Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable, seen by CNN, to all US diplomatic posts on Friday outlining the move, which threatens billions of dollars of funding from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs worldwide.

Foreign assistance has been the target of ire from Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials, but the funding accounts for very little of the overall US budget. The scope of the executive order and subsequent cable has left humanitarian and State Department officials reeling.

The cable calls for immediate “stop work” orders on existing foreign assistance and pauses new aid. It is sweeping in its scope. Essentially all foreign assistance appears to have been targeted unless specifically exempted. That means lifesaving global health aid, development assistance, military aid, and even clean water distribution could all be affected.

The cable provides a waiver only for emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt. The cable does not specifically mention any other countries that receive foreign military financing, like Ukraine or Taiwan, as being exempt from the freeze.

“Decisions, whether to continue, modify, or terminate programs, will be made following this review,” the cable states, noting that such a review should be completed within 85 days.

In a public statement on Wednesday, Rubio said that “every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”

The impact of the freeze on assistance will be immense because the US is consistently the world’s largest humanitarian donor.

“It’s a global freak out at the moment,” a humanitarian official said Saturday.

InterAction, an alliance of international nongovernmental organizations, said in a statement Saturday that the freeze “interrupts critical life-saving work including clean water to infants, basic education for kids, ending the trafficking of girls, and providing medications to children and others suffering from the disease. It stops assistance in countries critical to U.S. interests, including Taiwan, Syria, and Pakistan.”

“The recent stop-work cable from the State Department suspends programs that support America’s global leadership and creates dangerous vacuums that China and our adversaries will quickly fill,” the statement said.

One humanitarian official said the pause is incredibly disruptive and said the specifics of the cable are “as bad as can be.”

Another official told CNN that while they expected there to be cuts or changes to assistance to specific areas, they were not expecting such a sweeping and immediate pause. They said that the humanitarian needs worldwide are acute and a freeze in assistance from the US could be detrimental.

In his executive order, Trump claimed that the US “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”

However, one of the officials noted that assistance programs, such as those related to global health, which are targeted by the freeze, are in the US’ interest and had enjoyed bipartisan support.

“Making sure there are not pandemics is in our interest. Global stability is in our interest,” they said.

Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York and Lois Frankel of Florida said in a Friday letter to Rubio that programs that appear affected by the freeze such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) “depend on an uninterrupted supply of medicines.” PEPFAR and PMI were launched by Republican President George W. Bush and have long enjoyed bipartisan support.

Meeks serves as the top Democratic on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Frankel is a member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, meaning they both have oversight over State Department and USAID funding.

They added that people around the world — such as in conflict-ridden Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Ukraine — rely on the continued flow of aid from the United States.

“Congress has appropriated and cleared these funds for use, and it is our constitutional duty to make sure these funds are spent as directed,” the letter read. “These funds respond directly to your stated challenge of carrying out a foreign policy that makes the United States stronger, safer, and more prosperous.”

The International AIDS Society warned on Saturday that halting PEPFAR would place millions of lives in jeopardy. IAS President Beatriz Grinsztejn said in a statement, “This is a matter of life or death. PEPFAR provides lifesaving antiretrovirals for more than 20 million people — and stopping its funding essentially stops their HIV treatment. If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”

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Residents shared videos of M23 rebels patrolling Goma’s main streets following a lightning advance against the Congolese army on Sunday that saw tens of thousands of people fleeing neighbouring towns.

After hours of gunfire and explosions the streets of Goma – home to more than a million people – are now quiet, according to local media reports.

It comes hours after DR Congo’s foreign minister accused Rwanda of declaring war by sending its troops over the border to support the M23 rebels. Rwanda says Kinshasa supports militias who want regime change in Kigali.

Kenya has called for a ceasefire and announced that the DR Congo and Rwanda presidents will attend an emergency regional summit in the next two days.

Kenyan President William Ruto, the current chair of the East African Community, said it was incumbent on regional leaders to help facilitate a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The M23 group has taken control of vast parts of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. In the past few weeks, the group has been advancing swiftly on Goma amid intense fighting.

Since the start of 2025, more than 400,000 people have been displaced in North and South Kivu, provinces near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN’s refugee agency.

One displaced woman, Alice Feza, said she is at a loss for what to do next, as she has fled from Kiwanja, Rutshuru, Kibumba, and now, Goma.

“People are fleeing everywhere, and we don’t know where to go anymore, because we started fleeing a long time ago,” Ms Feza said, adding: “The war catches us here among the host families, and now we have nowhere to go.”

Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked and the city’s airport can no longer be used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts, the UN has said.

UN Secretary General António Guterres has called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from DR Congo’s territory and on the M23 rebel group to stop its advance.

Guterres, in a statement through his spokesman, called on Rwanda to “cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory”. He also called on the M23 to “immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas”.

This comes after 13 soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces were killed in clashes with the rebels.

The UK has called for an end to attacks on peacekeepers, while France’s UN representative, Nicolas de Rivière, reiterated Guterres’ call for Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the DR Congo.

Both DR Congo and the UN say the M23 group is backed by Rwanda.

Rwanda has not denied this, but the country’s leaders put the blame on the DR Congo for the current conflict.

Speaking at the Security Council meeting, Rwanda’s UN representative Ernest Rwamucyo said he regretted that the international community choose to condemn the M23 group rather than the Congolese army, which, he said, had violated a ceasefire.

On Saturday, the UN said it would be pulling all of its non-essential staff out of Goma. Essential operations are ongoing in the DR Congo.

The M23 formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in the east of DR Congo, which had long complained of persecution and discrimination.

Rwanda has previously said the Congolese authorities were working with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

However, Rwanda’s critics accuse it of using the M23 to loot minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum in eastern DR Congo.

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The region’s fisheries minister, Abdirisak Abdulahi Hagaa, told Reuters that so far at least 110 dead dolphins had been counted, not far from the port of Bosaso, and that samples had been taken to try to establish what happened.

“So far, we know their death was not caused by wounds from nets because there were no wounds or cuts on them,” he said, adding that officials did not believe toxic materials were to blame since fish in the area did not appear to have been affected.

Local residents and soldiers gathered to look at the grim sight, holding their noses because of the smell of the carcasses.

Donald Trump had ordered 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods after its president barred two US military deportation flights from landing in the country on Sunday.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had initially responded by saying his country would accept deportees on “civilian planes, without treating them like criminals”.

A White House statement says Columbia has now agreed to accept migrants arriving on US military aircraft “without limitation or delay”. Colombia said a dialogue would be maintained to “guarantee the dignity of our citizens”.

The White House has hailed the agreement with Colombia as a victory for Trump’s hard-line approach after the country’s two leaders traded threats on social media on Sunday.

Colombia’s foreign ministry said it had “overcome the impasse” with the US just hours after Petro published a lengthy post on X condemning what he called Trump’s “blockade”.

Petro had earlier denied entry to US military deportation flights, saying that migrants should be returned “with dignity and respect”.

In response, Trump announced “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures” in a post on his social media site Truth Social, including tariffs and visa sanctions.

Petro responded on X with a post announcing his own tariffs and celebrating Colombia’s heritage.

“Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world,” he said.

Within hours, the two sides appeared to have resolved the row, and the White House said Columbia had agreed to “all of President Trump’s demands”.

Trump’s proposed tariffs had been “fully drafted” and would still be implemented if Colombia does not honour this agreement, according to the White House.

Trump had also announced visa sanctions and enhanced inspections on Colombians at the border. These will remain in place “until the first planeload of Columbian deportees is successfully returned”, the White House said.

Colombia’s foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said the country would “continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions, as citizens subject to rights”.

Petro’s presidential plane has been prepared to facilitate the return of the Colombians who would have arrived in the country earlier on the blocked military flights, he added.

Murillo will travel to Washington for high-level meetings in the coming hours, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The feud between the two nations came after Trump’s administration vowed to carry out “mass deportations”. The president signed multiple executive orders related to immigration on his first day in office.

Some of Trump’s executive orders were signed with the aim of expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants on US soil.

Federal agents conducted “targeted” immigration arrests in Chicago on Sunday, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.

The agents were accompanied by the newly appointed “border czar” Tom Homan, US officials told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

Homan said Congress should increase funding for the border effort, which included a need for 100,000 beds in migrant detention centres.

On Thursday, the US Congress passed the Laken Riley Act, which will greatly expand immigration authorities’ power to detain migrants.

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the bill represents a “fundamental erosion of civil rights”.

The flight, which had 245 passengers, eight flight attendants and three pilots, made a direct return to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, while outbound in Ivory Coast airspace.

One of the passengers, who refused to disclose his identity, in a chat with Saturday Vanguard, shared details of the incident.

No turbulence
His words: “The flight took off at 11:50 pm. All through, we (passengers) did not experience any turbulence. We were flying well without any issue until we reached Senegal. At the time, it had been announced to us (passengers) that we could unfasten our seatbelts. The plane was on autopilot when it happened. We had also been served food and drinks.

Drop
“There were three pilots. The major one had gone to use the restroom and another took charge when we noticed a sudden drop. The impact of the drop resulted in my slamming my head against the plane’s roof. You can see in some of the pictures that I just showed you that there were blood stains on the plane’s roof.

Unconscious
“After hitting my head, I was unconscious for a while because one of the medical personnel on the plane was brave enough to assist me to regain awareness. When I regained consciousness, I saw that everyone was terrified. I heard people shouting ‘God of Chosen. God of Prophet Ebuka of Zion.’

Three times
“We were all frightened. One black flight attendant was so scared. In fact, there was a woman who wanted to use the restroom when the incident happened, she was badly injured. Three times, the plane dropped with force, and the pilot struggled to make the plane ascend.

This happened for 20 minutes, although we flew for about four hours. While this was happening, we were told by the pilot that navigation was lost. We were told so many things. However, the pilot was brave enough to successfully return us to Lagos.

Hotel
“When we landed in Lagos, we were all taken to Ibis Hotel, Airport Road, Lagos, where the airline promised to communicate to us through the hotel’s reception. However, at 12:00 pm on Friday, nobody communicated anything to us. Therefore, I had to come down from my room, go to the reception where I saw other passengers.

Booked
“One of the passengers told me that he had to go to their office (United’s) and had been booked for another flight for tomorrow (Saturday).

At that point, I joined another set of passengers going from the hotel to United’s office. On getting there, the airline wanted to book me on Turkish Airlines travelling this evening (Friday), but I rejected. I told them I would fly United at the same time tomorrow (Saturday) because it is a direct flight.”

Officers came across 29-year-old John Kiama Wambua while patrolling Huruma, a district east of Nairobi, just before dawn.

Suspecting Wambua was carrying something illegal, they searched his backpack and “to their shock” found the body parts, said a statement from Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

This is far from an isolated case – Kenya has one of the highest rates of femicide, or killings with a gender-related motivation, in Africa.

After police officers interrogated Mr. Wambua, he told them that the body parts belonged to his wife, Joy Fridah Munani, according to the DCI statement.

He appeared “unperturbed” by the officers’ discovery, it said.

After the interrogation, Mr. Wambua led the officers to his home, where they discovered a knife, blood-soaked clothes, and more body parts under a bed.

The DCI described the act as “heinous,” adding that the suspect will be formally charged with murder during an upcoming court hearing.

Between August and October last year, at least 97 women were murdered, Kenya’s National Police Service said.

In December, hundreds of women protesting against a recent wave of femicides took to the streets of the capital, Nairobi. They were reportedly met by police firing teargas.

Kenya has seen several high-profile murders of women. In September 2024, Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei was killed by her former partner.

The 33-year-old died days after being doused in petrol and set alight at her home in western Kenya.

In July, police arrested Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, who they described as a “serial killer,” after the mutilated bodies of nine women were found in a disused quarry.

Mr. Khalusha escaped from custody a month later and appears to still be on the run.

Earlier that year, in a case that sparked widespread outrage, a young woman named Rita Waeni was brutally murdered at a short-term rental apartment. The police said she was dismembered and stuffed into a plastic bag.

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An animal rights group argued Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo were effectively imprisoned at the zoo, and had filed to have them moved to an elephant sanctuary.

It tried to bring a habeas corpus claim on behalf of the animals – a legal process which allows a person to challenge their detention in court.

The Colorado Supreme Court said the matter boiled down to “whether an elephant is a person” and therefore had the same liberty rights as a human – ultimately deciding that they did not.

It ruled 6-0 in favour of a previous district court decision that said the state’s habeas corpus process “only applies to persons, and not to nonhuman animals”.

This was true “no matter how cognitively, psychologically, or socially sophisticated they may be,” State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter added in her ruling.

While she said the five elderly African elephants were “majestic,” the court ruled the claim could not be brought “because an elephant is not a person”.

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) petitioned for the elephants to be moved from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a “suitable elephant sanctuary” in 2023.

The group argued the animals had a right to freedom because they were emotionally complex and intelligent animals.

It claimed the elephants showed signs of “trauma, brain damage, and chronic stress” and that they were effectively “imprisoned” at the zoo.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo rejected the claim, arguing the elephants had received remarkable care, and was supported by a district court.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo called NRP’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said it had “wasted” time and money on the case.

It accused the group of “abusing court systems to fundraise” and claimed its goal was “to manipulate people into donating to their cause by incessantly publicising sensational court cases with relentless calls for supporters to donate”.

NRP said the decision “perpetuate[d] a clear injustice, stating that unless an individual is human they have no right to liberty”.

“As with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering,” the group said in a statement.

An earlier bid by NRP to free an elephant named Happy from New York’s Bronx Zoo was rejected after the court judged she was not legally a person.

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Until a few weeks ago, they did it for no formal pay – digging graves, washing corpses and tending to the vast cemetery, receiving only small donations from mourners for their labour.

The vast Tudun Wada Cemetery was set aside for the Muslim residents of the city by the authorities a century ago.

The Abdullahi family became involved in the 1970s when two brothers – Ibrahim and Adamu – began working there.

The two siblings now lie beneath the soil in the graveyard, and their sons have become the cemetery’s main custodians.

“Their teachings to us, their children, was that God loves the service and would reward us for it even if we don’t get any worldly gains,” Ibrahim Abdullahi’s oldest son Magaji told the BBC when asked why they had chosen to continue as unpaid undertakers.

The 58-year-old is now in charge at Tudun Wada – shepherding operations and the 18 members of staff or until recently – volunteers.

He and his two younger cousins – Abdullahi, 50, and Aliyu, 40, (Adamu Abdullahi’s sons) – are the three full-time workers, all reporting in by 07:00 for a 12-hour shift, seven days a week.

They always need to be on call because, according to Muslim rites, a burial must be organised within a few hours of someone’s death.

Magaji tends to get call on his mobile, either directly from a relative or an imam – all religious clerics in the city have his number.

“A lot of people have our numbers and as soon as someone dies, we get a call and immediately we get to work,” he says.

One of the trio goes to tend to the corpse, which may include washing it and wrapping it in a shroud.

The body is measured and those details are texted back to the others so that a grave can be dug.

This can take around an hour – with two people taking it in turns to dig down 6ft (1.8m) into the earth – sometimes longer when it is in a stony area of the graveyard.

They can dig around a dozen graves in a day – hard work in the Kaduna heat.

“Today alone we have dug eight graves and it’s not even noon, some days are like that,” says Abdullahi, who began work at the cemetery when he was 20.

The cousins have experienced very stressful times – especially during religious violence when tensions flare between the city’s Christian and Muslim residents. The two communities tend to live on opposite sides of the Kaduna River.

“We have had a couple of religious clashes in Kaduna but the one that sticks the most for me was one in the early 1990s. A lot of people were killed,” says Magaji.

“We went round gathering the corpses and taking them off the streets.”

Muslims were taken to Tudun Wada in the north of the city and Christians to graveyards in the southern suburbs.

“It was such a troubling time personally and I wasn’t long in the job then but that helped enhance my resolve to continue,” he says.

Usually, while the team digs a grave, at the local mosque the imam announces during one of the five daily prayers that a funeral will be taking place.

Many of the worshippers then go to where the body has been prepared for prayers – it is then transported to the graveyard for burial, often thronged by the mourners.

Once by the graveside, the shrouded body is lowered – it is covered with a layer of sticks and broken clay pots as a mark of respect. The grave is then filled to form a slightly raised bed.

After the rituals are complete and before the mourners leave, the graveyard keepers appeal for donations.

This is usually done by 72-year-old Inuwa Mohammed, the oldest worker at the cemetery, who explains the importance of the Abdullahi family to the community.

He used to work with the cousins’ fathers: “They were amazing people who loved what they did and have imbibed their children with this altruistic behaviour.”

The little money collected will sometimes buy lunch for the crew – but is never enough for anything else. In order to survive, the family also has a small farm where they grow food.

The graves are recycled after 40 years, meaning land is not a big issue – but maintenance is.

“There is a lot that is lacking at the moment – we don’t have enough equipment to work with or good security,” says Aliyu, the youngest of the cousins who has worked there for 10 years.

He explains how part of the wall has collapsed, allowing those on the lookout for scrap metal to steal the grave markers.

Some of the graves have metal plates inscribed with a name and date of birth and death – though many do not as Islamic clerics do not encourage ostentation. Most are just outlined by stones and bricks or with a stick.

Either way, the cousins remember the location of everyone buried at the cemetery and can direct people if they have forgotten the location of a relative’s grave.

Following the BBC’s recent visit to the graveyard, they have seen a dramatic change in fortune.

The new local council chairman, whose office oversees the site, has decided to put them on the payroll.

“They deserve it, given the massive work they do every day,” Rayyan Hussain tells the BBC.

“Graves are the final homes for us all and people who do this kind of hard work deserve to be paid, so my office would pay them as long as I am chairman.”

Magaji confirms that the staff have started receiving a monthly salary for the first time:

• the five oldest, including himself, are getting 43,000 naira ($28; £22.50)
• the others, including Abdullahi and Aliyu, are receiving 20,000 naira ($13; £10.50).

This is well below the national minimum wage of $45 a month, but Mr Hussain says he hopes to increase their allowance “with time”.

He says it is regrettable that the graveyard was abandoned for years by previous local council heads.

He has plans to repair parts of the fencing, install solar lights and add security, the chairman adds.

“I am also building a room in the graveyard where corpses could be washed and prepared for burials, before now all of this had to be done from homes.”

For the Abdullahi family, it is all welcome investment – and Magaji hopes it will ensure that one of his 23 children will one day become a custodian of the cemetery.

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The troops will not be involved in “law enforcement”, acccording to a senior military official. They will initially be used to build physical barriers and other “border missions”.

A senior military official tells BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that 1,000 army personnel and 500 marines will move to San Diego in California and El Paso in Texas. They will work on the placement of barriers and other “border missions”.

They will not be involved in law enforcement, the official says.

Two C-17 and two C-130 aircraft, along with helicopters, will also be sent to the US border with Mexico.

Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses says the department will provide military airlift to support deportation flights of more than 5,000 people he describes as “illegal aliens”.

Meanwhile, all refugee travel to the US is being suspended, following a separate order, one of several signed by Trump in the first few days of his presidency.

Earlier, Trump urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to make a deal to end the “ridiculous” Ukraine war or face new tariffs and sanctions.

In a social media post, he said he had a good relationship with his Russian counterpart but if a deal was not made soon he would impose economic penalties.

Russian ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy responded saying, “We have to see what does the ‘deal’ mean”?

The temporary shelters in Ciudad Juarez will have the capacity to house thousands of people and should be ready in a matter of days, said municipal official Enrique Licon.

“It’s unprecedented,” Licon said on Tuesday afternoon, as workers unloaded long metal bracings from tractor trailers parked in the large empty lot yards from the Rio Grande, which separates the city from El Paso, Texas.

The tents in Ciudad Juarez are part of the Mexican government’s plan to ready shelters and reception centers in nine cities across northern Mexico.

Authorities at the site will provide deported Mexicans with food, temporary housing, medical care, and assistance in obtaining identity documents, according to a government document outlining the strategy, called “Mexico embraces you.”

The government is also planning to have a fleet of buses ready to transport Mexicans from the reception centers back to their hometowns.

Trump has vowed to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, which would remove millions of immigrants. An operation of that scale, however, would likely take years and be hugely costly.

Nearly 5 million Mexicans are living in the United States without authorization, according to an analysis by Mexican think tank El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) based on recent U.S. census data.

Many are from parts of central and southern Mexico wracked by violence and poverty. Some 800,000 undocumented Mexicans in the United States are from Michoacan, Guerrero, and Chiapas, according to the COLEF study, where fierce battles between organized crime groups have forced thousands to flee in recent years, sometimes leaving whole towns abandoned.

MEXICO COULD STRUGGLE

The Mexican government says it is ready for the possibility of mass deportations. But immigration advocates have their doubts, fearing that the combination of mass deportations and Trump’s measures to prevent migrants from entering the U.S. could quickly saturate Mexican border cities.

The Trump administration on Monday ended a program, known as CBP One, that allowed some migrants waiting in Mexico to enter the U.S. legally by obtaining an appointment on a government app. On Tuesday it said it was reinstating Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), an initiative that forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their U.S. cases.

On Monday, Jose Luis Perez, then director of migration issues for Tijuana, became one of the few Mexican officials to raise public concerns about whether Mexico was really prepared.

“Basically, with the cancellation of CBP One and deportations, the government isn’t coordinated to receive them,” he said.

Hours later, he was fired in what he said was retaliation for issuing such warnings.
The municipal government did not answer questions about his termination.

“Mexico will do everything necessary to care for its compatriots, and will allocate whatever is necessary to receive those who are repatriated,” Mexico’s Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said on Monday during the daily morning press conference.

But with sluggish economic growth projected this year, Mexico could struggle to absorb millions of Mexicans deported from the U.S., while a significant drop in remittances could cause “serious economic disruptions” in the towns and villages across the country that depend on such income, said Wayne Cornelius, distinguished emeritus professor at the University of California-San Diego.

On Thursday evening in Ciudad Juarez, some two dozen soldiers worked at the tent shelter near a tall black cross where in 2016, Pope Francis held an open-air Mass, warned of a humanitarian crisis, and prayed for migrants. The soldiers, in the deepening darkness, began constructing an industrial kitchen to feed the deported.

A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, prompting thousands to evacuate a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in its history.

The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles northwest of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The out-of-control blaze has grown to more than 8,000 acres in several hours fuelled by winds and dry brush that is acting as fuel. No homes or businesses have been damaged, but about 19,000 residents have been forced to flee and Interstate 5 – the primary highway running along the US West Coast from Mexico to Canada – is closed.

The new fire is burning north of the two mammoth blazes – which are still burning – that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.

Reuters

Scottish researchers are working on a new AI tool that could be used by high-street opticians to spot the early signs of dementia.

Photographs taken of the retina at the back of the eye can give an indication of brain health, and by using AI software to analyse the information, scientists may be able to spot signs of disease before any symptoms are experienced.

The NeurEYE research team has collected almost a million eye scans from opticians across Scotland – the largest data set of its kind in the world – and with the help of AI has developed an algorithm that can assess the health of the blood vessels in the eye that could indicate neurogenerative diseases.

The database the team has built up can be applied to photographs taken during routine eye examinations and could eventually be used by clinicians to either prevent disease from occurring, or to diagnose conditions at a far earlier stage than is currently available.

Edinburgh Innovations

Musician Chris Brown says he’s suing a film studio over a documentary released last year which included accusations of sexual assault.

Chris Brown: A History of Violence was released by Warner Bros in October and featured testimony from an anonymous dancer who claimed he raped her on a yacht in 2020.

In a statement, the Forever singer’s lawyers say the film is “defamatory”, and her claims were “baseless” and “sensationalised”, accusing Warner Bros of “recklessly damaging” his reputation.

As well as Warner Bros, the lawsuit also names production company Ample. Neither firm responded when contacted for comment by BBC Newsbeat.

Donald Trump has signed sweeping executive orders on his return to the US presidency, vowing swift action on some of his top campaign issues.

Among the directives that have gained the most publicity are an immigration crackdown and rollbacks of some climate-friendly policies.

But even presidential powers have their limits – and in some cases, he faces hurdles before his plans can become reality.

Here are six of Trump’s eye-catching actions with analysis by BBC reporters, who give their verdict on whether each order could take effect.

Speaking on a recent episode of the reality TV series Young, Famous & African, the 42-year-old star reflected on her struggles with fertility and how they shaped her life.

Edo revealed that she got married at 26 with hopes of completing her childbearing journey by the age of 31.

However, her plans took a challenging turn as she faced persistent fertility issues during her marital life.

Despite the series of challenges, Ini Edo said she remained resolute in her desire to become a mother.

“My journey is one that I have not really been wanting to talk about because it is personal. I went through surrogacy. I never thought I would be someone who would have fertility issues,” she revealed.

“But I have had issues carrying pregnancies long-term. And it looked like it was not going to happen the way I wanted it to happen. So, this option came and I took it.”

Edo shared that she opted for surrogacy in 2023 to achieve her dream of motherhood, a decision she initially hesitated to make public.

Edo was previously married to Philip Ehiagwina, a US-based businessman, in 2008, but the marriage ended in divorce in 2014.

A year ago, at just 16 years old, he says he was forcibly recruited into a drug cartel in his home state of Michoacán, Mexico.

Recounting his story of horror and escape, Marcos (not his real name) says he and his family fled Michoacán with only what they were wearing.

Leaving for the pharmacy one evening to buy painkillers for his mother’s toothache, he says he was suddenly surrounded by four pick-up trucks with armed men inside.

“Get in,” he says they ordered, “or we’ll kill your family.”

They dragged him off to a shack where several other youths were in the same predicament, according to Marcos.

For months, he says he was made to be a foot soldier in a war he wanted no part of, before managing to escape with the help of a gang member who took pity on him.

Marcos has spent months inside a migrant shelter in the Mexican border city of Tijuana waiting to make his case for asylum before the US authorities, confident that he could convince them he has what US immigration courts call “credible fear” of persecution or torture in Mexico.

But now he thinks President Trump’s sweeping executive orders on immigration and border security have ruined his chances of success.

“I hope they look at the circumstances of every person and take each case on its merit,” he says, “and that Mr Trump’s heart softens to help those who truly need it.”

From the Oval Office on Monday evening, hours after returning to the presidency, Trump signed a blizzard of orders aimed at delivering on one of his central campaign promises: to drastically reduce illegal migration and asylum claims at the US border.

Among the measures were a move to declare some drug cartels terrorist organisations, paving the way for US military action and deportations.

That order has Pastor Albert Rivera, the director of a migrant shelter that primarily houses people fleeing cartel intimidation and death threats, confused.

He says there’s a contradiction at the heart of the executive order.

“If you’re going from saying these people are fleeing gangs to say they are now fleeing terrorists, surely that only makes their claims for asylum stronger,” he argues.

For Trump’s supporters on the other side of the border, in southern California, the need for these strict new measures is self-evident.

“It will be a relief,” says Paula Whitsell, the chairwoman of the San Diego County Republican Party, about the new president’s plan to launch what he’s called “the largest deportation in American history”.

“Our system here in San Diego County is very burdened by the heavy weight of all these people coming in, and we’re just not built for it. The county is not made to be able to sustain this,” she argues.

She insists the measures are not inherently anti-immigrant – “we are still a nation of immigrants” – but directed instead at removing undocumented criminals in the US and dismantling the gangs that operate people-smuggling routes across the border.

But for people waiting in Mexico, who say they have done nothing wrong and have legitimate claims for asylum, Trump’s orders have had sweeping and swift consequences.

On the morning that the president took the oath of office, around 60 migrants gathered at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, waiting to speak to border guards about their asylum claims. But they never got the chance, as Mexican officials instead directed them towards buses that would take them back to shelters.

The CBP One app – a mobile application launched by the Biden administration and criticised by Trump on the campaign trial – had shut down.

The app had been the only legal pathway to request asylum at the US-Mexico border, and with all of its appointments scrapped, there would no crossing the border.

For some, it felt like the end of the road.

Oralia has been living with her two youngest children for seven months in a nylon tent just walking distance from the US border.

She says she is also fleeing cartel threats in Michoacán, and that her 10-year-old boy has epilepsy. She says her hope was to get him medical attention somewhere safe in the US.

But without the CBP One app, Oralia says she has little hope that her claim will ever be heard.

“We have no choice but to go back and trust in God that nothing happens,” she says.

A local migrant rights’ lawyer has apparently advised her to wait and see how President Trump’s actions unfold. But Oralia’s mind is made up.

Her bags packed, the tent she’s called home for most of the last year is now vacant for the next family.

“It’s all been so unjust,” she says, wiping away tears.

“Mexico receives their citizens with no complaint, but it doesn’t work the other way round.

“I just hope God moves him [Trump] because there are lots of families like ours.”

The duke’s lawyers were due on Tuesday to open an eight-week trial of his allegations that journalists at News Group Newspapers used unlawful techniques to pry into his private life – and executives then allegedly covered it up.

Moments before they were to begin presenting their case, they asked for an adjournment.

However, after hours of secret discussions, and no sign of a final agreement that could change the nature of the trial, the judge demanded that the two sides begin – leading them both to say they would ask the Court of Appeal to overturn that order.

The practical effect of their objection is that the case has been delayed until at least 10 am on Wednesday – which means both sides have more time to negotiate.

It’s not clear what has been raised in the 11th-hour negotiations.

Prince Harry has repeatedly said he wants a trial so that he can get “accountability” for other alleged victims of unlawful newsgathering of private information by NGN journalists.

NGN has denied there was any wrongdoing at The Sun or that executives across the group covered it up.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned empire has long admitted that journalists at the News of the World, which closed down in 2011, did use unlawful techniques but has always denied that it was widespread.

This morning, lawyers for Prince Harry and former Labour MP Lord Tom Watson, the other remaining claimant, asked Mr Justice Fancourt to delay opening the case twice – meaning the court did not sit until 2 pm.

David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s barrister, said there was potentially a “good prospect” of an agreement that would save the court time.

“We are very close, there is an issue with time and gaining instructions,” he said.

“It is not the only factor.”

Anthony Hudson KC, for News Group Newspapers, added the parties needed more time because of “time differences” and said that both parties were involved in a “settlement dynamic”.

Mr Justice Fancourt – who has repeatedly criticised both sides for long delays and spats over how the case should be conducted – refused to give them more time, saying that the case should start, even if there were still talks behind the scenes that could change the nature of the trial.

“I am not persuaded that if there is a real will to settle this it could not have been done by today,” said the judge.

News Group Newspapers’ lawyers then asked for the court to sit in private – without the presence of the media – to hear more about what was going on.

The judge refused, saying he was not going to sit in “secret” – and then both Prince Harry’s team and NGN’s lawyers said they would ask senior judges to overturn the order to get underway.

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The news emerged after Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty were freed. The Afghan, Khan Mohmmad, had been serving a life sentence in a federal prison in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

A statement from the Taliban government in Kabul announced the agreement, which was concluded just before President Joe Biden ended his term in office.

Mr Corbett’s release was confirmed by his family. US media, quoting official sources, identified Mr McKenty as the second American.

The deal – reportedly the culmination of two years of negotiations – was done just before Joe Biden handed over power to Donald Trump on Monday.

“An Afghan fighter Khan Mohammed imprisoned in America has been released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country,” the Taliban foreign ministry said in a statement.

The family of Ryan Corbett thanked both administrations as well as Qatar for what they described as its vital role.

“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family said.

Mr Corbett had lived in Afghanistan for many years with his family and was detained by the Taliban more than two years ago when he returned on a business trip.

There are few details about Mr McKenty, whose family have asked for privacy.

Khan Mohammad was a member of the Taliban taken captive in Afghanistan during the US’s military engagement. He was jailed in 2008. Joe Biden commuted his sentence just before he left office.

The Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the US and “a good example of resolving issues through dialogue”.

“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalisation and development of relations between the two countries,” it said.

Since the Taliban took power in 2021, they have not been formally recognised by any government.

While the move is not likely to change relations between Kabul and Washington, more negotiations may follow – two other Americans are still in Afghanistan, believed to be George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi.

The Taliban are also seeking the release of an Afghan who is one of the few remaining prisoners at the US’s Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

At a rally in Washington on the eve of his inauguration, President Trump threatened to cut humanitarian aid to Afghanistan unless the Taliban returned the military equipment seized after the US pulled out in 2021.

A US Department of Defense report in 2022 estimated that military equipment worth $7bn had been left behind in Afghanistan after US forces withdrew.

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US President Donald Trump issued pardons or commutations for more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot four years ago.

Fourteen members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, two far-right groups, are among those whose sentences were commuted by the new Republican president as he took office on Monday.

Trump also signed an order directing the Department of Justice to drop all pending cases against suspects accused in the riot.

The executive action came shortly after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US inside the Capitol, which was stormed by his supporters on 6 January 2021 as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden’s election victory.

“These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon, full pardon,” Trump said. “This is a big one.”

“These people have been destroyed,” he added. “What they’ve done to these people is outrageous. There’s rarely been anything like it in the history of our country.”

The proclamation says that it “ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation”.

According to Justice Department figures released earlier this month, approximately 1,583 defendants have been charged with crimes associated with the riot.

More than 600 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing law enforcement, including around 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

Capitol Police officers were attacked with weapons including metal batons, wooden planks, flagpoles, fire extinguishers and pepper spray.

The 14 defendants who had their sentences commuted – meaning they will be released, but their convictions will remain on the record – include Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, led a contingent of his militia members to Washington. They stashed weapons in a hotel room across the Potomac River in Virginia while participating in the melee.

Rhodes did not enter the Capitol but directed his members from outside, and was sentenced in 2023 to 18 years in prison.

Trump issued a blanket “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to all others who were involved in the riot.

They include former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, who was jailed for 22 years for seditious conspiracy over the riot.

Tarrio was not present at the riot, instead watching it on TV from a hotel room in Baltimore after being banned from Washington, DC, following an arrest for weapons offenses.

Tarrio’s lawyer said his client expected to be released, and in a post Tarrio’s mother said he would arrive home in Miami from a federal prison in Louisiana on Tuesday.

The move was swiftly denounced by Democrats as an attempt to re-write history.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was among the lawmakers forced to flee during the riot, called Trump’s actions “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution”.

The former top Democrat in Congress said Trump “has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers” who had physically fought with protesters to defend lawmakers.

Before he was sworn into office, some Trump aides indicated that he would not issue sweeping pardons, but would instead review each conviction on a case-by-case basis.

Just days ago, Vice-President JD Vance told Fox News “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” He also said there was a “grey area” in some cases.

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Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, called for a “case-by-case” review last week during her Senate confirmation hearing when asked whether Trump’s clemency decisions would include those who attacked police officers.

“I condemn any violence on a law enforcement officer in this country,” she said.

The Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also recently called for individual case reviews.

Trump’s blanket order came the same day that Joe Biden used the final minutes of his presidency to issue pre-emptive pardons for his brothers and sister, as well as members of the US House of Representatives committee whose investigation into the Capitol riot concluded Trump was to blame.

The melee at the US Capitol, after a Trump rally nearby, lasted several hours. About 140 police officers were injured.

Lawmakers fled during the disorder and an unarmed female rioter, Ashli Babbitt, was fatally shot inside the building by officers.

The Justice Department launched a nationwide manhunt for suspects in its aftermath, which continued until today.

More than half the convictions have been misdemeanours, such as disorderly conduct or trespassing. Most convictions resulted in sentences of under one year in prison or probation, and most of those convicted have already served their sentences.

Trump previously called those prosecuted for the riot “political prisoners”, who posed “zero threat”.

Democrats describe the day as an attempted insurrection, and an attack on democracy itself.

Washington state Democratic Senator Patty Murray said in a statement: “It’s a sad day for America when a President who refused to relinquish power and incited an insurrection returns to office years later only to grant violent criminals a Presidential pardon or commutation.”

She also accused Trump of trying to “paper over the history and reality of that dark day”.

Meanwhile, supporters and family members of Capitol riot defendants have been waiting outside the jailhouse in Washington DC throughout the cold on Monday, for news that their love ones will be freed by Trump.

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A number of those convicted or awaiting trial were being held at the jail, while others were serving sentences in federal prisons across the country.

“Freedom!” one woman shouted earlier, as Trump vowed to release what he refers to as the “J6 hostages” during his speech at the Capitol One arena.

People at the jail said that they expected defendants to begin leaving within hours of Trump’s action.

Derrick Storms, chief legal counsel for defendants in Capitol riot cases, told BBC News that he expects prisoners to be released from the DC jail before midnight.

 

Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela went to court ahead of what was expected to be the wedding later this week.

But despite the ruling, it is not clear whether the wedding will still go ahead as planned.

On Saturday, South African media quoted a letter reportedly from the king saying the ceremony had been called off “due to reasons beyond the control of the royal house”.

Polygamous marriages are recognised in South Africa but only if they are registered as customary weddings.

This latest row comes amid a series of scandals that have hit King Misuzulu since he came to power just over two years ago.

The Zulu king does not have formal political power and the monarch’s role within broader South African society is largely ceremonial, but he remains hugely influential with a yearly government-funded budget of several million dollars.

Before he was enthroned, the king married Mayisela in 2021 in a civil marriage.

In her legal argument heard in the high court on Monday, the queen, through her lawyer, said that the king could not marry anyone else as their marriage was still in force.

Under South African law, a civil marriage must either be dissolved or converted to a traditional union before a man can take any more wives.

It is not clear why the marriage contract was not an issue when the king took a second wife, Queen Nozizwe Mulela-Zulu, back in 2022.

But according to South Africa’s weekly Sunday World newspaper, citing a letter Queen Mayisela had written to elders in the Zulu royal house, the couple had agreed to convert their marriage from civil to traditional.

The duo, given the option of either divorcing and remarrying or applying for the conversion by their legal team, apparently opted to do the latter but King Misuzulu “decided to change his mind” for unknown reasons, the queen reportedly said.

In rejecting Monday’s application to halt the king’s marriage to Nomzamo Myeni, Judge Bongani Mngadi said that as the queen had already consented to the idea that her husband could marry other women, she could not prevent a ceremony from taking place.

Despite the reported letter, as well as the king’s lawyer in court, saying that the wedding would not take place, contradictory statements have also emerged.

South African news site TimesLIVE is reporting that the bride-to-be said she knew nothing about the letter and as far as she understood, her wedding would proceed as initially planned.

According to another news site, IOL, which reportedly spoke to the couple, the king insisted that he loved Myeni and would “marry her by force”.

Since his coronation in October 2022, there has been controversy around some of the decisions King Misuzulu has made.

In December, he unlawfully suspended the board of the Ingonyama Trust, which owns and controls vast tracts of communal land in KwaZulu-Natal, which is supposed to be for the benefit and welfare of communities under the king’s leadership in the region.

King Misuzulu is the sole trustee and chairperson of the trust but has no powers to hire or fire board members.

He has also recently summarily fired two close aides, including his traditional prime minister, in quick succession – moves which raised eyebrows among royal watchers.

Misuzulu’s position as king is also being questioned by some and a legal case is currently under way challenging his recognition as monarch by the state.

He ascended to the throne sooner than expected after his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, died during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021 of diabetes-related complications.

Zwelithini was the Zulu nation’s longest-reigning monarch, having served on the throne for almost 50 years.

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The police force said officials had helped James Neo Tshoaeli, a Lesotho national also known as Tiger, to escape after he was pulled up from the mine in Stilfontein.

More than 240 illegal miners were brought up alive from the mine after it had been blockaded for months by the police.

Officers had cut off food and water supplies in an attempt to force them out of the mine.

Some of the miners accused Mr Tshoaeli of being responsible for “deaths, assault and torture” underground, a police statement said on Monday.

Mr Tshoaeli is also alleged to have hoarded and kept food away from the other miners, many of whom appeared emaciated and weak when they surfaced from the shaft.

Police commissioner Patrick Asaneng warned that “heads will roll” once they find the officials who helped Mr Tshoaeli escape, the police statement said.

In a candid appearance on the South African channel Newzroom Afrika, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the force was “disappointed” and “embarrassed”.

Ms Mathe said an investigation into the escape has been launched and that the probe would start with the police “looking internally”.

After months when access to the mine shaft in Stilfontein was blocked, a court ordered the government to facilitate last week’s rescue operation.

On Thursday, as the rescue came to an end, Ms Mathe said it would be a “mammoth task” to identify the 78 bodies that were recovered – partly because many of them were undocumented migrants.

The miners had been underground since November last year, when police launched nationwide operations targeting illicit mining.

Thousands of illegal miners, known as “zama zamas” (“those who try their luck” in Zulu), operate in mineral-rich South Africa.

The mine in Stilfontein – some 145km (90 miles) south-west of Johannesburg – has now been cleared of both bodies and people alive, the police have said.

A trade union and rights activists have accused the authorities of overseeing a “massacre”.

But the police have defended their actions, saying that they were dealing with criminality and it was the kingpins in charge of the illicit mining who were controlling the flow of supplies and trying to prevent people from resurfacing.

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President Samia Suluhu Hassan said at a press conference on Monday that health authorities had confirmed one case of Marburg in the north-western region of Kagera.

“We are confident that we will overcome this challenge once again,” Samia said, referring to a previous outbreak in Tanzania two years ago.

On 14 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a suspected Marburg outbreak in the country, having recorded nine suspected cases and eight deaths over five days in Kagera.

But Tanzania’s Health Minister Jenista Mhagama said in a statement that after samples had been analysed, all suspected cases were found negative for Marburg.

At Monday’s press briefing, which was held jointly with the WHO, President Samia said her government had stepped up its efforts and that a rapid response team had been dispatched to follow up on all suspected cases.

Marburg is highly infectious, with symptoms including fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss.

On average, the virus kills half of the people it infects, according to the WHO.

Tanzania says that along with the one confirmed case, authorities took samples from 24 other people suspected of having Marburg. These all tested negative.

Meanwhile, the cause of the eight deaths reported by the WHO has yet to be revealed.

Tanzania experienced its first Marburg outbreak in March 2023 in the Bukoba district. It killed six people and lasted for nearly two months.

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the global risk from Tanzania’s current outbreak was “low”.

“Even though there is no approved treatment or vaccines, outbreaks can be stopped quickly,” he said. “WHO advises against restrictions. Now is the time for collaboration.”

On Thursday, Africa CDC, the African Union’s public health agency, said more than 300 contacts had been identified for further testing. Health workers make up 56 of these contacts, while 16 on the list are known to have had direct contact with those suspected to have had Marburg.

The International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005 require countries to report public health events and emergencies that could cross borders. Kagera is a transit hub with many people travelling to and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

In December, neighbouring Rwanda declared that an outbreak in the country, which had infected 66 people and killed 15, was over.

The Marburg virus is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and then through contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.

There are no specific treatments or a vaccine for the virus, although trials are underway.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Oooh, that’s a big one,” the newly inaugurated US president said as he approved the document after arriving back at the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he put his signature to on day one in office.

This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US be pulled out of the WHO.

Trump was critical of how the international body handled Covid-19 and began the process of pulling out from the Geneva-based institution during the pandemic. President Joe Biden later reversed that decision.

More than 30 shelters operate in the Mexican border city located in the northwestern state of Baja California, according to local authorities. Humanitarian workers CNN spoke to said a lack of space, resources, and overall uncertainty are among the issues facing the shelters.

The director of Jardin de las Mariposas shelter, C Jamie Marín, told CNN there is concern that Trump’s potential mass deportations could trigger a humanitarian crisis related to services for both migrants going to the United States and those who have been deported. “There is collective nervousness… about the decisions made by President Trump’s administration,” Marín said.

Their worries stem from Trump’s promise to carry out mass deportations once in office.

During his inaugural speech on Monday, Trump reiterated his pledge. “We will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” he said from the US CapitolBracing for the potential surge of migrants entering the city, authorities in Tijuana declared a state of emergency last week.

The state of emergency is an administrative move that allows the city to access funds to rent spaces, and pay for legal services, personnel, equipment, and supplies, according to a statement from the city shared with CNN.

However, the city’s Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz said last week that Tijuana “isn’t alarmed” and calls the measure “preventive” in case Trump “really does what he says he’s going to do.” Burgueño says the city has prepared spaces should there be a surge of deportees.

‘It’s not just about providing a bed’

Yet Murphy, who has been the director of Casa del Migrante since 2013, says space is not the only issue. “You have to care for them, who is going to organize programs and training for migrants,” Murphy said, adding that he believes local authorities should work closer with the shelters to mitigate any potential crisis.

Other humanitarian workers agree. “It’s not just about providing a bed and some food, we have to create a space to help people psychologically and spiritually,” Albertina Pauletti from the Madre Assunta shelter told CNN.

Marín said shelters need “more economic resources for food, comprehensive medical services” to help with “voluntary return programs to places of origin, more programs where integration and dignity are promoted through employment, more specific attention for people of sexual diversity, [and] more mental health services.”

It is unclear how many migrants are currently in Tijuana. Government data shows that from January to August 2024 more than 30,000 migrants were in the city at some point. CNN has reached out to Mexican authorities for comment.

The Mexican federal government is also preparing for the potential influx of migrants by announcing the creation of new shelters in border towns and “attending caravans.”

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on January 3 that many migrants decided to return to their country of origin “as they are walking,” CNN previously reported.

In the face of mounting uncertainty, shelters remain committed to their mission.

“With the possible mass deportations, we are working on projects to help these people psychologically and spiritually and for those who want to be a part of the Tijuana community, those who don’t want to return to their place of origin,” said Pauletti.

Mr Trump won the election in November 2024.

In America there is then a delay of two months after the election, as power changes hands from one president’s team to the next.

In order to officially become president, Mr Trump swore an oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution of the United States.

After Mr Trump was sworn in as president, cannons were fired.

He was seen celebrating with his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, his family and his new vice-president JD Vance.

Following his oath, Mr Trump gave his first speech as president – which is known as the Inaugural Address.

In it, he stated that the “golden age of America begins right now” and that the US will soon be “greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before”.

He added that he felt “confident and optimistic” and that his presidency is the “start of a thrilling new era of national success”.

He also repeated his well-known phrase from the election campaign, by promising to “Make America great again.”

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The statement, made via her Instagram stories, has left fans divided, with many expressing their disappointment and speculating about the inspiration behind her words.

Earlier in the week, Savage had posted an underwater video of herself swimming close to sharks while wearing an oxygen mask, revealing it was part of her bucket list. The clip, which went viral, sparked concern among fans about her safety.

In response, she reassured them in a follow-up post, saying, “The real danger lies within the Nigerian music industry. Everyone worried about me swimming with sharks, but the ones in this music industry are way more f**king dangerous.”

Her comments have ignited debates online, with fans offering mixed reactions. One fan, @sirr_dq, criticized, saying, “Coming from someone who hasn’t grown any artist in the country…women supporting women my foot.” Another, @gideon_ggg, remarked, “Lol, once Dem no hear their gbedu again, Dem go start dey fight imaginary enemy.”

Others questioned the vagueness of her remarks, with @bello234owner commenting, “We don hear. 2025, no more sympathy support. If you can’t tell us every detail of the situation, then don’t start at all.” Another added bluntly, @opeyemi424203: “Then leave the industry.”

Savage’s statement continues to spark discussions, with many eager to understand the deeper context behind her pointed remarks.

This was made known in a statement titled ‘Decree of Suspension’, dated Thursday, January 16, 2025, and jointly signed by the Bishop of Warri, Rt. Rev. Anthony Ovayero Ewherido, and Chancellor/Notary Very Rev. Fr. Clement Abobo.

The statement alleged that Oghenerukevwe entered into marriage with Ms. Dora Chichah at the Streams of Joy Church in Dallas, USA, on December 29, 2024, noting that footage of the marriage had been widely circulated on social media.

By this action, the Church stated that Oghenerukevwe has incurred a Latae Sententiae suspension in accordance with the provisions of Canon law.

“Most Rev. Anthony Ovayero Ewherido, Bishop of Warri, hereby officially decrees that he is suspended from the exercise of sacred ministry.”

The statement continued: “On November 30, 2024, Rev. Fr. Daniel Okanatotor Oghenerukevwe, who had been out of active ministry and without any official assignment in the United States of America, contacted me with a request to be released from all canonical obligations and responsibilities associated with Holy Orders within the Roman Catholic Church.”

“The Diocese of Warri reached out to Fr. Oghenerukevwe, requesting the submission of documents required to initiate the process. However, on December 29, 2024, Fr. Oghenerukevwe entered into marriage with Ms. Dora Chichah at the Streams of Joy Church in Dallas, USA. Footage of this marriage has been widely circulated on social media.”

“By this action, Rev. Fr. Daniel Okanatotor Oghenerukevwe has incurred a Latae Sententiae suspension in accordance with the provisions of Canon 1394 §1, and I, Most Rev. Anthony Ovayero Ewherido, Bishop of Warri, hereby officially decree that he is suspended from the exercise of sacred ministry.”

“As such, he is prohibited from presenting himself as a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Warri in any capacity. All canonical implications associated with this suspension take immediate effect (cf. Can. 1333).”

“He retains the right to petition for the revocation or amendment of this decree in accordance with Canon 1734 §1 whenever he demonstrates a willingness to reform.”

“May God grant him the grace to reflect on this situation and guide him on the path of reconciliation,” the statement concluded.

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See the statement below:

In an Italian television interview, the pontiff said it would be a “disgrace” if Trump went forward with the plan, in unusually forceful language for the leader of the global Catholic Church.

“It would make the migrants, who have nothing, pay the unpaid bill,” said the pope. “It doesn’t work. You don’t resolve problems this way.”

The pope’s remarks were made during a video link from his Vatican residence with the “Che Tempo Che Fa” program on Italy’s Channel 9.

Francis, leader of the 1.4 billion-member church, is usually careful about weighing in on political issues.

The pope has made welcoming migrants a key theme of his nearly 12-year papacy, and he has previously criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

During the 2016 election, he said Trump was “not Christian” in his view.

Incoming Trump administration officials said on Saturday that the president-elect was reconsidering plans, for immigration raids in Chicago next week, following reports about the plans.

Earlier on Sunday, Chicago’s Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Blase Cupich, also criticized the planned raids.

“This would be an affront to the dignity of all people and communities,” the cardinal said in a statement.

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During the visit, President Mahama engaged with Gambian officials to discuss security cooperation and bilateral relations.

He commended the Ghanaian troops for their professionalism and dedication to maintaining peace and security in The Gambia, emphasizing their critical role in supporting stability and democratic governance.

The President also pledged Ghana’s continued support for The Gambia’s efforts to address past injustices and strengthen its institutions through the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission.

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It is unclear where the operations – threatened by Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan – could begin.

Earlier reports indicated deportations would start in Chicago, a city with a large migrant population, as early as Tuesday.

But Homan told the Washington Post on Saturday that the Trump administration is reconsidering after the location was leaked.

Trump has vowed to oversee the largest deportation programme in US history, and Homan has said criminals and gang members will be prioritised in such raids.

Homan told the Post that the administration’s enforcement goals are broader than just Chicago.

“ICE will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one,” he said. “We’ll be arresting people across the country, uninhibited by any prior administration guidelines. Why Chicago was mentioned specifically, I don’t know.”

In an interview with Fox News this week, the border tsar promised a “big raid” across the country. He has previously said Chicago will be “ground zero” for the mass deportations.

Homan expanded on the administration’s plans on Fox News over the weekend, saying the deportations will not be “raids”, but “targeted enforcement operations”.

He described these efforts as “well planned”.

“When ICE goes out, they’re going to know exactly who they’re looking for and pretty much where they’ll find them,” Homan said.

He said he expects deportation flights to leave in the first week of Trump’s presidency and anticipates daily lawsuits for deportation efforts from organisations like the American Civil Liberties Union.

“I’m sure we’ll be sued, but bring it,” he sai

Trump, a Republican, also promised mass deportations ahead of his first presidential term back in 2017 – though he ended up removing about half the number of immigrants that President Barack Obama, a Democrat, did in his first four years.

The 47th president is coming into office with widespread support for his border policies. A New York Times and Ipsos poll published on Saturday found 55% of Americans either strongly or somewhat support such mass deportations.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency deports illegal migrants all the time.

However, the operation to be launched after Trump’s inauguration on Monday is expected to target so-called “sanctuary” cities that limit co-operation with federal immigration officials, two sources familiar with the plans told CBS.

ICE officials in the Chicago area recently asked agents to join this week’s planned raids without notifying heads of the agency in Washington DC, according to CBS.

New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami are also due to be targeted with raids, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plans.

At a church in a mostly Latino neighbourhood of Chicago, worshippers shared their concerns with the BBC.

“I’m scared, but I can’t imagine what people without papers are feeling,” said D Camacho, a 21-year-old legal immigrant from Mexico who was in the congregation at Lincoln United Methodist Church in the Pilsen area last Sunday.

Reverend Emma Lozano said: “If someone with five children gets taken, who will take the children in? Will they go to social services? Will the family be divided?”

The rules under Democratic President Joe Biden were that ICE was generally to prioritise the arrest of illegal migrants who were serious criminals, had crossed the border recently or posed a national security threat.

While Trump’s team has signalled that it will begin with migrants who had committed crimes, all illegal migrants – including those who have lived and worked in the US for many years and have no criminal history – may be more likely to be arrested and deported.

Immigration raids at construction sites where undocumented migrants are often employed are also expected to resume, after being discontinued by the Biden administration, according to CBS.

However, the operation could pose difficulties for officials – with limited custody space to hold detainees.

At the same time, the Laken Riley Act – named after a college student who was murdered last year in Georgia by a Venezuelan illegal migrant who was previously arrested for shoplifting – is expected to be passed by Congress next week.

The proposed legislation will require the federal government to detain migrants living in the US illegally who are suspected of criminal activity.

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Trump on Sunday pledged to issue “close to 100” executive orders on his first day in office. Many of these orders will be designed to reverse or eliminate ones implemented by the Biden administration.

Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, previewed some of those actions Sunday afternoon on a call with senior congressional Republicans.

Two sources briefed on the call described it as a rundown of what lawmakers should expect, rather than an in-depth policy briefing.

Trump’s policy operation was expected to deliver more details to Capitol Hill allies later Sunday, the sources said. They cautioned the scale and pace leading up to the inauguration have made communication and information fluid.

Miller, in the briefing with lawmakers, confirmed elements of a long-planned, sweeping suite of immigration actions, including Trump invoking a national emergency at the border as a way to unlock funding from the Defense Department for the administration’s use.

Trump will also move to designate a series of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and direct his administration to reinstate his first-term Migrant Protection Protocol policy, which is more commonly referred to as “Remain in Mexico.”

Trump will act to reinstate a series of his first-term immigration policy directives and actions that President Joe Biden rescinded on his own first day in office in 2021.

“Within hours of taking office, I will sign dozens of executive orders — close to 100 to be exact — many of which I will be describing in my address tomorrow,” Trump said to a crowd of donors and allies at a pre-inauguration dinner Sunday.

He added, “With the stroke of my pen I will revoke dozens of destructive and radical executive orders and actions of the Biden administration, and by this time tomorrow, they will all be null and void.”

These expected executive orders will likely face immediate legal challenges.

Moves on energy, government operations

The federal government and its operations will also be a central focus in the first hours of Trump’s second term, with the actions Miller previewed including an executive order, known as Schedule F, that would curtail or eliminate job protections for federal workers.

Trump signed a version of the executive order shortly before the 2020 election, but it was rescinded by Biden.

Actions will also be taken to officially outline the role and authorities of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Musk’s operation, which has been working out of the Washington office of one of his companies, SpaceX, has been quietly staffing up and integrating with the Trump transition operation’s agency landing teams over the last several weeks.

Trump will sign executive orders rescinding federal government diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Miller told the lawmakers, as well as actions to remove specific gender-related executive orders put in place by Biden.

Trump is also expected to declare a national emergency related to energy as part of a significant number of actions targeting domestic energy production and the industries, permitting rules and lands that operate in the sector, according to Miller’s briefing.

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A message appearing on the app for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning “you can’t use TikTok for now”.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” it read.

It comes after the social media platform warned it would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban will not be enforced.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban once he takes office on Monday.

Users reported the app had also been removed from both Apple and Google’s US app stores and TikTok.com was not showing videos.

“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump told NBC News on Saturday.

“If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”

The White House said that it was up to the incoming administration to take action.

“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law, passed in April last year, banning the app in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sold the platform by Sunday, which it has not done.

TikTok has argued that the law violates free speech protections for its 170 million users in the country.

After the ruling, TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, appealed to Trump, thanking him for his “commitment to work with us to find a solution.”

Mr Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

In the hours leading up to the social media platform going offline, content creators had been posting videos to say goodbye to their followers.

Creator Nicole Bloomgarden told the BBC that not being on TikTok would result in a significant salary cut.

Another user, Erika Thompson, said educational content on the platform would be the “biggest loss” for the community.

TikTok users were met with a message earlier on Saturday that said the law would “force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible.”

“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda,” Trump added.

The last time an inauguration was moved indoors because of the bitter cold was in 1985 for former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in when the afternoon wind chill fell into the range of minus 10 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 to minus 29 degrees Celsius).

The forecast for Washington on Monday is for a temperature at the time of Trump’s swearing-in around 19 F (minus 7 C) but it is expected to feel even colder with wind chill.

Trump said supporters can view the ceremony on screens inside the Capital One Arena, a professional basketball and hockey venue in downtown Washington that holds 20,000 people.

He said his presidential parade, which was set to involve marching bands and other groups proceeding down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, will be switched to Capital One Arena. It was not immediately clear how a parade would be organized inside the sports venue.

Trump said he would join the crowd at the arena after being sworn in.

NO CROWD-SIZE COMPARISONS THIS TIME
The switch means there will be no comparisons of Trump’s crowd size to previous inauguration ceremonies. After his first swearing-in, in 2017, the Republican Trump was infuriated by media reports suggesting the crowd on the National Mall was far smaller than the one that saw former Democratic President Barack Obama first take the oath of office in 2009.

The change in plans will greatly reduce the number of people able to watch the ceremony in person. Many of the more than 220,000 ticketed guests who had been due to watch from the U.S. Capitol grounds will be unable to view the swearing-in inside the building.

In addition, 250,000 unticketed members of the public were predicted to stand on the National Mall for the outdoor ceremony, according to a permit issued to Trump’s inaugural committee by the National Park Service. Just a fraction of that number will fit into the Capital One Arena.

School secretary Tammy Matte, her pastor husband Paul and their high school son Michael had tickets provided by their local congressman but cancelled the trip from Laurel, Mississippi after learning they would not see Trump in person.

Matte, 58, said they were no longer prepared to do the nearly 1,000-mile car ride to Washington. “We don’t feel it’s worth it not to see the ceremony in person,” Matte said.

The National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, did not immediately say whether crowds will still be allowed on the Mall to watch the indoor ceremony on giant video screens already in place.
Trump is due to hold a rally with supporters inside the Capital One Arena on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration.

Alexi Worley, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agencies tasked with inauguration security, said the U.S. Secret Service was working closely with Trump’s inauguration committee and the congressional committee in charge of the swearing-in ceremony “to adapt our security plans as needed due to the expected inclement weather.”

WINTER CHILL AN INAUGURAL TRADITION
Frigid weather has featured at many a past inauguration. Temperatures for Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 were also cold, rising to around 29 F (minus 1.5 degrees C).

William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, delivered the longest inaugural address on March 4, 1841, in wet and cold conditions without a hat or overcoat.

That event and speech were thought to have contributed to his later succumbing to pneumonia. He died one month after taking office, making his presidency the shortest in American history.

During the second swearing-in ceremony for President Ulysses S. Grant on March 4, 1873, several cadets and midshipmen standing outside without overcoats collapsed and gusting winds made Grant’s address inaudible to even those close to him on the platform, according to a history published by the National Weather Service.

The morning low temperature of 4 F (-15 C) on that day remains Washington’s coldest March day on record.

Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh were killed after an armed man entered the court, in the capital Tehran, on Saturday morning.

The attacker is said to have then killed themselves while fleeing the scene, according to the judiciary’s news website, Mizan. A bodyguard was also injured in the attack.

The motive for the attack is unclear, but both judges are said to have played a role in the persecution and killing of opponents of the Islamic regime throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

In a statement to state news agency IRNA, the judiciary’s media office described the attack as premeditated assassination.

It also said that, according to initial findings, the attacker had not been involved in any case considered by the Supreme Court, and an investigation had been launched to identify and arrest any further people who may have been involved in the attack.

The judiciary’s spokesman, Asghar Jahangir, told Iranian state  TV that the attacker had entered the court carrying a handgun before opening fire.

One of the judges, Razini, had survived an assassination attempt in 1998. He was one of the most senior judicial figures in Iran.

The other, Moghiseh, was sanctioned by the US in 2019, with the treasury department accusing him of having “overseen countless unfair trials, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded”.

At that time, he was a judge in the Tehran Revolutionary Court. He was reportedly named to the supreme court in 2020.

Moghiseh was also among seven Iranian judges sanctioned by Canada in 2023 for what the country described as “their role in gross and systematic human rights violations”.

The “Break Ya Neck” rapper, 52, was arrested in northwestern Brooklyn and charged with assault in the third degree on Tuesday night, law enforcement officials tell Entertainment Weekly. The NYPD responded to a 911 call near the intersection of Jay Street and Front Street in Dumbo around 10:15 p.m. on Friday, wherein a 50-year-old male victim reported past harassment, which included multiple punches from an unidentified assailant.

Police say the victim experienced swelling on the left side of his face and was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, where he is in stable condition.

Representatives for Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith Jr., did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

The New York Post reported that Rhymes’ alleged victim was his assistant, whom he allegedly berated for using his phone while working. He declined to detail the encounter during a conversation with the Post, telling the outlet, “An article in the paper as opposed to a six or seven-million-dollar settlement? I’m not risking it, sorry.

Rhymes has been vocal about his disdain for cell phones in the past. During a 2024 performance at the Essence Festival of Culture, he told the audience, “Ayo f— them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird-ass devices down!” He also said, “I ain’t from that era. Them s—s don’t control the soul, f— your phone!”

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Busta Rhymes at the 65th Grammy Awards

This isn’t the first time Rhymes has faced legal issues. The rapper was arrested in 1998 for a gun possession charge, to which he ultimately pleaded guilty in 2000. He was sentenced to five years of probation over the incident.

In 2008, Rhymes pleaded guilty to assault and drunk driving charges after his driver accused him of attacking him during a pay dispute, as well as a subsequent arrest where he told police that he’d done a shot of cognac shortly before driving. He also faced charges of attacking a fan at the AmsterJam Music Festival and driving without a valid license around this time. He was sentenced to three years’ probation for these incidents.

In 2015, Rhymes was arrested in 2015 on an assault charge after throwing a protein drink at a gym employee. He pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment charge after agreeing to attend anger management classes.

The accused companies allegedly defrauded their customers of CFA 20 billion (approximately $31,418,220) by promising high returns from trading in stocks, foreign currencies, and other financial instruments.

During a brief hearing on Wednesday, at the Lomé Criminal Court, the trial was adjourned to February 13, following a request from both the defendant and plaintiff’s legal teams.

Both parties raised concerns about procedural irregularities, specifically, the fact that they had only been served with a court summons 24 hours before the hearing, rather than the legally required three days, as stipulated by Togolese law.

“Our lawyers did not receive the summons on time,” said Mrs Ayaba Sahada, the spokesperson for the victims, in a press conference after the hearing.

She recounted the widespread public belief that the companies were “Engaged in legitimate activities, highlighting that the companies were allowed to hold events attended by Togolese officials, and their advertisements were even aired on state-run television.”

“As a result, they were given free rein to attract and defraud Togolese citizens,” Mrs Sahada added.

The fraudulent companies, including CACESPIC-IF SARL and J-Global Capital, emerged in Togo in 2020, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, offering services such as stock trading, foreign currencies, and savings and loans.

Despite their rapid expansion across the country, the companies collapsed within a year, leaving thousands of victims with significant financial losses.

After three years of out-of-court investigation, the Togolese government confirmed that the companies had absconded with the CFA 20 billion and issued arrest warrants for their key officials.

A total of 33 managing directors and senior staff members of the implicated companies were summoned to appear before the Lomé Criminal Court, but only 13 attended the hearing.

The victims, who have been waiting for justice for years, are seeking compensation and hope that the accused individuals will be convicted and their stolen funds returned.

The tragic incident occurred late Monday night as Patricia visited a male acquaintance at his derelict villa in the Lazio region, according to the Mirror UK.

Her chilling screams pierced the night as neighbours were alerted to the savage attack.

Patricia, who had relocated to Lazio from Nigeria, had reportedly gone to the house unaware that her friend was not at home.

After being attacked, Patricia was discovered critically injured, lying in a pool of blood with deep wounds across her body.

Police intervened by shooting two of the dogs to allow emergency services to reach the scene. The rest of the pack fled after the gunfire.

Medics provided immediate emergency treatment and rushed her to Santa Maria Goretti Hospital.

Despite their efforts, Patricia succumbed to the severe bite wounds and excessive blood loss.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing as local authorities work to determine how the dogs, reportedly starving, came to be in the area.

This tragedy has sparked discussions about stray animals and public safety, with local residents calling for stricter measures to prevent such devastating incidents.

The tragic incident occurred late Monday night as Patricia visited a male acquaintance at his derelict villa in the Lazio region, according to the Mirror UK.

Her chilling screams pierced the night as neighbours were alerted to the savage attack.

Patricia, who had relocated to Lazio from Nigeria, had reportedly gone to the house unaware that her friend was not at home.

After being attacked, Patricia was discovered critically injured, lying in a pool of blood with deep wounds across her body.

Police intervened by shooting two of the dogs to allow emergency services to reach the scene. The rest of the pack fled after the gunfire.

Medics provided immediate emergency treatment and rushed her to Santa Maria Goretti Hospital.

Despite their efforts, Patricia succumbed to the severe bite wounds and excessive blood loss.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing as local authorities work to determine how the dogs, reportedly starving, came to be in the area.

This tragedy has sparked discussions about stray animals and public safety, with local residents calling for stricter measures to prevent such devastating incidents.

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A total of 246 survivors, some of them emaciated and disorientated, have been brought to the surface and immediately arrested for illegal mining and immigration since a court-ordered rescue operation began on Monday.

Volunteers who went down to the mine, located 2 km (1.5 miles) underground near Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, told police late on Wednesday they could not see anyone left in the tunnels, a police spokesperson told reporters at the site.

Rescuers would keep working on Thursday to make sure all bodies and survivors had been recovered, the spokesperson said. Earlier, there were fears dozens or even hundreds more men could still be trapped.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions accused the state on Tuesday of allowing miners “to starve to death in the depths of the earth”.

“These miners, many of them undocumented and desperate workers from Mozambique and other Southern African countries, were left to die in one of the most horrific displays of state wilful negligence in recent history,” it said in a statement.

Mametlwe Sebei, a trade union leader who has been trying to help the miners, said police had begun attempting to force the miners up to the surface in August by removing a pulley system used to deliver food and water supplies to them.

A judge in Bukavu found the defendants guilty on Tuesday of money-laundering, illegal purchase and possession of mineral substances, and other charges.

Sebei said some miners had died crawling through flooded tunnels in an attempt to reach shafts that would have allowed them to climb out.

Police said 1,576 miners had got out by their own means between August and the start of the rescue operation. All were arrested and 121 of them have already been deported, they said.
“We’ve never blocked any shafts. We’ve never blocked anyone from coming out,” said Athlenda Mathe, national spokesperson for the South African police, speaking at the site earlier on Wednesday.

“Our mandate was to combat criminality and that is exactly what we’ve been doing,” she said.

“By providing food, water and necessities to these illegal miners it would be the police entertaining and allowing criminality to thrive.”

‘TAKING A CHANCE’

Illegal mining is common in parts of gold-rich South Africa. Typically, undocumented miners known as zama zamas – from an isiZulu expression for “taking a chance” – move into mines abandoned by commercial miners and seek to extract whatever is left. Some are under the control of violent criminal gangs.

Most of the miners at Stilfontein were from Mozambique, though some also came from Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Only 21 of them were South Africans, police said.

As the death toll has mounted, so has criticism of the authorities, though the government has defended the siege as part of a necessary crackdown on illegal mining.

“It’s a criminal activity. It’s an attack on our economy by foreign nationals in the main,” Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe said at the site on Tuesday. He has said illegal mining cost South Africa over $3 billion last year.

But the Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in the ruling coalition led by the African National Congress, said on Wednesday the crackdown at the mine had got “badly out of hand” and called for an independent inquiry.

A court ruled in December that volunteers should be allowed to send essential supplies down to the miners, and a separate ruling last week ordered the state to launch the rescue.
None of the rescued survivors were hospitalised and all were taken into police custody.

“If you come out and you are able to walk they take you straight to the cells,” said Mzukisi Jam, a civil society activist, who has been at the site throughout the rescue operation.
Only two of the bodies have been identified and claimed by their families, said Mathe.

Rescue efforts were in their third day on Wednesday, with a red cylindrical metal cage being lowered into the mine to extract survivors and corpses. The cage can hold about a dozen people or dead bodies at once.

Mannas Fourie, CEO of a private rescue firm involved in the operation, told Johannesburg’s Radio 702 that each round trip took up to 45 minutes.

“If you stand at the sides you can see the bodies being taken out of the cage and it’s incredibly distressing,” said Jessica Lawrence of civil rights group Lawyers for Human Rights, who was at the scene.

Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.

US President Joe Biden said it would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said it was the result of Palestinian “resilience”.

Announcing the decision, President Traoré stressed the importance of breaking away from colonial traditions and embracing practices that reflect Burkina Faso’s cultural heritage.

The ban is part of his broader push to foster national identity and assert the country’s sovereignty.

Colonial-era wigs have long been symbols of foreign influence in African legal systems.

Burkina Faso now joins other nations on the continent in discarding such relics in favor of indigenous traditions.

This decision underscores a growing trend across Africa, where countries are revisiting colonial legacies and opting for systems that resonate with their people.

It’s a symbolic step that speaks to a larger cultural renaissance sweeping the continent.

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Two smaller opposition parties boycotted the opening ceremony on Monday as they refused to accept the outcome of the October election, while the incoming president, Daniel Chapo, called for calm and unity after months of deadly unrest.

Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who is popular with Mozambique’s marginalised youth, claims the results were rigged in favour of Chapo’s Frelimo party, which has been in power for 50 years.

He urged his supporters at the weekend to “demonstrate our refusal” of the official election result with a national strike from Monday to Wednesday when Chapo is due to be sworn in as president.

Military police surrounded the parliament building and police blocked the main roads to the area during the inauguration ceremony.

The city centre, usually busy on a Monday morning, was deserted with most shops closed and protesters manning barricades in certain areas, the AFP news agency reported.

Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from Matola neighbourhood, a stronghold of the opposition in Maputo, said people were trying to block a main road into the centre of the capital.

“The aim here by people trying to block the road with burning tyres, with stones – they also throw rocks sometimes – is to stop people passing back and forth on this road and it’s part of the strategy to bring Maputo to a standstill,” she said.

Chapo and outgoing President Filipe Nyusi were present as parliamentarians from Frelimo, which won 171 seats, and the Podemos party – which has 43 – were sworn in to the 250-seat national assembly.

Renamo’s 28 MPs and the eight from the MDM stayed away in protest.

The opening of parliament “constitutes a social outrage and a lack of respect for the will of Mozambicans” who were deprived of “free, fair and transparent” elections, a Renamo spokesman told reporters on Sunday.

The MDM said it was boycotting to show it aligned itself with demands for “electoral truth”.

Official results gave Chapo 65 per cent of the presidential vote compared with 24 per cent for Mondlane.

But the opposition leader claims he won 53 per cent and that Mozambique’s election institutions manipulated the results.

Mondlane returned to Mozambique on Thursday after going into hiding abroad following the October 19 killing of his lawyer.

Thousands of jubilant supporters rallied in the city centre to meet him, prompting clashes with security forces in which at least three people were killed, according to an election monitor.

Unrest since the October 9 election day has claimed about 300 lives, according to a tally by a local rights group, with security forces accused of using excessive force, including live bullets, against demonstrators.

Police officers have also died, according to the authorities.

The unrest has caused major losses to Mozambique’s economy, stopping cross-border trade and affecting shipping, mining and industry.

If “the assembly takes the oath, it is a betrayal of the will of the people”, Mondlane, 50, said via Facebook late on Saturday.

“Let us demonstrate against the inauguration of those who betrayed the will of the people on Monday and against those who stole the will of the people on Wednesday,” he said.

In advance of the opening of parliament, 48-year-old Chapo told reporters that Mozambique needed stability and unity.

With a new parliament in place, “we can continue to work and together, united … to develop our country”, he told journalists, calling for “open, frank debate”.

There have been several calls for dialogue to resolve the standoff but Mondlane has been excluded from talks that Chapo and Nyusi have opened with the leaders of the main political parties.

Mondlane repeated after landing in Maputo on Thursday that he was ready for dialogue. “I’m here in the flesh to say that if you want to negotiate … I’m here,” he said.

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The West African country’s health minister announced the move on Monday after the second case of the deadly viral disease was confirmed.

“The confirmation of two cases of mpox in the country has prompted immediate action as mandated by the Public Health Act,” Health Minister Austin Demby told reporters in the capital, Freetown. “On behalf of the government of Sierra Leone, I am declaring a public health emergency.”

Last week, Sierra Leone reported its first confirmed case of mpox since the African Union’s health watchdog declared a public health emergency over the growing mpox outbreak on the continent last year.

A second case was confirmed after a 21-year-old man showed symptoms on January 6, the National Public Health Agency said on social media.

Neither case had known recent contact with infected animals or other sick individuals, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation said.

Only the first case involved recent travel, limited to the airport town of Lungi in the northern Port Loko District between December 26 and January 6. Both patients are receiving treatment at a hospital in Freetown.

The public health emergency “allows us to act immediately to mobilise the resources needed to contain the disease, prevent further spread and provide care to those affected”, the minister said.

Demby also announced increased border surveillance and testing, as well as the launch of a national awareness campaign. He added that Sierra Leone’s medical system was ready to respond to cases, pointing to experience gained during the Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks.

“We urge all citizens to remain calm, stay informed and report any suspected cases promptly to healthcare authorities,” Demby said.

Mpox is caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox, manifesting in a high fever and skin lesions, called vesicles.

Also known as monkeypox, it was first identified by scientists in 1958 when outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys occurred. Until recently, most human cases were seen in people in Central and West Africa who had close contact with infected animals.

In 2022, the virus was confirmed for the first time to spread via sex, as outbreaks were triggered in more than 70 countries across the world that had not reported mpox previously.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has borne the brunt of the epidemic, with a vast majority of the roughly 43,000 suspected cases and 1,000 deaths in Africa this year.

A decade ago, Sierra Leone was the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak that ravaged West Africa in an epidemic killing some 4,000 people, including nearly 7 per cent of the country’s health workers, between 2014 and 2016.

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The disagreement, which has lingered for months, took a new turn as Omowunmi’s legal team, Salawu Akingbolu Chambers, accused Mr. Aloba of rejecting her proposed medical facilities for the test.

A letter dated January 9, 2025, from Omowunmi’s lawyers stated that while she objected to using UCH Ibadan, Aloba also opposed her choice of Lagoon Hospitals.

To reach a resolution, Omowunmi suggested alternative facilities—Eko Hospital and Reddington Hospital—but claimed Aloba failed to respond.

The ongoing legal battle began after the Magistrates Court in Ikorodu, Lagos State, directed both parties to explore alternative dispute resolution measures. The court further ordered that the DNA test be conducted at a mutually agreed-upon facility under supervision.

Omowunmi expressed frustration over the delays, threatening to proceed independently with the DNA test if the matter remained unresolved.

“To our utter surprise, however, instead of you responding to our letter of the above-quoted date, we saw Mr. Taiwo Odumosu of counsel, whom we have profound respect for and counsel to the applicant, saying on social media that we are the ones who are not ready for the DNA, whereas that is not the case, and we are by this letter denouncing any such misrepresentation Mr. Taiwo Odumosu of counsel must have tainted us with on the social media. As a matter of fact, we deserve an apology for such unhealthy allegations,” the letter added.

She also lamented that Mohbad’s father defamed her son on social media, portraying him as a “bastard.”

“We shall inform the court of our position in this regard,” her letter read.

In response, Aloba’s former legal team, Hillceetee Partners, in a letter dated January 11, 2025, and signed by Emmanuel Oroko, denied allegations of misrepresentation on social media, clarifying that no statements had been made implying Omowunmi’s unwillingness to cooperate.

“Mr. Odumosu wishes to inform you that there was no time during his media interaction that he mentioned that your client ‘was not ready for the DNA.’ What he was saying, which has been misinterpreted, was that the hospitals had yet to respond to inquiries on their readiness to conduct the test. We heard your client express sentiment in that respect after the media interaction.

“Mr. Odumosu has absolute respect for your office and your client. He would not in any way derogate the professionalism and maturity both law firms have exhibited so far while the case lasted,” the letter read.

However, the legal team announced their withdrawal from representing Aloba in the case.

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India’s latest diplomatic outreach to Afghanistan’s Taliban government signals a marked shift in how it sees the geopolitical reality in the region.

This comes more than three years after India suffered a major strategic and diplomatic blow when Kabul fell to the Taliban.

Two decades of investment in Afghanistan’s democracy – through military training, scholarships and landmark projects like building its new parliament – were swiftly undone. The collapse also paved the way for greater influence from regional rivals, particularly Pakistan and China, eroding India’s strategic foothold and raising new security concerns.

Yet, last week signalled a shift. India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri met Taliban acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai – the highest level of engagement since Kabul’s fall. The Taliban expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, calling it a “significant regional and economic power”.

Talks reportedly focused on expanding trade and leveraging Iran’s Chabahar port, which India has been developing to bypass Pakistan’s Karachi and Gwadar ports.

How significant is this meeting? Delhi has now given the Taliban leadership the de facto legitimacy it has sought from the international community since its return to power, Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, an American think-tank, told me.

“The fact that this treatment is coming from India – a nation that never previously had friendly relations with the Taliban, makes this all the more significant, and also a diplomatic triumph for the Taliban,” he says.

Yoon was holed up for weeks while under investigation on charges of insurrection, following a short-lived attempt to impose martial law in December.

He is now being interrogated at the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) – whose summonses he had previously ignored.

Investigators tried to arrest him earlier this month but had failed.

Yoon’s impeachment trial, which will decide if he is removed from office, started yesterday but ended within four minutes because of his absence.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae says Yoon’s arrest confirms that “justice in South Korea is alive”.

This arrest “is the first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” he said during a party meeting.

Since Yoon’s botched martial law attempt, opposition lawmakers labelled Yoon and his allies “insurrectionists” and repeatedly called for their impeachment and arrest.

They have already successfully impeached Yoon and his top officials, including acting president Han Duck-soo.

President Joe Biden is to remove the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a prisoner release deal, the White House said on Tuesday.

Shortly afterwards, Cuba announced it would release 553 prisoners detained for “diverse crimes”. It is hoped these will include participants in anti-government protests four years ago.

President-elect Donald Trump reinstated the country’s terror designation in the final days of his first presidency in 2021, banning US economic aid and arms exports to the country.

But on Tuesday, a Biden administration official said an assessment of the situation had presented “no information” that supported the designation.

Police arrested Timileyin Ajayi, a gospel singer, on Sunday with the severed head of his victim, 24-year-old Salome Adaidu, near a church.

He is alleged to have been carrying the head in a bag which drew attention from other people who accosted him before police took over and arrested him.

Other dismembered parts of the deceased’s body were alleged to be have been recovered later in his home.

Mr Ajayi has not commented on the allegations.

“The suspect was found with a fresh human head, and when we got to the scene, we rescued him from being mobbed,” Nasarawa police spokesman Ramhan Nansel was quoted by the Punch news website as saying.

The deceased was identified as a member of the National Youth Service Corps who was serving in the federal capital, Abuja.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing, the police said.

Ms Adaidu’s family has urged the Nigerian government to thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for her death.

A friend of the deceased, Abby Simon, told BBC Pidgin that it was a sad experience for Ms Adaidu’s mum who lost her husband only seven months ago. She said the mother had fainted from the shock of losing her daughter.

She also said the deceased was not in a relationship with the suspect.

“Nobody deserves to die this way. Even if she was his girlfriend, she didn’t deserve to die this way,” she said.

The deceased’s sister, Patience Adaidu, told local TV outlet News Central that she was disappointed at the way the police were handling the case and called for help from Nigerians.

“Police have not given us any information about my sister… They have not answered our questions… We demand justice, we need help from Nigerians.”

Nigerians on social media have been sending messages of support following the incident.

“RIP Salome Adaidu. Your killer will never have rest even after death,” Avni James said.

Amara Josephine said on X: “That gruesome image of that young lady saddens my heart. I pray for her family.”

The bodies of 100 men remain trapped in the Stilfontein mine, according to the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), who told CNN that nine bodies were pulled out of the shaft on Monday, along with 20 survivors.

Meshack Mbangula, head of the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), told CNN Tuesday that the men had possibly died from hunger and dehydration.

While there are varying reports on how many men have been trapped, Mbangula estimated that 500 people are still underground. Conditions in the shafts, which are several kilometers deep, are continuing to deteriorate, he said.

Video shared by Mbangula and seen by CNN shows multiple bodies wrapped in plastic in the mine.

The video, filmed by one of the miners last week, according to Mbangula, also shows shirtless, emaciated-looking men with protruding bones and ribs.

A man speaking in Zulu, pleads to be rescued in one scene. Another man says: “How many days must we live in a situation like this.”

CNN cannot independently verify the videos.

A letter written by the miners and obtained by CNN further illustrates the grim conditions the miners are facing.

“Please take us out. Please assist us to come out or if not, please give us food because [there are] people who are dead. We’ve got 109 people dead and we need plastic to wrap them because the smell is too much, we can’t stand the smell,” the miners said in the letter.

Community-led groups like MACUA say they have led the effort to help the trapped miners for months, he said, as police cut off food and vital supplies to the men in November in an attempt to force them out and close the mine.

The police’s move – a self-described crackdown on the illegal mining industry – has drawn criticism from community groups and South Africa’s Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), who in November called it “vindictive,” and one that may “end in a tragedy.”

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters in November that food and water supplies to those underground had been halted. “We are stopping and preventing food and water to go down there as a way of forcing these illegal miners to resurface because what they are doing is criminality,” she said.

Miners would face arrest upon resurfacing, according to police.

In November, a South African court ordered police to halt its standoff, provide food to the trapped miners and allow rescue teams to access the mine. The nation’s Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) also said it was investigating the police service for halting vital supplies to the miners.

On Sunday, facing intensifying public pressure and reports that many of the miners had already died, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said it had begun plans to conduct a rescue operation at the abandoned shaft. The mineral resources department said “the decision to deploy rescue services was made independently” and not mandated by a court.

South Africa harbors up to 100,000 artisanal miners, known locally as “zama zamas” with most of the minerals derived from artisanal mining “sold to the black market, and international illicit mineral traders,” according to SAFTU.

The nation also loses more than $1 billion to illegal mining annually, with the black market trade in gold linked to violent turf wars, according to a parliamentary brief.