounds with another 6ft 7in behemoth in Mariusz Wach.

“Let’s not pull any punches here. I’m firing on all cylinders at the moment. I feel fantastic. I’m 38 years young.”

AFP

The prison commissioner in the southern US state of Tennessee has resigned over the botched execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike, Governor Bill Lee said Saturday.

Lee said in a statement that commissioner Frank Strada would leave his post this month.

Pike’s lawyers say she is in critical condition, unconscious and on a ventilator in a hospital, after her execution by lethal injection went wrong on Wednesday.

Pike, 50, survived two injections of the normally lethal substance pentobarbital as punishment for the murder of Colleen Slemmer in 1995.

It was the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. The state halted an execution in May after medical staff failed to tap a vein in the prisoner’s arm.

Lee said he thanked Strada for “his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment.”

In the same statement, Strada said, “I continue to believe the Department (of Correction) carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.”

Lee, who previously denied Pike clemency, has halted further executions through the rest of the year while a review is conducted.

Had the drugs killed Pike, she would have been the first woman executed by the state in more than two centuries.

In the United States, only 18 women have been executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

AFP

Iran said Saturday it had executed a man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during anti-government protests earlier this year.

Siavash Jamshidi was accused of targeting security personnel during mass demonstrations that peaked in January in which thousands of people were killed.

Since that time, Iranian authorities have stepped up executions of convicts linked to the unrest.

Jamshidi was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh through brandishing and firing a firearm, as well as conspiracy and collusion against national security,” Iran’s judiciary said, using the legal term moharebeh to mean “waging war against God”.

The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said he was also found guilty of offences not related to the protests, including “fraud, making threats, theft, possession and carrying of an illegal military-grade weapon”.

Other charges included “complicity in kidnapping, brandishing a weapon to intimidate, and intentional infliction of bodily harm”.

Mizan said Jamshidi was “active” during the demonstrations, which were sparked in December last year by grievances over living costs in Iran, but peaked on January 8 and 9 with huge rallies.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

Foreign-based NGOs however maintain that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.

US President Donald Trump threatened at the time to intervene militarily in Iran. Weeks later in late February, the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on the Islamic republic, triggering the Middle East war.

Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied in Iran, linked both to the war and the protests.

In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.

Amnesty International says Iran carries out more executions than any country except China.

AFP

A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has welcomed the reported arrest of Mahmoud Adam, whom he described as a radical Islamic Fulani terrorist leader allegedly responsible for the killing of Christians in Nigeria.

Moore, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, made the comment in a post on X on Saturday, crediting the Nigerian government for the arrest and linking it to security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States.

“This is great news for Christians in Nigeria!

“The arrest of Mahmoud Adam, a radical Islamic Fulani terrorist leader responsible for the killings of countless Christians, is proof that the US-Nigeria Security Cooperation agreement is bearing fruit,” Moore said.

The lawmaker added that the Nigerian government deserved credit for the operation, while praising efforts by the US Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump to address attacks against Christians.

The Nigerian government deserves credit for making this arrest, and it’s clear that Congress and the Trump admin’s efforts to defend Christians are making a positive difference.

We must keep pushing to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ!” he said.

Adam was reportedly arrested in the early hours of September 12 at his compound in Plateau State, where he was described as a prominent Fulani community leader.

The report of his arrest was published in October following the emergence of information and photographs concerning his detention.

The circumstances surrounding the arrest and the allegations against Adam remain subject to official clarification. Reports have described him as a community leader while also alleging links to violent groups.

The reported arrest comes amid increased attention in Washington to insecurity and attacks involving Christian communities in Nigeria.

The United States and Nigeria have continued security cooperation on counterterrorism and other security matters.

The General Manager of the National Theatre, Tola Akerele, has said Nigeria has abundant but largely untapped talent capable of helping the country establish a presence in the global contemporary circus industry.

Akerele spoke during the unveiling of the Lagos Contemporary Circus Festival, slated for Saturday and Sunday, at a press conference held on Friday at the National Theatre, Surulere, Lagos.

PUNCH Online reports that circus is an art, craft and sport that combines different disciplines, including theatre, dance, juggling and acrobatics.

Akerele said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, traditional dances, acrobatics and other forms of physical performance provided a strong foundation for the development of a homegrown circus industry.

Speaking on the development of contemporary circus in Nigeria, she said the country had long practised elements of the art form without formally recognising them as circus.

“Circus is really a type of art that gathers many, many fields or many, many different types of craft, like theatre, dancing, juggling, acrobatics and sport. It is art, craft and sport,” Akerele said.

She noted that several traditional performances in Nigeria, particularly in the North, involved acrobatics, movement and dance, which could be developed further through contemporary circus.

In the North, what we have are animals, animals, people masquerading. There’s something there already. So, they’re not animals; it’s more about acrobatics, movement and dance. And I think we have that natural talent anyway,” she said.

According to the National Theatre boss, the challenge was to identify existing talent, expose performers to international techniques and create opportunities for them to develop their skills professionally.

“So, I think for me, it was something that I felt we could really develop in Nigeria. And, of course, someone like Sam has been doing this here for a while. But there are opportunities that are actually really big for Nigerians who are in that performance space to gain more skills, to work with other countries and to really elevate what’s on the ground,” she said.

Akerele said the initiative was aimed at laying the foundation for a more structured circus sector in Nigeria.

“I just felt like a lot’s been done, but there’s so much more that we can do. And this is what this is about, really kind of laying, just putting the foundations down for what could be, which is really exciting,” she said.

She explained that contemporary circus was still relatively new to many Nigerians, despite incorporating familiar forms of performance such as dance and acrobatics.

Akerele said Nigeria could learn from countries across Africa where circus had developed into an established form of performance, while also developing its own identity.

She added that the development of the circus industry could create employment and provide young Nigerians with alternative career opportunities.

“We want to create jobs, have new skills, so that’s why we’re kind of doing this,” she said.

She added that becoming a circus performer could be a viable career for Nigerians willing to dedicate themselves to the craft.

“So, I think, economically, it’s a career path, actually. You can actually become a circus performer, and you can earn and survive. So, we’re having some talks after that about having a career in the circus,” Akerele said.

According to her, some Nigerians were already practising circus disciplines such as juggling and contortion but lacked the structures and community needed to develop their skills further.

“There are people in college, people are doing it here, as a contortionist, as a juggler, on his own at home, doing it. But let’s create a community,” she said.

The founder of La Fabrique Culturelle, Chantal Djedje, supported the argument that Africa already had a strong foundation for circus, saying traditional dances and movements across the continent contained elements of the art form.

Our traditional dances, our traditional movements, all over the continent, are circus. But as long as it’s not on stage, we call it traditional art. But once the Europeans put it on stage, we call it circus,” Djedje said.

She said the perception that Africa had no circus stemmed partly from how traditional African performances were classified.

Djedje also pointed to street performers in Lagos as evidence of the talent available locally.

“But even here in Lagos, if you go out, all the people we’re seeing are doing circus, because it’s not easy just to walk with these things on your head. This is circus, you know? So, even in Lagos, you have a pool of artists,” she said.

Djedje cited Guinea as an example of how circus could provide young people with a pathway into professional careers.

“In Guinea, when the social crisis started, it took a lot of kids from the streets. Today, it’s these kids who are in the biggest circus companies in the world: Circus Baobab, Cirque du Soleil,” she said.

“It’s a very good opportunity for those kids who usually don’t go to school anymore. And suddenly, they can pick up a career. And there’s a real career path for them.”

The co-founder and Artistic Director of Fekat Circus, Dereje Dange, said the development of a successful circus industry required discipline and persistence.

Dange said Ethiopia’s circus sector had grown considerably after starting from a small base, with performers eventually finding opportunities to work around the world.

“It’s become really a lot of, like, thousands of artists now you see all over the world performing and getting also a living,” he said.

He said the experience showed that circus could develop from a small initiative into a professional industry capable of supporting performers.

Meanwhile, Swiss circus artist Jessica Arpin said circus had room for people with different body types, physical abilities and interests.

“What’s beautiful about the circus is that there’s space for everybody,” Arpin said.

“If you’re stronger, you can carry somebody. If you’re more flexible, you can do more contortion. If you like heights, you can go aerial.

If you’re better with the hands, you can juggle. Like, there’s space for all kinds of bodies and sizes.”

Arpin, who said she was 47, also stressed the importance of discipline and taking care of the body for performers seeking long-term careers.

“Maybe you’re naturally talented, but your body is your tool. So, you have to take care of your body so it lasts a long time. So, you can work a long time,” she said.

The press conference came amid efforts to promote contemporary circus in Nigeria through collaboration among Nigerian and international artists, with support from the European Union.

US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that Iran will be “hit very hard” if it is found to be linked to a pilot’s attack on a flydubai flight to Israel.

The dramatic events a day earlier saw passengers help stop the plane from crashing, making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before the flight’s mostly Israeli passengers were flown home to a hero’s welcome.

Trump’s warning came as the United Arab Emirates opened an investigation into whether the incident was linked to terrorism, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”.

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump told reporters Thursday when asked at the White House whether Iran was involved in what happened on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

On whether the United States would retaliate against Iran if it was found responsible, Trump replied: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”

Trump’s threat coincided with a wider US military buildup in the region.

Axios reported that Washington had recently deployed additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to help protect key energy facilities from possible Iranian retaliation.

The US news outlet also reported that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group were heading to the Middle East, where they could join two other US carrier strike groups already in the region.

As speculation swirled about a possible motive, the UAE and Saudi Arabia began to piece together the events in the cabin.

Saudi Arabia said the co-pilot was transferred to the UAE on Thursday accompanied by an “Emirati security team”, adding that its initial investigation showed he had attacked the aircraft’s captain.

The alleged assault triggered a struggle for control of the aircraft before an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Passengers were later flown to Israel on a replacement flight.

“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu told the “Fox & Friends” TV show, without elaborating.

“The attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, ‘Kill me, kill me’,” Netanyahu said, adding it was “clear he was suicidal”.

His comments came after the UAE chief prosecutor said investigators would explore whether there had been “terrorist activity or intent”

Netanyahu said the UAE would lead the investigation while Israel would participate.

He identified the co-pilot as an Omani national and said Israel would check how he had been cleared to work on flights to the country.

“We have constraints that say that you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Obviously he was able to go through that,” Netanyahu told Fox News.

Netanyahu had earlier credited captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, and passengers with averting catastrophe after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and tried to crash the plane.

Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.

Israeli officials have called the incident “an attempted terrorist attack”, although Netanyahu in an earlier interview with CBS News had not ruled out the possibility that mental health was to blame.

“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Netanyahu had said in a video message.

Netanyahu later praised Machchhar “for his extraordinary bravery”.

The Indian ambassador to the UAE visited the wounded captain, with the embassy saying he was in “good health and recovering well”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a “HERO”, saying his actions had helped save lives.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the aircraft was “pretty much out of control” as the incident unfolded over Jordan.

“The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” she told reporters.

“It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him.”

Flydubai said another “on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight… landed the aircraft safely” and announced it was suspending flights to Israel while the investigation continued.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he would honour five Israelis who helped overpower the co-pilot and prevent the plane from crashing.

AFP

Canada is expected to unveil its next Immigration Levels Plan for 2027–2029 in early November, setting new targets for permanent resident admissions and temporary resident arrivals, including international students and temporary foreign workers.

In a post on Immigration news Canada on X Thursday, said the plan will establish Canada’s first official target for permanent resident admissions in 2029 and will also confirm or revise the indicative targets for 2027 and 2028 contained in the current 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan.

The new targets are expected to be closely watched by prospective immigrants, international students and temporary workers as the federal government determines the future scale and composition of immigration.

“Under Section 94(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is required to table the annual immigration report containing the levels plan in each House of Parliament on or before November 1.

Where Parliament is not sitting on November 1, the legislation provides for the report to be tabled within the next 30 days on which the House is sitting.

November 1, 2026 falls on a Sunday, meaning Parliament will not be sitting that day. The plan is therefore expected to be tabled when Parliament next sits, likely in the first few days of November,” the post read.

The current 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan was released on November 5, 2025

The forthcoming plan comes as the federal government continues to adjust immigration levels following measures introduced to reduce the number of temporary residents and moderate population growth.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, in an interview with _The New York Times_ reported on September 29, said that with Canada’s immigration system back under control, the question was when the country would resume a “controlled increase” in population.

The remarks have prompted renewed attention to the possibility of future increases in immigration levels, although the government has not announced specific targets for 2027–2029.

The permanent resident target will be one of the major figures to watch, but the allocation of admissions across different immigration categories could prove equally significant.

The new plan is expected to provide details on areas including economic immigration, Express Entry, provincial nominee programmes, family reunification and Francophone immigration.

The government’s approach to temporary residents will also be closely watched, particularly the targets for international students and temporary foreign workers.

For prospective immigrants, the distribution of available spaces among the various programmes could determine the opportunities available through specific immigration pathways.

The 2027–2029 plan will therefore provide an important indication of the federal government’s approach to immigration, temporary migration and population growth over the next three years.

A critically ill patient died after the ambulance conveying him was stopped by police to allow the convoy of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to pass through Silchar, India.

The patient, identified as 42-year-old Rasaraj Chakraborty from Sribhumi district, died at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital on Thursday morning after being taken there for treatment.

India Today NE reported on Thursday that the ambulance carrying Chakraborty was stopped at the Ramnagar ISBT point in Silchar on Wednesday as police cleared the road for Sarma’s convoy.

According to the report, Chakraborty had been brought from Sribhumi to Silchar for advanced treatment after his condition became critical due to a liver-related ailment.

Footage showing the ambulance waiting while the Chief Minister’s convoy passed through the area later circulated on social media, drawing public criticism.

NDTV reported that four police personnel on duty during the incident were subsequently suspended after they stopped the ambulance to make way for Sarma’s convoy.

The Chief Minister later apologised to the patient and his family, describing the incident as unacceptable and saying that no Chief Minister’s passage should take precedence over a person requiring urgent medical care.

However, the circumstances surrounding the patient’s death remained separate from the controversy over the ambulance stoppage

Hindustan Times reported that Abhijit Swami, the principal of Silchar Medical College and Hospital, said Chakraborty was suffering from liver cirrhosis and died while undergoing treatment at about 6am on Thursday.

The newspaper also quoted a member of the patient’s family as saying that Chakraborty was already in a critical condition before the ambulance was stopped.

The family member said the ambulance was held up for nearly 30 minutes but that the delay was not responsible for Chakraborty’s death.

Sarma also said the patient’s death was not connected to the ambulance stoppage, according to ThePrint.

The Chief Minister said Chakraborty was suffering from a serious liver ailment and that the ambulance had been stopped for only a short period.

Despite that, Sarma said he was opposed to the practice of stopping ambulances to allow VIP convoys to pass.

The patient was suffering from liver issues and I do not believe that the ambulance halt was connected to the death, but I am strongly against this culture of halting emergency services to pass VIP convoys,” Hindustan Times quoted Sarma as saying.

Following the incident, the Assam government directed district commissioners and senior police officers across the state to ensure that ambulances and other emergency vehicles were not obstructed during VIP movements.

Hindustan Times reported that the Chief Minister’s Office directed that Sarma’s convoy could be stopped, if necessary, to allow emergency vehicles to pass immediately.

The directive also ordered that the Chief Minister’s convoy be restricted to the minimum number of vehicles required for security and essential operations.

Ministers, lawmakers, officials and other dignitaries attending the same programmes were also directed not to travel alongside the Chief Minister’s convoy.

India Today NE reported that the four police personnel suspended over the Silchar incident were facing a departmental inquiry for alleged negligence of duty.

In his post on X after the incident, Sarma said he had directed officials to investigate what happened and warned that anyone found violating the rules governing his convoy would face strict consequences.

He said his directives that VIP movements must not disrupt ordinary citizens had been clear, adding that they should be enforced in full.

Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman on death row in the United States, remained alive after Tennessee officials administered two doses of a lethal drug during an attempted execution on Wednesday.

Pike was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

Media witnesses reported that Pike was still awake and snoring more than 40 minutes after the second dose of pentobarbital, according to the Associated Press.

The Tennessee Department of Correction did not immediately provide an explanation for what happened, while Pike’s lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking to halt the execution.

The development came after a dramatic legal battle earlier on Wednesday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit had temporarily halted Pike’s execution shortly before it was due to begin, saying more time was needed to consider her arguments that evidence of childhood sexual abuse and neglect had not been properly considered when she was sentenced to death.

The US Supreme Court later overturned the stay, clearing the way for Tennessee to proceed with the execution.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision.

The murder in 1995

Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, 17, killed Slemmer, whom they knew from the Knoxville Job Corps training centre in 1995.

According to prosecutors, Pike and Shipp attacked Slemmer after Pike accused her of trying to take her boyfriend. Slemmer was beaten and stabbed, and a pentagram was carved into her body. The case attracted widespread attention in Knoxville and became associated with the so-called “satanic panic” of the 1980s and 1990s.

Pike was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death. Shipp was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole because he was 17 when the crime occurred.

Pike’s lawyers have argued that her age, severe childhood abuse and neglect, and mental health history should have been taken into account when determining her sentence.

Her lawyers previously said she suffered sexual abuse as a child and argued that crucial evidence about her background was not adequately presented to the jury.

Pike’s clemency request was rejected by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who said he had reviewed the case but would not intervene.

If completed, the execution would have made Pike the first woman put to death by Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Female executions are rare in the United States. According to figures cited by the Associated Press, 18 women have been executed in the country since capital punishment resumed in 1976, compared with more than 1,600 men.

As of Thursday morning, Tennessee authorities had not provided a detailed public explanation for why the attempted execution failed, while Pike’s lawyers were seeking emergency court intervention.

A UK-backed Mars rover is set to drill up to two metres beneath the surface of the Red Planet in a search for evidence of past or present life.

A Mars rover is a robotic vehicle designed to travel across the surface of Mars, taking images, studying rocks and soil, and using scientific instruments to investigate the planet.

The Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled to launch in late 2028 and land on Mars in 2030 as part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars programme, according to an updated UK Space Agency case study published on Wednesday.

The ExoMars mission asks “one of humanity’s most compelling questions: has life ever existed beyond Earth?”

According to the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency created the ExoMars programme as “two missions working together to study Mars from orbit and, in the near future, from the planet’s surface.”

The agency said the Trace Gas Orbiter was already circling Mars and studying gases in its atmosphere, while the Rosalind Franklin rover would investigate the planet’s surface.

“These missions will help answer important questions about Mars: what the planet is made of, how its environment has changed over time, and whether it may once have supported life, or perhaps still does,” the agency said.

It added that data from the mission would also support wider studies of Martian chemistry and environmental science “to help us understand whether humans could once day go to Mars.”

Rover to drill beneath Martian surface

The Rosalind Franklin rover will search Mars’ surface for evidence of environments that may once have supported life and “may even still do so today.”

The UK Space Agency said the rover would have the “unique feature” of being able to drill down to two metres into the Martian surface to obtain samples.

“Samples taken from below the surface are better protected from the harsh radiation that affects the surface soil,” it said.

The samples will be analysed by an onboard laboratory to determine their mineral and chemical content and composition and search for evidence of past or present life.

The mission will land in the Oxia Planum region of Mars, which the agency described as an area containing ancient, clay-rich rocks dating back around 3.9 billion years.

Clay minerals usually form in the presence of water, so this landing site gives scientists a promising place to look for evidence that Mars may once have had conditions suitable for life,” the agency said.

The rover is named after Rosalind Franklin, the UK scientist whose work was central to understanding the structure of DNA.

“The name connects the mission’s search for life on Mars with a scientist whose discoveries transformed our understanding of life on Earth,” the agency said.

UK invests £490m in mission

The UK Space Agency said the UK had invested around £490m over the past 20 years in the programme, supporting more than 200 high-skilled jobs.

It added that 31 UK scientists were named mission instrument team members, while more than 100 UK scientists were involved in the programme more broadly.

“This support helps fund the science, engineering and technology that make the mission possible, from building the missions and their instruments to investigating the data and delivering world-class scientific excellence,” the agency said.

The Rosalind Franklin rover is being built by Airbus Defence and Space at the company’s UK facility in Stevenage.

The UK is also involved in the development of several scientific instruments on the rover.

The PanCam panoramic camera system is UK-led, with scientists from University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory working with the University of Aberystwyth, Birkbeck College and the University of Leicester.

The agency said PanCam would take detailed images of the Martian surface, helping scientists build 3D maps to determine where the rover should drill and how to get there.

The University of Leicester, Bradford University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are key partners in developing the Raman Laser Spectrometer.

The instrument can identify minerals and chemical compounds in Martian samples, “including some biomarkers – chemicals that may indicate past or present life,” according to the agency.

Aberystwyth University, together with the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Qioptiq Ltd, is developing the rover’s infrared spectrometer, Enfys.

The agency said Enfys would further analyse the materials in rocks and help determine where the rover should go to drill for samples.

Mars orbiter finds water-ice

The Trace Gas Orbiter, which started orbiting Mars in 2016 and began science operations in 2018, continues to study the planet’s atmosphere.

According to the UK Space Agency, it “has relayed more data than all other Mars orbiters combined, including 13 million square kilometres of multispectral imagery.”

The orbiter uses four scientific instruments to detect and analyse trace gases.

It was particularly looking for methane, which was detected by ESA’s Mars Express mission in 2003.

“Methane is interesting because, on Earth, it can be linked to both biological and geological processes,” the agency said.

“On Mars, finding and understanding methane could help scientists work out whether the planet is still geologically active, or whether it has ever had conditions associated with life.”

However, the agency said the Trace Gas Orbiter “hasn’t recorded any methane yet”, although it had made other discoveries.

It helped detect hydrogen chloride in Mars’ atmosphere, providing scientists with new information about the planet’s chemistry and water cycle.

The orbiter also discovered water-ice at low latitudes.

“That matters because water is one of the most useful resources for future explorers: it could be turned into oxygen to breathe, fuel for journeys, and drinking water for thirsty astronauts,” the agency said.

“Finding accessible water-ice could therefore make future missions to Mars more practical.”

The orbiter’s CASSIS camera also produces high-resolution imagery of the planet to help prepare for future landings, including the Rosalind Franklin mission.

NASA, SpaceX involved

The UK Space Agency said that in early 2026, NASA approved the Rosalind Franklin Support and Augmentation project, known as ROSA, which will provide hardware and services for the mission.

NASA also selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the rover from Kennedy Space Center.

“The launch is currently due for late 2028, subsequently landing on Mars in 2030,” the agency said.

The mission is aimed at investigating Mars from both orbit and its surface as scientists continue to examine whether the planet may once have supported life, or whether evidence of life could still exist beneath its surface.

Nigerians seeking visas to Germany have been advised to follow the official application process and avoid sending their documents to German diplomatic missions by email as a way of securing appointments or submitting applications.

The German Mission in Nigeria, on its X handle on Wednesday, issued the clarification amid reported confusion over how applicants should begin the visa process.

“Applicants are advised to first identify the appropriate visa category based on the purpose and duration of their intended stay.

“A Schengen visa is generally required for short stays of up to 90 days within 180 days, including tourism and family visits, while a national visa is required for stays exceeding 90 days for purposes such as employment, study, vocational training and certain family-reunification cases.

Applicants are also required to establish which German mission is responsible for their application before proceeding.

The missions advise applicants to use the official online appointment system for the relevant visa category and follow the instructions provided.

For certain long-stay visa categories, applicants can begin the process through Germany’s Consular Services Portal. However, an online application does not eliminate the requirement for an in-person appointment where biometrics, original documents and other checks are required

Applicants are expected to prepare all required documents and submit them through the prescribed process.

The German Missions also warned applicants against paying agents or third parties simply to obtain visa appointments.

“ You do not need to pay an agent just to book a visa appointment. The official appointment booking is free,” the missions said.

They further advised applicants to ensure that appointments are booked under the correct visa category to avoid delays or the need to make a fresh appointment.

During the appointment, applicants may be required to submit their documents, provide biometric information and answer questions relating to their applications.

The mission stressed that applicants should rely on official German government information when preparing their applications and should be cautious of individuals or organisations offering visa appointments for payment.

For eligible national visa categories, applicants can use the official Consular Services Portal to submit an initial application and receive further instructions on the next steps.

It said that following the official procedure would help applicants avoid unnecessary payments, incorrect applications, and delays in processing their visa requests.

Douglas Stewart Carter was convicted of killing Eva Olesen in Provo, Utah, in February 1985 and sentenced to death, despite maintaining that he was innocent and that a confession he signed during police interrogation was coerced.

According to the BBC on Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Carter last year, citing misconduct by investigators.

A judge on Monday granted Carter bail despite objections from Olesen’s family. He is required to wear a GPS monitor while awaiting the new tria

Olesen, the aunt of a local police chief, was stabbed multiple times and shot in the back of the head at her home.

Carter, who is originally from Chicago, was living with his mother in Utah at the time. Court documents showed that police suspected him of killing Olesen during a robbery.

Carter fled Utah after believing he was a suspect in an unrelated case and was later arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, where he signed a confession during interrogation

However, there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene.

He was convicted by a jury based on the confession and testimony from two witnesses who claimed he had bragged about the killing.

The two witnesses later said in 2011 that they had been instructed to lie in court, given cash and gifts by police and threatened with deportation if they did not testify against Carter.

Carter’s lawyers also said witnesses had seen a white man fleeing the scene and alleged that an investigator suppressed evidence pointing to Olesen’s husband, Orla Olesen, as a possible suspect.

Orla Olesen, who died in 2009, had told police that he found his wife dead in their home.

The victim’s stab wounds were believed to have been inflicted with a knife from the couple’s kitchen, which was found near her body. The gun used in the killing was not recovered.

Prosecutors this month said DNA analysis had excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the knife handle.

Carter’s release was opposed by Olesen’s family.

Theresa Olesen, Eva Olesen’s daughter-in-law, told Monday’s bond hearing that her family had “serious concerns” about Carter’s release and said he should remain in custody pending a new trial.

“By golly we were hoping for a concrete match,” Olesen said of the DNA analysis. “It doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”

Carter’s defence lawyer, Neal Hamilton, called for the case to be dismissed.

“If the state of Utah had their way, he would have been executed 15, 20 years ago before we discovered the misconduct,” he told Associated Press.

A former American Idol contestant and Ohio pastor, Caleb Flynn, has been found guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, after a trial that featured evidence from his former lover, thousands of text messages and a song prosecutors said he wrote about their affair.

Flynn, 40, was convicted on Tuesday of murder and eight other charges, including aggravated murder and tampering with evidence, after a jury deliberated for less than three hours.

He faces life imprisonment without parole and is due to be sentenced on October 5.

Flynn wept in court as the verdicts were delivered, BBC News reported Tuesday evening.

Prosecutors said Flynn shot his 37-year-old wife twice in the back of the head while she was sleeping at their home in Tipp City, a suburb of Dayton, on 16 February.

He then allegedly tried to make the killing appear to have been carried out by intruders.

The prosecution presented police body-camera footage and data from Flynn’s iPhone and Apple Watch from around the time of the killing.

Prosecutors also called dozens of witnesses, including Alleigha Botner, a former intern at Flynn’s church who had an affair with him.

Botner testified about her nearly 18-month relationship with Flynn and some of the roughly 100,000 text messages they exchanged were read in court.

In one message to Botner in August 2025, Flynn wrote: “I was up until 4am last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”

In another message, he wrote: “I just want her dead and gone.”

Botner told the court that she now hates Flynn “because I believe that he murdered his wife”.

Prosecutors said Flynn was afraid of losing custody of his daughters in a divorce, as well as his jobs at his wife’s family business and at the church.

They also pointed to what they described as inconsistencies in Flynn’s account of the night of the killing.

Prosecuting attorney Paul Watkins said Flynn told police that he had been in his daughters’ bedroom when he heard gunfire and later found his wife dead in their bedroom after noticing that the garage side door was open.

Watkins said Flynn later told investigators he had not been to the garage, contradicting his earlier statement.

Flynn’s defence argued that prosecutors had not presented concrete evidence proving he committed the murder.

His lawyer, Patrick Mulligan, said: “Connecting a couple of meaningless dots doesn’t solve the case.”

Mulligan also argued that evidence of Flynn’s infidelity did not establish that he had murdered his wife.

“They can’t find the gun, therefore they blame it on him?” he said, referring to the tampering-with-evidence charge.

The gun Flynn kept in the console of his truck has not been found. Investigators discovered the truck’s centre console open after arriving at the scene.

Prosecutors also presented evidence concerning music Flynn allegedly created about his relationship with Botner.

During the trial, a song that prosecutors said Flynn wrote and dedicated to Botner was played in court. Botner explained its lyrics line by line while testifying.

The prosecution also called Joseph Wilhelm, a special agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, who said several applications had been uninstalled from Flynn’s phone before his wife’s death.

Among them was an AI music-generating application which Wilhelm said “related to his relationship with Alleigha Botner”.

The jury’s reaction to the song, including what appeared to be laughter, later circulated widely online.

Flynn’s case also attracted attention because of his earlier appearance on American Idol.

He appeared on the 12th series of the programme in 2013, performing before judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson.

He received a “golden ticket” to Hollywood during the televised auditions but did not reach the main competition.

In footage shown on the programme, Flynn said: “Music is all I know, it’s what I live to do and I love to sing, so that’s why I auditioned.”

“Maybe my wife kinda nudged me a little, too,” he added.

Ashley Flynn was a schoolteacher and volleyball coach.

Caleb Flynn is due to be sentenced on 5 October.

The United Kingdom Government has confirmed that national museums in England will remain free for all visitors, ruling out plans to introduce charges for overseas tourists.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the decision followed an earlier commitment to work with the museum and tourism sectors and local leaders to explore whether charging international visitors could help address museums’ financial pressures.

The Government said it had concluded that charging overseas visitors could deter domestic visitors and that the effects and benefits of such a policy would not be felt equally across the museum sector.

“Everyone will continue to enjoy universal free admission to our world class national museums in England,” the Government said in a statement published on the Home Office website on Tuesday.

Free admission to national museums was introduced in 2001.

The Government said national museums attract millions of visitors and contribute more than £1bn annually to the economy, with seven of the 10 most visited museums in the UK being national museums.

In 2025, 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum, while 6.4 million visited the British Museum.

The Government said the museums also attract visitors from around the world, while their free-entry policy would continue to apply regardless of visitors’ nationality.

The decision follows the review of Arts Council England conducted by Baroness Margaret Hodge and published in December 2025.

Earlier this year, the Government had committed to examining whether overseas visitors could be charged as part of its response to the review.

However, it said the assessment showed that such charges could have wider effects on domestic tourism and the museum sector.

The Government is also providing funding for museums and cultural organisations through several programmes.

It said the £1.5bn Arts Everywhere Fund includes £760m for museums, while £600m in infrastructure funding is supporting national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations with critical maintenance and work on their estates.

The funding is also intended to help national museums meet commitments to share their collections and expertise across the country.

A further £160m is being invested in local and regional museums.

The Government said the Museum Estates and Development Fund would help museums tackle maintenance backlogs, while the £13.6m Museum Transformation programme would support organisations in developing more sustainable business models.

It added that it would work with Arts Council England and the museum sector to develop a long-term strategic plan for the future of museums.

“Further details will be released in due course,” the Government said.

While attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had revealed that an artificial intelligence agent operated by OpenAI gained unauthorised access to an Australian Medicare data portal earlier this year.

Albanese said the AI agent accessed both public and non-public files on the Medicare statistics reporting service portal administered by Services Australia.

Meanwhile, the company in a statement published on its website on September 28, 2026, titled “How we will do better for Australia,” has apologised for the incident.

OpenAI said the incident occurred in June during internal training and evaluation of an experimental model that was not intended for public release and did not have the full set of safeguards used in its publicly available products.

According to the company, the model was assigned a task to research government spending per person on medicines for skin conditions in Victorian communities.

However, after struggling to obtain the information, the model took actions that OpenAI said it had not authorised.

At Services Australia’s Medicare Statistics Reporting Service, OpenAI said the model “discovered a way to gain non-public access to the service.”

The company said the model then “ran commands, retrieved internal files, credentials and aggregate statistics, and wrote files.”

However, OpenAI said its review had found no evidence that individual patient or client records were accessed.

We are sorry and working to do better in the future,” the company said.

OpenAI said the incident represented “a new kind of cyber incident which represents an emerging global challenge.”

The company also disclosed that its models had accessed three other Australian government systems.

At the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, an OpenAI model accessed the public Crime Mapping Tool while researching public crime statistics.

The model made API and website metadata requests through the public tool, with the system returning application configuration, operational jobs and logs, as well as website metadata.

OpenAI said individual crime records were not accessed.

In Victoria, OpenAI agents discovered an exposed access key that allowed them to query the Victorian Agency for Health Information’s reporting system and retrieve reporting configuration and aggregate survey statistics.

The extent to which this information should have been accessible is unclear, and depends on VAHI’s access policies,” OpenAI said, adding that individual medical records or identifiable survey responses were not accessed.

The company also said its agents retrieved aggregate statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare through third-party browsing and download services.

While separate attempts to bypass access controls were unsuccessful, OpenAI said the downloaded material appeared to have been publicly available and there was no system compromise.

OpenAI said it began investigating the activities after a review triggered by an earlier incident involving AI activity on the Hugging Face platform.

The review, which began after the July Hugging Face incident, identified the Australian government activity in mid-August.

OpenAI said it notified Services Australia and the Victorian Department of Health on September 10, followed by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research on September 18.

The company said the AIHW activity did not initially meet its disclosure threshold because the access appeared consistent with public access, but it notified the agency on September 24 to share its findings.

However, OpenAI acknowledged that it should have disclosed preliminary findings sooner.

“Our aim was to give affected agencies a detailed account once our investigation was complete. However, we should have shared preliminary findings sooner and kept Australian agencies updated as more facts emerged,” it said.

The company said it had since strengthened safeguards around its research environments, including additional network restrictions, expanded monitoring and controls designed to block live internet access.

It also said its current monitoring systems would have detected the activity and alerted human reviewers for urgent intervention.

n Australia, OpenAI said it would provide resources and technical expertise to affected agencies, support efforts to strengthen cyber defences and establish an Australian taskforce made up of independent experts.

The taskforce is expected to develop policy recommendations for managing risks from increasingly capable AI agents, including improved notification processes and stronger coordination between AI developers and governments.

OpenAI said its Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Kwon, would appear before the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence in Sydney on October 6 to answer questions about the incident and the company’s response.

The disclosure comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed last week that an OpenAI agent had gained unauthorised access to the Medicare statistics reporting service administered by Services Australia.

Albanese said the incident was “extremely” concerning and that he had spoken with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about the breach. ABC News reported that the company took about three months to notify the Australian government.

OpenAI’s latest disclosure provides further details of what the model accessed and the company’s planned response.

The head of Turkey’s football refereeing body, Ferhat Gundogdu, and six other people have been arrested as part of a graft investigation, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Tuesday.

“Claims regarding interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments, as well as in the examinations on rules, have been investigated,” he wrote on X.

Among those arrested were Gundogdu and his vice-president, with searches carried out at all of the suspects’ “homes, workplaces and offices.”

“We will steadfastly continue the fight for clean football so that claims undermining trust in Turkish football are clarified (and) those responsible are held accountable,” Gurlek said.

The move comes a year after Turkey’s Football Federation suspended 149 referees over allegations of involvement in an illegal betting scandal.

In a statement on its website, which did not mention the arrests, the TFF said it was “working resolutely” to restore public faith in “clean football.”

Without making a direct link to the earlier scandal, the TFF said it had “resolutely tackled the issue of betting and illegal betting,” fully supporting the work of the interior, justice, and youth and sport ministries, and that “the investigation and cooperation process with (them) is still ongoing.”

All documents requested by investigators “have been sent… in sealed envelopes, with a request for delivery to the Forensic Medicine Institute for fingerprint and DNA analysis and other necessary examinations,” it said.

Newspaper Hurriyet said prosecutors believe the suspects improperly influenced referee classifications, promotional exams and match appointments through document fraud and systemic intimidation.

It said the probe was opened following a formal complaint, with investigators looking into financial audits and phone records alongside witness testimony and expert reports.

During last year’s referee scandal, a TFF investigation found 371 of Turkey’s 571 referees officiating in the professional leagues had betting accounts, and 152 of them actively placed bets.

Police arrested 29 people in the sprawling scandal, among them 14 footballers — one of whom was Fenerbahce’s international midfielder Mert Hakan Yandaş.

Authorities suspended more than 1,000 players, including 25 from the first division.

AFP

The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, on Tuesday named Marrakesh mayor Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri the country’s first woman prime minister, the royal cabinet announced, after her party won last week’s parliamentary elections.

Her centre-right Authenticity and Modernity Party had dominated the vote, winning 97 out of 395 seats in the House of Representatives — 31 more than the next closest competitor, although the poll was marked by the lowest turnout in two decades.

The royal cabinet said the monarch has now tasked the 50-year-old, who also served as housing minister, with “forming the new government.”

Without an outright majority, the PAM will have to form a coalition with other parties for its five-year tenure, though the monarch retains broad powers over major policies

The PAM was founded in 2008 by current royal adviser Fouad Ali El Himma as a counterweight to the country’s Islamist movement.

El Mansouri was also the first woman to serve as mayor of Marrakesh, winning the office in 2009 before losing it six years later, then retaking it in 2021.

– ‘Restore hope’ –

El Mansouri’s cabinet will have to tackle several pressing issues, including unemployment and living costs, as well as persistent social disparities, particularly weighing on young people.

Young people are going through a crisis, and we must provide them with answers,” she said during the campaign. “We want to restore their hope, not only through speeches, but through concrete solutions.”

The parliamentary vote came just weeks after tens of thousands of mainly young Moroccan migrants rushed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, a crisis that highlighted socioeconomic frustrations among the youth.

It also came a year after a Gen-Z protest movement took to the streets to demand better health and education.

Her party has pledged average annual economic growth of five per cent, inflation of two per cent and the creation of at least one million new jobs over its five-year term.

The PAM was followed in the polls by the National Rally of Independents, which heads the outgoing coalition and won 66 seats.

The right-wing Istiqlal party came third with 65 seats, while the Islamist opposition’s Justice and Development Party took 54 seats.

The PJD made significant gains after winning just 13 seats in 2021, having focused its campaign in part on fighting corruption.

Its chief, former PM Abdelilah Benkirane, hailed a “victory” but ruled out joining a coalition led by the PAM, which he said was “tainted by fraud,” without providing details.

AFP

UK interior minister Shabana Mahmood announced Monday the reopening of a scheme for refugees to settle in Britain as part of a renewed focus on “safe and legal routes” for vulnerable people to reach the country.

The scheme will be relaunched immediately, and along with three new “community” refugee sponsorship routes previously announced. It’s initially expected to welcome hundreds of applicants, according to the interior ministry.

Mahmood formally unveiled the plan in a speech at the ruling Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, when she said “fairness” would be integral to the government’s immigration agenda.

It comes amid pushback from some within centre-left Labour over a series of hardline policies aimed at both tightening the rules for migrants arriving via legal routes while curbing asylum-seeker numbers coming by irregular means.

To be run in partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Refugee Assistance Project, it follows the closure of an Afghan resettlement route last year.

The planned changes include contentious proposals to make some legal migrants wait years longer than under current rules before they can apply to settle permanently in the UK.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, an influential figure within Labour, said in a newspaper interview last week that she was concerned about some of the plans because they “change the goalposts.”

Around a quarter of applicants to the reopened resettlement scheme are expected to be Afghan women and girls, and Palestinians, Mahmood told the Labour conference.

We will take vulnerable refugees from across the world and give them the chance of a new and better life here in Britain with the first arrivals this year,” she said.

Within days, charities and nonprofits will be able to apply to become sponsors of refugees, with the first arrivals under this route expected in around a year’s time.

The numbers arriving under the legal programmes “will grow into the low thousands as levels of illegal migration fall,” according to the ministry, which noted an annual cap will be set.

“I know that the British people have not given up on their belief that we should be compassionate, live up to our international obligations, and save the lives of those fleeing war and persecution,” Mahmood said.

“But I also know this process must be capped and controlled, with communities ready and able to welcome those who come here.”

AFP

A US judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from conditioning counterterrorism funds for local governments on changes to election administration.

The ruling was issued in a case brought by local governments challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to make election-related requirements a condition for receiving funds under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Homeland Security Grant Program.

The case, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., is before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and is being heard by Judge Amir H. Ali. Law360 reported that governments in Tennessee, Texas and Ohio had asked the court to rule in their favour, arguing that Congress had not conditioned the receipt of counterterrorism grants on how localities administer elections.

The Homeland Security Grant Program provides federal funding to state and local governments for preventing, protecting against and responding to terrorism and other security threats.

According to the complaint filed by the local governments, Congress created the programme “to help state and local governments prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorism.”

The complaint said the programme was funded according to a statutory formula based on each jurisdiction’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks.

“Congress did not create the HSGP to empower the federal government to control state and local election procedures,” the complaint said.

The dispute arose after FEMA attached five election-related conditions to fiscal year 2026 funding under the programme.

According to the complaint, the conditions covered voting equipment and the means by which voters cast their ballots, post-election audits, ballot reconciliation, voter-roll citizenship checks and election-worker citizenship checks.

Under the funding requirements, jurisdictions were required to submit plans to move away from electronic voting systems that use bar codes or QR codes to count votes and toward equipment that accepts hand-marked paper ballots.

They were also required to demonstrate compliance with a five per cent post-election manual audit, reconcile the number of voters who participated in federal elections with the number of ballots cast, and use the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, known as SAVE, to verify the citizenship of people in state voter-registration databases.

The requirements also called for citizenship verification of people working at polling places or operating election systems. The federal funding notice says election officials must use SAVE or another authorised government system for those checks.

The local governments said FEMA would withhold 20 per cent of each state’s Homeland Security Grant Program award until the election-related conditions were met.

“FEMA will now hold 20 percent of every state’s HSGP award hostage—more than $200 million nationwide—unless states agree to these and other election conditions,” the complaint said.

The plaintiffs argued that the federal government lacked authority to impose the conditions through the counterterrorism grant programme.

The complaint said, “FEMA has no authority to impose those conditions—not under its governing statute and not under the Constitution.”

It added: “Congress authorized FEMA to help jurisdictions protect critical infrastructure from terrorist and cyberattacks. It did not authorize FEMA to decide who may vote, how ballots must be counted, or how states maintain their voter rolls.”

The lawsuit was initially filed on Aug. 17 by Nashville, Tennessee; Harris County, Texas; El Paso County, Texas; and Columbus, Ohio. Dallas County and Travis County, Texas, later joined the case, according to Public Rights Project, which is involved in the litigation.

Law360 reported on Sept. 2 that the governments had asked the D.C. federal court for a ruling in their favour, arguing that Congress did not make the administration of local elections a condition for receiving counterterrorism grants.

The local governments’ challenge followed FEMA’s announcement that it would withhold 20 per cent of Homeland Security Grant Program funding unless recipients complied with the five election-related requirements.

The Texas Tribune reported in August that the requirements included a transition from voting machines that accept QR and bar codes to equipment that uses paper ballots, manual ballot audits and the use of the SAVE system for voter-registration checks.

The case is one of several legal disputes over the Trump administration’s efforts to impose election-related requirements through federal programmes. The Brennan Center for Justice said the lawsuit alleges that the conditions violate the separation of powers, federalism and the Constitution’s Spending Clause, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.

The judge’s Monday ruling prevents the administration from conditioning the counterterrorism funding on the challenged election-administration changes while the litigation proceeds.

The United States has completed the withdrawal of its military forces from Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fawad Hussein said on Monday.

Hussein said the American forces had completely withdrawn from Iraqi territory under an agreement between Baghdad and Washington.

The announcement came two days before the previously scheduled Sept. 30 deadline for the withdrawal of the remaining US forces and the end of the US-led international coalition’s military mission in Iraq.

According to the report by Safir, a Middle Eastern media outlet, the withdrawal followed the conclusion of the US-led international coalition’s military mission in Iraq.

The withdrawal of American forces has taken place while the Iraqi government is trying to transfer full security responsibility to Iraqi forces after the end of the coalition’s military presence and continue security and defense cooperation within the framework of bilateral relations,” the report said.

The US and Iraq had agreed in 2024 to wind down the US-led military mission against the Islamic State group.

The Associated Press had reported in August that the US military was on track to withdraw all its forces from Iraq by the end of September, marking the end of a presence that began with the 2003 invasion.

AP quoted Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as saying he had affirmed Sept. 30 as the “fixed and final date for ending the military mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq and completing the departure of its forces.

A US official also confirmed to AP at the time that Washington expected to complete its pullout by Sept. 30, but declined to say how many troops remained in Iraq or where they would be redeployed.

“The United States, Iraq and coalition partners have achieved tremendous success in defeating ISIS and now the Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, will lead the fight against terrorists in Iraq,” the US official said.

Earlier on Monday, The National reported that US forces were still scheduled to depart Iraq on Wednesday, with the “withdrawal expected to transition into a bilateral advisory, training and intelligence-sharing relationship between Washington and Baghdad.”

The withdrawal ends the US military presence in Iraq that began with the 2003 invasion.

US forces left Iraq in 2011 but returned in 2014 after the Islamic State group’s territorial expansion, with the subsequent mission focused on countering the group and supporting Iraqi security forces.

The latest announcement by Hussein indicates that the remaining US forces have now left Iraqi territory ahead of the previously announced September 30 deadline.

The White House on Sunday released lists of products that could benefit from lower tariffs under an arrangement with China affecting $30 billion in goods in each direction, without specifying the rates or timetable.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping concluded a summit on Friday, with their talks covering matters including trade.

The United States and China will review the lists “with a view toward providing reduced tariff treatment to those goods in a reciprocal manner,” according to the terms released by the White House.

The US could reduce tariffs on 77 categories of Chinese goods including fireworks, Christmas ornaments, household goods and sports equipment.

China’s import list includes more than 1,600 categories of American goods, including meats — beef, pork, poultry and seafood — grains, dairy, whiskey, coal and timber.

The White House announced on Friday an agreement on “recommendations” for more favourable tariff treatment for these “non-sensitive goods,” following Xi’s visit to Washington.

Beijing confirmed the agreement on Saturday.

China also agreed to import at least 10 million metric tons of coal from the US in 2027 and 2028, the White House said.

Xi and Trump agreed to a trade truce last year during a meeting in South Korea, after a tit-for-tat fight that saw tariffs soar over 100 per cent at one point.

The pact was originally due to expire in November, but both sides have agreed to extend it until January 10, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

AFP

A top US official on Sunday dismissed a proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz presented by Iran as “cynical” and indicated it was a non-starter for Washington.

Iran’s truce plan, announced by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the United Nations earlier this week, calls for the release of frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade in order for the key waterway central to the world’s energy supplies to be opened.

“This was, I think, a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on Sunday in an interview with NBC. “To ask for the release of the blockade, the sanctions, international sanctions, and access to billions in assets just to talk.”

US President Donald Trump rejected the deal on Saturday, stating that Iranian leaders wanted the deal because “they are losing so badly.”

“I think it’s kind of common sense that the president doesn’t have a lot of confidence this time after we just tried a few months ago, but at the end of the day, of course, the president this has to end in some type of arrangement,” Waltz said. “But he’s going to leave all options on the table to get there.”

Speaking on NBC shortly after, Araghchi denounced what he described as “old, unproved accusations” made by Waltz.

“We are ready to open the strait if certain things are done by the US and these certain things are not new, have not come from the space,” he said. “These are our rights that we want to be respected.”

Araghchi struck a pessimistic tone regarding the prospect of a deal.

“There is also always hope for diplomacy, but we have no reason, to be honest with you, we have no reason to come back to diplomacy and engage with this administration once again because of their behavior in the past two years,” he told NBC.

The United Arab Emirates Government has updated the eligibility criteria and required documents for foreigners seeking to enter the country on a visit visa to search for jobs without a host or sponsor.

The UAE Government disclosed this in a notice released on Thursday and sighted by PUNCH Online on Sunday.

Jobseeker visiting visa, or job exploration visa, is one of the ten visa types in the Arab country. Unlike a work visa, the jobseeker visa allows eligible foreigners to enter the UAE to look for employment without first securing a job or a sponsor.

It does not authorise the holder to work in the UAE, as a separate work visa or permit is required once employment is secured.

According to the notice, eligible applicants can now obtain a jobseeker visit visa valid for 60, 90 or 120 days for a single trip.

Foreigners are granted a visit visa to search for a job without requiring a host/sponsor in the country, for one trip. You can apply for a job-seeker visa with a validity of either 60, 90 or 120 days,” the UAE Government said.

It said applicants seeking the visa must meet specific eligibility requirements, including professional qualifications or recent graduation from a top-ranked university.

To get a visit visa for the purpose of exploring job opportunities, the applicant must fulfil the following conditions,” the notice stated.

According to the UAE Government, applicants must either be in the first, second or third skill level as classified by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation or be graduates of one of the world’s top 500 universities under the classification approved by the Ministry of Education.

It added that applicants who qualify through the university route must have graduated within the previous two years.

The notice also requires applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and fulfil the prescribed financial guarantee.

The UAE Government said applicants must submit a coloured photograph, a copy of their passport and an attested qualification certificate.

It stated that applications for the visa could be made through the relevant online services provided by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai, or the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.

Germany defender Jonathan Tah praised Jurgen Klopp’s instant impact, telling reporters on Saturday that the squad was “ready to walk through fire” for the coach after his first team talk.

Klopp took over in July after Germany’s last-32 World Cup exit, the four-time champion’s third-straight early elimination from the tournament.

The 59-year-old took his first training session with the squad on Monday and guided Germany to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Nations League match with Greece in Augsburg, Bayern Munich defender Tah said that he could see what had made the former Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Mainz coach successful during his club career.

“It’s the experience he brings from every club, that mix of fun and passion, that absolute will to win, and also the way he brings the team along. He can really fire us up.

“I think after our initial meeting, everyone walked out thinking, ‘Okay, we’re ready to walk through fire together now’.

“He just has this ability to galvanise a team. We’ve seen that in the past too. That’s something he does exceptionally well and I think that’s why he’s been so successful.”

Germany looked energetic in Klopp’s opener on Thursday but were also outclassed for long periods against the Netherlands, who started aggressively under new coach Xavi Hernandez.

“In the moments when we worked together against the ball, we had some great defensive spells,” Klopp said on Saturday.

“Problems arose when old habits crept back in.”

Sunday’s match will be the first time in 25 years that the German national team has appeared on home soil in front of a crowd including standing terraces after a change in UEFA regulations.

Germany has a strong culture of standing terraces in the club game and is one of 10 national associations to be included as a part of a UEFA project to reintroduce the practice.

“The atmosphere in the stadium has a dramatic impact on performance,” Klopp said.

“When the right people are standing, the atmosphere is outstanding and the influence is huge.”

Injuries to Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala forced Klopp to bring under-fire Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz into the squad for Sunday’s match, having planned to include him only in Germany’s third and fourth games.

We need to make sure Flo feels comfortable here and can fit into the role we envision for him. Hopefully, he’ll simply be able to be himself here.”

Tah also backed Wirtz to find his form.

“I find it pretty extreme the way he’s been attacked,” Tah said.

“I know the kind of player he is and that he’s going to shine even more.

“I know what he’s capable of and eventually, everyone will understand.”

Thousands of people marched through Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction earlier this week of an 87-year-old woman from her lifelong home, calling for greater protection for tenants.

Images of Maricarmen Abascal being carried from her Madrid flat on a stretcher on Wednesday after police broke down her door have thrust Spain’s housing crisis back into the spotlight ahead of a general election due in 2027.

Protesters chanted slogans and held banners calling for measures to curb rising housing costs and make evictions more difficult as they marched through central Madrid.

“You could be the next Maricarmen,” read one banner.

Abascal, who has become a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis, urged Spaniards to join the fight in a video message posted online just hours before the protest.

“I want what has happened to me to serve so that it does not happen to other people,” she said from hospital, where she has been treated for exhaustion since her eviction.

“I want it to encourage people to fight and to help change the laws that have allowed me to be evicted,” she added in the video, posted by Spain’s main tenants’ union.

Abascal was forced to leave the apartment where she had lived for 70 years after a real estate firm acquired the property and raised the rent by 275 per cent to 2,650 euros ($3,000), according to the union.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who last year pledged to make housing a government priority, is under growing pressure to act. There have been regular protests across Spain since Abascal’s eviction.

His government is expected to approve a package of measures dubbed the “Maricarmen decree” at its next cabinet meeting, including the automatic renewal of rental contracts and further restrictions on evictions.

But it is unclear whether the package will be approved by parliament, where Sanchez’s government lacks a majority.

While a similar bill was defeated earlier this year, Abascal’s case has increased pressure on political parties to act.

AFP

The move comes after Friday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Northern Ireland in Georgia’s opening match in the Nations League.

“The Georgian national football team will be coached by Georgian specialist Ramaz Svanadze until the end of 2028,” the country’s federation said.

“Svanadze will replace Frenchman Willy Sagnol as head coach.”

Former Bayern Munich right-back and France international Sagnol took over Georgia in February 2021 and guided them to a first European Championship appearance three years later.

“Thank you, Willy Sagnol, for every minute spent with the Georgian national team and for the emotions we shared together along this historic path,” the federation added.

Svanadze, 45, was previously in charge of the Georgian under-21 side, with whom he reached the European Championship finals on two occasions.

AFP

The explosion, which occurred at dawn on Friday in the popular Plaka district filled with tourist lodgings, was likely caused by a gas leak, according to the capital’s mayor, Haris Doukas.

The other two people killed were an elderly British man and his Greek wife who lived on the second storey of the three-storey building, Greece’s state broadcaster ERT reported.

The American family of four had been renting an apartment on the first storey and were preparing to go to the airport hours later on Friday for their return to the United States when the blast occurred, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.

The explosion brought down the residential building and damaged properties and vehicles along the street.

The New York Times reported that the US family was composed of a couple, their son and his girlfriend.

Greek authorities did not immediately give their identities, ages or where in the United States they came from.

Incredible disaster’ –

On Saturday, AFP reporters saw mechanical diggers moving debris at the site and thermal-imaging cameras deployed.

We are talking about an incredible disaster,” Mayor Doukas said.

Two nearby buildings were left in a dangerous state, he added, with inspections under way “to determine if they can remain standing or if they also have to be demolished”.

The owner of the ground-floor apartment, Mathaios Artavanis, told the Kathimerini daily he was absent at the time of the blast. He said he had tried afterwards to contact the UK-Greek couple who lived there, without success.

A year ago, locals in the Plaka neighbourhood had warned the city and utility companies about the risk of gas leaks or short circuits, according to a letter by the residents’ association published by Kathimerini.

The residents had urged a fire drill to identify possible weaknesses in the emergency response plans for the district.

A citizens’ group said on social media that one resident in the street where the explosion happened had alerted authorities after smelling a possible gas leak.

The neighbourhood is one of Athens’s most popular tourist areas. The nearby Acropolis, one of Greece’s best-known landmarks, welcomed 4.6 million visitors last year.

AFP

The United States and China will set up a “communication channel” for artificial intelligence incidents, the White House said on Friday.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping concluded a summit on Friday, with their talks focused on issues including the rising challenges posed by AI.

The two countries established a “U.S.-China Super Intelligence (SI) Dialogue to exchange views on risks and benefits” of AI, the White House said in a fact sheet, noting that their leaders had agreed to use the term SI rather than AI.

The next exchange is set to occur by November, it added.

The US and China also agreed to establish a “bilateral communication channel” for incidents, the White House said.

Before the summit, Trump said “Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is.”

That is China’s position also,” he added on social media.

Xi took a more measured tone, calling for the US and China to manage their superpower rivalry and keep AI under human control.

“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control,” he said at the White House on Thursday.

AFP

TikTok on Friday agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and enact time limits and other restrictions for teen users, avoiding trial with a settlement modelled on Instagram-owner Meta’s recent agreement with US states.

A trial had been set to begin Monday in the southern US state over claims by Alabama that TikTok misled parents about tools meant to shield children from harmful content.

Attorney General Steve Marshall hailed the settlement as “a great day for Alabama parents.”

“Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction,” he said

Under the settlement, TikTok will send $100 million to Alabama and could possibly pay up to $300 million in total if other states accept similar agreements.

Alabama’s suit was the latest in a wave of litigation targeting social media companies across the United States over the harm their apps allegedly cause young users.

In August, Meta agreed to pay $18 billion to settle a sweeping lawsuit brought by US states accusing it of designing Instagram and Facebook to get children addicted.

TikTok’s settlement with Alabama mirrors safety provisions agreed by Meta, including a two-hour daily time limit for teens, restricted access from midnight to 6:00 am, and suspending notifications during school hours

It will also strengthen age verification, ban beauty filters for teenagers, and offer young users a non-personalised content feed.

In addition, it includes a conditional restriction that Meta also agreed to: expanding the nighttime shutdown period to 10:00 pm to 7:00 am, if other platforms also commit to do the same.

– More suits pending –

“TikTok’s priority has always been fostering a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love, and connect with their community,” a company spokesperson told AFP.

This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens,” the spokesperson added.

More than a dozen other states, including California and New York, still have active suits against TikTok.

The company has previously settled cases against it that were headed for trial, including a Los Angeles lawsuit brought by a young woman and a suit from a Kentucky school district.

Meta, by contrast, has taken its chances in court — with bruising results.

In March, a jury in New Mexico ordered the Facebook and Instagram owner to pay $375 million after finding it had misled the public about the safety of its platforms for children.

That same month, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google’s YouTube negligent in the case of a 20-year-old woman who said she became hooked on social media as a child, awarding her $6 million.

Going to trial would have exposed TikTok to unprecedented public scrutiny of how it handles safety internally, with company documents and executive testimony potentially aired in open court.

Alabama originally sued TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance in April 2025, alleging the app was engineered to hook young users “just like a sophisticated gambling machine.”

The state later narrowed its case to claims under Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, focusing on whether TikTok misrepresented the effectiveness of features such as “Restricted Mode” and “Kids Mode.”

Despite TikTok’s assurances that users in that mode should not see mature themes, the accounts were quickly served videos about suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, alcohol and sex, according to the filing.

AFP

CNN reporters have been barred from travelling with US President Donald Trump as planned on Saturday, in a new move by the White House to limit the news network’s access.

The president last week sought to ban three US outlets — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — from the White House, accusing them of providing only negative coverage of him.

After journalists with the three outlets were blocked from entering the White House complex, a judge ordered their access to be temporarily restored, saying Trump’s move was likely unconstitutional.

For Trump’s trip on Saturday to Tennessee, CNN had been scheduled to be the TV network in the press “pool” travelling with him.

However, a schedule released by the White House on Friday evening did not list CNN or any of the TV networks in the TV pool rotation.

The pool is a rotating group of journalists that travel with the president and provide coverage to other outlets, due to limited space.

The White House schedule only listed a “Secondary TV” correspondent and crew: Lindell TV — a staunchly pro-Trump outlet run by his close ally, businessman Mike Lindell.

Earlier this week, when CNN’s White House access was still revoked, the top five US broadcasters made a rare joint move to halt pool coverage of the White House in solidarity.

“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said.

CNN declined to comment when reached Friday by AFP. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

AFP

Netanyahu was seen approaching the podium as several delegations left the hall. The walkout came after the Palestinian Mission to the UN urged representatives to leave during Netanyahu’s address.

Reacting to the departure, Netanyahu said, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now.”

Defending Israel’s military action against Iran, he said targeting the country’s nuclear facilities was difficult but described the decision as one of the easiest he had made as Prime Minister.

“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do,” Netanyahu said.

“But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as Prime Minister,” he added.

Netanyahu said Israel’s action was necessary because, in his view, failing to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities would have threatened Israel and other countries.

Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead,” he said.

He also claimed that Israel’s military action was benefiting countries whose representatives had walked out of the General Assembly.

In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said.

He added that some foreign leaders had privately thanked Israel for attacking Iran’s nuclear programme.

“In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes,” he said.

Netanyahu described the reaction as “mind-blowing hypocrisy”, saying, “It’s hard to imagine more mind-blowing hypocrisy, but that’s exactly what it is.”

The Israeli Prime Minister also used his address to recount Israel’s experience during the 1967 Six-Day War and what he described as the country’s longstanding struggle for survival.

He recalled his brother, Yoni Netanyahu, an Israeli paratroop officer who later led the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue operation in Uganda.

Recalling a conversation with his brother before the Six-Day War, Netanyahu said he had asked him what he thought would happen.

“He paused, and then he said something I’ll never forget. We’re going to win,” Netanyahu said.

He added that his brother told him, “We have no other choice.”

Netanyahu also recalled the 1976 hijacking of an Air France passenger plane to Entebbe, saying Israeli forces later rescued 103 hostages.

“And then, on July 4th, 1976, the Bicentennial of the United States, in one of the most dramatic rescue missions in modern times, Yoni led his brave soldiers to the heart of Africa,” he said.

He added, “Miraculously, they rescued 103 Jewish hostages and brought them all home, every single one of them.”

The walkout was the latest disruption at this year’s UN General Assembly. On Tuesday, the Iranian delegation left the hall during US President Donald Trump’s address after he threatened to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran failed to reach a deal with Washington. The Cuban delegation also later walked out during Trump’s speech.

Netanyahu’s address came amid the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran and international criticism of Israel’s military actions

The Central Bank of The Gambia has ordered commercial banks to replace non-Gambian employees who are not covered by approved expatriate quotas, a move that has sparked criticism over what some observers see as a retreat from West Africa’s free-movement ideals.

The regulator has given banks until 31 December, 2026 to replace the affected workers with qualified Gambian nationals.

The order covers all commercial banks operating in the country, including Nigerian-owned lenders such as Access Bank, FirstBank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank, alongside other regional institutions including Ecobank.

The Central Bank of The Gambia said the decision followed an industry-wide review which found a “relatively high number” of non-Gambian employees working in banks in addition to workers formally recognised as expatriates.

According to the regulator, the practice is inconsistent with The Gambia’s Labour Act 2023 and Guideline 9 governing expatriate employment in the banking industry.

The banks have been directed to identify qualified Gambians who can take over the affected positions, establish succession plans and transfer the necessary skills and institutional knowledge.

The CBG also instructed banks to ensure that the transition does not disrupt banking operations.

However, the directive has drawn criticism from various corners. Gambian commentator, Alpha Bah, questioned the logic of African countries demanding greater freedom of movement for Africans abroad while restricting African workers within the continent.

Bah argued that the treatment of African migrants should be judged by the same principle whether the restriction comes from a Western country or an African government.

Similarly, a Nigeria-based financial analyst and economist, Chukwunonso Ihuoma, asked, “Does The Gambia have enough qualified local talent to replace the affected workers without reducing banks’ efficiency?”

He argued that if qualified local replacements are insufficient, a rushed localisation process can raise costs, disrupt banking operations and weaken regional financial integration.

“This kind of order can raise banks’ transition costs. Clearly, replacing experienced employees within a short period of time requires recruitment, training, compensation changes and knowledge transfer programmes. Those costs may outweigh any savings from reducing expatriate employment,” he said.

An emerging markets analyst, Ike Ibeabuchi, also lampooned the order, saying that loss of specialised expertise may affect efficiency,

He stressed that banking functions such as treasury, cybersecurity, risk management, technology and compliance require specialised experience.

“If qualified local replacements are unavailable, forcing rapid replacement may weaken operational capacity,” he said.

He noted that such an order could disrupt regional banking models, stating that Nigerian banks and other pan-African lenders commonly move experienced employees between subsidiaries.

“Restricting that flexibility could make regional operations more expensive and less efficient,” he said.

“It could increase recruitment costs. If several banks compete for the same pool of qualified Gambian professionals, salaries for scarce skills could rise. That could offset some of the expected savings from localisation,” he argued.

“Again, if multinational and regional banks perceive employment rules as unpredictable or excessively restrictive, they may factor that regulatory risk into future investment and expansion decisions.”

The US Department of State has launched an online portal allowing members of the public to report suspected visa fraud and misuse.

The department said the new tool is designed to provide a convenient and reliable channel for submitting information that could help authorities identify and investigate suspected violations of U.S. visa laws.

According to the State Department, tips from members of the public have helped authorities identify and hold accountable tens of thousands of people suspected of visa fraud during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The department said visa fraud can involve falsified documents or travel plans, sham marriages arranged by brokers, shell companies, fabricated job offers, birth tourism and other schemes intended to obtain entry into the United States through fraudulent means.

It warned that such activities can affect U.S. communities, the economy, American workers, national security and public safety.

The Department of State said its Bureau of Consular Affairs is stepping up fraud detection and prevention efforts under the leadership of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

It added that those found violating U.S. laws could face consequences including visa revocation and referral to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

Members of the public with information about suspected visa fraud or misuse are encouraged to submit reports through the department’s official portal.

Iran’s mid-level officials and delegation walked out of the United Nations General Assembly after United States President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran fails to reach a deal with Washington, while declaring at the United Nations General Assembly that Cuba’s communist government was failing and “will fall”.

Trump made the remarks in a combative address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he defended the United States’ failing months-long military campaign against Iran and warned that he could escalate the conflict rather than accept a settlement that allows Tehran to recover.

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump told world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters.

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?

Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

Trump nevertheless said he believed a deal with Iran would eventually be reached, but tied his expectation to the US midterm elections.

“I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election,” he said.

Trump also sought to distance himself from the electoral consequences of the November midterms, saying he was not personally on the ballot.

“I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them, but I am not running,” he said.

The Iranian delegation walked out of the General Assembly Hall as Trump addressed the conflict, with most of the delegation leaving about 10 minutes into his speech.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in New York for the UN gathering but were not in the hall during Trump’s address.

Trump devoted much of his roughly 40-minute address to defending his administration’s foreign policy and military actions, portraying the campaign against Iran as necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and claiming that American military power had altered the balance of power in the region.

He also turned his attention to Cuba, saying his administration was seeking “a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba”.

“It’s an absolutely failed state — it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” Trump said.

The Cuban delegation subsequently walked out of the General Assembly Hall.

Reuters reported that Trump said the Cuban government was under the greatest pressure it had ever faced and that his administration expected its political system to fall.

Trump’s remarks contrasted sharply with the emphasis on diplomacy from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who addressed the assembly shortly before him.

Lula said the wars and escalating tensions confronting the international community could not be resolved through military force alone.

“We all know there will be no winners on the battlefield,” Lula said in Portuguese. “Diplomacy is the only option.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also urged world leaders to strengthen international cooperation rather than retreat into confrontation.

“Military power alone cannot secure peace,” Guterres said in his opening address to the gathering.

culled from The Punch 

US President Donald Trump has announced that artificial intelligence will henceforth be referred to as “Super Intelligence”, saying the new term is a more accurate description of the technology.

Trump made the announcement on Tuesday while delivering his opening remarks at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He said the United States rejected efforts to establish a global framework to control artificial intelligence, adding that the technology would now officially be called “Super Intelligence”.

“The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now, hereinafter officially called Super Intelligence, changing the name,” Trump said.

He explained that the word “artificial” made the technology sound fake despite its capabilities.

In that the use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake. It makes it sound fake, and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing, but we have to be careful,” he said.

Trump said US government documents would be changed to use “Super Intelligence” instead of “Artificial Intelligence”, expressing hope that other countries would adopt the term.

In fact, it is exactly the opposite of what it purports. From this point forward, all of United States documents, and hopefully the world’s, will be changed to use the much more accurate term: Super, as opposed to artificial. So, it’s Super Intelligence,” he said.

He added, “In other words, welcome to the new world of Super Intelligence, SI. SI. Let’s see if that goes. It sounds much better, it is much better, and it’s much more accurate. Let’s see if I have any power. Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t. We’re going to find out pretty soon.”

Trump’s announcement came days after he asked his social media followers to vote on a new name for artificial intelligence,proposing “Superior Intelligence”, “Extreme Intelligence” and “Supreme Intelligence” as alternatives.

In his post, Trump had argued that the term “Artificial Intelligence” was inaccurate and “very ineloquent”, asking followers to choose what he described as a more elegant and accurate description of the technology.

US television networks staged an extraordinary revolt Monday when they effectively boycotted coverage of President Donald Trump in protest at his decision to ban three leading outlets from the White House.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico also went to court after Trump on Friday ordered them to be barred, as the 80-year-old Republican stepped up his years-long assault on the US media.

In a rare move, the top five US broadcasters said on Monday that they were halting “pool” coverage of the White House — where a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day — in solidarity with CNN.

CNN had been scheduled to serve Monday as the White House TV pool.

The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said in a statement.

The move means there will be no television coverage of Trump’s trip on Monday to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he was due to meet a series of foreign leaders.

– Media ‘like cancer’ –

The lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW seeks the immediate overturning of the ban and a ruling that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to free speech.

This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the organizations said in a court filing.

Trump was unrepentant, branding the media a “cancer” and a threat to national security.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”

Vice President JD Vance — a former CNN commentator before his move into politics — accused the outlets of disseminating “left-wing propaganda.”

They can still report. They still have the access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore,” he told reporters.

– Press passes confiscated –

Trump’s sudden announcement of the ban on Friday stunned the media — and reportedly many in his own administration.

Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday and had their passes confiscated.

The outlets said the White House revoked their journalists’ credentials “without notice or process” because it “objected to our reporting.”

“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference,” they said in their joint statement.

Trump has not detailed what prompted the ban, but said in response to a question from an AFP reporter in the Oval Office on Friday that it was “really just cumulative stories over the last two years.”

“They want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration,” Trump added.

Trump warned Friday that other outlets could face a similar fate, without saying which.

CNN reported that Trump’s close aide Natalie Harp had showed him clips of media coverage last week — including a graphic from Politico — before he announced the ban.

The billionaire former reality TV star has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly blasting the press as the “enemy of the people.”

AFP

Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, younger brother of Dubai’s Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has passed away.

He died on Monday, according to a tweet via the official X handle of the Government of Dubai Media Office.

Ahmed died at the age of 76, according to The Independent on Monday.

The Vice President’s office also declared an official mourning period and the lowering of flags in Dubai for ten days.

With hearts steadfast in faith in the decree and destiny of God, the Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai—may God protect him—mourns the forgiven one, by the permission of God Almighty, Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has passed to the mercy of his Lord this morning, Monday.

The Office has declared an official mourning period and the lowering of flags in Dubai for ten days, commencing from this Monday.

“Indeed, to God we belong, and to Him we shall return,” the tweet read.

Mohammed, who is also the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, paid tribute to his brother in a statement.

“May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. May Allah have mercy on you, my brother. You are now with our Lord, the Most Generous, the Almighty,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote.

“You are gone from our sight, Ahmed, but never from our prayers or our hearts,” read the statement.

The Independent reported that Ahmed served as deputy chair of Dubai Police and Public Security.

It said he was a prominent figure in international horse racing, owning high-profile British racehorses including Mtoto and Addeybb, as well as the Jebel Ali racecourse in Dubai.

The Dubai Racing Club paid tribute to his decades of dedicated service and lasting legacy in UAE sports and equestrianism, the report stated.

Italy will ban burqas and niqabs in schools and limit the number of foreign students per class, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Sunday.

Italy is a frontline country for migration, and integration is a major campaign issue ahead of a general election next year.

“A measure will soon be presented to a cabinet meeting to legally establish a maximum number of foreign students per class,” Meloni told a gathering of the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.

“It also requires parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to learn Italian, and bans burqas and niqabs in schools,” she said.

A crackdown on the use of burqas in schools was called for in July by the National Future (FN) party.

The FN, which is not part of the governing coalition, is further to the right than Meloni’s and has emerged as a major challenger, rising sharply in the polls since launching in February.

While there is no law in Italy that expressly bans burqas, either in schools or in public places, a 1975 law prohibits the use of helmets or garments that make identification difficult without a justified reason.

In 2008, Italy’s highest administrative court clarified that full-face veils may be worn for religious or cultural reasons provided that the face is revealed when identity verification is required.

The anti-immigrant League party, which is part of Meloni’s coalition, submitted a bill to the Senate earlier this year that would ban helmets or garments except for in certain circumstances, such as sporting events or places of worship.

The limit on the number of foreign students per class already exists under Italian law, and Meloni did not spell out how that would change.

Foreign students account for just under 12% of those enrolled in Italian schools, according to the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT).

Since 2010 the number of foreign students has been limited to 30 percent of a class and of a school’s enrolment.

The limit can be raised in cases involving foreign students with adequate language skills, such as foreign students born in Italy, or lowered when foreign students have a poor command of Italian.

AFP

Indonesia’s state-owned oil company, Pertamina, is considering investment opportunities in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector, including producing assets and projects nearing final investment decisions, as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission moves to attract more international capital into the industry.

The development followed discussions between the NUPRC Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arif Oegroseno, and Pertamina’s Vice-President, Upstream Business Development, Toriq Abdat.

The talks focused on investment opportunities in Nigeria and broader cooperation between the two countries as they seek to strengthen energy security and increase domestic oil production.

According to a statement by the NUPRC Head of Corporate Communications and Media, Eniola Akinkuotu, on Sunday, Eyesan said Nigeria and Indonesia had similar priorities, particularly in energy security, resource utilisation and attracting investment.

The discussions also came against the backdrop of efforts by both countries to increase oil production. Nigeria is targeting three million barrels per day by 2030, compared with current output of about 1.6 million to 1.7 million barrels per day.

Indonesia, which produces about 600,000 barrels per day, is also seeking to increase output and has acknowledged the need to look beyond its domestic fields to meet its energy requirements.

The statement read, “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has opened discussions with Indonesia on petroleum investments even as the Indonesian national oil company Pertamina signalled an interest in the upcoming 2026 licensing round.”

Explaining Pertamina’s international expansion strategy, Abdat said the company was already seeking opportunities in several countries as declining domestic production and the changing nature of discoveries pushed it to expand abroad.

“We have been given a mandate to expand our business internationally; we are now in other countries outside Indonesia. In Indonesia, we are producing only around 600,000 barrels. We are working on exploration towards deepwater, but we found more gas than oil. That is why we go outside Indonesia, Malaysia, then the Middle East, Iraq and Nigeria,” he said.

Abdat said Pertamina was particularly interested in assets that could deliver production relatively quickly, including existing producing fields and projects close to production.

We would like to be in projects with governments. Producing assets, or near production, or before FID. Now we are looking at how we can help you reach the 3 million, and also help us provide more energy for our own consumption,” he said.

Responding, Eyesan said Nigeria also had an ambitious production target and was using regular licensing rounds as one of the measures to expand investment and increase output.

“We have very aggressive targets, 3 million barrels per day by 2030, and today we are at 1.6, 1.7. We are committed to the objective and the licensing round is one of the strategies we are utilising,” she said.

The NUPRC has increasingly positioned licensing rounds as a regular source of new acreage for investors rather than an occasional exercise. The Commission said the latest round attracted about 300 companies to 50 available assets, with 196 applicants qualifying for the bidding stage. At the close of bidding, 143 companies submitted 200 bids covering 37 assets.

NUPRC subsequently announced 31 successful companies for 37 oil and gas blocks, while 13 of the 50 blocks on offer received no bids. The blocks cut across onshore, shallow-water, deep offshore and frontier basins, including the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and Benin Basin.

The Commission has also said that Nigeria’s acreage administration will continue to provide predictable and periodic access to opportunities.

The Indonesian delegation noted that it is exploring other opportunities outside crude oil and gas. The national oil company is building a fertiliser plant to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern supply, and disruptions during the current global conflict.

Food security relates to oil and gas because phosphate and the elements that make fertilizer, the Indonesian delegation said. Nigeria, for its part, is diversifying its own phosphate sourcing, including a long-term transatlantic pipeline project with Morocco to serve West Africa. Nigeria has also simplified fertiliser distribution rules that once ran to about 160 layers of regulation.

Both sides thus agreed to keep the commercial and diplomatic tracks running in parallel.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is warning people not to fall for scams that promise guaranteed immigration results or special selection programs.

In a public advisory on its X handle on Saturday, the department stressed that no lottery, shortcut, or secret program exists that can guarantee anyone will be selected to immigrate to Canada.

IRCC added that no individual or organisation can promise faster processing, priority treatment, or approval of an immigration application.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” the advisory states.

IRCC urged applicants to protect themselves by taking three key steps:

Obtain information about immigration programs only from official Government of Canada sources, be wary of anyone asking for money in exchange for a guaranteed result, and never make payments or provide personal information unless using an official IRCC platform.

The department noted that scammers frequently target people through social media, emails, and phone calls with false claims of special programs or expedited services in return for fees.

Only authorized IRCC officers can decide immigration applications, and decisions are based solely on eligibility criteria.

“Applicants are advised to verify all information on the official Canada.ca website and to report any suspicious offers,” IRCC added.

US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday, as tensions rose in the Middle East.

There was no explanation from the administration why Trump was no longer returning on Sunday from Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, as had been previously announced.

However, it is not uncommon for White House travel to change on weekends, including for weather reasons. Forecasts showed rain and thunderstorms in the hilly Camp David area on Sunday.

The change in plan came as the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, after a fire broke out near the Saudi capital’s international airport.

The State Department and a string of US embassies issued security alerts to Americans.

The alerts cited “the potential for unforeseen escalation” and noted that “Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports.”

“This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the State Department warning said. “Americans outside the Middle East should seriously reconsider travel to and through the region.

AFP

A Pakistani care worker on a student visa has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping a bedbound woman in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Fazli Qadeer, 25, from Peshawar, followed his brother to Bristol to study at university and worked as a carer.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Qadeer learned that the family of an elderly service user would be away and attended the bedbound woman’s home during a shift, GB News reported Saturday.

He climbed onto her bed, told her he “loved her” and “wanted to marry her”, before kissing her on the lips, touching her breasts and subjecting her to a sustained sexual attack, including oral rape.

Qadeer denied raping the woman and, during the trial, claimed that she had sexually assaulted him.

He was convicted of rape at Bristol Crown Court and sentenced to 12 years in prison

At the sentencing, his barrister, Jemima Lovatt, said Qadeer had written a letter of apology following his conviction

She said he had described growing up in “difficult circumstances around a lot of violence and a culture of fear”.

Lovatt also told the court that Qadeer had disclosed to his family since his conviction that he had been a victim of rape as a child.

The defence lawyer said the victim had treated Qadeer with “friendliness” and argued that his “cultural background meant he didn’t understand those manners and behaviours”.

She also asked the court to consider his “background and cultural upbringing” in understanding how the offending occurred.

However, Recorder Sarah Regan told Qadeer that he had been of “previous good character” but said it was “difficult to fathom your motive for this attack other than to consider that you did it just because you could”.

The court heard that several character references described Qadeer’s charitable work and efforts to “make life better for many”.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said the attack had left her suffering from “severe nightmares” and unable to sleep.

She said she was frightened by noises and feared that Qadeer would return and kill her.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had begun questioning male friends she had known for a lifetime and had been prescribed diazepam for stress.

She said Qadeer had “taken away my freedom”.

“We still don’t know if he did it to anyone else before but I know I have stopped it from happening again,” she said.

Qadeer is also subject to a restraining order preventing him from contacting the woman.

The Home Office is expected to review his immigration status after he completes his prison sentence.

Badenoch made the comment in an interview with the BBC, according to GB News on Saturday.

Spencer’s Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail ahead of its publication, contains several claims about Charles and his relationship with Diana.

Among the claims, Spencer alleges that Charles told him days after Diana’s death in 1997: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”

He also claimed the King was “giddily elated” after hearing of Diana’s death.

Badenoch, when asked about the row, said: “I have a side and it’s always on the side of His Majesty.”

The Conservative leader also referred to a statement issued by Buckingham Palace in response to the allegations.

“I would reiterate exactly what it was that the King himself had said or certainly Buckingham Palace said on his behalf,” she said.

“Buckingham Palace said it did not comment on books “as a matter of principle”, but added that the King was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

Spencer has defended the claims, insisting that he was “telling the truth” about what he said Charles told him.

Asked about the Palace’s response, Spencer said: “They’ve sort of smudged that one, haven’t they? They’ve said that recollections may vary.”

He also rejected suggestions that the King’s alleged comments had been misrepresented.

“I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said,” Spencer said.

Former royal correspondent Charles Rae, speaking to GB News, said he was “shocked and astonished” by Spencer’s allegations.

The then-Prince of Wales was grief-stricken and devastated [following Diana’s death], and I would be utterly, utterly shocked and surprised if he said anything at all like the allegations that he has made, about the mother of his two sons,” Rae said.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was banning news outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them without specifics of reporting “fiction and lies.”

Trump added that “other Fake News Media Outlets” would face a similar fate, but did not say which ones.

The move drew immediate accusations that it was unconstitutional and would be thrown out by the courts.

I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW… and Politico… from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump did not say what had prompted the move but added that “media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.”

Later in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters: “I think that somebody has a right to keep them away if they’re going to write false stories all the time.”

“It’s really just cumulative stories over the last two years.

“You get sick of it,” he said. “They’re smart people, but they purposely write negative news, and they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration.”

It is extremely rare for US presidents to outright bar news outlets from the White House, although Trump banned a CNN reporter in his first term and Richard Nixon put restrictions on The Washington Post over its reporting on the Watergate scandal.

But in his second term, Trump’s administration has put stricter controls on reporters, including taking control of which journalists can cover events as part of the “pool” admitted to tight spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One.

Last year, Trump barred The Associated Press from some events because of the news agency’s decision to continue referring to the “Gulf of Mexico” — and not the “Gulf of America” as decreed by Trump.

For the time being, reporters for Politico and CNN were still in the White House press room following Trump’s announcement.

– ‘Flatly unconstitutional’ –

Both of the 80-year-old president’s White House terms have seen him lash out repeatedly at media whose coverage displeases him.

Trump has filed multiple defamation suits against news outlets, attacked the press on Truth Social and verbally assaulted several reporters, notably women.

Trump’s surprise announcement on Friday comes at a time when his approval ratings are at record lows and his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

The war in Iran and rising prices, particularly at the gas pump, are among the factors that have contributed to his sinking political fortunes.

Bruce Brown, president of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said a ban on the media outlets would be “flatly unconstitutional.”

“The First Amendment is clear that once the White House invites in some journalists, it can’t ban others because it doesn’t like their reporting,” Brown said. “This is textbook viewpoint discrimination and will be quickly struck down by the courts if challenged.”

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the United States of escalating regional tensions through frequent military drills and warned of a “more offensive” response from Pyongyang, according to a statement published by state media Friday.

“The present situation, in which new records are set in terms of practical action hostile toward the DPRK, stresses the need to break records in our responsive action, proportional or more offensive in its nature,” the KCNA news agency quoted Kim Yo Jong as saying, using North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Referring to joint military drills held in recent months by US forces and allies in the Asia-Pacific region as a “US-led war rehearsal,” Kim vowed that “our will to defend our sovereignty will be expressed in clearer action and there will be never ever change in the course of intensifying the nuclear war deterrence.”

I remind the enemy once again that if it is judged that the supreme interests of our nation and its military sovereignty and security environment in the region have been seriously violated by their military maneuvers,” Kim went on, North Korea’s military will “mobilize all means available to cope with it.”

AFP

Nigerians applying to study or visit Canada are facing longer estimated processing times, following the latest update by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The processing time for study permits submitted from Nigeria increased from nine weeks to 10 weeks as of September 16, according to the latest figures released by IRCC.

The estimated processing time for visitor visas also increased from 84 days to 87 days.

The figures, compiled by CIC News, were contained in IRCC’s latest temporary residence processing-time update, published on September 16.

However, the estimated processing time for work permits submitted from Nigeria remained unchanged at 10 weeks.

For super visa applicants in Nigeria, the estimated processing time increased from 44 days to 46 days.

IRCC updates its temporary residence processing estimates weekly. The figures are estimates of how long it may take to process an application and are not fixed deadlines or guarantees.

The department said processing times could vary depending on factors including the type of application, the volume of applications being processed and the complexity of individual cases.

For visitor visa applications, IRCC said processing may also take longer where applicants are asked to provide additional documents, attend an interview, undergo a medical examination or submit a police certificate.

The latest figures show that applicants from some other countries also experienced changes in processing times.

For study permits, the estimate for applicants in Canada increased from seven to eight weeks, while those applying from India, Pakistan, the United States and the Philippines remained unchanged.

For visitor visas, applicants from Pakistan saw an increase from 73 to 75 days, while the estimate for India fell from 31 to 29 days.

The processing time for super visas in Nigeria rose slightly, while the estimate for applicants in the United States increased from 66 to 116 days. Applicants from Pakistan, however, saw their estimate fall from 132 to 95 days.

IRCC said processing times are different from its service standards, which are targets for how quickly it aims to process applications under normal circumstances.

The department also cautioned that individual applications could take either longer or shorter than the published estimates.

IRCC’s processing-time tool is updated regularly and applicants can use it to check the latest estimates for their application type and country.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued the invitations in its latest targeted Express Entry draw on Wednesday, allowing eligible candidates to move forward with their permanent residence applications.

Candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 389 to receive an invitation.

IRCC’s latest selection focused specifically on candidates with Canadian work experience in senior management occupations.

Foreign nationals already in Canada who have applied for permanent residence through Express Entry may be eligible for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP).

A BOWP can allow eligible applicants to continue working in Canada while they wait for a decision on their permanent residence application.

According to the information provided by IRCC, applicants whose current work permits expire while their BOWP applications are being processed may benefit from maintained status.

Under maintained status, eligible applicants who remain in Canada can continue working under the conditions of their previous work permit while awaiting a decision.

Eligible family members may also be able to apply for work permits, depending on their individual circumstances and the applicable requirements.

The latest draw provides another pathway for eligible senior managers with Canadian work experience to pursue permanent residence through Canada’s Express Entry system.

Kardashian had been staying at the Hôtel de Pourtalès when two members of the robbery gang, dressed as police officers, forced their way into her suite, bound her with zip ties and tape, and stole more than $6m worth of jewellery.

As reported by The Associated Press on Wednesday, the court’s decision came after eight people were found guilty last year for their roles in the robbery, which Kardashian described as “the most terrifying experience of my life.”

Kardashian and her stylist, Simone Harouche, expressed gratitude to the French justice system in a joint statement

The experience was deeply traumatic, and its impact has stayed with us. Today’s decision is not about the compensation, but about accountability and recognition.

“We are thankful to the Court and everyone who supported us throughout this process, and we hope to now move forward and continue to heal,” the statement to AP read.

According to AP, the court also awarded 109,516 euros ($126,472) to a former receptionist at the hotel, according to his lawyer.

He had sought 550,000 euros ($634,868) in damages and interest over the trauma he suffered during the October 2, 2016, robbery.

The receptionist’s lawyer, Mohand Ouidja, welcomed the decision as a victory.

The court awarded one euro to Harouche, who was present during the robbery.

The robbers made away with more than $6m in jewellery, including a diamond ring Kardashian had worn that night to a Givenchy show.

The robbers became known in France as “les papys braqueurs,” or the grandpa robbers, because of their ages. Six of those tried were in their 60s and 70s and faced charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and gang association.

With time already served in pretrial detention, none of those found guilty returned to prison. None appealed the verdict.

Following their conviction, Kardashian said she was “deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case.”

The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family.

“While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all. I remain committed to advocating for justice and promoting a fair legal system,” the celebrity said.

The US federal government is on track to approve a $2.8 billion arms package for Israel, US media reported Tuesday, with the sale of 40,000 one-ton bombs among the largest munitions packages sold in recent years.

The Washington Post said the package — funded with US taxpayer dollars — featured some of the most destructive munitions in Western arsenals, including 20,000 MK-84s, 20,000 BLU-117s, and 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads.

The New York Times said the administration of US President Donald Trump had approved the sale, citing a US official.

A senior administration official told AFP that “all foreign arms sales are moving through the appropriate process,” but wouldn’t comment on pending transactions.

Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson told AFP that “as a matter of policy, the Department does not confirm or comment on proposed arms sales until they have been formally notified to Congress.”

The deal was reported amid an ongoing munitions shortage within the US military, with stocks rapidly depleting from the war with Iran and with the US spending $22.3 billion on munitions between February 28 and June 30.

In February 2025, the Trump administration had approved the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, including MK-84 munitions.

In response to concerns over civilian deaths in Gaza, former US President Joe Biden’s administration had blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, but the Trump Administration approved them after taking office in early 2025.

AFP

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a Mexican methamphetamine kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, while attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.

The agency also dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.

A statement on Tuesday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the NDLEA Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), disclosed this in Lagos while briefing journalists on the agency’s latest operation.

Marwa said the operation followed months of investigation into a transnational drug network linked to clandestine laboratories uncovered in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.

He recalled that the agency had on May 16, 2026, arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.

He added that on June 17, another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

According to Marwa, investigations into the Oyo operation established that Ochoa had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.

He said international collaboration enabled NDLEA investigators to obtain a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa positively identified as the person who recruited and brought him into Nigeria.

Marwa stated that intelligence also showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.

He said Loaiza was subsequently tracked and arrested on August 19, 2026, while attempting to leave the country through the Lagos airport.

” On August 19, 2026, our operatives tracked down and arrested Arturo Carrera Loaiza attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport. During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as “Henry,” under the guise of a restaurant business venture, and denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.

“During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as ‘Henry,’ under the guise of a restaurant business venture, and denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory,” Marwa said.

However, he said investigators recovered images of Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.

He added that analysis of the location metadata in the images led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.

On 30th August 2026, our operatives moved on the Ebonyi State property, linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike,” he said.

Marwa said interviews with the site engineer and caretaker revealed the construction of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area at the rear of the building, as well as persistent strong chemical odours from the premises.

He said a CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided further evidence, as footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat, matching Loaiza’s image, as well as repeated appearances by Okike.

“Critically, the footage captured, at about 9:00 p.m. on 21st August 2026, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment out of the property, with John Samuel Ivo Okike seen directing the operation alongside others assisting in the relocation,” Marwa stated.

He said further intelligence led operatives to an isolated house in a neighbouring community where the relocated materials were kept under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi. A subsequent raid, according to him, led to the recovery of substantial quantities of methamphetamine-related chemicals, laboratory equipment and paraphernalia.

The recovered items included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 20kg of an acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid.

Other items recovered included a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, three additional empty dehydrators, condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat.

Marwa said the recovery, together with the CCTV footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, had strengthened the case against those linked to the network.

He warned that the country would not become a safe haven for international drug cartels seeking to relocate their operations to Nigeria.

“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities. The arrest of Arturo Carrera Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi State facility, coming so soon after the Ogun and Oyo State operations, demonstrate that this Agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities are more than a match for these syndicates, however sophisticated they may believe themselves to be.”

The NDLEA boss commended operatives of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics, and the Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi State Commands for their roles in the operations.

He vowed that the agency would continue to pursue every lead until the full network, its financiers and local enablers were brought to justice.

A Malian journalist was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison following remarks during a TV programme about his west African nation’s security situation.

Abderhamane Keita, an editor at the daily Le Temoin paper, was taken into custody in early June for “undermining national unity and the credibility of the state” and “publishing and disseminating false or misleading information”.

He was prosecuted after asserting on a TV programme focused on the security situation in Mali that the northern city of Kidal was being run by the leader of the jihadist group JNIM.

Since late April, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and its Tuareg separatist allies have waged a series of attacks aimed at weakening the country’s junta rulers.

This has included taking Kidal and assassinating the minister of defence in April.

Keita appeared before the country’s national cybercrime unit last week, with his verdict announced Monday.

His lawyer told AFP that they would appeal the decision.

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called Keita’s conviction “unjust” and a “new way of criminalising journalism”.

The head of the group’s sub-Saharan Africa bureau, Sadibou Marong, said it “sends out a particularly troubling signal to media professionals in Mali and the region”.

Mali’s authorities, RSF added, should “put an end to the use of the justice system against journalists”.

Mali has been wracked since 2012 by a serious security crisis, notably fuelled by violence from jihadists allied to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group, along with criminal gangs and armed separatists.

In recent years Mali’s junta, which came to power in two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, has taken numerous measures against the press and critical voices.

Authorities have also dissolved political parties and banned associations’ political activities.

AFP

A Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin paid for celebrations after the wedding of President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his new bride, the couple confirmed on Monday.

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump said in a jointly signed post on Bettina’s Instagram account that their “dear friend” Umar Kremlev “very generously hosted two incredible nights” of festivities in the Bahamas in May.

The confirmation came after the ProPublica investigative website reported that Kremlev footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars for the parties.

It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” said the post by Bettina and Don Jr.

President Trump did not attend the wedding or the festivities, saying he had to stay in Washington during talks on the Iran war.

Kremlev is head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), with which the International Olympic Committee severed links after repeated warnings over financial governance and ethical concerns.

– Putin ties –

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Kremlev with the “Order of Friendship” award in April 2026, according to an IBA press release, which featured a photo of Putin and Kremlev shaking hands.

“During the ceremony, the Russian President praised the IBA’s resilience in supporting athletes despite political pressures,” the IBA statement said.

The IBA website also featured photos of Donald Trump Jr. on stage with Kremlev at an event in Istanbul in September 2025.

Bettina Trump’s Instagram post was accompanied by 20 photos including one of the newlywed couple on a beach, and others of President Trump’s other children Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump.

It’s unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from,” the post added

ProPublica posted a group photo from the wedding that it said showed the top of Kremlev’s head.

According to Russian investigative media outlet Proekt, Kremlev is a Tajik native who worked as a mid-level boxing promoter and cultivated links with the Federal Protective Service (FSO), whose role is to protect high level officials in Russia.

Kremlev is also a member of the pro-Kremlin Night Wolves biker club, it reported.

Members of the Night Wolves rode down en masse to Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula just after it was annexed by Russia in March 2014 and members have also fought side by side with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

AFP

Canada government has warned newcomers and immigrants about common scams involving people pretending to be immigration officials and demanding money or personal information.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said newcomers should learn how to identify fraudulent calls, emails and messages, particularly those involving threats of deportation or demands for immediate payment.

According to the government, there are seven things IRCC employees will never demand from immigrants.

1. Deposit money into a personal bank account

IRCC employees will never ask an immigrant to deposit immigration fees or other payments into a personal bank account.

Newcomers should be suspicious of anyone claiming to represent the Canadian government who provides a personal bank account for payment.

2. Make an urgent payment

Immigration officials will never rush people into paying fees immediately.

Scammers may create a sense of urgency by claiming that an application will be rejected or an immigration status will be affected unless payment is made immediately.

IRCC advises newcomers to verify such claims through official government channels before making any payment.

3. Pay through gift cards or money transfer services

IRCC employees will never ask people to pay immigration fees using prepaid credit cards, gift cards, Western Union, MoneyGram or similar services.

Government processing fees can be paid through the official payment channels provided by IRCC.

4. Threaten arrest or deportation over unpaid fees

Scammers may pose as immigration officials and threaten victims with arrest, deportation or police action if they do not immediately pay money

IRCC says its employees will not threaten to arrest or deport people, or send police to arrest them or harm their families, over unpaid fees.

The government specifically warns that threats of deportation over outstanding fees are a scam.

5. Offer special immigration deals

Immigration officials will never offer special deals to people seeking to immigrate to Canada.

Newcomers should be cautious of anyone claiming they can provide a special immigration arrangement or guarantee a favourable outcome.

The Canadian government also warns that no one can guarantee a job, visa or permanent residence in Canada.

6. Promise special treatment for extra payment

IRCC employees will not promise that an immigration application will be approved or receive special attention because an applicant sends additional money or information.

Anyone demanding extra payment in exchange for faster processing or guaranteed approval should therefore be treated with caution.

7. Contact applicants through free email or social media

IRCC employees will not use free email services such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo Mail, or social media platforms, to contact people about immigration matters.

The government also warns that scammers can manipulate caller ID, meaning a phone number that appears to belong to a government agency may not actually be genuine.

Newcomers should therefore verify unexpected calls and messages through official government channels.

Canada warns newcomers about other scams

The government also highlighted other fraud schemes targeting newcomers, including phishing emails and text messages, fake computer virus alerts, fraudulent prizes and contests, and tax scams.

In phishing scams, victims may receive messages containing links to websites designed to steal banking information, passwords or other personal details.

Canada advises people not to click suspicious links or provide personal information if they are unsure who sent the message.

Newcomers should also be wary of messages claiming they have won a prize in a contest they never entered.

Iran’s nuclear chief was blocked from attending an annual conference on Monday at the headquarters of the UN’s nuclear agency in Vienna after US pressure, both Washington and Tehran said.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed to reporters that Washington had applied pressure to stop Mohammad Eslami from entering Austria, saying “he’s a sanctioned individual and we don’t want sanctioned individuals evading their sanctions”.

“He asked for a waiver of the sanctions and it was denied.”

Iranian state TV said Eslami and a delegation “took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States”.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, a senior official from Iran’s nuclear agency, accused the US of “bullying political pressure” and said the block set a precedent that would affect everybody.

The Austrian foreign ministry told AFP it had requested an exemption for Mohammad Eslami, who is covered by a UN travel ban, but that the Security Council rejected it “due to a lack of consensus”.

A diplomatic source in Vienna had told AFP earlier that US pressure was behind the entry refusal.

Eslami was due to attend the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, which runs until Friday.

Eslami attended last year’s event and delivered a speech there on behalf of Iran, a member state of the IAEA, despite the sanctions against him already being in place.

Tehran summoned Austria’s charge d’affaires in response to the decision to bar Eslami.

“The Austrian government’s refusal to issue visas to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP.

“It is clear to us that this incident occurred under American pressure, but that does not absolve the Austrian government of responsibility.”

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

For decades, Western powers have accused the Islamic republic of seeking nuclear weapons, a claim that Tehran categorically denies.

AFP

Vowles succeeds Richard Montgomery, who served as the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Nigeria.

The announcement was contained in a statement issued by the Senior Communications and Public Diplomacy Officer at the British High Commission, Atinuke Akande-Alegbe on Monday.

“I am hugely excited to be in Nigeria. My first priority is to listen and learn – to travel, meet people and immerse myself in this extraordinary country, its culture and its energy,” Vowles said.

He added that the UK-Nigeria relationship was built largely on strong people-to-people ties, saying he looked forward to working with partners across the country to strengthen bilateral relations.

The UK and Nigeria have a deep and enduring partnership, built above all on the connections between our people. I’m looking forward to discovering Nigeria for myself and working with partners across the country to build on that relationship and see what more we can achieve together,” he said.

Vowles, who was announced as the UK’s next High Commissioner to Nigeria on June 16, 2026, brings extensive diplomatic and development experience to the position.

He most recently served as His Majesty’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe and had previously held senior leadership positions within the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

He also served as Britain’s Ambassador to Myanmar and held diplomatic and development postings in Bangladesh, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

His arrival comes as Nigeria and the UK continue to maintain extensive diplomatic, economic, security and development ties, with both countries also linked by a large Nigerian diaspora community in Britain.

Leaders of the main Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh nationalist parties on Monday declared their right to choose whether to remain in the UK or not at a rare meeting in the Welsh capital Cardiff.

All three parties — the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru in Wales and the pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein — want to break away from the UK.

The meeting came just days after US President Donald Trump waded in, saying he would back a united Ireland, which Northern Ireland’s Michelle O’Neill said showed “the unity debate is very much alive”.

“Our nations have the right to self-determination. No Westminster government (the UK government) has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future,” a memorandum of understanding stated.

SNP leader John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru in Wales and Mary Lou McDonald and O’Neill, leader and deputy leader of pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein met in their capacity as party leaders, rather than as officials in their respective governments.

O’Neill is also Northern Ireland’s first minister while Iorwerth and Swinney are first ministers of their respective nations.

Announcing the agreement, Swinney said the three parties were “absolutely united by that principle of self-determination”, adding that this “lies at the heart of the agreement that we have signed today”.

For the first time ever, people across these islands have first ministers in Scotland, in Wales and in the North of Ireland who are all committed to independence from the United Kingdom,” the memorandum of understanding said.

“The future of our nations belongs in the European Union.”

The independence parties are the biggest in both the Scottish and Welsh parliaments for the first time since devolution measures began in 1999. Sinn Fein has been the biggest party in Northern Ireland’s assembly since 2022.

The regional parliaments have key powers on health, education, housing, transport and environment matters, along with some tax gathering.

Momentum’ –

“For people watching across these islands — for people watching around the world — there could be no clearer sign that Westminster’s time is coming to an end,” the agreement said.

While the three parties are united in their desire to break away from the UK they have varying positions on how and when this might take place.

The SNP wants a second independence referendum after an earlier ballot in 2014 saw Scotland narrowly vote to remain part of Britain. Successive UK governments have ruled out an immediate rerun.

Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA), wants to see a vote on Ireland being reunified with the UK territory Northern Ireland.

Plaid Cymru seeks Welsh independence in the longer term but Iorwerth has ruled out pressing for any referendum immediately.

Good Friday Agreement –

In Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham sparked a sharp response from Sinn Fein in August, shortly after taking power the previous month, when he said a referendum on Irish unity was “off the table”.

The 1998 Good Friday peace agreement which largely ended three decades of conflict over British rule provides for a referendum if the British government’s Northern Ireland minister believes a majority is likely to favour joining the Republic of Ireland.

Sinn Fein leader McDonald said the prime minister had no authority to “remove any provision of the Good Friday Agreement”, and Burnham backtracked in parliament last week.

On Scotland, Burnham — a former mayor of Manchester and a strong advocate of giving greater power to English local authorities — told lawmakers there could be another vote if there was a “clear consensus” north of the border for it.

He reportedly sent a letter to Swinney later clarifying that a referendum remained “off limits”.

AFP

Beijing rejected on Monday “groundless” reports that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base housing US troops in Jordan, before and after an Iranian strike killed three American soldiers.

The reports by the Wall Street Journal over the weekend related to July 17 missile strikes launched by Iran on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal’s reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

“We firmly oppose groundless suspicion and accusations without evidence,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference on Monday

US President Donald Trump sought to downplay the reports, which could deepen tensions ahead of a planned visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.

“You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

“That’s what we do. They basically do what we do,” he said.

Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies for enabling Iran’s military operations.

China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.

Still, Trump said of Xi on Sunday that “he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well.”

Asked if he would ever allow Chinese cars to be sold in the United States, Trump said “I haven’t. I’m the one that kept them out. The tariffs kept them out.”

AFP

The Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom, has clarified that the £70 administrative fee paid by some Nigerians during the ongoing passport intervention exercise was not approved by the Federal Government, insisting that the standard administrative charge remains £20.

The clarification came barely a day after the mission announced that applicants who had paid £70 would receive a £50 refund, leaving the £20 standard administrative fee.

“This is to inform all passport intervention applicants who have paid a £70 admin fee that £50 will be refunded to you, £20 being the standard admin fee,” the commission had stated in a notice published on its website.

In a fresh public notice on its website dated Friday, September 11th, and signed by the Nigeria High Commission, London, the mission said it was compelled to clarify reports and commentaries circulating over the charges for the intervention exercise.

The mission said some of the information in circulation was inaccurate and did not represent its official position.

“For the avoidance of doubt, any claim suggesting that an administrative fee of £70.00 received presidential approval is incorrect. The approved standard administrative charge remains £20.00,” the High Commission stated.

The commission did not, in the statement, explain how the £70 charge came to be applied in the first place.

The issue had also prompted clarification from the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service.

On September 8, the Federal Government denied introducing additional charges for the passport intervention exercise, saying applicants were required to pay only the official passport fees, apart from applicable bank charges.

The Interior Ministry said neither it nor the NIS had introduced charges outside the approved passport fees.

The NIS subsequently reiterated on September 11 that no additional charges were required to participate in the intervention exercise.

The intervention exercise, which was initially scheduled to end on September 19, has now been extended to October 3 in London and Manchester because of the high turnout of applicants.

The NIS said 1,477 Nigerians had been successfully processed and enrolled within the first four days of the exercise, with more than half of the passports already produced and dispatched to applicants.

The exercise has, however, been accompanied by complaints from Nigerians in the UK over passport processing, charges and operational difficulties.

The PUNCH had earlier reported complaints about delays and difficulties in passport processing at the Nigerian High Commission in London, with some Nigerians also raising concerns over poor communication channels and difficulties reaching the mission.

The High Commission, in its latest statement, however, dissociated itself from any publication or commentary containing what it described as inaccurate or misleading information.

It said such publications “did not emanate from the Mission” and advised members of the public to disregard information that was not communicated through its authorised channels.

The mission added that it remained committed to the delivery of efficient services to members of the public.

“You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Beijing’s intelligence sharing.

“That’s what we do. They basically do what we do,” Trump said.

The incident could deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.

On July 17, Iran launched missile strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which houses US forces. Three US Army soldiers were killed.

Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal’s reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies for enabling Iran’s military operations.

China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.

Still, Trump said of Xi on Sunday that “he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well.”

Asked if he would ever allow Chinese cars to be sold in the United States, Trump said, “I haven’t. I’m the one that kept them out. The tariffs kept them out.”

AFP

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that the Middle East does not need the United States to be a “regional policeman”, with the two countries at war and vying for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

We do not need a regional policeman,” he said on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in India during a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The territorial integrity and security of the region can only be guaranteed by its main players and the countries that comprise it,” he added, according to the Iranian presidency.

Iran has been at war since February 28, when US-Israeli strikes killed its supreme leader.

The Islamic republic retaliated with attacks across the region and blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil previously flowed.

Iran and the US have since been vying for control of the strategic waterway.

The strait was free to transit before the war, but Iran now requires vessels to obtain permission and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.

Ships that do not comply are regularly targeted by Iranian strikes, while the US periodically bombs the Iranian coastline to challenge the Islamic republic’s control of the strait.

More than six months into the Middle East war, the blockade continues to drive up oil prices, which soared past $100 a barrel this week.

Despite all the injustices suffered by our people, we neither desire war nor its continuation. Peace remains our priority,” Pezeshkian added.

One person was killed, and more than 100 were rescued on Sunday after a ferry sailing between the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo was hit by bad weather, rescue officials said.

The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 passengers and crew, had lost contact with its shipping company early on Sunday after departing from Surabaya in East Java.

“We can inform you that the total number of evacuated passengers is 103 people,” local search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said.

One of the passengers had died, he told reporters in the port city of Banjarmasin, where the vessel was headed.

Rescuers battled waves of up to 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) to reach the ferry, he added.

“It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres long, is at great risk,” he said, referring to Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency.

A Basarnas helicopter has joined the operation, he added

Sudayana earlier told AFP that the ship’s captain had reported that the vessel was “tilting” before losing contact.

The vessel’s last position had been detected in the Java Sea, around 150 kilometres (93 miles) from its destination.

Heri Purwanto, head of the Banjarmasin Sea Port Authority, said the ship, which was carrying people and vehicles, lost contact at 2:00 am Sunday (1800 GMT Saturday).

“We responded quickly to the incident report… Our main focus and top priority at this time is the safety of everyone on board the ship, and we are deploying a coordinated rescue operation,” Heri Purwanto added.

Rescue authorities have put up a command centre at the Banjarmasin port, with paramedics and ambulances on standby, an AFP reporter saw.

Dozens of relatives and friends of the passengers checked a whiteboard where the names of people rescued were being updated.

Jenah, 26, told AFP she came to the command post for information about her older brother

“I am saddened and very shocked. Until now, I haven’t received any more information,” said Jenah, who like many Indonesians has only one name.

“He was travelling alone. I hope he survives. I couldn’t contact him since last night.”

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia — an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat connections for daily transport and tourism.

Lax safety standards and unpredictable weather are the main reasons for the disasters.

On Monday, a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists working for local and international news agencies, went missing near a volcano, Mount Anak Krakatau, in Banten province and a search is ongoing.

The journalists were sent to cover the volcano’s eruption that paralysed Jakarta’s main airport and several others.

Last month, a fire on board a ferry killed one person and left five others missing while 211 were rescued in the Lombok Strait off Indonesia’s Bali island.

The ferry had been heading from Bali to Lombok when it ran into trouble in the early hours of August 12.

In July, a ferry transporting more than 70 people sank while sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.

AFP

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi fighters, who have seized a vital shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia, have asked Washington not to intervene.

The Houthis have taken control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast after capturing three strategic islands in a lightning offensive.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has relied on the area ever since Iran’s Hormuz blockade choked off its shipments via the Gulf.

The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump told reporters on a visit to Dublin, Ireland.

“They don’t want us to go after them.”

“He added that “everything’s gonna work out fine and dandy,” in the region.

Trump also mentioned having spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he described as a “friend”.

According to US outlet Axios, bin Salman called Trump twice on Thursday to request US strikes on the Houthis, but the American president declined.

The Houthis also targeted Saudi Arabian oil facilities this week with a massive drone and missile attack.

AFP

US President Donald Trump travelled to Ireland under tight security on Saturday for two days of diplomacy and golf, on a trip that again blurs the lines between his presidency and personal business interests.

At least 4,000 police and other personnel, including snipers, have been mobilised for the visit, in what has been dubbed one of the biggest security operations ever mounted in Ireland.

Trump spoke briefly to reporters on the tarmac ahead of his flight to Dublin, saying “we’re having a lot of meetings with European leaders and others, so it’ll be a very interesting time”.

Thousands of anti-Trump protesters are planning to rally in Dublin, where the US leader will hold separate meetings with Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin and President Catherine Connolly.

Trump is then due to fly to his luxury resort in Doonbeg, on Ireland’s west coast, where some of the world’s top golfers are competing in the Irish Open tournament.

The golf-mad president — whose relaxed relationship with the game’s rules was documented by sports journalist Rick Reilly in the 2019 book “Commander in Cheat” — may even award the trophy on Sunday.

“He’s really just visiting the golf resort he owns and dropping into Dublin for a courtesy visit,” Daniel Geary, a US history professor at Trinity College Dublin, told AFP.

He sees little difference between his private interests and his role as president.”

• ‘Business’ –

The 80-year-old billionaire has promoted his family’s golf business unabashedly since returning to the White House for his second stint as president in January 2025.

Last summer, he welcomed then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen to his plush resort at Turnberry on the west coast of Scotland.

Trump then inaugurated another golf course bearing his name in the town of Balmedie, near Aberdeen on the northeast Scottish coast.

“He certainly sends a message that he is passionately interested in his own family’s business,” University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter said ahead of the Ireland trip.

“It’s not going to help the Republican party in the midterms to have the president… promoting his golf courses for the super-wealthy, when other people are having trouble making ends meet,” the expert on government ethics added.

The security operation for Trump’s visit is reportedly costing Ireland 20 million euros ($23 million) and comes as the country already grapples with a massive policing operation for its six-month presidency of the EU.

Trump’s attendance at Doonbeg — a remote, coastal site in County Clare that the Trump Organization purchased in 2014 — adds an extra layer of complexity to the security effort.

Some 40,000 fans are expected at the tournament over the weekend, with six-time major winner and current world number two Rory McIlroy the main draw.

McIlroy, who has played golf with Trump, told the BBC this week that the tournament will feel “different” with the US president on site, but that the players will just “keep our heads down and play”.

• ‘Short and courteous’ –

After arriving in Dublin on Air Force One, Trump will meet Irish leader Martin, whom he has hosted twice in the Oval Office and appears to get on well with.

The Middle East, including America’s and Israel’s war on Iran, and US tariffs on EU pharmaceuticals and immigration are likely to be on the agenda.

Ireland and the United States have long been close allies, partly because of their common ancestral ties.

But the Irish government’s politics diverge sharply with that of the Trump administration on many issues — particularly support for the Palestinians.

Ireland is among several countries, including Spain, the UK and France, that have announced a trade ban targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Connolly, who occupies the largely ceremonial role of president, is a left-winger and outspoken critic of Trump, making for a potentially fractious first meeting.

“Martin is experienced enough that it should be fine at the political level. The big uncertainty is President Connolly,” Eoin O’Malley, a political scientist at Dublin City University, told AFP.

“She protested against his last visit (in 2019), and her supporters will expect her to make some show for them. But she’s also aware that she cannot do or say anything that might inflict damage on the relationship.

“I expect it will be short and courteous.”

AFP

Reigning Miss Austria beauty queen Lucia Sisic has died at the age of 22 after living with a congenital heart condition.

Mission Austria, the organisation behind the Miss Austria and Mister Austria beauty pageants, announced her death in a tribute posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

“It is with great shock and deep sorrow that we have learned of the passing of our Miss Austria 2024, Lucia Sisic,” the organisation said.

No cause of death has been confirmed.

Sisic was crowned Miss Austria in 2024 and remained the reigning titleholder, as no subsequent contest has yet been held.

In its tribute, translated from German, Mission Austria described Sisic as “a wonderful young woman” and extended its condolences to her family, friends and loved ones.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, and all those close to her during this difficult time,” the organisation said.

The message, signed by Mission Austria CEO Kerstin Rigger and her husband, Jörg, added that Sisic “will always remain a part of our Miss Austria family.”

Sisic had been open about her health struggles and the impact of her condition on her life.

In 2024, she shared a post on Instagram thanking the paediatric medical team that cared for her while she was growing up.

Thanks to the medical staff and the dedicated doctors, who time and again saved my life through their tremendous efforts, I have overcome many difficult moments and been able to lead a fulfilling life,” she wrote.

The beauty queen underwent seven operations during her lifetime because of her heart condition.

Speaking to Austrian outlet Heute in 2024, Sisic revealed that she underwent her first operation shortly after birth.

She also recalled how her condition affected her childhood, saying she was often unable to participate in activities enjoyed by other children.

Sports weeks took place without me. My childhood was simply different, but it also made me strong,” she said.

Herzkinder Österreich, an Austrian charity that supports children with heart conditions, also paid tribute to the late beauty queen.

In a Facebook post, the organisation said it was “deeply saddened by the untimely death” of Sisic, adding that “at just 22 years old, she left us far too soon.”

The charity described Sisic as a young woman who understood what it meant to grow up with a congenital heart defect, undergo surgeries and still pursue her dreams with courage and joy.

“We will remember her as a warm-hearted, joyful, and impressive young woman – and as an adult child who wanted to give courage to others affected,” the organisation said.

Sisic’s openness about her health challenges had also made her an inspiration to others living with congenital heart conditions. Her journey from undergoing multiple surgeries to becoming Miss Austria in 2024 was marked by her determination to live a fulfilling life despite her medical challenges.

According to the BBC on Wednesday, under the new decree, Colombians who already hold valid permits to carry registered firearms will be able to take their weapons outside their homes without seeking additional authorisation.

De la Espriella defended the measure, saying law-abiding citizens should not be left unable to defend themselves while criminals remain armed.

“It is not right that criminals are armed to the teeth while decent people can’t defend themselves,” the president said.

He stressed, however, that the decree would not amount to unrestricted access to firearms, saying existing controls governing who can legally own a gun would remain in place.

While signing the decree, De la Espriella also said the move fulfilled a commitment he made during his presidential campaign.

“A man’s word is his honour, and I have honour, that’s why I keep my word,” he said

The restriction was introduced in December 2015 by then-President Juan Manuel Santos as a temporary measure intended to improve security during the Christmas and New Year period.

However, the suspension was subsequently extended every year by Santos and his successors, Iván Duque and Gustavo Petro, despite their differing political positions.

Under the previous arrangement, even people with valid firearm-carry permits were prohibited from taking their weapons outside their homes unless they obtained additional authorisation.

According to reports cited by Spanish newspaper _El País_, the change could affect nearly 700,000 Colombians who already hold legal permits to carry firearms.

They will be permitted to carry their registered weapons outside their homes as long as their permits remain valid.

The decision has, however, drawn criticism from some political figures.

Green Alliance Party Senator Ariel Ávila described the move as a “grave error”, arguing that legally owned firearms could eventually fall into the hands of criminals.

Ávila also raised concerns about the principle of allowing civilians to carry weapons, arguing that the state should remain responsible for guaranteeing citizens’ security.

De la Espriella rejected concerns that the policy would worsen insecurity, saying security forces were continuing to target illegal firearms.

He said authorities had seized more than 15,000 illegal firearms so far this year, with many of the weapons reportedly belonging to members of breakaway factions of the Farc rebel group and the Gulf Clan criminal organisation.

The president maintained that the new policy would preserve controls over legal firearm ownership while giving authorised citizens greater ability to defend themselves.

The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on “all remaining Iranian airlines” that have yet to face such penalties, as Washington pushes to step up economic pressure in its war with Tehran.

The US Treasury Department said its latest action takes aim at “36 targets for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, which the regime uses to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo.

These include 27 Iranian airlines, alongside firms based in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

Essentially, we’re taking the entire aviation sector of the Iranian economy out of the market,” a US Treasury official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Iran has been at war with the United States since late February, when US-Israeli strikes killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader and senior military officials at the start of a vast offensive.

The strikes sparked Tehran’s retaliation in blocking the Strait of Hormuz — causing global oil prices to surge — as the conflict spread in the Middle East.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has vowed the United States is declaring an “economic D-Day” on Iran, pledging to choke Tehran off financially.

“Under Operation Economic Outcast, we promised severe consequences for those providing financial lifelines to the Iranian regime,” Bessent said Tuesday in a statement.

He warned that anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines risk being cut off from the global financial system.

Besides Iranian airlines, the Treasury Department said its latest actions target third-country firms that “facilitate US-sanctioned Mahan Air’s proliferation activity, terrorist-linked flight operations, and illicit procurement of US-origin aircraft.”

It is also taking aim at “cargo service providers and general sales agents that have serviced Mahan Air’s international flights.”

Mahan Air is an Iranian airline accused of facilitating activities by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The US Treasury official did not specify if firms in countries like China might face secondary sanctions for supporting the Iranian aviation sector, but said there are various actions Washington can take on service providers.

The Treasury Department slapped sanctions in July on invididuals and companies it said were aiding Mahan Air too.

Iran’s aviation sector has long struggled under sanctions, which have severely restricted its ability to acquire aircraft, spare parts and maintenance services.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump had an “extremely frank” phone call on Tuesday, after US negotiators visited Moscow over the weekend, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, including AFP.

Steve Witkoff, who is Trump’s business ally, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at the weekend for talks with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a one-hour call on Tuesday, Putin and Trump “exchanged views on the outcome of the visits”, Ushakov said.

The talks brought no immediate breakthrough in the four-and-a-half-year war that is Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Ushakov said Putin presented to Trump an “objective and detailed analysis” of the frontline situation.

The Kremlin leader routinely says his troops are advancing across the entire front, with the capture of the entire eastern Donbas a matter of time.

He also “pointed out what the Americans could realistically do to bring the hostilities to a swift conclusion,” Ushakov said, without elaborating.

Moscow has shown no signs of dropping its maximalist conditions to end the war, including a demand that Ukraine cede territory in the east that Russia’s troops have not captured.

Putin also told Trump that Russia had “no aggressive plans” towards Europe, Ushakov said.

The Kremlin has over the summer been accused of ratcheting up a sabotage campaign against Ukraine’s European backers — accusations it has denied.

“In view of the speculation regarding Russia’s alleged hostile intentions towards European states, it was emphasised that we have absolutely no aggressive plans whatsoever towards Europe,” Ushakov said.

The myths being spread about the Russian threat serve as a pretext for Europeans to ramp up support for Ukraine and their own military spending,” he added.

Fuelling the concerns over Russia’s intentions, CIA chief John Ratcliffe paid a surprise visit to Moscow in late August, with US media reporting he warned Russia against attacking any NATO country.

China has rejected Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s claim that Taiwan is a sovereign independent nation, insisting that the island remains an “inalienable part of China’s territory”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, made the position known on Tuesday during a regular press conference in Beijing while responding to questions on Lai’s remarks concerning United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758.

According to a copy of the press conference speech made available to our correspondent in Abuja by the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Lai had reportedly accused China of distorting the meaning of the resolution, arguing that it only concerns the representation of the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations and does not address Taiwan.

But Mao dismissed the claim, saying China’s position on Taiwan was supported by historical and legal instruments, including the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation.

“There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. This is an unshakable fact grounded in both history and law,” Mao said.

She said the Cairo Declaration, issued by China, the United States and the United Kingdom in 1943, explicitly stated that Taiwan, which had been taken by Japan, would be restored to China.

According to her, the Potsdam Proclamation of 1945 reaffirmed that the terms of the Cairo Declaration would be implemented.

This series of instruments with legal effect under international law has all clearly affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” she said.

Mao also cited UNGA Resolution 2758, adopted in 1971, arguing that it reaffirmed the one-China principle and settled the question of China’s representation at the United Nations.

She quoted the resolution as saying it “decides to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations.”

Mao argued that the resolution settled the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the UN.

“From political, legal and procedural aspects, the resolution resolved once and for all the question of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN,” she said.

“It made clear that there is only one seat of China in the United Nations, and there is no such thing as ‘two Chinas’ or ‘one China, one Taiwan.’”

The spokesperson further rejected the possibility of Taiwan becoming an independent country, accusing the Lai administration of deliberately distorting the UN resolution in pursuit of what she described as “Taiwan independence”.

“Taiwan has never been a country and will never be a country.

The Lai Ching-te authorities’ deliberate distortion of UNGA Resolution 2758 once again revealed their separatist nature for ‘Taiwan independence,’ ” she said.

She added that statements from the Taiwanese authorities would not alter what Beijing described as the historical and legal status of Taiwan.

“Their rhetoric will not change the historical and legal fact that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China, nor will it undermine the international community’s steadfast commitment to one China,” Mao said.

The Taiwan question remains one of the most sensitive issues in China’s foreign relations, with Beijing maintaining that Taiwan is part of China and opposing any move towards formal independence.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in its briefing, also touched on China’s relations with Japan, Qatar and Nepal, as well as its efforts to expand artificial intelligence capacity-building in developing countries.

On Japan’s recent comments regarding the removal of a monument commemorating victory over Japanese militarism and its position on the “Enemy State Clauses” in the UN Charter, Mao said Japan should address its wartime history appropriately.

To view and treat history correctly is a key gauge of Japan’s commitment to peaceful development,” she said.

Mao maintained that the clauses, which concern states defeated in the Second World War, remained valid, despite Japan’s argument that they were obsolete.

“The Japanese side should use history as a mirror, make a clean break with militarism, and earn trust from its Asian neighbors and the rest of the world with concrete actions,” she said.

On Qatar, Mao described the country as a strategic partner and said China attached great importance to bilateral relations.

She said Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was visiting China from September 7 to 8 and had held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Mao said Beijing viewed the visit as an opportunity to advance bilateral relations, adding that further details would be released through official readouts.

On artificial intelligence, Mao said China was implementing an initiative announced by President Xi Jinping to provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities for AI training and seminar programmes over the next five years.

She said China was hosting a Workshop on AI Capacity-Building at Peking University from September 7 to 12 as part of efforts to implement its AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All.

Taiwan has called on the international community to uphold the principles of inclusiveness and ensure that no one is left behind, urging greater opportunities for its meaningful participation in United Nations activities.

Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Lin Chia-lung, made the call in a statement titled “Restoring Trust: Taiwan’s Rightful Place in the Free World,” made available to journalists on Tuesday.

Lin said restoring confidence in the United Nations must begin with treating members of the international community fairly and justly.

“Ensuring Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the United Nations is therefore essential to building a more inclusive, secure, resilient, and rules-based international order,” he said.

According to him, Taiwan’s participation would contribute to collective security, economic and technological resilience, and international efforts to resist authoritarian pressure.

“The free world needs Taiwan, and a stronger, more credible United Nations needs Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” Lin said.

He said that despite Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN system, the country remained determined to contribute positively to the international community.

Lin argued that the transformation of the international order “cannot be complete while a constructive and trustworthy member remains unjustly excluded.”

He expressed concern over what he described as growing pressure on the rules-based international order, saying authoritarian states were seeking to weaken its safeguards and reshape international rules to serve their interests.

Even the fundamental principles of peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition against the threat or use of force, which are enshrined in the United Nations Charter, have been openly challenged and flagrantly flaunted,” he said.

The minister said the international community was at a critical juncture and must choose between defending international law and allowing the existing global order to deteriorate.

“Either we act together to uphold justice, defend the rule of law, and maintain peace and security, or we watch the world order steadily crumble away, taking freedom, self-determination, and democracy with it,” Lin said.

He identified the Indo-Pacific as one of the regions where the challenges to peace and stability were particularly evident.

Lin further said Taiwan shared the objectives of restoring trust in the United Nations and managing institutional transformation, themes he attributed to the incoming president of the 81st UN General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman.

Taiwan shares these objectives and stands ready to help realise them,” he said.

The minister argued that greater cooperation with Taiwan would benefit the international community, particularly in areas including security, technology, supply-chain resilience and democratic cooperation.

“The free world needs Taiwan, and a stronger, more credible United Nations needs Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” Lin reiterated.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not return to carrying out official engagements as working royals following their return to the United Kingdom, Buckingham Palace has said.

A letter sent on behalf of King Charles clarified the status of Prince Harry and Meghan, who moved back to the UK from California with their children, Archie and Lilibet, last month.

According to the Palace, the couple will also not be able to use the “HRH” titles of His and Her Royal Highness and remain “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”.

BBC on Monday reported that the letter, sent by the Lord Chamberlain, a senior Palace official, was reportedly forwarded to Prince Harry’s team as well as the government, military and Lord Lieutenants.

The clarification means that any engagements undertaken by the Sussexes would be in a private capacity and not on behalf of the Royal Family.

It also reaffirmed the position agreed in 2020 when Harry and Meghan stepped down from their roles as senior working royals and moved to the United States.

The arrangement, known as the Sandringham Agreement, ruled out a “half-in and half-out” arrangement that would have allowed the couple to pursue commercial interests while continuing as working royals.

It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the Sovereign, and are no longer working Members of the Royal Family,” the letter said.

The message sent on behalf of the King made clear that the arrangement remains unchanged.

“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” it added.

Israel on Monday threatened a “full-scale war” against the Palestinian Authority if it prepared an attack against Israeli forces or settlements similar to the one launched by Hamas from Gaza on October 7, 2023.

The remarks from Defence Minister Israel Katz came after a stabbing attack in the northern occupied West Bank, with the Israeli military saying it had shot and killed the Palestinian assailant.

Violence has surged in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, after Hamas’s October 2023 attack sparked the war in Gaza. Recent months have seen soaring attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, often with little or no legal consequence.

If… the Palestinian Authority’s security mechanisms and related bodies initiate, or we know with certainty that they are about to initiate, a terror attack in the style of October 7 against IDF forces and Jewish settlements — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for the opening of a full-scale war,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement from his office, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Katz said the military campaign would target the “senior leadership and mechanisms” of the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as well as “all terror infrastructure” in the territory.

He said it would include “targeted killings of senior figures” and the “evacuation of residents from the cities and villages from which terror activity is carried out”, with a permanent Israeli military presence in those areas.

Katz said the operation would emulate the so-called “security zones” in which the Israeli military currently operates in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

On Monday, the Israeli military said it shot and killed a Palestinian assailant who had stabbed an Israeli settler in the northern occupied West Bank.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said a man in his 20s had been taken to hospital in a moderate to serious condition with multiple stab wounds.

Praising the soldiers who killed the assailant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed: “No terrorist can hide.”

We will continue to eliminate terrorists, hunt down those who dispatch them, and destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria,” he said in a statement, using the Biblical term for the West Bank.

In response to the attack, Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called to “escalate the resistance and engage with the enemy soldiers and settler gangs”.

Hamas’s attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 44 of them already dead, into Gaza.

Israel responded with a massive offensive in Gaza that has killed at least 73,651 people, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Lindsay Clancy, a 36-year-old former labour and delivery nurse from Massachusetts, United States, became the centre of one of the country’s most closely watched criminal cases after she killed her three young children in January 2023.

PUNCH Online had reported that Clancy admitted to the killings but maintained that she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare and severe mental illness that can occur after childbirth. Her trial ended in a mistrial on 4 September 2026 after a 12-member jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Lindsay Marie Clancy (née Musgrove) was born in 1990 in Wallingford, Connecticut. She studied at Quinnipiac University, trained as a nurse and worked at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she cared for women during childbirth.

She married Patrick Clancy in 2016. The couple settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and had three children: Cora, born in December 2017; Dawson, born in September 2019; and Callan, born on 26 May 2022.

After the births of her first two children, Clancy experienced postpartum anxiety but recovered. Following Callan’s birth, her mental health deteriorated sharply. She suffered severe anxiety, depression, insomnia, emotional numbness, intrusive thoughts of harming herself and her children, and suicidal ideation.

She sought treatment from several doctors and was prescribed a combination of antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication and antipsychotic drugs. In early January 2023, she voluntarily admitted herself to McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility, and was discharged about three weeks before the killings.

Her defence later argued that she had been misdiagnosed and overmedicated, worsening her condition into full postpartum psychosis.

The day of the attack

On Tuesday, 24 January 2023, Clancy took Cora to a routine medical appointment. She later played in the snow with the children and exchanged normal text messages with her husband.

That afternoon, she searched online for children’s laxative medicine and a restaurant, and checked travel times. At about 5pm, she asked Patrick to leave the house to buy takeaway food and the medicine.

While he was away for approximately 55 minutes, Clancy took the three children to the basement and strangled them one after another with exercise resistance bands. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-storey bedroom window in an apparent suicide attempt. The fall left her paralysed from the waist down.

When Patrick returned, he found the house unusually quiet. He discovered blood in the master bedroom and an open window before finding his injured wife in the backyard.

On the 911 call later played in court, he can be heard speaking to her and then screaming after discovering the children: “She killed the kids!” according to court records reported by The Boston Globe.

Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead that night.

Callan was found in cardiac arrest, resuscitated and flown to Boston Children’s Hospital. Doctors determined he had no brain activity. He remained on life support until he was officially declared dead on Friday, 27 January 2023, at 11:18am after life support was withdrawn. He was eight months old, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and reports by the Associated Press.

Immediate aftermath

While partially intubated in hospital, Clancy wrote on a whiteboard: “Do I need an attorney?” Prosecutors later cited this as evidence that she understood what she had done.

Patrick initially publicly forgave his wife and urged compassion, describing her as a loving mother battling severe mental illness. The couple later divorced. Patrick has since remarried and co-founded a foundation in memory of the three children.

Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and related offences. She has been held at Tewksbury State Hospital, a psychiatric facility.

Defence and prosecution arguments

Clancy never denied killing her children. Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, the Massachusetts equivalent of an insanity defence.

The defence argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, which can cause hallucinations, delusions and command voices. Expert witnesses, including forensic psychiatrist Dr Philip Resnick, testified that she heard a male voice ordering her to kill the children and then herself, and that she felt controlled “like a puppet.”

Reddington said she had made repeated attempts to seek help but received inadequate treatment.

Prosecutors acknowledged her mental health problems but insisted that she remained criminally responsible. They pointed to evidence of planning — sending her husband out of the house, the methodical nature of the killings, and her later request for a lawyer. Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham told jurors that the evidence would show Clancy had deliberately killed her children.

The trial and mistrial

The trial began in July 2026 at Plymouth Superior Court and lasted about five weeks. More than 80 witnesses testified, including Patrick Clancy, relatives, medical experts and emergency responders. The jury heard the 911 call and crime-scene evidence.

After seven days of deliberations, the jury reported that it could not reach a unanimous verdict. Reports indicated an 11–1 split in favour of finding Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity.

On 4 September 2026, Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial, according to PUNCH Newspaper.

Clancy’s lawyer made an emergency appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court over the holdout juror, but it was denied.

What happens next

A mistrial means Clancy was neither convicted nor acquitted. The murder charges remain. She continues to be held at Tewksbury State Hospital.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz will decide whether to retry the case with a new jury, pursue a plea agreement or take another course. A status hearing is scheduled for later in September 2026.

Why the case matters

The Lindsay Clancy case has fuelled a wider debate in the United States and also Nigeria about postpartum mental health, psychiatric care for new mothers, the recognition of postpartum psychosis, and how the criminal justice system should treat parents who kill their children while experiencing severe mental illness.

Nepal held a national day of mourning on Monday for victims of devastating glacier flood as families of missing hydropower workers feared trapped in tunnels prayed rescuers might yet find them alive.

The August 26 glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border killed at least 1,398 people, with more than 5,500 missing, including around 800 foreigners.

Flags flew at half-mast, with candlelight vigils planned later in the day, as the nation marked the 13th day after the deaths, following Hindu mourning rituals.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three of them from deep inside tunnels — two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday — have buoyed hopes that more could still be alive.

Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said rescue efforts were continuing at “the same tempo” to make sure “that no one is still stranded”.

Entire communities have been swept away, with roads destroyed and homes demolished

Hope’ –

But families of some of the missing workers who gathered in the capital Kathmandu said the government must move faster.

“We have a lot of hope,” said Reena Amatya Shrestha, whose brother is among the missing.

“They say they are doing rescue. If the rescue is there, where’s the result? We need the result.”

Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, who is advising Nepali teams, said the operation presented an unprecedented challenge.

“We are facing something I have never faced before,” said Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, in a post on social media.

“Not one rescue, but multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved.”

Foreign experts, including from China, India and South Korea, are aiding Nepali teams in rescue efforts.

We are measured not only by the lives we save, but by the lives we refuse to abandon,” said Dix.

Drone pilot Adarsha Raj Bhusal recalled sinking into mud after leaping from a helicopter into the flood-ravaged Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa district days after the disaster.

“The moment I landed I sank into the mud up to my waist,” the 24-year-old told AFP on Monday in Nuwakot district.

“Other soldiers were there to help, but they were struggling just as much as I was. That’s how bad the conditions were… It was intense the entire way in.”

Despite the gloom, there have been remarkable tales of survival.

Chandika Shrestha, a 64-year-old Nepali woman, was pulled out alive from her mud-covered home in Bidur on Saturday.

Shrestha’s family had already held a symbolic funeral ceremony, believing her dead.

“Chandika has got a new life,” her neighbour Buddhi Lal Dongol told AFP. “It would be so good if the others who are missing also came back.”

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is accelerating glacial melting worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that has contributed little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, has said reconstruction could cost billions of dollars.

Its economy is already under pressure, with limited resources to respond to a disaster of this scale.

A UN preliminary assessment estimated building damage from Nepal’s floods at $158 million alone, warning that total losses — including damage to roads and bridges, agricultural land and humanitarian costs — would be far higher.

The disaster has come just ahead of the anniversary of last year’s September 8-9 mass anti-corruption protests that toppled the government.

Rescuers have retrieved 1,355 bodies in Nepal, while around 4,996 people are missing, according to the disaster agency.

On Monday, local volunteer groups in Kathmandu packed utensils, blankets and clothes to be distributed to survivors.

“As Nepalis, we’ve always been told that you look after your people,” volunteer Ashim GC told AFP.

“And these are our people.”

AFP

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lost her husband, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, who died on Monday while receiving treatment at a hospital in Zanzibar.

The death of Tanzania’s First Gentleman was officially announced by Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi, according to the BBC.

Ndejembi said Ameir had been suffering from a heart condition and died at 8 am local time on Monday at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar.

The Vice-President added that funeral arrangements were underway in Kizimkazi, a village on Zanziba

Ameir, an agricultural academic, largely kept a low public profile and rarely appeared alongside his wife at official events.

He became Tanzania’s first First Gentleman after Samia became president in March 2021.

The couple married in 1978, before Samia entered national politics, and had four children — three sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, is a politician and serves in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives.

Ruto: Samia has lost a lifelong companion

Kenyan President William Ruto expressed his condolences to Samia in a message posted on his X account on Monday.

Ruto said: “I have received with deep sorrow the news of the passing of Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of Her Excellency Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania,”

He added, “President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,”

Ruto also said: “Kenya stands with our Tanzanian brothers and sisters in this moment of grief,”

He further prayed for the bereaved family.

“May Almighty God comfort President Samia and her family, give them strength through this difficult time, and grant Hafidh Ameir Hassan eternal rest,” he concluded.

AU sends condolences

The African Union Commission Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, also expressed condolences to Samia, her family and the people of Tanzania in a readout published on the AU website on Monday, September 7.

AU statement said: “The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, conveys his deepest condolences to H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, her family, and the people of Tanzania on the passing of her husband, H.E. Hafidh Ameir Hassan.”

It added: “H.E. Mr Youssouf extends his profound sympathy to H.E. President Samia and her family during this difficult period and wishes them strength, courage and solace.”

The AU Chairperson concluded, “He prays for the peaceful repose of the departed soul. Inalilahi wainailehi rajiun.”

The UK Government has appointed Alastair Long as His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Africa, with a mandate to deepen economic ties and expand commercial partnerships between Britain and the continent.

The UK Department for Business and Trade welcomed Long to the position, according to a statement issued on Monday by the British Deputy High Commission.

The mission said Long would work with African governments, investors, businesses and institutions to strengthen economic relations between the UK and African countries.

It added that his responsibilities would include expanding commercial partnerships, supporting UK and African businesses, attracting investment and helping to build sustainable, resilient and productive economies across the continent.

Long returns to a region he knows well, having previously served as Deputy Trade Commissioner and then HMTC for Africa between 2019 and 2022.

“Before taking up his current position, he served as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain from August 2023,” the mission said.

Long said he was thrilled to resume his work in Africa.

He described Africa as the future, saying he had witnessed the continent’s “boundless energy and ambition” during his previous assignments.

“The UK is committed to being a partner that supports African and British growth by listening to African priorities and bringing the very best the UK has to offer.

“I look forward to engaging across the continent, with the UK business community, and with the UK Government team, to realise as many mutual opportunities as possible.”

Long succeeds John Humphrey, who had served as the UK Trade Commissioner for Africa since June 2022.

Humphrey said it had been a privilege to serve in the role and work with partners across the continent to strengthen UK-Africa relations.

He said the relationship was grounded in “delivery, trust and shared economic ambition”.

According to him, Africa remains central to the UK’s global outlook, with significant opportunities for commercially grounded collaboration and sustainable growth.

The British Deputy High Commission said Long inherited strong UK momentum in Africa and would bring extensive trade expertise to the role, as well as the focus and energy required to deepen partnerships and unlock further opportunities for mutual benefit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the HMTC leads the UK’s overseas efforts to promote trade, investment, export opportunities and trade policy objectives.

The Commissioner works closely with the wider diplomatic network and other government officials to coordinate Britain’s overseas efforts to promote UK trade and prosperity.

The office also has responsibility for the Department for Business and Trade’s work in Africa, including growing the overall trade and investment relationship, improving market access for British companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, and developing trade policy.

Long joined the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in 2002 and has held previous postings in the Middle East and North Africa.

He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge University, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

NAN

His proposal, which was immediately dismissed by the state’s governor, comes days after he signed an order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in the middle of a trade war with neighboring Canada.

“Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico… to NEW AMERICA,” the Republican president posted on social media. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”

The White House reposted an image showing the Mexico part of the state’s name crossed out and replaced with “America.”

Some US media reports said the idea originated as an internet hoax.

State governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told Fox News that the name “isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed.”

She said the president wanted to “distract Americans” from issues such as soaring gas prices.

Trump last week suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as “Trump Strait” as the war with Iran continues — then hours later implied he was not serious about the plan.

He renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on his first day back in the White House in 2025 in a move rejected by Mexico.

Canada has also rejected the attempt to rename Lake Ontario.

AFP

A 43-year-old Nigerian-British businessman and social media influencer, Igho Ubiribo, has died after undergoing a penis enlargement procedure during a holiday in Thailand.

According to the Daily Mail on Saturday , a UK coroner ruled that the cosmetic procedure caused a fatal pulmonary embolism.

Ubiribo, also known by the nicknames “Tiny”, “Denisi” and “Ego”, was reportedly on a luxury holiday in Bangkok with his wife, Danielle Simba Allen, when he decided to undergo the procedure.

The Daily Mail reported that 40 millilitres of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine were injected into Ubiribo’s penis at an unnamed clinic in Thailand in March.

Following the procedure, Ubiribo and his wife reportedly went for a massage at their Marriott hotel.

It was during the massage that he complained of chest pain and subsequently passed out twice.

He was taken by ambulance to Sukhumvit Hospital, where he was initially able to respond to questions.

According to evidence presented at an inquest at the Inner West London Coroners’ Court, Allen informed doctors that her husband had recently undergone penis filler injections.

Doctors suspected that Ubiribo had suffered a pulmonary embolism and recommended a CT scan.

However, he reportedly lost consciousness before the scan could be carried out.

He was subsequently transferred to an intensive care unit, where medical staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than 100 minutes in an attempt to revive him.

Ubiribo died in the early hours of March 6.

Postmortem findings

A postmortem examination conducted in the UK later found cellular material in Ubiribo’s lungs that was consistent with the hyaluronic acid used in the penis filler.

Pathologist John du Parcq told the inquest that the material found in Ubiribo’s lungs matched the substance used during the cosmetic procedure.

He said the finding was consistent with a pulmonary embolism and also matched the findings of a Thai autopsy.

The coroner, Jean Harkin, subsequently ruled that Ubiribo died from a pulmonary embolism caused by the cosmetic procedure.

A pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood vessel supplying the lungs becomes blocked. The condition can be life-threatening because it can suddenly restrict blood flow to the lungs and place severe strain on the heart.

Medical history

The Daily Mail reported that Ubiribo’s primary care doctor in London provided information about his medical history during the inquest.

He had previously undergone surgery on his joints and was described as pre-diabetic and suffering from gout.

However, the doctor reportedly indicated that he had no other significant medical conditions.

Penis fillers containing hyaluronic acid are used as a non-surgical method of increasing penis girth.

However, medical professionals have warned of potentially serious complications associated with injectable fillers.

The Daily Mail reported that such procedures can cost thousands of dollars and that the effects of hyaluronic acid fillers generally last several months before the material is gradually absorbed by the body.

Lavish lifestyle

Ubiribo was known for documenting his affluent lifestyle on social media and had about 185,000 followers on Instagram.

The businessman reportedly owned a home in Los Angeles valued at about $1.1m and an apartment in London worth about $600,000.

He married Allen, a fashion designer and socialite, in a lavish ceremony in Zimbabwe in 2022.

Following his death, Ubiribo was buried in London in a gold coffin, with reports putting its cost at more than $600,000.

Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido was among those who attended the funeral.

Davido, who was described as a childhood friend of Ubiribo, reportedly spoke at the funeral and expressed shock over his death.

He described Ubiribo as a man of great energy and presence, saying his death was difficult to accept.

The case has drawn renewed attention to the potential risks associated with cosmetic penis enlargement procedures involving injectable fillers.

While hyaluronic acid is widely used in cosmetic treatments, Ubiribo’s case demonstrates the potentially fatal complications that can arise from such procedures.

The coroner’s finding was based on evidence presented at the inquest that linked the material found in Ubiribo’s lungs to the hyaluronic acid used in the cosmetic procedure.

An American Airlines flight travelling from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark was diverted to Baltimore after a passenger allegedly became violent and had to be restrained and duct-taped to his seat.

The incident occurred about two hours into the flight on Thursday night, with witnesses saying the passenger’s behaviour suddenly escalated, creating chaos aboard the aircraft.

Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer who was on the flight, said the situation changed abruptly.

Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,” Mejia said.

He said he turned around and saw the passenger attacking the man seated beside him.

“I turned around to look, and the poor gentleman that was sitting next to him in the aisle seat, the individual had his hands around his neck and was, like, assaulting him,” he added.

Mejia and another passenger, Richard Olenick, who were seated two rows ahead, intervened to help restrain the man.

According to the witnesses, a flight attendant provided zip ties, which were used to restrain the passenger. Duct tape was also used to secure him to his seat.

A photograph shared by Olenick showed the passenger with several loops of duct tape around his wrists, torso and head.

The witnesses also alleged that the passenger verbally abused a flight attendant, including using a racial slur and making homophobic remarks, before his behaviour became violent.

The disruption forced the aircraft to divert to Baltimore, where law enforcement officers removed the passenger from the plane.

After the passenger was taken into custody, the flight continued its journey to Newark.

American Airlines, in a statement, said the safety of its passengers and crew remained its priority.

“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we do not tolerate violence,” the airline said.

“We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”

The FBI confirmed that the passenger was in custody on state charges while federal authorities investigate the incident.

“The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland to determine if federal charges will be filed,” the agency said.

Authorities had not released the suspect’s identity as of the time of the report.

Drivers formed long lines outside fuel stations in Baghdad on Saturday as gasoline supplies dropped in oil-rich Iraq due to import disruptions caused by the Middle East war.

Despite being OPEC’s second largest oil producer, Iraq imports oil derivatives because its refineries do not produce enough gasoline to meet domestic demand.

In recent weeks, as regional hostilities drag on, long queues have been reappearing every few days, mostly outside government-run fuel stations in Baghdad and other provinces.

Baghdad resident Ibrahim Hashem waited for two hours outside a fuel station on Friday without any luck, only to return early the next day hoping to fill his car.

It is unreasonable that we produce so many barrels of oil a day, yet still do not have enough gasoline to meet our daily needs,” Hashem told AFP outside a fuel station in central Baghdad.

“We already suffer from traffic congestion because of the roads and lack of services. Now, it has become worse due to the gasoline shortage,” he added.

Iraq’s average daily consumption of gasoline is 33 million litres, but demand rises to 38 million when people panic over shortages, according to authorities.

The oil ministry said Friday that “regional events and the ongoing conflict are causing logistical challenges to tanker traffic, delaying their arrival at Iraqi ports.”

It urged citizens to buy only the quantities they need and avoid crowding fuel stations for small amounts of gasoline.

Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair said on Friday that his ministry was addressing the “temporary shortage of gasoline” and that new shipments will arrive soon to help stabilise supplies.

Like other oil producers, Iraq has been greatly affected by the US-Iran conflict, which has choked off the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iraq is hugely dependent on oil exports, which make up about 90 percent of its budget revenues.

Before the war erupted in February, Iraq produced around four million barrels per day, and exported an average of 3.4 million bpd, mostly via Hormuz.

After a significant drop, Iraqi oil exports recovered to more than 2.2 million bpd in August, according to the oil ministry.

Last month, Iran’s state news agency IRNA said that over the past six months, Tehran has granted permission to “a number of Iraqi oil tankers” to pass through Hormuz.

AFP

About 50 members of the United States military’s Joint Staff have reportedly been subjected to polygraph tests as investigators intensify a probe into leaks of classified information to journalists, the New York Post reports on Saturday.

The tests were conducted in August and focused on military officers and civilian employees suspected of disclosing sensitive information, including details about US weapons stocks depleted by the war with Iran.

The investigation comes after several media reports revealed shortages of critical US munitions, including long-range missiles and Patriot air-defence interceptors.

The Joint Staff, which has between 1,500 and 2,000 personnel, coordinates military operations, policy and war plans with US combatant commanders around the world.

According to the New York Post, the scale of the polygraph exercise is unusual, with officials describing it as unprecedented among senior US military personnel in modern times.

Retired Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter, who served as the Navy’s top judge advocate general, said he had never encountered polygraph testing being used so extensively or at such a senior level.

“I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level. In my experience, it’s unprecedented,” Guter said.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that the department investigates leaks involving classified national security information but declined to discuss the specific probe.

He said the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”

“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” he added.

The leak investigation comes amid growing tension within the Pentagon over media reports concerning the US military’s performance in the Iran war and the depletion of weapons stocks.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded tougher action against those responsible for unauthorised disclosures.

He has also described some media reports critical of the war and US military preparedness as “treasonous.”

As reported by the BBC on Friday, the 30-year-old former England Under-21 international attacked Amie Mayson outside her home in Lambeth in December.

Croydon Magistrates’ Court heard that Ibe pulled a braid from Mayson’s head during an argument, leaving her with a bald patch.

Ibe had previously denied a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in March but later changed his plea to guilty.

Representing himself in court on Friday, Ibe said he had made “a serious mistake” and expressed remorse for his actions.

“I understand it is wrong. I am genuinely remorseful,” he told the court.

“I’ve had to look at myself in the mirror. I cannot change what I did but will take responsibility for what I do next.”

Magistrate Brij Kalia sentenced Ibe to a 12-month community order, which includes 80 hours of unpaid work and 27 days of rehabilitation activity.

He was also ordered to pay £764, including a £114 surcharge and £650 in court costs.

Ibe began his professional career at Wycombe Wanderers before moving to Liverpool. He later played for Bournemouth and earned international recognition with England’s Under-21 side.

The United Kingdom Government has changed its immigration rules to allow recognised victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker visas to leave exploitative employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status.

The UK Home Office announced the change on Thursday, saying the measure would prevent victims from being trapped with abusive employers because of their immigration status.

“No victim of modern slavery should be trapped with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status,” the Home Office said in a post shared on X.

It added, “From today, recognised victims on Skilled Worker visas can leave abusive employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status.

The change is contained in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules: HC 584, 3 September 2026, published by the UK Government on its website on Thursday.

According to the memorandum, the Skilled Worker route “exists to allow people to work in a specific, sponsored job,” while visa holders “cannot normally take up other work if they are not working in the job they were originally sponsored to do.”

The document said the new changes to Appendix Skilled Worker lift that restriction for Skilled Workers “who are identified by the Home Office Competent Authorities as victims of modern slavery.”

It added that those recognised victims would be allowed to “work for any employer for the remaining duration of their existing permission.”

The exemption therefore applies specifically to Skilled Worker visa holders who have been identified by the Home Office Competent Authorities as victims of modern slavery, according to the memorandum.

The government said the change was designed to encourage victims to report exploitation sooner, stating that it would “incentivise victims to come forward early.”

It also said the measure would “guard against those who seek to weaponise the sponsorship system in order to exploit vulnerable workers.”

The new provision took effect on September 3, 2026, and allows qualifying victims to work for another employer for the remainder of their existing immigration permission, according to the Home Office.

“I’m happy about it. I was not a fan,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office a week after the prince and his American wife moved back to Britain from their home in Montecito, California.

“I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way she acted. I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles.”

The A-list celebrity couple is now settling in back in Britain, six years after they left for the United States amid acrimony over their bitter criticisms of the royal family.

Harry appeared to have mended relations with his father, King Charles III, who is battling cancer, during more recent UK visits. But Harry reportedly remains estranged from his brother, heir-to-the-throne, Prince William, and William’s wife Catherine.

Trump, who has previously criticized actress Meghan on a number of occasions, said he wouldn’t have been so forgiving.

“Maybe I’m different. I wouldn’t have taken him back, right? If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back,” said Trump.

The Bolivian government announced Wednesday that it had placed state oil company YPFB under temporary supervision, citing problems with fuel imports and distribution amid a severe supply crisis.

Long lines of drivers queuing for scarce fuel have become a regular sight in Bolivia, where President Rodrigo Paz took power last November on a pledge to end the worst economic crisis in decades.

A government decree, dated Tuesday, orders YPFB’s “extraordinary, transparent and temporary” takeover to “protect the interests of the State.”

The measure could last for up to 180 days and also aims to evaluate how Bolivia currently imports and distributes fuel.

The president’s office said in a Facebook post Wednesday that the move would “restore efficiency, strengthen fuel supply and bring transparency to the logistics chain.”

A commission made up of several ministerial representatives will oversee the management of the state-owned enterprise.

Hydrocarbons Minister Marcelo Blanco acknowledged to reporters that “regular measures we had taken didn’t work” and attributed the fuel shortage to “logistical shortcomings in YPFB’s import and distribution” processes.

The Ministry of Hydrocarbons also announced that it intends to gradually strip YPFB of its role in fuel marketing so the state firm can focus on extraction, exploration and refining.

The government last week hiked diesel prices from 9.80 bolivianos (about 80 US cents) a litre to 18 bolivianos (US$1.50) in an effort to curb fuel smuggling to other countries, which it says is aggravating shortages.

Farmers angry at the decision blocked roads in the northeastern Beni department and Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s economic powerhouse.

The popular dissent tactic defied a state of emergency which Paz declared in June to take the wind out of massive protests against his administration.

The US-backed leader came to power after decades of socialist rule.

His attempts to salvage the economy, such as the scrapping of fuel subsidies in December, caused prices to double and have been unpopular in some circles.

The lack of fuel subsidies drained Bolivia’s foreign currency reserves instead of ending the long lines at gas stations, as Paz had promised.

Paz is currently in talks with international lenders over a multibillion-dollar bailout.

AFP

A 68-year-old British woman, Dawn Ottewell, has said she is struggling to locate her Nigerian husband, Bright Emokpae, 31, whom she married in 2022.

Ottewell, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, told the UK-based newspaper, The Sun, that she wanted to divorce Emokpae, whom she accused of leaving their home and blocking her on social media.

As reported by The Sun on Monday, the couple, who have a 37-year age difference, met on dating apps in 2021 before marrying at a registry office in Nicosia, Cyprus, on March 22, 2022.

Ottewell said Emokpae initially told her that he was a professional in his 30s named Brian Thomas, but later disclosed that he was a fashion student in his mid-20s from Benin City, Nigeria.

She said she forgave him and eventually travelled to Cyprus in March 2022, where they met in person for the first time and got married.

“I know I was a fool, but I was in love,” Ottewell said.

“I was so lonely and depressed during the pandemic. I was out-of-work with several health issues. I was on Universal Credit and living with my daughter Kirsty, 33, who had a 14-month-old baby, but we were arguing all the time.

When I met Bright, he made me feel special and alive.”

According to Ottewell, Emokpae later moved to Britain after obtaining a spouse visa, but their relationship deteriorated.

She alleged that he became distant and made frequent financial demands, including sending money to Nigeria.

“I got all-new furniture, and he didn’t put a penny towards it. When we went out for dinner, it was usually me picking up the bill,” she said.

The Sun reported that Emokpae denied the allegation, saying he contributed £400 towards his £900 flight from Nigeria and paid the council tax and water bills at their shared home.

The couple separated in October 2023 but reunited six months later after Ottewell received a £63,000 payout following a medical negligence claim related to a prolapse operation at an NHS hospital, according to The Sun.

Ottewell said she later regretted reconciling with him, alleging that he was interested in her money.

The relationship subsequently deteriorated again, and she said Emokpae left shortly before Christmas 2024 after finding messages she had exchanged with other men on dating apps.

Ottewell said she had not spoken to him since he blocked her on social media about eight months before The Sun’s report was published.

“He’s done a runner and is refusing to sign the divorce papers because I believe he wants to cling on to his spouse visa,” she said.

She also alleged that Emokpae could be living in Scotland, where she claimed he had started an online clothing business.

“I’m convinced he was never in love with me and just wanted a visa to move to England,” Ottewell said.

“And it’s because of his cherished spouse visa that he won’t agree to a divorce.”

Ottewell said she was receiving assistance from Citizens Advice as she tried to locate him and serve him with divorce papers.

“I just want him out of my life for good,” she said.

“I also want people to know that if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”

When approached by The Sun, Emokpae said he had signed the divorce papers but declined to provide evidence to support his claim.

The German government has ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and announced other measures against Moscow following what it described as a Russian “hybrid attack” involving drones at Leipzig Airport.

Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, announced the measures at a joint press conference with the country’s Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, on Tuesday.

Wadephul accused Russia of engaging in a series of activities aimed at destabilising and intimidating Germany and other European countries.

“The dangerous conduct of the Russian Federation described just now is part of a long series of attempts to destabilise, spread disinformation, threaten, sabotage and show aggression towards Europe,” Wadephul said in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Germany is no exception here. Russia’s leadership is treating our country with blatant hostility,” he added.

The minister, however, said Germany did not want its relations with Russia to deteriorate further, noting that the government had repeatedly called for an end to the war in Ukraine and the restoration of peace in Europe.

“However, this requires a minimum level of willingness to do so on the part of the Russians. We must acknowledge that Russia is displaying no willingness to compromise,” he said.

Wadephul said the attempted attack in Leipzig showed that the Russian leadership had made “a conscious decision to inflict further significant damage on our bilateral relations, which are already under tremendous strain.”

He said Germany would respond to the incident while working with its partners in NATO and the European Union.

“Germany remains secure, and Germany is defending itself against opponents who seek to spread insecurity,” Wadephul said.

“The Federal Government is therefore taking action against Russia as the perpetrator of the hybrid attack in Leipzig.”

Announcing the measures, the minister said the Russian Consulate General in Bonn would be closed from September 18.

“The lease for the Russian House in Berlin will be terminated,” he added.

Wadephul also said Germany would push for new European Union sanctions against Russian individuals allegedly linked to hybrid attacks.

He further announced measures to increase pressure on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, while promising continued intelligence and defence cooperation with Germany’s allies.

Wadephul said Germany would also maintain its support for Ukraine and strengthen its own defence capabilities.

The minister disclosed that Germany had summoned the Russian Ambassador over the incident, adding that the government’s response was aimed at ensuring that Russia could not undermine Germany’s security or social cohesion.

“Our message to Russia’s leadership is clear: we are resolutely staying the course as regards our security policy actions. The attack in Leipzig highlights how urgent this is,” he said.

“We will not allow ourselves to be divided in our social cohesion or be intimidated by Russia’s attacks.”

He added that Germany would continue to work with its allies whenever necessary to protect its citizens and partners.

He also reaffirmed Germany’s solidarity with Ukraine, saying, “We will resolutely continue to show our solidarity with Ukraine in its battle to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression.”

The UN has warned that the global response to Ebola must urgently outpace the virus as deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) approach 3,000.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said the outbreak was expanding faster than containment efforts, in spite of a significant scale-up by humanitarian agencies and Congolese authorities.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, or contaminated materials, making early detection and isolation critical to breaking transmission chains.

“The response is growing and has been scaled up, but the virus is moving faster,” Fletcher said.

And unless we scale up urgently, more lives will be lost and the threat will grow.”

DRC authorities had reported more than 6,100 confirmed cases and 2,950 deaths by Monday, with over 5,000 infections recorded in Ituri Province alone.

The figures underline the exceptional speed of the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, declared in DRC on May 15.

The current outbreak is spreading at a substantially faster rate than one of the deadliest Ebola emergencies previously recorded during the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic.

Fletcher said containing the epidemic would require sustained political commitment, unrestricted humanitarian access and significantly increased international financing.

“We have the experience, the tools and extraordinary people risking their lives to stop this epidemic. What we need now is political will, access and resources,,” he said.

The UN relief chief urged governments to ensure humanitarian workers could reach affected communities, particularly in areas where insecurity and weak infrastructure complicate response efforts.

He also called on the international community to keep Ebola high on the global agenda to prevent the virus from spreading further.

A funding shortfall of about 1.1 billion dollars remains, limiting the ability of humanitarian agencies to expand surveillance, treatment, community mobilisation and cross-border preparedness.

Fletcher said his agency has allocated more than 57 million dollars from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support response and preparedness efforts in DR Congo and neighbouring countries.

He said closing the funding gap and stopping further spread would ultimately depend on whether governments and international partners match technical capacity with political commitment.

The UN maintains that the tools to contain Ebola are already available, however, it warns that delayed financing, restricted access and insufficient coordination could allow transmission to outpace response efforts.

The World Health Organisation recently declared Uganda’s latest Ebola outbreak over following rapid detection, contact tracing, isolation, clinical care, infection prevention and strengthened surveillance.

“We have beaten Ebola before, and we can do it again,” Fletcher said.

The UN International Organization for Migration has, meanwhile, conducted nearly 23 million health screenings in DRC and neighbouring countries.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the “screenings were helping authorities monitor population movements, identify possible cases and reduce cross-border transmission risks.”

NAN

A UK-based Nigerian taxi driver, Kolawole Erunkulu, has been jailed for six years after falling asleep at the wheel and fatally hitting a man who had stopped in a lay-by for a break.

45-year-old Erunkulu from Bexleyheath, had driven for 53 hours over three days before the fatal crash, with his longest break being seven hours.

The crash occurred on August 17, 2025, when Erunkulu’s Audi veered off the road and struck 59-year-old Philip Dray, who was getting into his Volkswagen after stopping in a lay-by.

According to LBC News on Tuesday, footage from inside Erunkulu’s vehicle showed him experiencing a microsleep shortly before the crash. His car then swerved off the road and struck Dray before continuing for about 10 seconds.

Erunkulu had worked as a taxi driver for about 12 hours with only short breaks before the collision.

He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in June 2026.

Erunkulu was sentenced to six years in prison and disqualified from driving for eight years. He will also be required to undergo an extended driving test if he applies for a new licence.

Sentencing him, Her Honour Judge Lees said the footage showed that Erunkulu was extremely tired and should have stopped driving.

“The footage shows the defendant was extremely tired and, in my view, has continued to drive when he must have known that. He was driving commercially,” she said.

“Even though he didn’t have a passenger, he could have done and has driven in that state. All of this could have been stopped had he have slept.”

Acting Detective Inspector Rob Baldwin of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said the case highlighted the dangers of driving while fatigued.

“This case sadly highlights the very real dangers of driving while fatigued. Mr Erunkulu had worked long hours with insufficient rest over the preceding days, accumulating a sleep debt,” he said.

Fatigue can seriously impair a driver’s ability to remain alert and react safely, particularly during the early hours of the morning when the natural drive to sleep is at its strongest. Anyone who feels tired should not continue driving, as the consequences can be devastating.”

A microsleep can last only a few seconds, but during that period, the brain may fail to process information, according to LBC News

Dray’s family described him as “an amazing partner and man” who was dependable and steady.

His sister said he lived quietly but cared deeply about others and treated people with respect.

“He never sought attention and lived his life quietly, but he cared deeply about others and treated people with respect and decency. He was simply a good man,” she said.

She said Dray had spent his life as a careful and conscientious driver, ensuring the safety of his passengers and other road users.

“The fact that he, someone who worked every day to keep others safe, had his life taken in such a way makes this loss even more incomprehensible and tragic,” she said.

Dray’s partner described him as a “sweet, gentle, and caring man” and “the one who was always there to give me a hug.”

“Phil was my partner and my soulmate,” she said, adding that his death had left “an enormous emotional and physical void”

She said Dray would call her several times a day whenever he was waiting for a client or having lunch to ask how her day was going.

“He would ring me several times a day whenever he was waiting for a client or at lunch, just to see how my day was going. I miss those calls very much,” she said

A Philippine couple tied the knot on Tuesday at a Catholic church swamped in hip-deep waters, as heavy rains have pummeled large parts of the country for a month.

Clutching a bouquet of white blooms and clad in an off-shoulder white gown, Leian Lieza Galang gingerly waded into the murky brown floodwaters inside the Saint John the Baptist church in Hagonoy town, north of Manila, to wed Gilbert Chico.

“We were in complete uniform. We did not mind that our gown and coat got soaked,” the groom told AFP.

The parish priest declared the couple, both in their 30s, husband and wife at an abbreviated late-morning ceremony, said wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso.

The parish had advised them to postpone the wedding due to the rising floodwaters from upstream. It was their decision to proceed,” Alfonso told AFP, adding the church had been partially underwater for nearly a month.

“Since they wanted to see it through, we the servants of the parish did the best we could to make this a special day for them.”

Heavier-than-usual seasonal monsoon rains pounded the northern third of the mainly Catholic archipelago in August, with resulting landslides and flash floods killing 34 people, according to the latest official tally.

They love each other. Nothing could stop their union,” Alfonso said.

A video clip of the wedding posted on the parish’s Facebook page showed the bride being hugged by her parents in front of empty pews adorned with plastic flower bouquets.

One photo showed a boy holding the wedding rings walking down the aisle — with floodwater up to his waist.

The bride and groom arrived together aboard a rickshaw with an elevated chassis, keeping their clothes pristine before they got off at the church courtyard, Chico said.

To allow the bride to safely navigate the floodwaters, she had to “have her wedding gown altered to shorten the train”, Alfonso said.

Fewer than 15 people were in attendance, he added.

Chico, who works as a rigger in the Middle East, said the wedding was originally planned for December.

An ankle injury during a recreational game of basketball, however, forced him to come home for vacation earlier than planned. He used the downtime to hold the wedding before returning to work.

AFP

The United States government has outlined two main family-based immigrant visa categories for foreign nationals seeking to live permanently in the country through qualifying family relationships.

The two types are Immediate Relative visas and Family Preference visas.

To qualify, the US Department of State said foreign citizens must obtain an immigrant visa and meet the specific requirements for their category.

This was contained in the department’s September 2026 Visa Bulletin obtained from its website on Tuesday.

The Immediate Relative category covers spouses of US citizens, unmarried children under 21 of US citizens, and parents of US citizens who are at least 21 years old.

Immediate Relative visas are not subject to an annual numerical limit.

The Family Preference category covers certain family relationships with US citizens and lawful permanent residents, commonly known as green-card holders.

The department said the category includes unmarried sons and daughters aged 21 or older of US citizens, spouses and unmarried children of lawful permanent residents, married sons and daughters of US citizens, and brothers and sisters of adult US citizens.

Unlike Immediate Relative visas, Family Preference visas are subject to annual numerical limits, meaning eligible applicants may have to wait for a visa to become available.

The State Department’s September 2026 Visa Bulletin confirms that family-sponsored preference visas remain subject to these limits and priority dates.

The fiscal year 2026 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants is 226,000.

The bulletin states: “The fiscal year 2026 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000.”

It lists “five family-sponsored preference categories: F1 for unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens; F2A for spouses and children of permanent residents; F2B for unmarried sons and daughters aged 21 or older of permanent residents; F3 for married sons and daughters of US citizens; and F4 for brothers and sisters of adult US citizens.”

For September, the bulletin lists “the final action date for F1 applicants from all chargeability areas except those separately listed as January 22, 2020. The F2A final action date is August 22, 2026, while F2B is August 22, 2019.”

The final action date for F3 is October 22, 2014, while F4 is October 22, 2011, for the same group of chargeability areas.

The bulletin provides separate dates for applicants chargeable to China, India, Mexico and the Philippines because of country-specific visa limits and demand.

For Nigerians seeking to relocate to the US through family sponsorship, the distinction between the two categories is important because Immediate Relative visas are not subject to the annual numerical cap, while Family Preference visas are.

The bulletin also notes that visa availability may change during the fiscal year and that retrogression may become necessary if demand increases or annual limits are reached.

Britain’s former prime minister Keir Starmer, who stepped down as leader this summer after a tumultuous two years in power, announced Tuesday he would quit parliament to focus on “international affairs”.

In a statement on social media, Starmer said it was the “right time” to resign as the MP for the Holborn and St Pancras seat in London after 11 years, triggering a by-election.

“It is now time to step aside and focus on other issues: international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world,” Starmer said in his statement.

His constituency’s local newspaper, the Camden New Journal, reported Starmer had informed the Labour party of his decision to leave parliament after 11 years, six of those as leader of the party.

Andy Burnham was parachuted into the prime minister role in July to take over from Starmer, who announced his resignation amid piling pressure from fellow Labour MPs.

Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, is credited with reviving the centre-left Labour party, helping it win a landslide victory in general elections in 2024.

But the straitlaced politician was deeply unpopular during his two years in power, and eventually had to step down after multiple missteps, making way for the next leader in Britain’s churn of prime ministers.

AFP

A former Los Angeles gang member, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, was found guilty on Monday by a Las Vegas court of the 1996 murder of chart-topping rapper Tupac Shakur.

Thirty years after the rap legend’s death, the jury found Davis, 63, guilty of murder after just a few hours of deliberation.

Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon,” the foreperson of the jury announced to the court.

Davis, who faces possible life in prison without parole, addressed Judge Carli Kierny after the verdict was announced and stated his intention to appeal

The one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips was accused of ordering the September 7, 1996 killing of the hip-hop artist after his own nephew had been beaten by members of Shakur’s entourage at a Las Vegas casino.

“Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand,” prosecutor Binu Palal said during closing arguments. “So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr Shakur.”

Shakur, who was in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson heavyweight fight, was shot about two hours after the casino confrontation by a gunman in a white Cadillac that pulled up at a red light alongside the BMW in which the rapper was riding in the front passenger seat.

According to prosecutors, Davis handed the gun to someone sitting in the back seat of the Cadillac and ordered that person to shoot Shakur, who died six days later.

Davis is the only person who was in the Cadillac that evening who is still alive.

The driver of the BMW, Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, was wounded.

The killing of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, has been one of America’s most celebrated cold cases, prompting endless debate among music fans over who did it and why.

Davis, whose Crips were one of a patchwork of rival gangs that ran parts of Los Angeles in the 1990s, is the only person to have been charged in connection with the shooting of Shakur.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 13.

Confession

The investigation into Shakur’s murder sputtered for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the case was revived when Davis’s memoirs were published in 2019.

Davis has repeatedly boasted over the years of involvement in Shakur’s murder — in interviews with law enforcement and media and ultimately in his autobiography, “Compton Street Legend.”

He has since backtracked and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Palal, the prosecutor, played clips from Davis’s various alleged confessions as part of his closing arguments.

Michael Sanft, Davis’s defense attorney, characterized his client’s confessions as fiction and lies partly designed to promote his book

You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact,” Sanft told the jury. “But the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession, that he was there and present at the time of the shooting.”

Sanft said there was no evidence implicating Davis in Shakur’s murder other than his own statements.

In the run-up to the trial, Davis’s lawyers tried in vain to keep the book from being introduced as evidence, along with remarks he made in an interview with police in 2008.

Shakur, who was 25 when he died, was a key figure in a hip-hop rivalry pitting the US East Coast against the West Coast.

Known for hits like “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me,” Shakur — the son of a Black Panther — was raised in Harlem and Baltimore, but quickly became the epitome of California hip hop when he signed with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records.

AFP

A Nigerian national has been sentenced to eight years in a United States federal prison for carrying out a business email compromise scam that defrauded two charitable organisations of more than $7.5 million.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang sentenced 32-year-old Olusegun Adejorin to 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he was convicted of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and unauthorised access to a protected computer to obtain information.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) extradited Adejorin from Ghana to the United States in August 2024 to face trial.

Following a six-day trial in December 2025, a federal jury found him guilty on all charges.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence alongside Jimmy Paul, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office.

According to evidence presented during the trial, Adejorin carried out the fraud scheme between June and August 2020, targeting two charitable organisations — one based in Maryland and another in New York.

The Maryland organisation provided investment services to other organisations, while the New York-based charity was the victim of the fraudulent transactions.

Prosecutors said Adejorin gained unauthorised access to employees’ email accounts and impersonated them to initiate and approve financial transactions.

As part of the scheme, he registered spoofed domain names that allowed him to impersonate employees of the New York charity and request withdrawals of the organisation’s funds from the Maryland charity.

He also gained fraudulent access to email accounts belonging to employees of the Maryland organisation and used them to send messages falsely confirming the withdrawal requests made in the New York charity’s name

The scheme ultimately resulted in more than $7.5 million belonging to the New York charity being transferred from the Maryland organisation to bank accounts that were not associated with the intended recipient.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office commended the FBI Baltimore Field Office for investigating the case, as well as authorities in Ghana, including the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, and the National Intelligence Bureau.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Ghanaian authorities to secure Adejorin’s extradition to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and Darren Gardner prosecuted the case.

The Middle East war has flared again for the first time in a month, with American strikes on Iran prompting retaliation from Tehran on Monday.

Here are the latest developments:

– Iran attacks Jordan, UAE –

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Monday they attacked two US military air bases with ballistic missiles in Washington-allied Jordan, causing “heavy damage,” state media reported.

Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin.

Iran said later it had targeted US military personnel at an air base in the United Arab Emirates.

– US strikes Iran –

The United States said Sunday it had carried out air strikes on Iranian rocket launchers on a small island in the Strait of Hormuz, its first attacks on Iran since late July.

“Earlier today, US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz,” US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said in a message to AFP.

– Iran president to meet Putin, Xi –

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian was due to take part in a summit starting Monday of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that seeks to be a counterinfluence to the West.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin is expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Pezeshkian and China’s Xi Jinping, among other leaders, Kremlin spokesman Yuri Ushakov said.

– US to pressure Iran at G20 –

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts this week, a US official said Thursday, in a gathering clouded by war and trade tensions.

Bessent has laid out plans to isolate Iran economically, widening secondary sanctions threats and warning of dire consequences for countries that fail to join the campaign.

– Iran supreme leader calls for unity –

Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called on Muslim countries in the region to unite against the United States and Israel, in a written message issued six months on from the start of the Middle East war.

Khamenei, who took power after his father Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war, has yet to be seen in public since his appointment, and authorities have not released any video or audio of him.

– UAE inspects Egyptian bank’s branches –

The central bank of the United Arab Emirates said Saturday it would inspect a major state-owned Egyptian bank’s branches, after Washington said it would cut off the institution’s operations in the Gulf state from the US financial system as it tries to choke Iran off economically.

For Banque Misr branches in the UAE, the Central Bank has decided to conduct a special and urgent examination that includes a forensic/in-depth lookback covering the period referred to in the statement issued by the US authorities,” it said in a statement.

AFP

Rescuers in Nepal and China were still battling Saturday to locate thousands of people missing days after a deadly, tsunami-like wall of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing villages.

The number of missing soared close to 3,000 Saturday, latest figures from both countries showed, with 633 bodies recovered – and reports of some dead possibly swept downstream as far away as India.

In an area home to vast energy infrastructure projects, Nepal’s disaster authority added 933 hydropower workers to a missing persons list already including trekkers and pilgrims to Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.

Those that made it out say they have lost everything and now face an agonising wait to discover the fate of missing loved ones, and the prospect of rebuilding their lives from nothing.

“All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left,” survivor Buddhi Ram Dangol told AFP.

Samjhana Thing said she had been waiting three days for news of her missing brother.

“We don’t know anything. Hopefully he is in a safe place,” she said.

‘Enormous’ trauma

The trauma of Wednesday’s catastrophe has been “enormous”, and as many as 93,000 people may have been affected, the Red Cross said, with the death toll expected to rise.

Emergency teams had been racing to retrieve survivors from affected zones, where the widespread devastation meant food and water supplies were running out.

Compounding the search for the missing have been fears of further flooding in affected areas.

The deluge of ice and mud caused huge lakes to form, and one of these formations has become a direct threat to emergency workers scouring the region for survivors.

Nepali police urged all rescuers to “immediately move to a safe location”, saying they had received information that “a water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side”.

In Tibet, where Chinese authorities are the only source of information, Beijing suspended its rescue operation at the hardest-hit area of Gyirong over the risk of renewed flooding, before saying the threat had eased.

State news agency Xinhua reported early Saturday morning that two villagers had been rescued in the area.

‘All swept away’

On the Nepali side of the border, the military located people trapped in the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydropower project, where they were working to find a way in to extract the survivors.

Two helicopters have been dispatched, but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel,” army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP.

Some 350 workers and residents have been brought to safety from the site, he added, but efforts were ongoing to rescue more than a hundred trapped in the same area.

Workers rescued from other dam projects along the Trishuli valley described a disaster that unfolded with terrifying speed.

Buddha Tamang told AFP he survived only because he was inside a tunnel at the dam where he worked when the flood struck.

“The senior officers working on the other side, they were all swept away,” Tamang, who was airlifted on Thursday after being marooned for more than 24 hours, told AFP.

Nepal reported a death toll of 626 people on Saturday.

There are 2,426 people, including hundreds of foreigners, who are out of contact in Nepal.

Across the border in Tibet, which is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists — seven people died and 554 remain missing, the state Xinhua news agency reported early Saturday.

Authorities also said they had evacuated 555 stranded tourists and 499 Chinese residents from Tibet.

In India, authorities said they had recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be flood victims.

Pilgrimage route

Scores of Hindu devotees from across the world are among those missing on the border, as many were on a pilgrimage to Tibet’s Mount Kailash.

Sivaranjani Muthunathan was travelling by bus with 56 others towards the Chinese border when they became stuck in what they thought was a traffic jam.

“Then there was fog, smoke, something that seemed to suddenly engulf us,” Muthunathan, 46, told AFP on Friday, showing a phone video she recorded of a torrent surging towards her.

Around them, vehicles were swept away or buried under mud.

“One by one, we also climbed out through the driver’s side,” then scrambled up a hill, she said

  Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez assured the public on Saturday that Venezuela retains control of its oil under a new agreement that allows the United States significant access to it.

The United States will have majority control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven reserves in what President Donald Trump described Friday as “the biggest oil deal in world history.”

“One thing must be absolutely clear: Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources,” Rodriguez said in a speech on state television.

The agreement with the United States aims to turn “cold, inert” resources underground to “a source of social and economic well-being for the people of Venezuela,” she said.

Caracas says the deal involves $`100 billion in private investment aimed at revitalizing the industry in a country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

But a lack of transparency is raising concerns among Venezuelans, including supporters of the government. A flood of social media comments decried loss of sovereignty, meager benefits and political costs.

“We don’t know who this will benefit — whether it’s Venezuela or (the United States),” said Jesus Salazar, a 68-year-old security guard.

I have my doubts, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Venezuela’s government has operated under intense pressure from the Trump administration since American forces ousted and captured long-time ruler Nicolas Maduro in January.

Washington allowed Rodriguez, his vice president, to stay on as interim leader so long as she toes Washington’s line.

Venezuela’s ruling party said Saturday it supports economic measures that “prioritize national interests and make it possible to overcome the impact of more than a decade of economic sanctions, unilateral coercive measures, and unjust blockades.”

The party consistently blames US sanctions for the collapse of Venezuela’s economy.

• Petrol and poverty –

Rodriguez has pushed through reforms in Venezuela’s mining and petroleum industries, opening once tightly controlled sectors to private capital and foreign investment.

Washington, for its part, has eased sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil sector under the Maduro government

Oil production rose by 29.8 percent between January and July, reaching 1.2 million barrels per day — still well below the three million barrels per day produced a quarter of a century ago.

The US deal aims to restore production to those levels, but analysts agree it would take time.

“The increase in production won’t be seen for at least three or four years,” said engineer Oswaldo Felizzola, a professor at the Institute of Higher Studies in Administration (IESA) in Caracas.

He welcomed the United States acting as a “guarantor” for investments in Venezuela, which has failed to attract significant capital for more than a decade.

“Without this, these fields would not be developed over the next 10 or 15 years,” because state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) “does not have the financial resources to do so.”

An initiative of this magnitude could accelerate long-awaited economic recovery in Venezuela, a country still reeling from the brutal 80 percent contraction between 2014 and 2021 that plunged millions of Venezuelans into poverty.

Many survive on a monthly minimum wage equivalent to `$0.16, plus government subsidies that can reach $240 per month — still far short of the estimated $730 needed to buy basic food necessities for a family of five.

• Doubt and optimism –

Carlos Baco, a 74-year-old government employee, hopes oil revenues will start flowing under the new deal, but said he hasn’t felt the effects of the increase in oil production over the past few months.

“Consumer goods and food are more expensive… the dollar is rising and prices are going up,” he said. “It’s impossible here.”

Rodriguez has promised more than $204 billion in tax revenue from the deal, without providing details.

For analyst Elias Ferrer of the Orinoco think tank, the investment is good news, even without specifics.

“It’s undoubtedly better than before. Before, this oil wasn’t being extracted; if no one extracts it, no one pays royalties, and no one profits from it,” he said.

If everything is done correctly… this will be a great opportunity for Venezuela to see its oil sector revived,” said attorney Dolores Dobarro, Venezuela’s former deputy minister of energy.

AFP

Real Madrid coach José Mourinho has questioned the criteria for awarding the Ballon d’Or, arguing that the prize should not be given to a player simply because he won the Champions League or World Cup.

Mourinho, speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s LaLiga clash against Málaga, said the award should go to a player whose impact on the game would be remembered long after retirement.

“It’s a very beautiful individual achievement that enters the individual history of a particular player. And I think it’s normal for there to be candidates—there aren’t many, about a dozen top-level players, among whom we have three or four. It’s natural for it to be an ambition.

“For me, the Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they stop playing, we miss them for eternity. I miss Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Messi, Zizou, Lothar Matthäus… I miss these players,” Mourinho said in a pre-match conference statement on the club website on Saturday.

The Portuguese coach said winning major team trophies should not automatically be the deciding factor in determining the world’s best player.

“You can’t give the Ballon d’Or to a player just because he won the Champions or the World Cup,” he said.

If you want to reward the Champions League, then give the Ballon d’Or to Luis Enrique. The Ballon d’Or for managers, to represent the team. Or to the Spanish national team—surely coach De la Fuente deserves the Ballon d’Or for managers. That is the great tribute to a team that enters history.”

Mourinho maintained that recognising the best individual player was a separate consideration.

“But being the best player in the world is another thing. And he doesn’t necessarily have to be from Paris Saint-Germain or the Spanish national team. The best player in the world is among two, three, or four, and we know who they are and where they are. And they’re here. And we know who, individually, made history this summer.”

He also suggested that factors beyond football could influence the outcome of the award.

“Then, the Ballon d’Or may also have some political aspects to it. And when politics come into play, I don’t like it as much.

“But you already know my view of the Ballon d’Or, and we’re not going to reinvent it now with the Spanish national team or Paris Saint-Germain. Player? That’s something else,” the Portuguese coach concluded.

Thirty-six Nigerians have been deported from four European countries in a joint operation that saw 41 people flown to Nigeria and Ghana.

According to Austrian news outlet, Heute.at, three Nigerians were deported from Austria, 29 from Germany, two from Luxembourg and one from Hungary. The deportees were flown on a charter flight between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with Lagos, Nigeria, and Accra, Ghana, listed as the destinations.

Diaspora Tales learnt that Germany organised the joint deportation operation, which was supported by Austria, Luxembourg and Hungary.

According to the report, 35 deportees were on board the flight from Germany, comprising 29 Nigerians, five Ghanaians and one Gambian.

One of the three Nigerians deported from Austria had previously been convicted of drug-related offences.

Meanwhile, Austria’s Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, stressed the government’s determination to sustain its deportation policy against illegal residents and criminal offenders in the country.

“The negative net migration is being continued through a consistent deportation policy. Never before have so many illegal residents and criminal offenders been removed from the country by Austrian authorities as in the first half of this year. We will continue on this necessary path undeterred,” Karner said.

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, will begin charging businesses for certain messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026.

Meta disclosed the pricing change in a WhatsApp Business Platform pricing update in July 2026, stating that charges for service messages would resume from October 1, 2026.

The new charges will affect companies using the official WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer conversations at scale.

Banks, fintechs, e-commerce companies, telecoms operators, logistics firms and large retailers that rely on the platform for customer service and transactional communication are among those that could be affected.

However, the development will not affect ordinary WhatsApp users or most small businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app on their phones.

Under the current system, when a customer sends a message to a business, a 24-hour customer service window opens. During that period, businesses can respond with free-form service messages and certain utility messages without paying Meta.

However, from October 1, Meta will begin charging businesses on a per-message basis for service messages sent during the customer service window.

Meta, in its developer documentation, said, “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for all service messages, consistent with how Meta charges for template messages. These messages have not been charged since November 1, 2024.”

The company added, “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for utility messages sent in response to users (within an open 24-hour customer service window). These messages have not been charged since July 1, 2025.”

Utility messages include communications such as payment confirmations, order updates and delivery notifications.

Meta also warned businesses and Solution Providers about the need to add a payment method ahead of the new charges.

It said, “For any Solution Provider or directly-integrated businesses that does not have a payment method on file by September 30, 2026, Meta will stop delivering service messages as of when they become charged on October 1, 2026.”

For Nigerian businesses, a chargeable utility or service message is expected to cost about $0.0101 per message, equivalent to roughly ₦14 based on an exchange rate of about ₦1,340 to the dollar.

Marketing messages are considerably more expensive, at about $0.062 per message, or approximately ₦84 at the same exchange rate.

The charges are Meta’s fees and do not necessarily represent the total amount a business will pay. Companies using Business Solution Providers or third-party platforms to access the WhatsApp Business Platform may incur additional provider charges.

For example, a Nigerian fintech sending 500,000 chargeable utility or service messages at $0.0101 per message would incur about $5,050 in Meta messaging fees alone.

At an exchange rate of about ₦1,340 to the dollar, that amounts to approximately ₦6.8m, before any additional provider charges.

Although the cost of an individual message appears relatively small, the financial impact could become significant for businesses sending hundreds of thousands or millions of messages each month.

WhatsApp has become an important communication channel for Nigerian businesses, with banks and fintechs using the platform for customer support and transaction-related communication, while e-commerce, logistics and retail companies use it for order updates, delivery notifications and other customer interactions.

Meta has been gradually changing its WhatsApp Business pricing structure, with the company moving business messaging towards a per-message pricing model.

From October 1, 2026, previously free service messages and qualifying utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer service window will become chargeable on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

The development means Nigerian companies that depend heavily on WhatsApp for customer service and transactional communication will have to factor the new per-message charges into their operating costs from October.

UK ministers have been told they can follow their conscience when deciding whether terminally ill adults should be allowed to seek assisted death, as the government steps aside from one of the country’s most emotionally charged ethical debates.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said ministers would be free to “vote, or abstain, however they wish” on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would enable assisted dying in England and Wales.

This is as the government says it has also suspended collective responsibility for ministers over a proposed assisted-dying law, allowing members of the Cabinet to vote or abstain according to their personal views on the issue.

In a personal minute circulated to all government ministers, on Friday, Burnham said the decision followed the reintroduction of the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to enable assisted dying in England and Wales.”

Burnham described the legislation as “an incredibly important and deeply personal issue” on which ministers could legitimately hold different views.

“As is long-standing convention for such issues of conscience, I have set aside collective responsibility on the Bill and on the question of whether assisted dying should be permitted,” he said.

“That means Ministers can vote, or abstain, however they wish.”

The Prime Minister said the Government would remain neutral on both the principle of assisted dying and the progress of the Bill through Parliament.

“The Government will remain neutral on the question of assisted dying and on the passage of the Bill,” he said.

He added that the Government would continue to fulfil its responsibilities towards the statute book and would ensure that any change to the law approved by Parliament could be effectively implemented.

Treat opposing views with respect

Burnham acknowledged that ministers would approach the issue from different personal experiences and urged them to treat opposing views with respect.

“We will all bring different life experiences to this debate, and I know the decisions Ministers come to will weigh heavily on them,” he said.

“As such, everyone must be given the space to arrive at their own view, and it is vital that those different views are treated with dignity and respect.”

Ministers told to stay out of public campaign

The Prime Minister also instructed ministers to avoid using their government positions to influence the wider public debate over the legislation.

He said members of the Government should be able to reach their decisions without feeling that the administration was attempting to influence Parliament.

“At the despatch box, I ask that Ministers reiterate that this is a question for Parliament, on which the official Government position is to remain neutral,” Burnham said.

He said the same approach should apply outside Parliament, including when ministers engage with traditional and social media.

However, ministers would not be required to withdraw views they had previously expressed on assisted dying.

“Of course, Ministers do not need to resile from their previously stated view when directly asked about them and can correspond with constituents about their previous position,” Burnham said.

He nevertheless urged them to avoid becoming active participants in the public debate or expressing views about the implications of the Bill for their individual departmental responsibilities.

Relaxation of collective responsibility

Burnham stressed that the relaxation of collective responsibility was exceptional and limited specifically to the assisted-dying question.

“As you will be aware, this is an exceptional arrangement, which applies only to the question of whether, and how, Parliament should legislate on the issue of assisted dying.

“Collective responsibility will apply as usual across the rest of Government business,” he said.

He added that if Parliament voted to change the law, it would become Government policy to implement the change.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would therefore be debated against the backdrop of an officially neutral Government, with ministers permitted to support, oppose or abstain from votes based on their individual convictions.

As reported by the Economic Times on Thursday, under the revised framework, businesses that have been operating for less than two years can obtain up to five work visas, while companies that have been operating for more than two years can obtain as many as 50 visas.

The changes are expected to affect foreign workers seeking employment in Saudi Arabia, particularly those relying on smaller or recently established companies for sponsorship.

Businesses participating in the Establishing Programme are subject to a separate set of rules. Such companies begin with a quota of two work visas, with the quota increasing as they progress through the programme and achieve a higher Nitaqat classification.

Nitaqat is Saudi Arabia’s system for categorising employers based on the composition of their workforce and their employment of Saudi nationals.

The new limits represent a significant change from the previous framework, which did not impose specific visa caps based on how long a business had been operating.

Under the revised rules:

Businesses operating for less than two years can obtain up to five work visas, compared with no specific cap under the previous framework.

Businesses operating for more than two years can obtain up to 50 work visas, either through a single application or multiple applications submitted within the same week.

Businesses in the Establishing Programme begin with a quota of two work visas. The quota can increase as the company progresses through the programme and achieves a higher Nitaqat classification.

The distinction could be particularly important for foreign workers considering employment with smaller Saudi businesses. A company that has been operating for only a short period will have considerably less capacity to recruit workers from abroad than an established employer.

By contrast, companies that have passed the two-year threshold can access a substantially larger pool of work visas, giving them greater flexibility in overseas recruitment.

The changes could also become an important consideration for workers from countries such as India, which has a large population of nationals seeking employment opportunities in the Gulf.

Prospective employees may therefore need to look beyond salary, job title and employer reputation when assessing a Saudi job offer. The sponsoring company’s operating history and Nitaqat status could determine whether it has sufficient visa capacity to complete the recruitment process.

The revised framework also points to a broader effort by Saudi authorities to link access to foreign labour with the development and workforce classification of businesses.

Rather than applying the same visa framework to all employers, the new system gives established companies greater capacity while placing tighter limits on newer enterprises.

For employers, the quotas could make workforce planning more important, particularly for businesses that rely heavily on overseas recruitment during their early years.

For prospective foreign workers, the changes underscore the need to verify an employer’s eligibility and available visa quota before paying recruitment fees or committing to the Saudi employment process.

China paused a rescue operation on Friday citing the high risk of renewed flooding in Tibet, where hundreds remain missing two days after a deadly mudslide, state media said.

A lake formed by immense piles of debris after a mudslide hit the China-Nepal border has begun overflowing towards the area that rescue teams were headed, state broadcaster CCTV said.

“All rescue teams have been ordered to stand by in place and wait for further instructions,” it said.

Emergency teams which had earlier accessed the area “have been ordered to withdraw one kilometre (0.6 miles)”, the broadcaster added.

The lake formed after a wall of mud and debris hit the border hub of Gyirong in Tibet on Wednesday, with hundreds reported missing.

CCTV said water levels at the lake were expected to rise over the next three days due to continued rainfall, peaking around September 1.

This increases “the risk of a breach that could send floodwaters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream”, state news agency Xinhua reported late Thursday.

Emergency engineering teams were closely monitoring the situation, said CCTV.

CCTV said that 499 Chinese nationals and 555 foreigners had been transported out of the disaster zone as of Friday.

Rescue workers are using drone-based 3D modelling and thermal imaging detection, as well as manual searches, to locate those still missing, said CCTV.

AFP

Canada has highlighted eight important steps prospective international students should take before moving to the country for their studies.

The guidance, published by CIC News and shared on CanadaVisa’s X account on Thursday, noted that moving to Canada as an international student involves more than securing admission and booking a flight, as students need to make adequate preparations before departure.

The first step is to accept an offer of admission from a Canadian institution.

International students typically need a letter of acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution before applying for a study permit.

Students are also advised to apply for a Canadian study permit as early as possible.

Most international students planning to study in Canada for more than six months require a study permit.

Applicants may be required to provide information relating to their studies, finances and identity, as well as other supporting documents, depending on their circumstances.

The third step involves preparing a travel and document checklist.

Students should keep important documents, including a valid passport, letter of acceptance, study permit approval documents, proof of funds and health insurance information, readily accessible.

They are also advised to keep both physical and digital copies of important records

The fourth step is understanding health insurance options. Coverage for international students varies across Canadian provinces and territories, with some students eligible for public health insurance while others may need private coverage or a school-sponsored health plan.

Students are also encouraged to explore housing options before arrival. Available choices may include student residences, shared apartments and private rentals.

The fifth step is when choosing accommodation, students are advised to consider cost, location, transportation and proximity to their campuses.

Financial planning is another important step. Students are encouraged to budget for tuition, accommodation, transportation, food, books and personal expenses.

For the sixth step, depending on their circumstances and applicable immigration requirements, some students may also use a Guaranteed Investment Certificate to demonstrate available funds.

The seventh step is opening a Canadian bank account. Having a local account can make it easier to manage day-to-day expenses.

Students comparing banking options are advised to consider fees, transaction limits, digital banking services and access to automated teller machines.

Finally, prospective students are encouraged to learn about everyday life in Canada before travelling.

This includes understanding local transportation, weather, cultural norms and everyday services. Students can also participate in pre-arrival sessions organised by their institutions and connect with current students for practical advice.

The guidance noted that preparing these arrangements in advance could help international students settle more easily and focus on their academic goals after arriving in Canada.

The wife of an active-duty US soldier has reportedly been deported to Honduras, becoming the latest family member of an American service member to be caught up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo, the wife of Army Sgt Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez and mother of their six-year-old daughter, was deported on Monday, according to multiple reports

Villafranca-Trejo, who is originally from Honduras, entered the United States in 2016 at the age of 18. Her husband said she left the country because of violent crime.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed her deportation and said she had “received due process”.

Her removal is reportedly at least the seventh case involving the deportation of a spouse or parent of an active-duty US military member since President Donald Trump returned to office.

The Associated Press has identified more than 50 cases in which immediate family members of US troops, sailors and airmen have been placed in federal immigration detention since protections for military families were rolled back.

Turcios Juarez previously told ABC News that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained his wife on July 11 outside a Walmart near Fort Bliss, Texas, where he is stationed. Their six-year-old daughter was reportedly present at the time.

Since his wife’s detention, the Army sergeant said he has struggled to balance his military responsibilities with caring for their daughter.

He told the AP that he has had to skip morning training to take his daughter to school and postpone a planned assignment at another military base.

“I don’t know if I will be able to continue with this,” Turcios Juarez told the AP of his service. “I have to make a plan to make sure I can still fulfill my military responsibilities — but also take care of my family.”

DHS said Villafranca-Trejo had received a final order of removal from an immigration judge in 2017 after she failed to appear at a hearing.

However, her husband said she never received notice of the hearing and was unaware that she had been ordered to leave the country until 2022, when the couple sought to apply for her green card after getting married.

Turcios Juarez, who is also originally from Honduras, became a US citizen in 2024 after joining the Army in 2022.

Villafranca-Trejo had also been waiting for about a year for a decision on her application for military parole-in-place, a programme that can allow certain immediate family members of US military personnel to remain in the country while pursuing lawful permanent residence.

“We were following the rules, we did everything we could on our side to fix this problem,” Turcios Juarez told the AP.

The case comes amid growing concern over the impact of the administration’s immigration enforcement measures on US military families.

The United States has paused all immigrant visa applications worldwide as the Donald Trump administration moves to tighten restrictions on applicants it considers likely to rely on US public assistance.

A State Department official confirmed the pause on Tuesday, saying the agency launched the initiative at all US embassies and consulates in early August.

Guardian quoted the official on Wednesday, saying visa appointments had to be adjusted to accommodate “in-depth training.”

The State Department added that the move is “to ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently.”

Applicants whose interviews had already been scheduled were sent emails informing them that their appointments had been cancelled and that they would be notified of new dates, according to the Financial Times.

The move is intended to ensure visa applicants do not become reliant on US public benefits, according to agency officials.

It is also part of a broader immigration crackdown under the Trump administration targeting both lawful and undocumented immigration.

The latest development comes a day after the administration announced plans to revoke the visas of asylum seekers who initially entered the US for tourism or business before applying for asylum.

As PUNCH Online previously reported, the State Department said it was working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke visas of people who entered the US as temporary visitors but subsequently applied for asylum.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said obtaining a visa to seek asylum was “fraud — which is grounds for visa revocation.”

The White House said up to 200,000 visas could be affected, describing the move as the “largest mass visa revocation in history”.

The State Department, however, did not confirm the figure, saying the number of revocations remained dynamic and would be carried out on a rolling basis.

The latest pause follows an earlier attempt by the Trump administration to restrict visa applications on similar “public charge” grounds. That measure, which affected nationals of 75 countries, was recently overturned by a federal judge.

The restrictions have raised concerns among immigration advocates and lawyers, who said the latest pause could create immediate obstacles for applicants who had already spent money and made arrangements for scheduled interviews.

Brian Simmons, an attorney at immigration law firm Fragomen in Washington, told the Financial Times that many affected applicants had likely “spent thousands of dollars and disrupted their lives to attend scheduled interviews, only to have their appointments cancelled at the last minute”.

It remains unclear when the cancelled appointments will be rescheduled.

The Trump administration has also introduced other restrictions on visa applicants, including reviews of their social media histories and additional processing costs, according to the Associated Press.

Russian chess official, Sergei Indeikin has died at the age of 36 after reportedly developing a severe form of malaria following a work trip to Nigeria.

Indeikin, who served as an operational manager and delegate of the International Chess Federation, FIDE, travelled to Abuja earlier in August for the FIDE World Amateur Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships.

Russian media, including Argumenty i Fakty (AIF) and Lenta.ru, reported that relatives and colleagues attributed the infection to his trip to Nigeria.

AIF, citing his father, Alexander, reported on August 24 that “shortly before his death, his son was on a business trip to Abuja, Nigeria. He then travelled to Uzbekistan, where he began to feel ill.”

According to the report, Indeikin’s father said the symptoms described to him by his son’s FIDE colleagues indicated malaria.

“He travelled from Uzbekistan to Moscow, but didn’t stay in the capital, where his father lives, instead heading to Perm to join his mother. However, his condition worsened there. An ambulance was called for him, and he was hospitalised, but his condition could not be saved,” the report said.

AIF also quoted Alexander, saying, “his son was vaccinated before his trip to Nigeria, flying to Moscow from Pyatigorsk, where he lives permanently, specifically for the purpose. His son said that the vaccine could mitigate the risk, but it doesn’t guarantee 100% protection.”

FIDE’s coverage of the competition confirmed Indeikin’s presence in Abuja, where he was listed among the officials involved in the tournament.

The championship was held from August 1 to 8.

FIDE announced Indeikin’s death on August 23 on its X handle, describing it as the result of a “sudden illness” without publicly identifying the specific medical condition.

Its obituary read, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague Sergei Indeikin, FIDE Operational Manager, following a sudden illness.”

Meanwhile, Russian business newspaper Izvestia reported that Indeikin’s mother, Tatiana, told the publication on August 24 that the cause of death was a severe form of malaria.

According to her, Sergei contracted the disease while working and his condition deteriorated rapidly over two weeks.

“He had already arrived. And he arrived in Perm. He was admitted to the hospital, it was too late. He had a very rapid-onset illness. The most severe form,” she was quoted as saying.

AIF also quoted medical expert Professor Alexander Lukashev as explaining that malaria can be transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito in Nigeria and other tropical regions.

Other Russian media organisations, including Lenta.ru, reported that Indeikin was bitten by a mosquito while attending the chess tournament in Nigeria and that the bite was suspected to have transmitted the malaria parasite.

Indeikin had been involved in FIDE events since 2021 and played a role in organising several major international competitions, including World Championship matches, World Cups, Candidates Tournaments, and World Rapid and Blitz Championships.

FIDE described him as an important member of its operations team who travelled extensively to help ensure that major chess events were successfully organised.

He is survived by his wife and daughter.

However, while Indeikin’s family and several Russian media reports have linked his illness to severe malaria allegedly contracted during his trip to Nigeria, FIDE has officially attributed his death only to a sudden illness and has not independently confirmed malaria as the medical cause of death.

Online is making ongoing effort to get comment from the Nigeria Chess Federation.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has said that it had plans to revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum in the country, with up to 200,000 business and tourism visa holders reportedly affected.

The proposed move, announced by the US State Department, is the latest in a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.

According to the Associated Press, a State Department spokesperson said the department was coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security.

“To identify and revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” the spokesperson said.

The department did not disclose the number of visas expected to be revoked.

However, the Associated Press reported that up to 200,000 foreigners whose business and tourism visas were issued between 2016 and 2026 could be affected, citing State Department documents and two US officials.

According to the report, the State Department would revoke B1 and B2 visas held by individuals who have sought or are currently seeking asylum.

B1 and B2 visas are non-immigrant visas issued primarily for business and tourism travel.

The proposed revocations would not necessarily result in immediate deportation, the AP reported, adding that most people with pending asylum cases would be re-categorised but would lose their status as business or tourism visitors.

Earlier on Monday, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau alleged on X that the American immigration system “has long been swamped by frivolous asylum claims.”

The State Department said earlier this month that the Trump administration had revoked more than 175,000 visas belonging to foreign nationals.

Trump has intensified immigration enforcement since returning to office, including visa and green card revocations as well as an aggressive deportation drive.

The administration has said the measures are aimed at strengthening domestic security and enforcing US immigration laws.

Rights groups, however, have criticised the crackdown, alleging that it has undermined free speech and due process rights and created an unsafe environment, particularly for ethnic minorities who have raised concerns about racial profiling.

Although Trump campaigned in 2024 on a platform of curbing illegal immigration, his administration has also introduced measures affecting legal immigration, including new and costly fees for applicants for certain work visas.

The administration’s immigration policies have reportedly faced a series of legal challenges.

Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, according to multiple reports, including The Independent, The Guardian and Sky News.

Parton’s death was reportedly announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, on Instagram on Tuesday.

“I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.

“It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness,” Seaver said.

In her honour, United States President Donald Trump ordered American flags across the country to be lowered for one week.

Trump described her death as a “true loss for millions of people.”

Parton, who rose from humble beginnings in Tennessee to become one of country music’s most celebrated singer-songwriters, had a career spanning more than six decades.

She sold more than 100 million records globally and became known as the “Queen of Country”, with hits including “Jolene”, “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You”.

Parton wrote more than 3,000 songs and won 11 Grammy Awards. She was also a successful actor, appearing in films including 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Joyful Noise.

Born on January 19, 1946, in a two-room log cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children.

Her father was an illiterate sharecropper who later worked his way up to owning a small tobacco farm.

Parton described her family as “dirt poor” but credited her mother with passing on her love and knowledge of traditional folk ballads and her father for his work ethic.

Parton began performing as a child. By the age of 13, she had appeared on local radio and television in East Tennessee, performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and recorded her first single, “Puppy Love”.

After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville the following day and began establishing herself as a songwriter.

She released her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly, in 1967, the same year she joined the weekly television programme The Porter Wagoner Show. Wagoner, an established country star, mentored Parton, and the pair released a series of successful albums as a duo.

In 1973, Parton decided to concentrate on her solo career and wrote “I Will Always Love You” about their professional separation. The song became a hit for Parton and was later famously recorded by Whitney Houston for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

Parton also wrote “Jolene”, one of her signature songs, around the same period. Both songs were included on her 1974 album Jolene, which helped introduce her to a wider audience beyond country music.

Her 1977 album, Here You Come Again, became her first to sell a million copies and earned her first Grammy Award after almost a decade of nominations.

In 1980, Parton made her acting debut alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the workplace comedy 9 to 5. She also wrote and performed the film’s theme song, which became a number one hit and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

The film’s success helped launch Parton’s acting career, with roles in films including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Steel Magnolias (1989) and Joyful Noise (2012).

Parton also built a business empire that included television specials, food products and Dollywood, the Tennessee theme park she acquired an interest in and renamed in 1986.

Beyond music and acting, she was known for her philanthropy, particularly through the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library, which promotes childhood literacy.

She also supported medical research, disaster relief and other charitable causes, including donating $1 million towards COVID-19 vaccine research.

In 2022, she was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

“I just give from my heart. I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will,” she said at the time.

Parton’s health concerns became public in September 2025 when she postponed her Las Vegas residency. In recent weeks, she had also withdrawn from public appearances amid ongoing health issues.

Parton’s death comes months after the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82.

The couple married in 1966.

In a post on his Truth Social account on Tuesday, which was also shared by the White House on its X handle, Trump wrote: “Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away. This is a true loss for millions of people.

“There has never been anyone like her, and never will. In her honour, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for one week beginning tonight at 6:00 PM. Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran had attempted to assassinate one of his two sons, without offering further details.

“Something incredible happened: Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill one of my sons,” Netanyahu said during a phone interview with Israel’s Channel 14.

The claim came during a discussion about reports that the Shin Bet domestic security agency had declined to provide a security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu ahead of elections on October 27.

Netanyahu voiced support for around-the-clock protection for Eisenkot, saying it was “not a luxury”.

“Without that, (the Iranians) will succeed,” he said.

Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter. It remains unclear which of his sons was allegedly targeted.

His elder son, Yair, 35, has spent extended periods in Miami since early 2024, reportedly under Shin Bet protection.

His stay in the United States has attracted controversy in Israel over the cost to taxpayers of providing security, while some residents in south Florida have expressed concern that his presence could make the area a target for attacks by Israel’s enemies.

Shortly after Netanyahu’s remarks became public on Monday, prominent Israeli journalist Amit Segal wrote on his Telegram channel that the alleged assassination attempt had been known for “months” but was subject to a gag order.

AFP

The United States government is planning to revoke the business and tourism visas of as many as 200,000 foreigners who have sought or are seeking asylum in the country, in what could become the largest mass visa revocation in US history.

The planned action targets holders of B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 who entered the US as short-term visitors but subsequently applied for asylum, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press and two US officials, as reported by the agency on Monday.

The State Department is expected to begin announcing the revocations in the coming weeks in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed the planned action but said the number of affected people could change.

We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” Pigott said.

He added that “the number of revocations remains dynamic” and that the action would be carried out “on a rolling basis.”

The revocations would not automatically lead to immediate deportation, according to the officials. People with pending asylum applications would instead lose their B1 or B2 status while their cases are considered.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau defended the proposed policy, arguing that visitor visas should not be used as a route into the US asylum system.

“Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law,” Landau said in a post on X.

B1 visas are generally issued for business travel, while B2 visas cover tourism, family visits and medical treatment. Applicants are required to demonstrate that they intend to return to their home countries.

What it could mean for Nigerians

The proposed revocation could affect Nigerians among other foreign nationals, although the US government has not disclosed how many Nigerians may be involved in the 200,000 figure.

Nigerians have historically accounted for a significant share of African asylum applications in the US. According to UNHCR figures previously reported by The PUNCH, 2,827 Nigerians applied for asylum in the US in 2024.

Between 2022 and 2024, US immigration courts granted asylum to 1,372 Nigerians, while 1,534 applications were denied.

For Nigerians currently holding B1 or B2 visas who have applied for asylum, the development could mean losing their visitor status and facing closer scrutiny of their immigration cases. It also signals a tougher environment for Nigerians seeking to use short-term US visas as a pathway to remain in the country.

Britain’s Prince Harry has stepped down from the board of an African conservation charity mired in controversy last year over the conduct of some of its rangers, his spokesman confirmed Monday.

The royal is no longer a trustee of African Parks, which in May 2025 acknowledged its guards were involved in “rights abuses” at a national park in the Republic of Congo.

The accusations against the hired rangers of the charity — which manages 24 protected areas in 13 countries, and has received EU and US funding — reportedly included rape and torture against indigenous people.

Harry was “proud of his ten years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board,” his spokesman said in a short statement.

“His commitment to conservation in Africa continues, and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission.”

The charity said the prince and the board had “mutually agreed that, after ten years of service, this was the right time for him to conclude his formal role as part of a routine governance refresh”.

“He was not removed from the board,” it added.

Harry’s departure came with the British royal expected back in the UK shortly, following the surprise news last week that he will be relocating from the United States with his family.

The prince and his American wife Meghan Markle — formally known as the duke and duchess of Sussex — quit the country in 2020 and relocated to California.

They have been raising their two young children there.

Harry served as president of African Parks for six years until 2023, after which he joined the governing board of directors.

The charity confirmed last year that an independent investigation had confirmed allegations of abuses at its Odzala-Kokoua National Park in northern Congo.

But it did not give details of the violations against the Baka community of hunter gatherers who live near the park.

Reports in Britain’s Mail on Sunday and the German outlet Tagesschau cited locals as alleging rape, beatings, torture and other abuses carried out by guards employed by African Parks.

Faceless humanoids exceeded human records and delighted hundreds of spectators at the World Robot Games over the weekend in Beijing as China showcased its dominance in the industry.

Dozens of humanoids and their human operators descended on Beijing’s Olympic speed skating arena Sunday to compete in events from athletics and boxing to football and martial arts.

During Saturday’s opening ceremony, a Chinese robot broke Jamaican legend Usain Bolt’s record for the 100-metre dash, a feat splashed across headlines in Chinese state media.

The white and headless humanoid called Tiangong Ultra finished the sprint in 9.39 seconds according to state broadcaster CCTV — surpassing Bolt’s best of 9.58 seconds, set in 2009.

On Sunday, robot-makers scored another win, with the same humanoid model shattering the 400-metre world record by nearly five seconds.

Developed by a local government-backed research centre in Beijing, it finished in 38.16 seconds — with its time later revised to 38.15.

In one 400-metre heat, a white-shelled robot thrashed its arms side to side as it propelled itself around the track, leaning dangerously forward as fans wondered out loud if it would fall.

The robot wobbled as it stormed toward the finish but managed to remain upright.

Fans were just as pleased to watch the robo-athletes flop, as multiple robotic runners failed to start.

Others made their way around the track at the pace of a brisk walk or crumbled immediately after the gun start.

Children and their parents giggled as a toddler-sized robot kicked a football off the pitch over knee-high barricades.

It’s not a test of intelligence’

Each clunky, barely defended goal earned the waddling humanoids roars of applause from the stands.

Spectators erupted into laughter as a humanoid in a boxing ring stumbled off to the side and folded over the ropes where it stayed motionless until humans lifted it away.

For 72-year-old spectator Hou Yali, the weekend’s robot records left her wanting to watch the machines go against humans.

We’ll be able to see more clearly whether machines can surpass humans,” said Hou, who is retired and lives in Beijing.

“Right now, this is just running, just a competition of speed. It’s not a test of intelligence, or hiring someone to do household tasks or act as live-in help,” she said.

Hou, who pays aides to clean her home and make meals for her weekly, said she would like to see robots do those tasks.

“With the development of our country’s economy, people have more money in their pockets, and they may decide to use robots,” she said.

AFP

Canada admitted 182,100 new permanent residents in the first half of 2026, reaching 40.8 per cent of its effective annual target of 446,000, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as reported by CIC News on Sunday.

The figure covers admissions under Canada’s regular immigration programme as well as two one-time initiatives for protected persons and certain workers already living in the country.

Under Canada’s regular permanent residence target of 380,000 for 2026, IRCC admitted 155,800 new permanent residents between January 1 and June 30.

The figure was 34,200 below the 190,000 admissions required by the halfway point to remain on track for the annual target.

The economic immigration category recorded the largest shortfall.

The category, which includes programmes such as Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program, accounted for 89,200 permanent resident admissions by June 30.

This was against a full-year target of 239,800 and 30,700 below the pace required at the halfway point.

Family-class admissions, however, remained ahead of schedule.

Canada admitted 45,100 permanent residents through the family category during the first six months of the year, compared with a 2026 target of 84,000.

The figure was 3,100 above the pace required to meet the annual target.

The family class includes spouses, partners and dependants sponsored by Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as well as applicants under the Parents and Grandparents Program.

Canada also introduced two one-time initiatives covering protected persons and certain workers already living in the country for 2026 and 2027.

For 2026, the government set targets of 46,000 protected persons and 20,000 in-Canada workers under the initiatives.

By June 30, IRCC had admitted 15,000 protected persons and 11,300 in-Canada workers.

The latest figures also showed that 12,400 permanent residents admitted outside Quebec during the first half of 2026 were French-speaking or bilingual.

Canada has set a target for French-speaking and bilingual permanent residents to account for nine per cent of permanent residence admissions outside Quebec in 2026.

The figures indicate that Canada has made substantial progress towards its overall 2026 permanent residence target, although admissions under the regular programme, particularly through economic immigration, remain below the pace required to meet the annual target.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday he would slap retaliatory tariffs on the United States after walking away from a “bad deal” on trade, deepening the rift between the longtime allies.

Negotiations between the neighboring countries broke down on Friday in Washington, allowing new 50-percent US tariffs impacting some $20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the United States, to come into force.

Impacted products range from hockey sticks to cement.

US President Donald Trump had said Washington “should be able to have a deal with Canada,” citing his “good relationship” with Carney.

But on Saturday, the Canadian prime minister said Trump had set conditions that were ultimately unacceptable.

“We believed earlier this week that we were moving towards a mutually beneficial agreement,” Carney said in the Canadian capital Ottawa.

“In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair, and undermined the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal. In short, they asked too much and they offered too little,” he said.

“We cannot accept what they’ve offered, and we will not give what they’ve asked,” Carney said, accusing Trump of launching a trade “war.”

“You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked,” Carney said.

New Canadian tariffs will notably target the US steel and dairy industries, and take effect on September 8. Carney said further details would come next week.

On Friday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington had offered “significant tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber” in exchange for concessions from Canada.

A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, characterized the talks as candid and not acrimonious, but said there were no further scheduled meetings.

– ‘Significant pressure’ –

Canada has been seeking relief from Trump’s tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, which have battered the country’s economy, forced job losses and strained what was once an iron-clad trade relationship.

Canadian negotiators had been camped out in Washington this week to firm up a deal that aimed to address various flashpoints.

The White House had alleged “discriminatory treatment” by Canada against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products in introducing the duties.

They were originally set to take effect on Wednesday, before Trump issued a last-minute delay of three days, citing major progress in talks.

Ryan Majerus, a former US commerce official who now is a trade lawyer with King & Spalding, told AFP that “both sides will face significant pressure in the coming days to find an off-ramp.”

Beyond the latest tariffs, the United States and Canada still have to agree on revisions to the North American free trade agreement, USMCA, which Trump declined to renew in its current form.

Bilateral ties also have been hurt by Trump’s repeated threats to make Canada the 51st US state.

Trump was irked by Carney’s widely-touted January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in which the prime minister declared that the global order was experiencing a “rupture.”

The Canadian leader has repeatedly said that relations with the United States have been forever changed, and that the country must reduce its reliance on the United States, which currently accounts for roughly 70 percent of Canadian exports.

“We’ve been under no illusions. We recognized from the start that America has changed,” Carney told reporters on Saturday.

AFP

What began as a domestic friction over a young lady’s obsession with Korean dramas and K-pop music in a Nigerian household has culminated in an academic milestone in South Korea.

A proud Nigerian dad, Tony Onyima, has shared how his daughter, Nnenna Onyima, recently graduated with the highest academic honour in a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from Daejeon University, South Korea, where she was also named valedictorian for the international students’ class.

Onyima shared the journey on his Facebook page on Saturday, describing how his initial scepticism toward his daughter’s fixation on Korean culture eventually transformed into one of his proudest moments as a parent.

Recounting the journey, he disclosed that Nnenna’s fascination with K-dramas initially caused minor disagreements at home.

“At home, she was constantly engrossed in Korean movies, much to the discomfort of everyone else in the family. There were times when I wondered what exactly she was getting from all these Korean movies.

“Naturally, we disagreed. But rather than dismiss her interest, I eventually decided that if she was going to be so fascinated by Korea, she might as well turn that fascination into something useful. So the family encouraged her to learn Korean,” he wrote.

That decision reportedly paved the way for her selection in September 2023 for the competitive Global Korean Scholarship.

She was among 1,099 scholars selected from applicants from 131 countries and one of only 14 successful Nigerians,” he noted.

Three years after departing Nigeria, he travelled to South Korea to attend the graduation ceremony on Friday, August 21, 2026, unaware of the surprise awaiting him.

During the ceremony at Daejeon University, Nnenna was reportedly called upon to deliver the valedictory speech on behalf of all graduating international students, speaking fluently in Korean.

Attaching a video of her speech in Korean, Onyima wrote, “I thought I knew what awaited me. I was wrong… Then something happened that I had not anticipated. Nnenna was called upon to respond on behalf of the international students. For a few seconds, I wondered why. Then it dawned on me. This was why she had insisted that I come.

“She had kept a secret from me. My daughter was the valedictorian. Suddenly, the long flight from Lagos, the visa anxiety and all the stress of the journey seemed insignificant… Here she was. Near fluent. Confident. Graduating summa cum laude. And speaking on behalf of her fellow international students,” he recalled.

“I understood why she had wanted me there. She wanted me to witness the moment. And what a moment it was. Nnenna stood before the international students and spoke confidently in Korean. I listened in amazement. Here was my daughter—a Nigerian —speaking to a gathering of international students in a language that was neither hers nor theirs.”

Onyima noted that in his daughter’s address, she admitted to initial fears about relocating thousands of kilometres away to an unfamiliar culture, but noted that pushing past uncertainty proved life-changing.

How insanely amazing it is that I, a foreigner, am delivering a speech to a group of other foreigners in a language that is neither mine nor theirs,” she was quoted as saying, adding, “This was the best risk I’ve ever taken.”

Reflecting on the experience, Onyima advised parents to support their children’s non-traditional interests and help channel them productively.

“What had once looked like an obsession had become a vocation. What had seemed like a distraction had become a door… Our responsibility, perhaps, is not always to understand their dreams immediately. Sometimes, it is to help them turn those dreams into something meaningful,” he wrote.

“It was the best risk she ever took. And for me, it was one of the proudest journeys I have ever made, “Onyima added.

Nnenna’s achievement reflects a growing trajectory of Nigerian scholars breaking linguistic barriers and earning top academic honours across non-English-speaking nations.

PUNCH Online reported in July that a Nigerian student, Dr Dorcas Akanbi, graduated from a medical school in Russia with an outstanding 4.90 out of 5.00 cumulative grade point average, emerging as one of the institution’s best graduating students, and delivered the valedictory speech in fluent Russian.

The Nation similarly reported that a Nigerian scholar, Nnabuike Chisom, known by his Chinese name Qi Yunsong, wowed an audience of nearly 4,000 people at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, China, by delivering his Master’s commencement keynote address in flawless Mandarin after mastering the language and culture.

The pontiff is to spend the morning in San Marino, a 60-square-kilometre (24-square-mile) enclave of 33,000 people in the Apennine Mountains, in what will be the latest in a series of brief pastoral visits not far from home this summer.

The trip by the pope — who rules over the world’s smallest country, Vatican City — follows one made in March to another European statelet, the principality of Monaco.

In San Marino, the world’s oldest republic, the Chicago-born pope is to meet with local authorities before holding a prayer service in the local basilica.

The head of the Catholic Church will then head to Rimini, a popular seaside city on Italy’s Adriatic coast, for the annual gathering of Communion and Liberation, a Christian group.

The “Rimini Meeting” is a prominent event mixing religion, culture and politics that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every summer.

Historically, the event was closely linked with the Christian Democratic movement, the now-defunct centrist Catholic political party that dominated Italian politics for nearly 50 years in the post-war period

Leo, who is scheduled to give an address at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT), will be the first pontiff to take part in the event since Pope John Paul II in 1982.

Fellow speakers this year include Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and both of Italy’s deputy prime ministers, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.

Ahead of his address, the pope will visit an exhibition dedicated to Saint Augustine, the influential fifth-century Christian theologian who laid the foundations for the 13th-century Augustinian order to which Leo belongs.

The pontiff will also meet people with disabilities and sick members of the faith at Rimini’s cathedral before presiding over an open-air mass at the city’s port in early evening.

Leo has taken no long voyages this summer, instead venturing to Pavia, Lampedusa and Assisi for short visits.

AFP

The timing leaves both governments facing an immediate economic and diplomatic test, with the failure of the talks removing what had appeared to be a near-term route towards de-escalation.

For Carney, the next step is expected to involve measures to protect Canadian industries from the new American levies while managing the consequences for consumers and businesses on both sides of the border.

For Trump, the collapse provides another opportunity to press his administration’s broader demand that trading partners make greater concessions to the United States—while risking deeper disruption with one of America’s largest trading partners.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked a US court for permission to submit a confidential declaration explaining why it is withholding some records relating to allegations linking President Bola Tinubu to a drug-trafficking investigation.

The FBI made the request in an application dated August 20 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, saying it could not publicly disclose the full reasons for withholding certain information.

An ex parte, in camera declaration is a submission made privately to a judge for consideration without being placed on the public record.

The application was published on X on Thursday by Von Batten-Montague-York, a Washington-based lobbying firm recently hired by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

The FBI said it had invoked various exemptions under the US Freedom of Information Act in response to requests for records relating to Tinubu from 1992 to 1993.

According to the agency, releasing the withheld information “would, among other things, disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations and/or could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual”.

Part of the FBI’s application reads: “One of the requests at issue is the request assigned Request Number 1588244-000, which sought “[t]he entire FBI file for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, DOB 3/29/1952, President-Elect of Nigeria as of February 2023”.

Plaintiff submitted a second FOIA request to the FBI seeking “FBI 302 interviews with Bola Tinubu from FBI Case No. 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU during the timeframe 1992-1993”.

“This was assigned Request Number 1593615-000. The FBI has invoked various Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemptions, including 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F) regarding these requests, and determined the information withheld from Plaintiff in this case, if disclosed, would, among other things, disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations and/or could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.

“The FBI has determined that it cannot provide on the public record the full basis for the application of Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) to certain withholdings and that, therefore, an ex parte, under seal declaration is necessary.”

The FBI said that if the court granted its request, it would submit the confidential declaration explaining the reasons for withholding the information before August 28.

The plaintiff in the case is Aaron Greenspan, an American businessman and founder of PlainSite.

The development came after the US Department of Justice sought an additional 10-day extension to respond to a court order concerning the release of records linked to allegations involving Tinubu.

However, Judge Beryl Howell granted only four additional days, moving the deadline to August 21.

Tinubu, through his legal team, subsequently joined the DOJ’s request for an additional 10-day extension. Howell, however, declined the request.

Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan filed 12 Freedom of Information Act requests with six US federal agencies, seeking records from investigations into a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s.

He sought records concerning four individuals whom he said were linked to the drug ring, including Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Adegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele.

Five of the agencies responded that they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the requested records.

Dissatisfied with the responses, Greenspan approached the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy.

The OIP upheld the agencies’ refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the requested records, according to court documents.

On June 12, 2023, Greenspan filed a lawsuit challenging the agencies’ use of what is known as a Glomar response to his FOIA requests.

A Glomar response is an official refusal by a US government agency to confirm or deny whether requested records exist.

The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Executive Office for United States Attorneys and Department of State were initially named as defendants.

The Central Intelligence Agency was later added as a defendant in the first amended complaint.

In April 2025, Howell ruled that the responses issued by the FBI and DEA were “improper and must be lifted”.

The judge held that the two agencies had failed to establish a sufficient privacy interest to justify keeping secret the fact that Tinubu was a subject of a criminal investigation.

Howell also held that the FBI and DEA had failed to provide enough evidence to justify maintaining their Glomar responses.

US First Lady Melania Trump poked fun Thursday at media speculation over her month away from the public eye and scrutiny over one of President Donald Trump’s close aides.

“Good afternoon. I heard you missed me. Here I am,” Melania said with a chuckle as she opened an event in the White House Rose Garden.

She and her 80-year-old husband held hands as they walked from the Oval Office to the podium, and the president sat in the audience as Melania spoke

The event marked a donation by IndyCar and the Fox Corporation to fund university scholarships, ahead of an IndyCar race through the streets of Washington to mark America’s 250th independence anniversary.

But all eyes were on 56-year-old Melania, who had last been seen in public at the FIFA World Cup final on July 19.

The Slovenian-born former model skipped a number of other major events including the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner on July 24, despite having attended the first version in April, which was disrupted by a gunman.

An analysis by US broadcaster NBC on Monday said Melania Trump was keeping a much lower public profile in her second term as first lady, carrying out about half as many public events as she did by this point in her first.

Melania’s return to the public eye also came amid speculation about Trump’s hyper-loyal executive assistant Natalie Harp, 35.

The White House hit back angrily this week after a Democratic Senate hopeful queried why Harp was one of only a few people to secretly swap from Air Force One with the president in Turkey after a security threat.

Harp has been a near-constant presence at Trump’s side in his second term, sometimes typing out social media posts for him and printing out information, a role that has seen her dubbed the “human printer.”

Harp did not appear to be present at the Rose Garden event.

AFP

The United States announced new sanctions Thursday against an alleged Hezbollah financing network, while highlighting the Lebanese armed group’s close ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Hezbollah’s legal designation as a terrorist organization has been amended to note that it operates in “service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” particularly the elite Quds Force, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The change comes as the US facilitates direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war. Hezbollah rejects these talks.

Washington designated Hezbollah as a “foreign terrorist organization” in 1997, and in 2001 updated its label to a “specially designated global terrorist” group.

The new redesignation “specifies that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation,” a State Department official said.

“This underscores that Hezbollah operates with little to no regard for Lebanese sovereignty, the Lebanese people, or the Lebanese state.”

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Israel responded with a heavy air campaign and ground invasion that Lebanese authorities say have killed more than 4,300 people.

“This action builds on years of US designations that have repeatedly documented the operational, financial, and logistical integration between Hizballah and the IRGC-QF,” the State Department official said, calling Hezbollah “an extension” of the latter.

“It is not a Lebanese resistance movement,” as Hezbollah describes itself,the official said.

The new sanctions target 10 people who are allegedly part of a network that transfers cash to Hezbollah, which has already been punished with US sanctions many times, the Treasury statement said

The network utilizes couriers travelling on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE, and Iran to move up to hundreds of millions of dollars between jurisdictions, providing an avenue outside the formal financial system for Hezbollah to obtain foreign currency and evade sanctions,” the statement said.

AFP

The UK Government has explained how children under 18 who are eligible for British citizenship can apply for a fee waiver if they cannot afford the citizenship application fee.

According to information gathered by PUNCH Online on the GOV.UK website on Thursday, eligible applicants can apply for a fee waiver so they do not have to pay the citizenship application fee.

The government said, “You can apply for a fee waiver so you do not have to pay a citizenship application fee.”

Applicants can apply online or by post, with parents or legal guardians also allowed to apply on behalf of children.

Who is eligible?

An applicant must be under 18 and eligible for British citizenship.

A child can become a British citizen if one of their parents considered the UK as their home and, after the child was born:

• became a British citizen;
• got indefinite leave to remain in the UK;
• got “settled status”, also known as “indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme”;
• got indefinite leave to enter the UK; or
• got permanent residence status.

Applicants can apply for a fee waiver if they and their parent or guardian cannot pay the fee because:

• they do not have a place to live and cannot afford one;
• they are unable to afford essential living costs such as food and heating;
• they do not have enough money to pay the fee after paying for accommodation and other essential living costs; or
• paying the fee would mean a child’s needs cannot be met.

How to apply

The UK Government said, “You can either apply online or by post.”

Applicants from Guernsey or Jersey must apply by post, while the government said, “You cannot currently apply for this fee waiver from the Isle of Man.”

For postal applications, applicants must fill in a Child Citizenship Fee Waiver Request Form and send it to the address on the form.

For online applications, applicants can save their form and return to it later.

Can a parent apply?

Yes. A parent or legal guardian can apply on behalf of a child.

The government said, “Your parent or legal guardian can apply on your behalf. They can include their other children in the same application.”

What documents are required?

Applicants making an online application will be asked to prove their identity by uploading a copy of an identity document.

The government listed a passport, national identity card and biometric residence permit as examples.

It said a biometric residence permit “can be used for 18 months after the expiry date printed on the card”.

Applicants will also need to provide information about their financial situation.

This can include:

• bank statements;
• letters from local authorities or family members showing they receive financial support;
• evidence showing they receive public funds;
• evidence of household earnings, such as payslips; and
• evidence of household expenses, such as how much rent they pay.

What happens after applying?

The Home Office will send a confirmation email once the application has been submitted.

If the application is approved, the applicant will receive an email or letter with a personalised code called a token.

The government said, “Use this code in your citizenship application.”

Applicants who apply online must receive their fee waiver decision before applying for citizenship.

The government said, “If you’re applying online for your fee waiver, you must get your decision before you apply for citizenship.”

If an online fee waiver application is successful, the applicant must then apply for citizenship online. If both applications cannot be completed online, the applicant must apply by post.

What if you turn 18 while waiting?

The government said, “If you turn 18 before you get a decision on your fee waiver application, you can still apply for citizenship as a child.”

It added, “You’ll still get a fee waiver if you’re eligible for it.”

Who should not apply for the fee waiver?

Children being looked after by a local authority should not apply for a fee waiver.

Instead, the government said, “Do not apply for a fee waiver if you’re being looked after by a local authority. Instead, provide evidence of this when you apply for citizenship. The application will be free.”

Prince Harry and Meghan are set to face a fresh security assessment after plans emerged for the couple to relocate with their two children from the United States to the United Kingdom later this month.

The Sussexes are expected to move to a private, non-royal residence outside London, with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, due to start school in the UK next month.

According to the BBC on Thursday, the Home Office said decisions on the security of members of the Royal Family are made by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), an independent body overseen by the department.

The Home Office also stressed that the prime minister does not make decisions about security arrangements for the Royal Family.

The prime minister does not decide about security for the Royal Family,” the department said.

Harry’s security has been a long-running source of tension since he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and moved to California in 2020.

The Duke of Sussex lost a legal challenge last year against a decision to downgrade his security arrangements when he visits the UK.

With the couple now planning to live in Britain, Ravec will have to make a new decision because their previous security arrangements were based on them not living permanently in the UK.

The Home Office said the UK’s protective security system was “rigorous and proportionate”, but added that it was “our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements”.

The department said disclosing such information could “compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security”.

There is no indication that Harry and Meghan will return as full-time working royals. However, their high public profile, links to the Royal Family and Harry’s military service in Afghanistan could be considered when their security arrangements are reviewed.

It remains unclear whether Harry will receive taxpayer-funded protection at the level he has sought since stepping down as a working royal.

If he does not receive the level of protection he wants, he could pay privately for additional security.

Harry and Meghan currently employ a private security team in the United States, although the couple have not said whether the team will move with them to Britain.

Harry previously told the BBC that he “can’t see a world” in which he would bring his family to the UK following the reduction in his security arrangements.

His return with Meghan and their children therefore represents a significant change from his previous position.

The move also follows a family reunion with King Charles in July, when Harry, Meghan and their children visited the King at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire.

It was the first time Charles had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years and marked Harry and Meghan’s first visit to the UK together since 2022.

Harry has previously spoken about wanting “reconciliation” with the Royal Family and spending more time with his father.

The move is also expected to bring Harry closer to several commitments in the UK. The Invictus Games are due to be held in Birmingham next year, while the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death will also bring commemorative events.

The couple are expected to retain their California home, with Meghan continuing her media work and online business from the UK.

For now, the level of security Harry and Meghan will receive remains unresolved. With the Sussexes preparing to establish a more permanent base in Britain, Ravec will determine what level of protection is appropriate for the couple and their children.

The body of 18-year-old Lily Hooper has been found in bushland in New South Wales, Australia, eight days after she went missing during a hike in Nattai National Park.

Hooper left her home in Sydney on August 12 to go for a walk in the national park but failed to return by 22:00 that night, prompting her family to report her missing.

Her car was later found near a walking trail in the park.

A large multi-agency search was launched, involving NSW Police, the State Emergency Service, the Rural Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Australian Defence Force personnel.

According to the BBC on Thursday, Police said Hooper’s body was located at about 11:30 local time on Thursday in dense bushland in the Southern Highlands. It was yet to be formally identified, but police said they believed it was that of the missing teenager.

The discovery was followed by confusion after New South Wales Premier Chris Minns initially told parliament that Hooper had been found alive.

“I’ve got some terrible news. I apologise … Lily’s body has been found,” Minns later told parliament after correcting his earlier statement.

Minns apologised for the error, saying: “This is obviously devastating, and I’m profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned.”

He later said he had received incorrect information and had “genuinely believed” he was sharing good news.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon also apologised to Hooper’s family for the miscommunication.

“The miscommunication obviously was born out of elation that Lily had been found,” Lanyon said.

“Tragically, that miscommunication then led to a deflation and obviously we know now, an impact on her family.”

Assistant Police Commissioner Joseph Cassar said Hooper’s parents were incorrectly led to believe their daughter had been found alive for between eight and 10 minutes before they were given an updated report.

“Unfortunately, it did take that small period of time for us to give them an update,” Cassar said.

Police said the terrain where Hooper was found was extremely difficult, and attempts to retrieve her body by helicopter were unsuccessful because of the dense canopy and surrounding terrain.

“We attempted to use a helicopter to retrieve her body. Due to the nature of the terrain and the canopy, we weren’t able to do that,” Lanyon said.

“So we’ll now work through a process, whether it’s manual or on foot, to retrieve her body … to bring her back to be with her family and go through the investigative process.”

A report will be prepared for the coroner as investigations into the circumstances surrounding Hooper’s death continue.

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles Thursday, Seoul’s military said, hours after US President Donald Trump said he would meet Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un this year.

The latest launches from the nuclear-armed North come as South Korea and the United States hold a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following an order from Trump to scale them back.

Pyongyang has long condemned US-South Korea joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often staging missile launches around the drills.

Trump, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged with Kim in his first term, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday he plans to meet the North Korean leader later this year.

The US president also said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. Seoul says there are around 80-120.

Hours after Trump’s remarks, North Korea fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea at around 5:00 pm, South Korea’s military said.

The missiles flew around 300 kilometres, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were conducting a detailed analysis of their specifications.

South Korea’s presidential office held an emergency security meeting after North Korea fired missiles, condemning the launches as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and ordering heightened readiness.

Trump’s sudden focus on Kim and his scaling back of joint US-South Korean military drills have alarmed Asian allies, while sparking speculation that he was seeking a foreign policy win as the Iran war stalls.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, said on Wednesday that her brother had “good memories and feelings” about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remains “excellent”.

She said, however, that she was unaware of any current communication between the two leaders.

Her statement came hours after Seoul announced the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises would end on Friday — about a week earlier than planned — “at the suggestion of the US side”.

The Pentagon said the reduced drills would cause “no degradation to US training objectives”.

The exercises are designed to prepare for a possible attack by North Korea.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country’s defences, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Seoul remained opposed to officially recognising the North as a nuclear-weapon state.

Asked whether Washington had “given up” on North Korea’s denuclearisation, Ahn said he did not believe so.

President Lee Jae Myung, who has long pushed for stronger homegrown defences to reduce South Korea’s reliance on the United States, said on Wednesday he would “do his utmost” to support Trump’s peacemaking efforts with the North.

AFP

Canada has invited 1,000 candidates through its Express Entry system to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.

The invitation round was conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to the latest ministerial instructions published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The department said candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 523 to receive an invitation.

“Number of invitations issued: 1,000,” the notice stated.

It added that candidates ranked among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group were eligible to receive invitations.

The round was conducted at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, with a tie-breaking rule of August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.

The tie-breaking rule means that “If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.”

The invitations were issued under the Canadian Experience Class, one of the classes managed through Canada’s Express Entry system.

The ministerial instructions, signed by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, in Ottawa on August 18, stated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19, 2026.

“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions stated.

Express Entry is Canada’s primary online system for managing permanent residence applications from skilled workers.

It covers three federal economic immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

Candidates create profiles that are ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System, which awards points for factors including age, education, language ability, work experience, and other human capital attributes.

The highest-ranked candidates are invited to apply in periodic rounds.

The Canadian Experience Class is designed for skilled workers who already have Canadian work experience and wish to become permanent residents. Eligibility generally requires at least one year (1,560 hours) of skilled work experience in Canada within the past three years in occupations under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2, or 3, along with minimum language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 or 1 jobs, and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3).

There is no education requirement and no need to show settlement funds. Applicants must plan to live outside Quebec.

The August 18 draw followed a pattern of frequent CEC-focused rounds in 2026. A previous Canadian Experience Class draw on August 5 issued 3,000 invitations with a lower CRS cut-off of 516.

The latest round’s reduced volume and higher cut-off of 523 mark one of the more selective CEC invitations so far this year.

As of mid-August 2026, IRCC had already issued well over 113,000 invitations through Express Entry, with a substantial share going to Canadian Experience Class candidates.

At least nine people were killed and several others injured in a fire at a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, a senior fire department official said.

“Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday,” Anuj Sharma, the fire services director of West Bengal state, told AFP.

“Thick smoke enveloped the hotel. Some victims were found in the bathrooms.”

Preliminary information suggested an air conditioner in the budget hotel may have exploded and caused the blaze, Sharma said.

He added that nine people — six men, two women and a child — were rescued and taken to hospital.

Some victims seemed to be Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment, Santosh Pathak, a member of West Bengal’s ruling party, said.

“We are trying to confirm the nationality of the victims,” he told reporters.

A total of 60 guests were in the hotel when the fire broke out.

Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and routine disregard for safety regulations.

AFP

US President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory” in a social media post, escalating his comments over control of the strategic waterway amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Trump on Tuesday shared a map graphic on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns, labelling the Strait of Hormuz a “NEW U.S. Territory”.

The same graphic was also posted by the official White House account on X.

The image shows a blue-highlighted map of the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with a circle around the narrow passage and the words “NEW U.S. Territory” displayed prominently.

The development follows Trump’s recent comments that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran.

Speaking at a political rally in New York State on Friday, Trump said, “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”

“It’s true,” he added.

Trump had also described the idea as “a great idea” and “an excellent idea”, citing the US naval presence and blockade in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, through which roughly 20 percent of global oil and gas typically flows.

The latest development comes amid an ongoing standoff between the United States and Iran over the waterway, with Iran restricting access to much of the strait while the US Navy maintains a blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump had previously said, “We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”

Iranian officials have rejected claims of U.S. territorial control.

Iranian Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf, and other figures have stated that the strait will remain closed or under Iranian authority until the United States lifts the blockade, eases related sanctions, and meets other commitments.

Iranian statements have dismissed efforts to claim the waterway through social media posts or military assertions.

Georgina Rodríguez has opened up about why she and Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo chose to marry in the living room of their home rather than have the lavish wedding many expected.

The couple tied the knot in a private civil ceremony in Cascais, Portugal, on August 11, 2026, surrounded by their five children. Details of the ceremony were later revealed in an exclusive interview with Vogue.

For Rodríguez, the decision was less about luxury and more about creating a meaningful family memory.

She explained that, as a child, she imagined a traditional fairytale wedding featuring a grand castle, a carriage, a long wedding gown and a diamond crown.

However, her priorities changed as she grew older and built a family with Ronaldo.

“Now, I find myself saying: no. I desire something intimate, shared with my partner and our children, in the comfort of our home,” Rodríguez said.

She said the couple already have access to extraordinary luxury, including castles, houses, islands, horses and cars, making a private family celebration more special to them.

“We have access to castles, houses, islands, horses, and cars every day. However, an intimate gathering is something more unique for us,” she said.

Rodríguez said the living room was deliberately chosen because it is where the family experiences everyday life together.

“We chose to hold the ceremony in our living room, the place where we share breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and where we experience our daily lives,” she explained.

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender.

“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.

Iranian and Omani officials have been talking for weeks on future maritime navigation arrangements through the shipping route, and the foreign ministry in Tehran said earlier Monday that the two sides were working on a joint declaration.

However, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the strait — which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war on February 28 — is under US control despite traffic remaining throttled.

On Friday, Trump claimed that he would even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, while Iran retorted that the crucial energy waterway it has blockaded “will remain Iranian.”

Prior to the launch of the US-Israeli war against Iran, the Hormuz strait was considered an open, international waterway. It carries significant portions of global energy shipments, as well as other commodities.

Tehran has used its effective seizing of control over the strait as leverage against the US-led attempts to destroy its military and force it to abandon a controversial nuclear power program.

Iran’s coast flanks the north side of Hormuz and Oman lies on the south.

Trump also said that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst’s post on X on his interview with the president.

Trump insisted that he was in no hurry to reach a deal despite the deep unpopularity of the war among Americans ahead of November midterm elections in the United States, with opposition Democrats seeking to take control of Congress from Trump’s Republicans.

Trump told Yingst that there is a direct back-channel between his administration and officials of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. “They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” he was quoted as saying.

AFP

Thousands of people displaced by a powerful earthquake in eastern Indonesia awaited aid Monday as they camped out at schools, police stations and government offices.

The 7.7-magnitude quake early on Saturday killed 54 people and injured more than 100. Rescue officials have said there were no reports of people missing.

The number of people unable to return to their homes had risen to 12,800 by Monday morning, dispersed among several towns on Flores island, Berton Suar Pelita Panjaitan, spokesman for Indonesia’s BNPB national disaster agency, told AFP.

Many Flores inhabitants were preparing to sleep outside for a third night, afraid to go home as over 1,600 aftershocks rumbled through the area, according to the BMKG geological agency.

AFP saw several residents of the small town of Mbay, in Nagekeo regency nearest the epicentre, camped out in makeshift tents they had erected using tarpaulins and poles.

“Our houses are no longer liveable, because many have collapsed and are full of cracks, so we can’t go inside anymore,” Mbay resident Junaidin, 32, said outside a self-made tent that was sleeping about 30 people.

“We only go back home to get water, clothes, pillows, and then we… spend the nights here.”

Many Flores residents have traumatic memories of another 7.7-magnitude quake that hit the island in 1992, triggering a tsunami and killing about 2,500.

“We’re on our own here,” said Junaidin, who like many Indonesians has one name.

He expressed frustration with a perceived lag in the arrival of aid while the nation celebrated Independence Day with pomp and ceremony in the capital Jakarta.

“As for help from the government, there hasn’t been any — no tents, no medicine, no food, no drinking water, nothing,” said Junaidin.

“Please open your eyes, government. We are your people, we are part of you. So please look after us.”

The Indonesian Air Force said it was bringing 13 tonnes of emergency aid in two Hercules planes and a Boeing.

It was also deploying helicopters to bring emergency supplies directly to survivors in isolated communities, the Antara state news agency quoted the commander of El Tari Air Base in Kupang as saying.

The aid included food, clothes, clean water and emergency medical equipment.

The military has deployed personnel to help with distribution in key hubs.

For locals, the provisions cannot come soon enough.

“We fled with nothing. Just the clothes on our backs. We’re victims; we’re going through a disaster,” said Mbay resident Siti Saudah Daso, a 31-year-old mother of three.

“They said they would give us something, but there’s no proof. So honestly, we’re a bit upset, disappointed.”

Rescuers were still combing the stricken area for victims, search and rescue official Fathur Rahman told AFP.

“We conduct land and air operations from helicopters. There haven’t been any reports on missing persons, but we are still scouring the area just to be sure.”

The epicentre of the shallow quake was located just off the north coast of Flores, geological authorities said.

The affected areas have few, if any, high-rise buildings.

Berton, the disaster agency spokesman, said at least 914 houses on the island were severely damaged and hundreds of others to a lesser degree.

Dozens of public buildings, including educational and health facilities as well as government offices, were also affected.

The NGO Save the Children said more than 8,000 children faced “safety risks and disruptions to their education” following the quake.

Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

A devastating 9.1-magnitude tremor in 2004 struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, about 170,000 of them in Indonesia.

It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

AFP

A Malian court sentenced on Monday a prominent broadcaster and an influencer, who had both criticised the ruling junta, to seven years in jail, an AFP journalist saw.

The sentences are the latest handed to Malians critical of the unstable west African country’s military government, which came to power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Television and radio commentator Mohamed Youssouf Bathily – alias Ras Bath – was convicted by the court in Bamako of criminal conspiracy and discrediting the state, alongside Rokia Doumbia, a noted campaigner known online as “Rose, the cost of living”.

Both had been in custody for several years following the airing of a 2023 programme by the journalist dedicated to the economic difficulties facing ordinary Malians.

They were handed three years’ suspended on top of their seven-year jail sentences.

Having been held since March 2023, Ras Bath’s emaciated and gaunt features shocked many Malians when he took the stand in his trial, which opened on August 10 at the Bamako Court of Appeal’s criminal chamber.

Two lawyers told AFP on condition of anonymity that the prosecutor had told the trial that “Ras Bath is a danger” to the junta and “must be kept a long way from social media and the radio”.

Prosecutors alleged the broadcaster and influencer were “in association” with each other, with Ras Bath having invited “Rose” onto his show on two previous occasions.

Ras Bath’s lawyers denied these accusations.

With the motto “shock to educate”, his direct and plain-speaking style earnt Ras Bath both a strong following, especially among Mali’s many younger people, and several run-ins with the law.

In July 2023, he was acquitted of separate charges that he falsely claimed that former prime minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga had been “assassinated” while in detention under the junta.

Since coming to power, the army has imposed severe restrictions on freedoms in Mali, squeezing the space for dissident voices through the courts, coercion and the dissolution of political parties.

Under General Assimi Goita, the junta has failed to keep its promise to hand power back to civilians by March 2024 at the latest.

The Sahel country has been wracked since 2012 by a serious security crisis, notably fuelled by violence from jihadists allied to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group, along with criminal gangs and armed separatists.

AFP

The Made in China Goods Traders Association of Nigeria has appealed to the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos for support for cataract treatment, artificial intelligence training, scholarships and participation in major trade exhibitions in China.

The association made the request in a letter signed by its National President, Oluwole Adigun, and addressed to the Chinese Consul-General in Lagos, Mrs Yan Yuqing.

The association in the letter dated Monday, August 17, said the request followed its executives’ participation in a Bamboo and Rattan Seminar organised by Chinese authorities.

Adigun appealed to the Consulate, “to support or facilitate a cataract treatment outreach for less privileged residents within its area of jurisdiction in Lagos”.

According to him, the initiative would restore sight to vulnerable people who could not afford surgery and improve their quality of life.

He said the association was prepared to work with the Consulate to identify beneficiaries and coordinate the medical outreach.

The traders also requested that qualified members of the association “be considered for the Chinese Government’s plan to train 5,000 Nigerians in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies”.

The association further appealed for undergraduate and master’s degree scholarships offered by the Chinese Government for its members.

Adigun said access to the training and scholarship programmes would help build skills and capacity among traders, enabling them to contribute more effectively to Nigeria’s economic and technological development.

On trade, the association sought the Consulate’s assistance in facilitating members’ participation in two major international exhibitions in China.

It listed the China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as the Canton Fair, scheduled for October 15 to November 4, 2026, in Guangzhou, and the China International Import Expo, scheduled for November 5 to 10, 2026, in Shanghai.

The association said participation in the exhibitions would provide members from different states with opportunities to establish business contacts, explore new markets and develop investment partnerships.

It added that such engagements could promote technology transfer and strengthen bilateral trade between Nigeria and China.

Adigun also expressed appreciation to the Consul-General for the Bamboo and Rattan Seminar, saying the programme had broadened the executives’ understanding of the use of the materials for sustainable development and economic empowerment

He said the knowledge acquired would be applied to benefit members of the association and their communities while contributing to stronger Nigeria-China relations.

“We appreciate the Chinese Government of President Xi Jiping and its representatives for their friendship and support for Nigeria.

“We remain committed to cooperation, excellence and mutual respect,” Adigun said.

The association represents traders operating across several states in Nigeria who engage in various trading activities.

Her father confirmed the actress’ death in a statement to ABC News.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” he said.

He asked that her family be given privacy while they “process this unimaginable loss.”

Details about her death were not immediately given, but news outlet TMZ said there was an “open investigation” into the cause.

Born in 1989, Panettiere became a child star and went on to have numerous roles in both film and TV.

Her credits include “Remember The Titans,” “Ice Princess,” “Scream 4” and “Scream VI.”

She wrote a memoir titled “This Is Me: A Reckoning” which was released in May.

In that book, she wrote of the pressures of being a child star and her experiences of addiction and recovery.

She had also spoken of estrangement from her mother, who managed her career as a child and later criticised her daughter’s book.

AFP

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that American missionary Kevin Rideout, who was released after more than nine months in captivity in Niger, is preparing to return to the United States.

Trump confirmed Rideout’s release in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, saying the former hostage was preparing to return to the United States after being reunited with his wife, Krista.

“I am happy to reveal that former hostage Kevin Rideout is getting ready to fly home to the United States after having been reunited with his beautiful wife, Krista,” Trump wrote.

He said Rideout’s release marked the “110th captive American liberated” since he began his second term as President.

“I look forward to seeing Kevin and Krista at the White House soon!” Trump added

Rideout, a Christian missionary and pilot with SIM International, had spent more than nine months in captivity after he was abducted outside his home in Niamey, Niger, in October 2025.

According to SIM International, Rideout was in good health and in the care of US officials following his release.

Three armed men reportedly abducted the missionary and took him to the Tillaberi region in western Niger, an area affected by militant activity.

Details surrounding his release, including the identity of his captors and how his freedom was secured, remained unclear.

Rideout had worked in Niger for 19 years and served as a pilot for SIM International, a Christian organisation operating in more than 70 countries.

The Nigerian military says troops conducting coordinated air and ground operations under Operation Fansan Yamma have neutralised more than 160 terrorists and recovered about 300 motorcycles in the North-West in the past week.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, disclosed this on Saturday while providing an update on military operations across the country.

Onoja said the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma carried out a successful armed reconnaissance mission on August 9, 2026, over Sangeko and Baba-Doka areas of Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, following intelligence on a large concentration of terrorists, many of them riding motorcycles.

He said the aircraft engaged the terrorists with rockets and cannon fire, disrupting their movement and activities.

“Initial reports indicated the recovery of approximately 120 bodies and about 300 motorcycles at the location. Monitoring of the area is ongoing to further assess the outcome of the operation,” he said.

In a separate operation on August 13, the Air Component conducted armed reconnaissance around Maburya in Mariga LGA after detecting a large group of terrorists moving with rustled cattle.

According to Onoja, an aircraft was subsequently deployed to conduct a clearance patrol along the Kainji-Daban Woko axis.

He said terrorists were sighted fleeing with a herd of rustled cattle and were engaged with onboard weapon systems, resulting in the neutralisation of 46 terrorists.

Operations in North-East

Giving an update on operations in the North-East, Onoja said troops of Operation HADIN KAI neutralised a terrorist at a hideout in Kaniram East, Abadam LGA of Borno State, on August 7.

He said the operation followed a probing attack on a military location in Mallam Fatori on July 29, adding that troops recovered arms, ammunition and other items before destroying the hideout.

On the same day, troops engaged terrorists collecting illegal taxes from herders along the Gaba-Dzangola axis in Guyaku District, Gombi LGA of Adamawa State, forcing them to withdraw and recovering weapons and ammunition.

Onoja said troops also arrested suspected logistics facilitators in Adamawa and Borno states, including five suspected terrorist collaborators and cattle rustlers at a checkpoint along the Mandaragirau-Sabon Gari Road in Biu LGA.

He added that a suspected terrorist informant was arrested at the Damboa Internally Displaced Persons camp in Borno State on August 10.

The military spokesman said 19 persons comprising terrorist fighters, women, children and teenagers also surrendered to troops at various locations in Borno State.

He said the surrendering persons cited food shortages, sustained military pressure and internal clashes among terrorist factions as reasons for abandoning the groups.

Onoja further disclosed that troops rescued five female abductees around Amuda Bridge along the Ngoshe-Gava Road in Gwoza LGA after they escaped from a terrorist enclave in the Mandara Mountains.

18 terrorists killed in Kebbi

In Kebbi State, troops responding to a terrorist attack at Makuku Village in Sakaba LGA on August 10 neutralised 18 terrorists.

Onoja, however, said some personnel of a local security outfit, another local security group member and a civilian were killed during the encounter.

He said troops subsequently intensified surveillance in the area to prevent further attacks.

The military also arrested two suspected terrorists, described as foreign nationals believed to be Improvised Explosive Device (IED) experts, at Zurmi in Zamfara State.

₦5.3m recovered from suspected logistics facilitator

In Zamfara State, troops arrested a suspected terrorist collaborator and logistics facilitator at Maradun on August 7 and recovered N5.302 million reportedly intended for delivery to terrorist associates.

A follow-up operation led to the arrest of another suspect, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend other members of the network.

Onoja said troops also engaged terrorists around Magazu Village in Tsafe LGA on August 8, forcing them to abandon some kidnapped victims who were subsequently rescued.

In Kaduna State, troops arrested a suspected terrorist at Kadage in Giwa LGA on August 12 and recovered foreign camouflage items, mobile phones and identification documents.

Another suspected terrorist logistics supplier was arrested along the Gwarzo-Kano Road in Kano State, with ammunition and other items recovered.

Troops rescue 25 kidnap victims in Kogi

In the North-Central, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke, working with the police and local security personnel, rescued 16 kidnap victims along the Ojuwo-Ajengo-Memarebo and Ojiwo-Itobe axes in Ofu LGA of Kogi State.

The victims comprised six men, six women and four children.

Onoja said one member of a local security outfit was killed during the operation, while a police officer sustained injuries.

He added that troops rescued another nine victims along the Ajaokuta-Itobe Road on August 11 after intercepting the kidnappers’ vehicles and forcing them to abandon their captives.

In Benue State, troops engaged armed assailants attacking residents at Azege village in Logo LGA, killing one armed herder and recovering a rifle and ammunition.

One civilian and three cattle were also killed during the encounter, according to the military.

Nine victims rescued in Niger

Troops of Operation Savannah Shield also rescued nine male kidnap victims in Mariga LGA of Niger State on August 12 following sustained operations against terrorists in the area.

In Kwara State, troops raided the residence of suspected terrorist collaborators at Latan Daji in Patigi LGA, arresting four suspects.

They also conducted an ambush operation at Majai and Tungan Bissalah villages, forcing terrorists to withdraw and recovering a rifle, ammunition and six motorcycles.

Crude oil theft operations in Niger Delta

In the Niger Delta, troops of Operation Sentinel recovered about 24,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil at Bethel Community in Bonny LGA of Rivers State.

The operation also uncovered an illegal refining site containing two pits and extensive hoses allegedly used for crude oil theft.

In a related operation, troops intercepted a speedboat carrying about 17,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil along the Onne-Okrika waterways.

They also discovered concealed storage facilities along the Oteghele axis containing about 60,000 litres and 45,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil.

Kidnap syndicate dismantled in South-East

In the South-East, troops of Operation Udoka, working with the Department of State Services, recorded progress in dismantling a kidnap syndicate operating across Enugu State and neighbouring areas.

Onoja said following the abduction of two persons in Udi LGA on August 2, troops tracked the syndicate and ambushed its members on August 9.

One syndicate commander was neutralised, while another sustained gunshot wounds while attempting to escape.

Troops recovered $1,600, N187,000, mobile phones and herbal medicine.

Another suspected member of the syndicate was arrested in Gariki, Enugu State, on August 10, with $1,000, N785,900 and other items recovered.

Using the arrested suspects as guides, troops subsequently recovered four AK-47 rifles, seven magazines and 133 rounds of ammunition from a forest hideout.

Onoja said all suspects were in custody and undergoing interrogation to support further investigations.

The Defence spokesman said the operations across the various theatres demonstrated the sustained tempo, coordination and effectiveness of the Armed Forces in tackling terrorism, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

He said the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, commended troops for their commitment and also acknowledged the contributions of the DSS, Nigeria Police Force, local security groups and other agencies.

The military chief, he added, assured Nigerians that the Armed Forces would remain committed to protecting lives and property and would not relent until peace and stability were restored across the country.

A strong 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia early Saturday, sending thousands running in panic after authorities issued a tsunami warning.

Residents in Nagekeo regency, the area closest to the epicentre, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated — a possible sign of an approaching tsunami, AFP journalists saw.

The warning was later lifted.

The epicentre of the shallow quake was located off the north coast of the island, about 68 kilometres (42 miles) northwest of the coastal town of Ende, United States and Indonesian authorities said.

The initial jolt was followed by strong aftershocks in the same area, including one with a magnitude of 6.1.

“Suddenly it started to shake, and I panicked,” 31-year-old hospital customer service official and Maumere resident, Lukas Lotar, told AFP.

“Patients also fled the hospital; the jolt was big. I saw some walls were cracked,” he said

A resident in Nagekeo, Yohanes Babo, 56, said he was at a market when the earth started shaking.

“The shaking was strong. Thankfully, we were already outside the house.

“People were panicking, running here and there. We’re evacuating for the time being… and trying to get to the hills,” he said, adding, “My family is safe. No one was harmed.”

– Evacuation urged –

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency warned of the possibility of tsunami waves following the quake and urged people to get to higher ground.

“We strongly urge our communities along the northern coast of Flores and in the southern parts, on the southern islands and across the southern region, to carry out self-evacuation immediately,” an official at the national disaster agency, Abdul Muhari, said.

Residents should “move away from the shore, either by going more than two kilometres inland or by moving up into hilly areas more than 10 meters high,” he told local broadcaster Kompas TV.

BMKG earthquake and tsunami director Wijayanto said tsunami modelling suggested the potential for a tsunami in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara.

An alert was issued for waves ranging from 0.5 metres to three metres (1.6 to 9.8 feet), but was later lifted.

“We have ended (the tsunami warning) but we will keep monitoring the sea level,” said Wijayanto, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.

Residents in the town of Maumere on Flores Island were evacuating to higher ground, an AFP correspondent saw.

Images broadcast on Indonesian television showed hundreds of people in nearby Nagekeo regency evacuating the area from among the rubble of damaged buildings.

Authorities have not reported any casualties, but said tsunami waves between 19 and 30 centimetres have been detected.

Indonesia and neighbouring countries experience frequent earthquakes due to their location in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Among Indonesia’s history of deadly quakes is a devastating 9.1-magnitude tremor in 2004 that struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.

The Boxing Day tragedy was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

In 2018, a powerful quake shook the island of Lombok, and several more tremors followed over the next couple of weeks, killing more than 550 people on the holiday island and neighbouring Sumbawa.

Later that year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

AFP

An American Christian missionary, Kevin Rideout, has regained his freedom after spending more than nine months in captivity following his abduction in Niger, his organisation, SIM International, has said.

According to BBC on Friday, the Rideout was kidnapped outside his home in Niger’s capital, Niamey, in October 2025 by three armed men who reportedly took him to the western Tillaberi region, an area known for militant activity.

SIM International said in a statement on Friday that Rideout was “in good health in the care of US officials”.

The New York Times, which first reported his release, cited unnamed US officials as saying he was in FBI custody. However, details of how he was released and who held him remained unclear.

There had been concerns that Rideout may have been abducted by militants, including members of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaeda affiliate active in the region.

Reuters, citing diplomatic sources, reported that three armed men took Rideout to Tillaberi following his abduction.

The US had warned its citizens against travelling to Niger shortly after the kidnapping, citing an increased risk of terrorism, crime and civil unrest.

There had been concerns that Rideout may have been abducted by militants, including members of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaeda affiliate active in the region.

Reuters, citing diplomatic sources, reported that three armed men took Rideout to Tillaberi following his abduction.

The US had warned its citizens against travelling to Niger shortly after the kidnapping, citing an increased risk of terrorism, crime and civil unrest.

Rideout, who is also a pilot, had worked in Niger as a Christian missionary for 19 years and served as a pilot for SIM International, which operates in more than 70 countries.

SIM International described his release as “incredibly good news” after months of uncertainty over his wellbeing.

The organisation said Rideout would soon be reunited with his wife, children and extended family.

“Krista and the rest of Kevin’s family are profoundly grateful for the prayers offered on their behalf by people around the world throughout his captivity,” the organisation said.

It added that the family had requested privacy while they “reconnect after this time apart”.

Rideout’s release comes amid continuing insecurity across Niger and other parts of the Sahel, where jihadist groups have carried out attacks and kidnappings targeting civilians and security forces.

Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria have faced persistent militant violence for more than a decade, resulting in thousands of deaths and widespread displacement.

The region has also experienced a series of military coups, with elected governments overthrown in several countries.

The Ghana Police Service has arrested a suspected member of a robbery syndicate and killed two others in a foiled attempt to rob three banks in Labone, Accra.

The arrested suspect was identified as Augustine Maazi.

The police disclosed this in a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday.

According to the statement, the police received intelligence at about 10:45am on August 13, 2026, that a gang was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank, all located in Labone.

A police team was immediately deployed to Labone where the gang members were spotted in their vehicles parked close to the banks.

“Upon sighting the police, one of the vehicle sped of in an attempt to escape.

“The police gave them a chase and arrested suspect Augustine Okechuku Maazi. The other occupant however managed to escape.

The robbers in the second vehicle also tried to escape amidst firing.

“The police engaged them in a shoot out resulting in the death of two suspects,” the statement said.

The police said they recovered two vehicles — a Toyota Highlander with registration number GS-1434-18 and a Hyundai Tucson with registration number GS 7915-17 — as well as a blow pistol.

Suspect Augustine Okechuku Maazi is in custody assisting the investigation while the bodies of the deceased suspects have been deposited at the morgue for preservation, identification and autopsy,” the statement added.

The Ghana Police Service commended the response team for foiling the planned robbery attempt.

It urged members of the public to continue to share credible information on criminal activities.

At least seven workers were killed and 13 injured following a landslide that sent water and debris gushing into a tunnel under construction in north India, officials said Friday.

The incident occurred late Thursday in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, where workers were constructing a tunnel for a state-run hydropower project.

At least three workers are still missing, while 19 were rescued from the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation site, the State Disaster Management Authority said in a statement.

Videos shared by local authorities showed rescue workers equipped with head-mounted torches using makeshift rafts to reach the flooded section of the tunnel.

Uttarakhand has been battered by heavy monsoon rains in recent days.

Accidents on large construction sites are common in India, but ecologists say excessive development projects have led to more disasters in the fragile Himalayan areas.

Last month, 20 people working in a tunnel for another state-run hydroelectric project were killed in the remote northeastern state of Sikkim.

In 2023, 41 workers were rescued after being trapped for 17 days inside a tunnel that collapsed in Uttarakhand.

Hundreds of people have been killed in floods and landslides across the country since the start of the annual monsoon season in June.

Experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing the frequency, severity, and impact of the disasters.

AFP

A solar eclipse has begun across the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, with the Moon gradually moving across the face of the Sun.

The eclipse became visible in Edinburgh at about 18:28 BST on Wednesday, with the event expected to peak at around 19:06 in the Scottish capital.

According to BBC, the Moon could be seen in Calton Hill of Edinburgh “starting to take a bite out of the sun,” with sunspots also visible through a telescope.

The platform also reported that the eclipse was already fully underway in parts of Iceland and Greenland, while other European countries were expected to witness a total eclipse.

More than 90 per cent of the Sun was expected to be covered by the Moon across most parts of the UK, making it the most significant solar eclipse visible from the country since 1999.

Large crowds gathered at viewing locations across the UK, with special eclipse glasses reportedly selling out in some areas.

Russia and Spain

The Moon first blotted out the Sun at the northernmost tip of mainland Russia at about 1700 GMT, leaving only the shimmering glow of its outer corona, and eerie darkness.

As it passes down through parts of Greenland and Iceland, excitement built in Spain, where the eclipse’s narrow path cuts diagonally from the northwestern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea, before being expected to fade at about 1830 GMT.

Tourists and enthusiasts thronged normally quiet Spanish villages, as mainland Europe has not experienced a total solar eclipse for 20 years while Spain has not witnessed one in more than a century.

What is Solar Eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, casting its shadow onto our planet and temporarily blocking some or all of the Sun’s light from view.

Depending on the precise alignment, observers may see a partial eclipse, in which only part of the solar disc is covered, or a total eclipse, when the Moon completely obscures the Sun for a brief period along a narrow path.

Expert warns

Experts warned viewers not to look directly at the Sun without appropriate eye protection because of the risk of serious eye damage.

The rare celestial event has also attracted scientists, with a group of Irish researchers planning to travel across the Atlantic to study the Sun’s corona during the eclipse.

The apex bank also lifted the suspension on tenored repurchase transactions and expanded participation in its Open Market Operations to eligible investors, including individuals, companies and non-bank financial institutions.

The changes were contained in a circular titled, “Review of Discount Window Restrictions and Open Market Operations Participation Framework,” published on the CBN’s website on Wednesday.

The circular, dated August 12, 2026, was signed by the Acting Director of the Financial Markets Department, Okey Umeano, and addressed to deposit money banks, authorised dealers and the general public.developments and existing practices across Nigeria’s foreign exchange, money and fixed-income markets, as well as the framework governing access to its Standing Lending Facility, tenored repo operations and OMO.

The Standing Lending Facility, which forms part of the CBN’s Discount Window, provides eligible banks with access to short-term liquidity from the apex bank, particularly when they face temporary funding needs.

Under the previous framework, certain market activities could restrict financial institutions from accessing the facility.

The latest circular introduces a differentiated approach, removing some of those restrictions while retaining the rule governing same-day participation in OMO auctions.

On foreign exchange transactions, the CBN said, “Restrictions on access to the Discount Window arising from participation in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market are hereby removed.”

It similarly removed restrictions linked to banks’ participation in primary auctions of government securities.

“Restrictions on access to the Discount Window arising from participation in the primary auctions of Government securities are hereby removed,” the circular stated.

The decision means participation in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market or primary government securities auctions will no longer, by itself, prevent an eligible institution from accessing the CBN’s Discount Window.

However, the apex bank retained its restriction covering OMO transactions.

“The existing restriction on participation in OMO auctions by institutions accessing the Discount Window on the same day shall remain in force,” it said.

The retained restriction effectively maintains a separation between banks accessing central bank liquidity through the Discount Window and those participating in OMO auctions on the same day.

The CBN said the revised rules took immediate effect and were issued further to its October 7, 2022 circular on access to the Discount Window and an October 23, 2019 letter governing OMO auctions.

The apex bank also reopened tenored repurchase operations, expanding the liquidity management instruments available under its monetary operations.

The suspension of Tenored Repo Operations is hereby lifted,” the CBN said.

It added that it “may conduct repo operations across approved tenors ranging from 4 to 90 days to support effective liquidity management, improve money market functioning and enhance monetary policy implementation.”

Repo transactions generally involve the temporary exchange of securities for cash, with an agreement to reverse the transaction at a specified date.

For banks, the instrument provides another channel for managing liquidity over periods longer than overnight facilities.

The four-to-90-day tenor provided in the new framework gives the CBN flexibility to inject liquidity for different periods depending on prevailing conditions in the financial system.

Beyond the changes to borrowing rules, the CBN also widened access to the OMO market, allowing eligible investors to participate in both primary and secondary markets through deposit money banks.

“OMO participation (primary and secondary markets) shall be open to all eligible investors through Deposit Money Banks,” the circular stated.

The bank identified eligible investors as individuals, corporates and non-bank financial institutions, while DMBs will continue to submit bids and settle transactions on behalf of their customers.

The revised framework therefore broadens the categories of investors able to gain exposure to OMO instruments, although transactions will continue to be routed through commercial banks.
Despite the broader participation, the CBN retained control over how much liquidity it withdraws through OMO and the maturity profile of securities offered to the market.

According to the circular, “The volume, tenor and frequency of OMO issuances shall continue to be determined by the CBN in line with prevailing liquidity conditions and monetary policy objectives.”

The apex bank also retained the existing single-bid structure for OMO auctions.

OMO is one of the key instruments used by the CBN to manage liquidity in the financial system. By selling securities, the apex bank can absorb excess liquidity, while its broader liquidity framework allows it to respond when funding conditions tighten.

The combination of broader OMO participation, restored tenored repo transactions and fewer restrictions on Discount Window access gives the CBN and financial institutions more channels for managing liquidity across the money market.

The revised framework also separates the treatment of different market activities. While banks involved in FX transactions and primary government securities auctions can access the Discount Window without the previous restrictions, institutions using the facility remain barred from participating in OMO auctions on the same day.

The CBN directed banks, authorised dealers and other market participants to comply with the revised rules immediately.

“The provisions of this Circular take immediate effect,” it said, adding that “all banks, authorised dealers and market participants

culled from punch

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and will “keep it.”

“The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed the United States controls the strait, which is vital for the flow of energy and other commodity shipping through the Middle East.

However, Iran says it effectively controls much of the waterway and intends to impose a toll system in response to the US war launched by Trump on February 28.

Late Tuesday, Trump told reporters: “We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now. They don’t have control. We have total control. We own it.”

US and Israeli forces have heavily bombed Iran’s military and killed a swath of the country’s leadership so far in the nearly six month war, launched initially with goals including forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear power program and regime change.

Iran has resisted with missile attacks on US bases in the region, Israel and targets in US-allied Gulf countries.

Its most effective response has been to strike shipping in Hormuz, effectively snarling the trade route, rattling the world economy.

With his political popularity sinking at home ahead of the November midterm congressional elections, Trump has backed off threats to escalate the war in search of a decisive victory.

That leaves the war in a standoff.

However, the Republican says that the United States is prepared to focus on blockading Iranian ports in a strategy that he told Axios was “low-keying.”

“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump told Axios on Sunday.