Residents and military sources said soldiers were fleeing the assault on Uvira, the last government-held city in the mineral-rich region.

US President Donald Trump brokered a peace deal last week between DR Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame to end the long-running conflict but fighting has continued.

Shops and schools have closed, with terrified residents staying indoors amid fears that rebels had taken control of some government buildings.

But South Kivu Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi dismissed reports that the rebels were in the city as “completely unfounded rumours”.

Residents told the BBC that Uvira was in lockdown on Wednesday, with some reporting gunfire in the city that is just 27 km (17 miles) from Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura.

A local rights official told AP news agency that there was a “risk of a massacre” if the remaining soldiers mounted strong resistance.

“It’s chaotic, nobody’s in charge. Uvira is done for,” a Burundian officer told AFP news agency.

“Three bombs have just exploded in the hills. It’s every man for himself,” a resident told AFP, while another added: “We are all under the beds in Uvira – that’s the reality.”

Military and security sources said the rebel fighters advanced from the north, near the Burundian border.

In an interview with UN-backed Radio Okapi, Purusi denied Uvira had fallen to the M23, saying the city remained under the control of government forces.

The US, European Union, and eight European nations have accused Rwanda of supporting the rebel offensive, and have called for an immediate halt to the fighting

In a joint statement, they voiced “profound concern” about the violence, and said it had a “destabilising potential for the whole region”.

They urged the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to “immediately halt offensive operations” in eastern DR Congo, and called on its troops to withdraw from the region.

A spokesman for the US state department said that Rwanda “continues to provide support to M23 [and] must prevent further escalation”.

But Rwanda has denied any involvement in the fighting, accusing DR Congo’s government and its ally, Burundi, of violating a ceasefire.

In a statement on X, the Rwandan foreign ministry said the ceasefire violation “cannot be placed on Rwanda” and said the Congolese and Burundian armies had “systematically” bombed villages close to Rwanda’s border.

UN experts say Rwanda’s army is in “de facto control of M23 operations”.

About 200,000 people have fled their homes in eastern DR Congo since the latest round of fighting started early this month, the UN says.

It said at least 74 people had been killed, mostly civilians, and 83 admitted to hospital with wounds.

A Burundian administrative source told AFP that he had recorded more than 8,000 daily arrivals over the past two days, and 30,000 arrivals in one week.

The latest offensive comes nearly a year after the M23 rebels seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the other two main cities in eastern DR Congo.

The M23 is not part of the US-brokered peace deal, and is in separate talks with DR Congo’s government in mediation efforts led by Qatar.

In a national address on Monday, Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of “deliberate violations” of the peace accord.

“This is a proxy war aimed at challenging our sovereignty over a highly strategic area, rich in critical minerals and economic potential that is crucial to the future of our nation,” Tshisekedi said.

For its part, Rwanda accused the armies of DR Congo and Burundi of bombing villages near its border, forcing more than 1,000 civilians to flee into its territory.

Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Several peace deals going back to the 1990s have collapsed.

Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.

The new condition would affect people from dozens of countries who are eligible to visit the US for 90 days without a visa, as long as they have filled out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.

Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has moved to toughen US borders more generally – citing national security as a key reason.

Analysts say the new plan could pose an obstacle to potential visitors, or harm their digital rights.

The US expects a major influx of foreign tourists next year, as it hosts the men’s football World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, and for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The proposal document was filed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which the agency is part.

US media reported that it appeared in the Federal Register, which is the official journal of the US government. The BBC has asked DHS for comment.

The proposal says “the data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years”, without giving further details of which specific information will be required.

The existing ESTA requires a comparatively limited amount of information from travellers, as well as a one-off payment of $40 (£30). It is accessible to citizens of about 40 countries – including the UK, Ireland, France, Australia and Japan – and allows them to visit the US multiple times during a two-year period.

As well as the collection of social media information, the new document proposes the gathering of an applicant’s telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and 10 years respectively, and more information about their family members.

The text cites an executive order from Trump in January, titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”.

The Trump administration has previously required foreign nationals to make their social media accounts public if they are applying for student visas or H1B visas for skilled workers – the latter of which now also entail a much higher fee.

A senior state department official said of the student visa policy: “It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day.”

Officers were instructed to screen for those “who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence”.

As part of the administration’s broader effort to toughen borders, officials recently said an existing travel ban – affecting 19 countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean – could soon be expanded.

That move was announced in the wake of a shooting attack on two National Guard members in Washington DC, in which an Afghan man has been named as the suspect.

The new proposal regarding ESTA data collection for tourists invites views from the public for 60 days.

Sophia Cope, of digital rights organisation the Electronic Frontier Foundation, criticised the plan, telling the New York Times that it could “exacerbate civil liberties harms”.

Meanwhile, immigration law practice Fragomen suggested there could be practical impacts as applicants could face longer waits for ESTA approvals.

Experts have previously suggested that the changes to travel policies introduced under Trump have had an impact on the American tourism industry.

Earlier this year, the World Travel & Tourism Council said the US was the only one of 184 economies that it analysed that was expected to see a decline in international visitor spending in 2025.

Other Trump administration policies have also appeared to impact tourism to the country, such as many Canadians boycotting US travel as a form of protest against Trump’s tariffs.

October marked the 10th straight month of decline in the number of Canadian travellers to the US. In the past, Canadians have made up about a quarter of all international visitors to the US, spending more than $20bn (£15.1bn) a year, according to the US Travel Association.

The friends were told that their clothing was “in conflict with Afghan and Islamic values”, a Taliban spokesman told the BBC, adding the values in Peaky Blinders went against Afghan culture.

In videos posted online, the men, who have been released, can be seen posing in flat caps and three-piece suits similar to those worn in the series set in England soon after World War One.

Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, they have imposed a number of restrictions on daily life in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

“Even jeans would have been acceptable, but the values in the Peaky Blinders series are against Afghan culture,” Saiful Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Taliban government’s provincial department of Vice and Virtue in Herat city told the BBC.

The men, all in their early twenties, come from the town of Jibrail in Herat province. They were ordered to report to the Taliban’s “morality police” on Sunday, and presented themselves for questioning in Herat the following day.

“They were promoting foreign culture and imitating film actors in Herat,” Khyber wrote on social media, adding that they had undergone a “rehabilitation programme”.

They were not formally arrested, “only summoned and advised and released”, Khyber told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

“We have our own religious and cultural values, and especially for clothing we have specific traditional styles,” he said.

“The clothing they wore has no Afghan identity at all and does not match our culture. Secondly, their actions were an imitation of actors from a British movie. Our society is Muslim; if we are to follow or imitate someone, we should follow our righteous religious predecessors in good and lawful matters.”

The men could be seen thanking officials for their advice and saying they were unaware they had violated any laws in a video released by the ministry after they were questioned – though it is unclear under what circumstances the interview was recorded.

“I have innocently been sharing content that was against Sharia which had many viewers,” one said in the recording.

He said he had been “summoned and advised”, and would no longer do “anything like this”.

In an interview with YouTube channel Herat-Mic uploaded at the end of November, before they were summoned, the friends said they admired the fashion displayed in the series, adding that they had received positive reactions from locals.

“At first we were hesitant, but once we went outside, people liked our style, stopped us in the streets, and wanted to take photos with us,” one of the men said, according to a translation by CBS News.

In a speech at a casino in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the president told supporters he had “no higher priority than making America affordable again”.

But while fuel and egg prices have fallen, other food is more expensive and Americans remain unhappy about the cost of housing, childcare and healthcare.

Democrats have capitalised on Trump’s vulnerability on the economy in recent state and city elections, leaving many Republicans uneasy about next year’s midterm elections.

Tuesday’s event in a swing district of Pennsylvania was the first of what the White House said would be a series of rallies aimed at bringing its economic message to voters.

But at one point in his remarks, the Republican president again portrayed concerns about affordability as a Democratic “hoax”.

The White House blames the former president, Joe Biden, and US central bank interest rates for the lingering economic pain.

The Federal Reserve has twice reduced rates, leaving them at about 3.9%, and financial markets expect the bank to cut them further later on Wednesday. Inflation, however, remains above the Fed’s 2% target at 3%.

In recent weeks, Trump’s administration has removed tariffs from dozens of food products and touted its rollback of fuel efficiency standards and Trump-branded retirement accounts for children as cost-of-living fixes.

In an excerpt from an interview with Politico released on Tuesday, Trump was asked what grade he would give the economy.

“A plus-plus-plus-plus-plus,” he said.

In a sign the policy pivot might be cutting through, Trump’s approval rating rose three points to 41% in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

But many Americans remain downbeat over the economy.

Alaina Hunt, 37, told the BBC she lost her job in April as a designer at a construction company in Oklahoma City, partly because of Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium.

The construction sector “really took a hard hit very early on”, she said, adding that she had applied for at least 75 jobs to no avail.

She said that rising grocery bills – about $25 extra per week – had added to the strain.

“I was able to scrape by a lot easier in years before,” said Ms Hunt, who voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024. “I don’t think that the federal government is listening at all.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was sceptical of Trump’s messaging on the economy. He told CBS News that the president’s view “does not reflect the reality on the ground here in a community where many Pennsylvanians voted for him in the last election”.

Citing issues such such as trade tariffs, Shapiro continued: “The record is clear: his policies have hurt the very communities that propelled him to the White House.”

The economic data itself paints a mixed picture.

US consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since the spring.

But the stock market continues to hover near record highs. And forecasters expect the economy to expand by 1.9% this year, slower than last year’s 2.8% but still better than expected.

Some recent data also indicates the job market may be picking up, after a significant hiring slowdown earlier this year.

At the rally, Trump said “prices are coming down tremendously from the highest prices in the history of our country.”

But prices are not falling – which is disinflation – rather, prices are rising at a slower rate.

As of September, inflation stood at 3%, the same rate as in January when the president took office and stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

It is still way below a peak of 9.1% under former President Joe Biden when the US faced its worst inflation in four decades.

Overall prices have surged 25% over the last five years, generating widespread frustration, despite wage growth over that period.

Beth Richardson, a 45-year-old from Kansas, said she had been floored by some of the prices at the grocery store near her, recalling a pack of Mentos gum she picked up recently that rang up to almost $5 with tax.

“I’m like, I’m just going to go die now because this cannot be,” she said.

Ms Richardson was laid off from her job in sales support at a tech-related company in late 2023, after the firm shifted jobs overseas. She voted for Kamala Harris last year.

She said while she knew presidents were often blamed for economic forces over which they had little control, she felt in this case Trump and his policies, like tariffs, were “shooting ourselves in the foot”.

On Tuesday night, Trump called tariffs his “favourite word”, pointing to hundreds of billions of dollars of US revenue from the import taxes.

Many Trump supporters have said they still support the president, despite feeling the pinch themselves.

John Mohring, 60, a widower and construction worker from Kenosha, Wisconsin, has backed Trump since 2016.

He said grocery prices started rising before Trump returned to the White House “and it doesn’t seem like it’s going down”.

He now typically spends $100 on groceries just for himself, even when avoiding buying meat and sticking with cheaper items.

Still, Mr Mohring said he backed the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods and his border policies.

“I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt,” Mr Mohring added.

Brad Smith, a corn and soybean farmer in north-western Illinois, was hurt earlier this year when China, previously a major buyer of US soybeans, froze its purchases amid a trade war with Washington.

But the market, he said, had been gradually recovering since late October, when the two countries reached a deal and China resumed some purchases.

Trump on Monday also announced a $12bn aid package for US farmers.

Mr Smith said he still believed in Trump’s plans for the economy, despite being getting caught in the crossfire.

“There’s probably bigger things at play other than just the soybean and corn market,” Mr Smith said.

“The whole America First idea is good.”

Brumelda Zuma became one of South Africa’s newest MPs on Wednesday, representing uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the opposition party led by her father.

Her half-sister, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, resigned from parliament following allegations that she had tricked 17 men into fighting for Russia as mercenaries in Ukraine. Zuma-Sambudla has denied these accusations.

Brumelda Zuma’s appointment suggests the former president intends to ensure his family is represented in parliament.

She was sworn in alongside three other MK members, who, the party said, “bring a wealth of experience and dedication” to parliament.

She said she would focus mostly on ensuring that South Africans had “good public services” because “that is what I studied”.

MK said Brumelda Zuma had a degree in public administration.

Brumelda Zuma has not previously had a national profile, unlike her half-sister who had represented South Africa in the Pan-African Parliament.

MK previously said it was Zuma-Sambudla’s decision to resign as she wanted to focus her efforts on ensuring the return of those trapped in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.

She was implicated in the Russia recruitment scheme after South Africa’s government revealed it had received distress calls from more than a dozen citizens who had joined mercenary forces.

The men are aged between 20 and 39 and are trapped in Donbas.

One of Zuma-Sambudla’s most prominent accusers is another half-sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube.

Zuma-Mncube filed a criminal complaint against Zuma-Sambudla and two other people, accusing them of luring the men to Russia “under false pretences” and then handing them to a Russian mercenary group “without their knowledge or consent”.

She said that eight of them were her relatives.

Police have confirmed they are carrying out an investigation.

Working as a mercenary or fighting for another army is illegal under South African law, unless the government authorises it.

Zuma-Sambudla has said in an affidavit that she thought the men were going to Russia for “lawful” training.

She is currently also on trial on terrorism-related charges over social media messages she posted during deadly protests in 2021. She has denied the charges.

Jacob Zuma formed MK in 2023 after a massive fall-out with current President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The MK party came in third place in South Africa’s general election last year, and became the main opposition party in parliament after the second-biggest party joined a coalition government led by Ramaphosa.

In a wide-ranging interview with Politico, he said “decaying” European countries had failed to control migration or take decisive action to end Ukraine’s war with Russia, accusing them of letting Kyiv fight “until they drop”.

European leaders have made attempts to carve out a role in the US-led efforts to end the war, which they fear will undercut the long-term interests of the continent in favour of a quick resolution.

In response, the UK’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said all she saw in Europe was “strength”, citing investment in defence as well as funding for Kyiv.

She added two presidents were “working for peace” – referring to Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – and “one president – President Putin – has so far simply sought to escalate the conflict with further drone and missile attacks”.

Trump continued to increase pressure on Zelensky to agree to a deal to end the conflict, and urged him to “play ball” by ceding territory to Moscow. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Zelensky, writing on X later on Tuesday, said Ukraine and Europe were working actively on “all components of potential steps toward ending the war”, that the Ukrainian and European elements of the plan were now more developed and that Kyiv was ready to present them to “our partners in the US”.

Trump’s latest public criticism of Europe comes a day after European leaders came together in London to discuss their continued joint efforts to stop the fighting in Ukraine.

Asked whether Europe could help end the war, the US president said: “They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on.”

US officials have held separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian officials in recent weeks in an attempt to broker an end to the war. So far, no agreement has been reached.

Ukraine’s president has pressed European and Nato leaders to help deter the US from backing a deal that Kyiv fears would leave it exposed to future attack.

On Sunday Trump suggested, without evidence, that Zelensky was the main obstacle to peace.

He told reporters that Russia was “fine” with the peace plan outlined to both sides by the US, that contained major concessions for Ukraine and which allies feared would leave it vulnerable to a future invasion.

In the Politico interview, he claimed Ukrainian negotiators “loved” the US-backed proposal and alleged Zelensky had not yet read it.

Trump also repeated previous calls for Kyiv to hold elections and claimed it was “using war” as a reason not to do so.

He said: “You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”

Zelensky’s five-year term as president was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia’s invasion.

Speaking to reporters after Trump’s comments were released, Zelensky said he was “ready for the elections” and he would ask for proposals to be drawn up which could change the law.

Elections could be held in the next 60 to 90 days if security is guaranteed with the help of the US and other allies, Zelensky told reporters.

Elsewhere in the Politico interview, Trump also claimed ideological divisions now threatened to fracture Washington’s alliances with Europe.

Asked whether leaders he viewed as weak could still be allies, he replied: “It depends”, adding: “I think they’re weak, but I also think that they want to be so politically correct. I think they don’t know what to do.”

The president’s remarks came after his administration released its new 33-page National Security Strategy, which warned of Europe’s potential “civilisational erasure” and questioned whether some nations could remain reliable allies.

Russia welcomed that strategy – which did not cast Russia as a threat to the US – as “largely consistent” with Moscow’s vision.

Trump also warned on Tuesday that many countries in Europe “will not be viable countries any longer” if they keep on the way they are going, adding: “What they’re doing with immigration is a disaster.”

He singled out Hungary and Poland as doing a “very good job” on immigration, but said most European nations were “decaying”.

Responding on Tuesday to the strategy, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said some parts were plausible and some understandable, but other elements were unacceptable from a European point of view.

He rejected the idea that the US needed to “save democracy” in Europe, saying Europeans could address such questions themselves.

The strategy also followed similar rhetoric to Trump’s speech to the UN earlier this year, where he had harsh criticism for Western Europe and its approach to migration and clean energy.

Two men entered the Mário de Andrade Library during visiting hours and overpowered a security guard and an elderly couple before fleeing toward the nearby Anhangabaú metro station, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil, citing information from the country’s military police.

One of the suspects was arrested Monday, CNN Brasil reported, citing the man’s attorney, and police are on the hunt for the second suspect.

Since October, the library and the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo have collaborated on an exhibition called “From book to museum,” featuring works by artists, including Matisse, Brazilian painter Candido Portinari and French artist Fernand Léger.

The thieves stole eight prints by Matisse and five prints by Portinari on display, according to a statement from the Municipal Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy, a local government department focused on fostering arts and culture.

While it’s not immediately clear how much the pieces are worth, the secretariat stated that the pieces “have cultural, historical, and artistic value, and therefore cannot be assessed solely in economic terms.”

Matisse, who died in 1954, was one of the most influential artists of the 20th-century known for his use of bold, expressive colors. Besides painting, he was well-practiced in printmaking, producing more than 800 prints using a range of techniques from linocut to lithography.

Among the stolen works were pages from Matisse’s “Jazz,” a limited-edition book containing vibrant images derived from his famous paper cut-outs, and featuring the French artist’s written reflections on art and life.

Sunday’s heist follows a brazen burglary in October, when thieves dressed in yellow vests used a truck-mounted ladder to scale Paris’s Louvre Museum. They took nine pieces of jewelry valued at more than $100 million in what was considered the most audacious art theft at the museum since the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911.

The October heist was also seen as an example of how thieves are increasingly targeting cultural institutions — not for prized paintings, but for artifacts that can be dismantled and melted down for the value of their raw materials.

Museums are a “relatively soft target” compared to highly secured buildings like banks, according to Remigiusz Plath, secretary of the International Committee for Museum Security.

Speaking previously to CNN, Plath said that museums face the unique challenge of balancing robust security with the public’s freedom to see and engage with their collections.

“You can actually go in there, when the museum is open, and see it right in front of you,” he said. “And if you apply blunt force, just like a roof, you’re right there — there are not many thresholds to go through to have access to these raw materials.”

The foot bones and a jawbone with teeth still attached belonged to an ancient human relative called Australopithecus deyiremeda, a more primitive species than Lucy, according to a study published November 26 in the journal Nature.

Should they hold up to further scrutiny, the findings could knock Lucy, one of the most recognizable names in human evolution, from her important spot in the family tree.

The eight bones that make up the Burtele foot were excavated in 2009 by a team led by paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie. 

Coexisting species

In 2009, a team led by paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie, a professor at Arizona State University and the study’s lead author, found the eight foot bones within 3.4 million-year-old sediments at the Burtele locality at Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia’s Afar region. The site is close to where Lucy’s partial skeleton was discovered in 1974.

The team knew the foot came from a different species than Lucy’s because it had an opposable toe, suggesting it had a greater ability to grasp and would have easily climbed trees. However, there wasn’t enough information to name a new species based on the foot fossils alone.

Not long after, Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State, found teeth and other fossil fragments dating from 3.33 million to 3.59 million years ago and in 2015 reported that they belonged to a new species researchers dubbed Australopithecus deyiremeda. This designation was met with skepticism from some experts in human evolution given the small number of fossils.

The latest study reports the discovery of further Australopithecus deyiremeda fossils and includes the puzzling foot bones in the designation.

Lucy’s species was long thought to be the only hominin to live between 3.8 million and 3 million years ago. The finds, however, provide clear evidence that two related hominin species coexisted at the same time around what is now the Woranso-Mille site, raising questions about how they managed to live together.

Haile-Selassie, second from left, and his crew at the Woranso-Mille site. Dale Omori

The study reported that A. deyiremeda would have walked on two legs, and most likely pushed off on its second digit instead of its big toe like modern humans do today.

“What that means is that bipedality — walking on two legs — in these early human ancestors came in various forms. The whole idea of finding specimens like the Burtele foot tells you that there were many ways of walking on two legs when on the ground,” Haile-Selassie said in a statement, adding that “there was not just one way until later.”

The team was also able get a sense of what A. deyiremeda likely ate by using a technique known as isotope analysis that looks at chemical signatures of different carbon forms preserved in eight of the teeth. It found that the species consumed mostly trees and shrubs, whereas Lucy ate a wider variety of food, including grass-based plants.

“This is the first time that we’re showing that Australopithecus deyiremeda and Australopithecus afarensis were able to coexist because one, they were different in terms of their locomotive adaptation, and two, they were consuming different dietary resources,” Haile-Selassie said in a video shared by Arizona State. “So, there was no competition,” he added.

A 3D rendering of the jawbone, which belonged to a juvenile A. deyiremeda who would have been around four years old. Anna Ragni 

The new fossils and attribution of the foot bones should result in a broader acceptance of A. deyiremeda as a genuine species, said Fred Spoor, a research leader at the Centre for Human Evolution Research at London’s Natural History Museum. Spoor was not involved in the research but wrote a commentary published alongside the new study.

Fitting A. deyiremeda into the evolutionary tree, he added, may result in some new “twists” in the human story that could see Lucy lose her “iconic status” as the ancestor of all later hominins, including our own species, Homo sapiens.

A finding that ‘will cause quite a stir’

The jawbone was found in 29 pieces, 27 of which were recovered by picking through sifted dirt. Yohannes Haile-Selassie

Lucy was shorter than an average human, reaching about 3.3 feet (1 meter) in height. She had an apelike face and a brain about one-third the size of a human brain. Her fossil showcased a mixture of humanlike and apelike traits and provided the first definitive proof that ancient human relatives walked upright 3.2 million years ago.

For decades after the skeleton’s discovery, Lucy’s species was thought to be the sole common ancestor group of all later hominins, Spoor noted. But more recent discoveries of older hominins that likely walked upright have suggested that Lucy was not the earliest human ancestor, although most still think her species was ancestral to our own lineage. The new research, Spoor said, challenged that line of scientific thought; our own genus, Homo, might not have descended directly from Lucy’s species.

When researchers compared A. deyiremeda with other Australopithecus species, they found that some of its features, particularly its foot and jaw, resembled a species that Lucy was thought to have given rise to — a hominin known as Australopithecus africanus, which lived between 2 million and 3 million years ago. Other features, including A. deyiremeda’s diet, closely resembled a more primitive Australopithecus species known as Australopithecus anamensis, which lived 4.2 million to 3.8 million years ago.

It seems likely that A. deyiremeda descended from A. anamensis, and if that’s the case, then A. afarensis might not be the ancestor of all later human species, Spoor said in a statement. It’s an unexpected finding that “will cause quite a stir” among scientists, he added.

Many A. deyiremeda fossils are tiny fragments, which require painstaking work to collect. Dale Omori

Put simply, the study suggests that A. anamensis sits at the base of this family tree, giving rise to at least three sister species (A. afarensis, A.
deyiremeda and A. africanus). Previously, scientists drew a straight line of descent from A. anamensis to Lucy’s species to A. africanus and ultimately to Homo sapiens. The presence of multiple species makes it unclear which gave rise to later hominins.

“For decades, we’ve been inundated with textbooks and documentaries that say that Lucy and her relatives are our ancestors,” Spoor said.

“The new research suggests that A. anamensis wasn’t just the ancestor of Lucy, but that many other human species could descend from it as well, including our own.”

Ryan McRae, a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, said this study was the first paper to suggest the possibility that Lucy’s species could have been an evolutionary dead end — meaning it wasn’t a direct ancestor of modern humans. Such an explanation is, of course, still just a hypothesis.

“I don’t think there is enough conclusive evidence to say which of the two options, deyiremeda or afarensis, is an ancestor for sure. It’s possible neither are and there are still more species to find,” he said via email.

“Regardless of who was ancestral to whom, though, our family tree keeps getting bushier and bushier.”

Haile-Selassie plans to return to Ethiopia and the surrounding region soon to hunt for more Australopithecus fossils, which will help expand what scientists know about these species and how they relate to each other.

“We need more fossils of A. deyiremeda and A. anamensis to answer the questions we still have about them,” he said in the statement.

The announcement was made by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, during the 55th session of the Mediation and Security Council at the ministerial level in Abuja on Tuesday.

Omar Touray said the worsening situation in the sub-region demands urgent attention and collective action.

According to him, recent developments highlight the “imperative of serious introspection on the future of our democracy and the urgent need to invest in the security of our community.”

The emergency declaration comes on the back of a troubling wave of unconstitutional takeovers in parts of West Africa.

In the past few years, countries including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea-Bissau have experienced coups or attempted coups, while security agencies in Benin and other states have also reported foiled mutinies.

Officials say Tuesday’s meeting was convened to assess the growing threats—ranging from military interventions to violent extremism—and to consider measures that can help stabilise the region.

ECOWAS has faced criticism in recent months, particularly after Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the bloc earlier this year.

More updates are expected as the ministerial council continues its deliberations in Abuja.

The virus is a mix of two major types of the mpox virus, and was found in someone who recently returned from travelling in Asia.

Officials say they are still assessing the significance of the new strain.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it is normal for viruses to evolve. Getting vaccinated remains the best way to protect against severe disease – although an mpox infection is mild for many.

The new virus strain contains elements of two mpox strains, called clade Ib and clade IIb. It currently has no name.

UK health officials recently encouraged gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to make sure they were vaccinated against mpox.

That call came as a strain called ‘clade Ib’ showed early signs of local spread in some European countries.

‘Clade IIb’ is linked to a global outbreak of mpox in 2022 which affected many countries worldwide.

In the UK, vaccination is available for groups of people at highest risk of catching mpox:

• those who have multiple sexual partners
• those who engage in group sex
• those who visit sex-on-premises venues

Health officials say the vaccine is 75-80% effective at protecting against mpox.

There have been no studies on how well the vaccine protects against this latest strain, although it’s thought there will be a high degree of protection.

Dr Katy Sinka, head of sexually transmitted infections at UKHSA, said genomic testing had allowed it to be detected.

“It’s normal for viruses to evolve, and further analysis will help us understand more about how mpox is changing.

“Getting vaccinated is a proven effective way to protect yourself against severe disease, so please make sure to get the jab if you are eligible,” she said.

Prof Trudie Lang, director of the Global Health Network at the University of Oxford, said there were “excellent systems” to identify cases and control onward infection in the UK, but in other parts of the world, in more vulnerable populations, “this is harder to achieve”, where access to vaccines is not as reliable.

Prof Lang said if further cases of this strain appeared in the UK and elsewhere, it would be important to understand how it’s being spread and how ill it makes people, in order to assess whether it’s more or less dangerous than previous strains.

There have been nearly 48,000 confirmed cases of mpox globally in 2025, and 2,500 in the past month, with most occurring in central Africa.

Dr Boghuma Titanji, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University, said the new strain is what experts feared would happen if mpox continued to spread worldwide.

“The more mpox circulation we permit, the more opportunities the virus has to recombine and adapt, further entrenching mpox virus as a human pathogen that is not going away,” she said.

What is mpox?

Mpox can be a unpleasant illness.

Common symptoms are lesions or a skin rash, which can last for two to four weeks, plus fever, headaches, back pain, muscle aches and tiredness.

The virus spreads from person to person through close physical contact, coughs or sneezes and touching infected clothing, bedding or towels.

Health officials say anyone who thinks they might have mpox, should contact NHS 111 for advice on what to do.

The military takeover attempting to overthrow President Patrice Talon, which lasted a few hours before authorities announced it had been foiled, was the latest in a series of recent coups across Africa — most following a similar pattern of disputed elections, constitutional upheaval, security crises and youth discontent.

In a statement detailing Sunday’s events, Government Secretary Edouard Ouin-Ouro said the mutinous soldiers attacked Talon around 5 a.m. before being “overwhelmed by the fierce resistance of the loyal soldiers.”

The government confirmed the involvement of Nigerian and Ivorian troops in helping to thwart the coup, saying the Nigerian military had “(used) its military aircraft, which immobilised some of the armoured vehicles.”

Authorities said that although several arrests have been made over the coup, its apparent leader remained on the run and was being hunted. Two senior military officers held hostage by those carrying out the coup had also been released, officials said. Authorities did not specify the number of casualties.

An ongoing investigation into the coup will “identify all the perpetrators and their sponsors, whoever they may be” and will assess the damage in the aftermath, Ouin-Ouro said in the statement issued after a high-level cabinet meeting chaired by the Benin leader.

How the coup unfolded

A group of soldiers calling themselves the Committee for Refoundation stormed the national television station on Sunday morning to announce the coup.

Led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, eight soldiers appeared in a broadcast announcing the removal of Talon, the dissolution of the government and the suspension of state institutions.

Before the coup, Tigri was a member of Talon’s protection detail. As an artillery officer, he commanded a National Guard battalion between 2023 and 2025.

By Sunday afternoon, the coup was foiled by Benin’s military, supported by Nigerian air and ground forces, which launched attacks against fleeing coup participants.

Calm on Monday returned to Cotonou, Benin’s administrative centre, with soldiers on the streets.

Talon described the coup late Sunday as a “senseless adventure,” and said the situation was under control. He vowed to punish mutineers and ensure the safety of hostages, including some believed to be senior military officers. He didn’t disclose their identities, and it wasn’t clear how many were held.

The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, said Sunday that it had deployed a standby force to Benin to help preserve democracy. The troops included personnel from Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. The size of the force was unclear.

A Nigerian government spokesperson said in a statement that Talon had requested Nigeria’s help. It wasn’t clear how many personnel or how much equipment had been deployed.

Regional challenge

Nigeria and the ECOWAS regional bloc hadn’t intervened in a member state since 2017, when it sent troops to Gambia to force then-President Yahya Jammeh to vacate power following his election loss.

The bloc, led by Nigeria, tried to intervene in Niger after the country’s 2023 coup. At that time, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu led the bloc. His threat to intervene if the junta didn’t restore the ousted democratic government resulted in a standoff between the bloc and three junta-led countries, and they later left the bloc.

Analysts say Nigeria has a strategic interest in defending its borders — which it shares with Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon — especially now, while it experiences a severe security crisis.

“The coup in Benin is one too many. Nigeria cannot afford to be encircled by hostile governments,” Oluwole Ojewale, a senior security researcher at Dakar-based Institute for Security Studies, told The Associated Press.

As West Africa battles a surge in coups, analysts say ECOWAS lacks consistency in its response. In Gabon and Guinea-Bissau, the bloc was less assertive, and it has watched some other leaders stay in office via constitutional changes.

“You can make the argument that Tinubu needed to show some strength in preserving democracy, but this now speaks to ECOWAS’ double standard,” said Cheta Nwanze, a partner at the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence geopolitical consultancy firm.

Despite a history of coups following its independence from France in 1960, Benin has enjoyed relative calm in the past two decades. The country is set to elect a new president in April, because Talon is set to leave office after a decade in power.

The victim, identified as Agnes Obetta, was among a group of mourners kidnapped while returning from a burial ceremony.

Her death comes in the wake of a Nigerian Army operation on Friday, December 5, which led to the rescue of 14 abducted persons from Orokam Forest in Benue State, a location that borders Udenu LGA.

Seven of those rescued were residents of Ezimo, while others included victims abducted in different locations, among them two individuals from neighbouring Umuosigide.

According to a family source, Mrs Obetta died shortly after ransom was paid to secure her freedom. The source said the victims had just been released when gunshots erupted not far from the hideout, forcing them to flee in panic.

“When they later regrouped to begin the journey home, she was nowhere to be found,” the source said.

Her son and some villagers launched a search the following morning and found her unconscious in the bush. She was rushed to a hospital in Orokam, but complications prompted a referral to another facility in Obollo-Afor. Her blood pressure was reportedly extremely high, and despite efforts by medical staff, she passed away.

It was also gathered that the captives endured harsh conditions and were poorly fed throughout their ordeal.

A political leader in Udenu LGA, Hillary Onah, has called for a full account of what transpired during the operation. He claimed that Mrs Obetta’s first son was still with the kidnappers as they counted the ransom when the gunfire began, allegedly from a security team attempting a rescue.

Onah said the kidnappers escaped with the ransom amid the chaos, while the victims scattered into the bush. He insisted that the community deserves clarity on the circumstances that led to the tragedy.

The 33-page document, unveiled by the US administration last week, suggests Europe is facing “civilisational erasure” and does not cast Russia as a threat to the US.

Combatting foreign influence, ending mass migration, and rejecting the EU’s perceived practice of “censorship” are mentioned as other priorities in the report.

Several EU officials and analysts had pushed back on the strategy, questioning its focus on freedom of expression and likening it to language used by the Kremlin.

“The adjustments we’re seeing… are largely consistent with our vision,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview published by Russia’s state news agency TASS on Sunday.

“We consider this a positive step,” he said, adding that Moscow would continue to analyse the document before drawing strong conclusions.

The strategy adopts a softer language towards Russia, which EU officials worry could weaken its response to Moscow in ending the war.

In the document, the EU is blamed for blocking US efforts to end the conflict and says that the US must “re-establish strategic stability to Russia” which would “stabilise European economies”.

It appears to endorse efforts to influence policy on the continent, noting that US policy should prioritise “resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations”.

The new report also calls for the restoration of “Western identity”, and claims that Europe will be “unrecognisable in 20 years or less” and its economic issues are “eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilisational erasure”.

“It is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies,” the document states.

In stark contrast, the document celebrates the influence of “patriotic European parties” and says “America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit”.

As the EU engages in ongoing talks with the Trump administration to set out a peace deal in Ukraine, some officials emphasised their lasting relationship with the US, while raising “questions” over the document.

“The US will remain our most important ally in the [Nato] alliance. This alliance, however, is focused on addressing security policy issues,” German Foreign Minister Wadephul said on Friday.

“I believe questions of freedom of expression or the organisation of our free societies do not belong [in the strategy], in any case at least when it comes to Germany,” he added.

In a social media post addressed to his “American friends”, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that “Europe is your closest ally, not your problem” and noted their “common enemies”.

“This is the only reasonable strategy of our common security. Unless something has changed.”

Meanwhile, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote that the document “places itself to the right of the extreme right”.

The US has been growing closer to the far-right AfD party in Germany, which has been classified as extreme right by German intelligence.

Promoting an “America First” message, the strategy says the US intends to target alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, considering possible military action in Venezuela.

The US also calls on an increased defence spending from Japan, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan.

Democrats in Congress warned that the document could shatter US foreign relations.

Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, who sits on House committees overseeing intelligence and the armed forces, called the strategy “catastrophic to America’s standing in the world”.

New York Representative Gregory Meeks said it “discards decades of value-based, US leadership.

This was after the neighbouring country came under sudden attack from coup plotters at dawn on Sunday.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu praised the military for answering Benin’s urgent call for help and acting quickly to protect constitutional order in the 35-year-old democracy.

Acting on two separate requests from the Government of Benin, President Tinubu ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets into Beninoise airspace to take control and help dislodge the coup plotters.

The armed group had seized the National TV station and regrouped at a military camp as they attempted to topple President Patrice Talon.

Benin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a Note Verbal, appealed for immediate Nigerian air support “in view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation and to safeguard the constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population.”

A second request asked Nigeria to deploy more air assets for surveillance and rapid intervention, under Benin-led coordination.

The Benin authorities also sought Nigerian ground forces “strictly for missions approved by the Beninese Command authority in support of the protection of constitutional institutions and the containment of armed groups.”

According to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, all requests from Benin were executed without delay.

He confirmed that Nigerian ground forces were already deployed in the country.

“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu,” he said.

The crisis in Benin erupted when soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri announced a coup, seized national broadcasting, and declared the suspension of all democratic institutions.

Hours later, loyal government forces — with Nigeria’s support — retook control of the National TV station and moved to flush out the coup plotters.

Following the restoration of democratic and constitutional order, President Tinubu applauded the Nigerian military for its role as a stabilising force in the region.

“Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government,” he said.

He stressed that the intervention was in line with ECOWAS protocols.

“Our armed forces acted within the ambit of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

“They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country and have made us proud of their commitment to sustaining our democratic values and ideals since 1999. Nigeria stands firmly with the government and people of the Republic of Benin.”

The statement, signed by Bayo Onanuga, affirmed Nigeria’s readiness to stand by democratic institutions across the region in times of instability.

The Commission explained that the decision is grounded in Article 25(e) of the 1999 Protocol on Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, which empowers the regional body to intervene when constitutional order is threatened.

The Chair of the ECOWAS Authority has therefore activated the standby arrangement to support Benin during the crisis.

Under the new directive, the regional force will draw troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. These forces are to work alongside the Government and the Republican Army of Benin to preserve constitutional rule and safeguard the country’s territorial integrity.

The deployment comes against the backdrop of rising tension in Benin, where soldiers reportedly seized key state installations in what appears to be a coup d’état.

ECOWAS had earlier condemned the development and called for the immediate restoration of democratic governance.

The blaze is suspected to have broken out after a cylinder exploded in the kitchen area of the club in Arpora village around midnight on Saturday local time, CNN affiliate News18 reported.

Fourteen of the victims are believed to have been staff, and the nationalities of the tourists are not yet confirmed, police told the English-language Indian news channel.

Seven people are being treated for injuries, including one person with 60% burns, it added

Goa, a small state on India’s west coast known for its beaches and Portuguese heritage, attracts hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists and millions of domestic tourists every year.

“Today is a very painful day for all of us in Goa,” the state’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said Sunday morning in a post on X.

Videos on social media showed fire trucks and ambulances lining up to help the injured.

Goa’s Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on X that the injured were taken to Goa Medical College and Hospital, and are receiving “the best possible medical care,” with teams working through the night.

Some of the victims succumbed to burn injuries and others died due to suffocation, News18 reported.

“In this moment of profound grief, we stand firmly with the affected families, assuring them of our unwavering support in every possible way,” Rane added.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the fire was “deeply saddening” and pledged that his office would offer compensation of up to 200,000 rupees ($2,200) to each family of those killed and 50,000 rupees ($556) to the injured.

“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones,” he said on X.

“May the injured recover at the earliest.”

An inquiry has been ordered to “examine the exact cause of the fire and whether fire safety norms and building rules were followed,” Sawant said.

Early reports suggest the venue lacked the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) and violated fire regulations, the Director of Fire and Emergency Services Nitin Raiker told News18 on Sunday.

“Fire services were rushed towards the spot immediately,” Raiker told the channel.

“In half an hour we extinguished the fire. NOC was not given, fire norms were not followed by the club.”

“The army solemnly commits to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era, where fraternity, justice and work prevail,” said a statement read by one of the soldiers who was flanked by half a dozen others, several wearing helmets.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

“The constitution is suspended. All institutions are dissolved (and) political party activities suspended until further notice.”

A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The announcement came as Benin was preparing for a presidential election in April that would mark the end of the tenure of incumbent Patrice Talon, in power since 2016.

Benin’s ruling coalition had nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni to be its candidate, positioning a man seen as a key architect of its economic policies to pursue the administration’s current reform agenda if elected.

Talon’s decision to step down after two terms was a rare move in the West and Central Africa region where democratic norms are increasingly under pressure.

A coup last month in Guinea-Bissau was the ninth in the region since 2020.

The two pilots on board successfully ejected before the crash and were reported safe.

No casualties were recorded, and no houses or other properties were affected by the incident.

A source, who spoke to Channels Television on phone, said that the crash occurred at about 4:10 p.m on Saturday near Karabonde town.

The Nigerian Air Force in a statement by its Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, detailed how it the incident happened.

NAF said the aircraft had an emergency shortly after take-off.

It said the development prompted the “pilots to act swiftly and with remarkable composure.

“They expertly manoeuvred the aircraft away from populated areas before executing a safe ejection. The crew is currently undergoing routine medical evaluation,” the NAF statement read in part.

Meanwhile, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, has praised the pilots for the “courage, discipline and sound judgement which prevented loss of life”.

NAF commended “the exceptional bravery and professionalism of its Alpha Jet pilots who safely ejected following an in-flight emergency during a post-inspection functional check flight today, 6 December 2025, at Nigerian Air Force Base Kainji”.

Air Marshal Aneke has directed the immediate constitution of a Board of Inquiry to investigate the incident.

The Nigerian Air Force reassured Nigerians of its commitment to stringent safety standards and operational excellence.

NAF said it remained dedicated to safeguarding its personnel while protecting the lives and property of citizens in line with its constitutional mandate.

“The adoption of this bill is part of reforms … to have a justice that responds to the deep aspirations of our people,” Minister of Justice Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said in a Facebook post late Thursday.

The death penalty was abolished in the country in 2018.

The bill has to be adopted by parliament and reviewed by the courts before becoming law.

Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, called the move a “serious setback for human rights in Burkina Faso,” and alarming “in the context of the ongoing crackdown on political opponents, human rights activists and journalists in Burkina Faso.”

Since taking power in a 2022 coup, the West African country’s military leaders have launched sweeping reforms, including postponing elections that were expected to restore civilian rule and dissolving the country’s independent electoral commission.

Burkina Faso has increasingly silenced critical media outlets in recent years. It suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces, as well as arrested three prominent journalists earlier this year.

The country is one of several West African nations where the military has taken over in recent years, capitalising on widespread discontent with previous democratically elected governments over security issues. The military government has been accused of human rights abuses and the detention of journalists critical of the government.

The landlocked nation of 23 million people is among the countries struggling with a security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Forty-year-old Oluwaseun Adekoya, also known by aliases including “Ace G.,” “Legendary,” “Santa” and “Sammy LaBanco,” was sentenced on Monday in Albany, New York, following his conviction earlier this year on charges of bank fraud conspiracy, money-laundering conspiracy and nine counts of aggravated identity theft.

His conviction followed a three-week trial that detailed how he coordinated a sophisticated web of criminal activity from his luxury apartment in New Jersey.

According to evidence presented in court, Adekoya used publicly available records to identify individuals with high-value home-equity credit lines at credit unions across the United States.

He then acquired their Social Security numbers, account information and other personal data through encrypted messaging platforms, including Telegram.

This information was passed to a nationwide network of managers and operatives equipped with fake driver’s licences to impersonate victims and withdraw funds from their accounts.

Prosecutors said Adekoya insulated himself from detection by using multiple burner phones, encrypted communications and bank accounts opened in other people’s names to launder his share of the proceeds.

He also reinvested some of the stolen money into the criminal enterprise by purchasing travel tickets, forged documents and rental cars for accomplices.

Acting United States Attorney John Sarcone described Adekoya as a “flagrant serial offender” who had used the privilege of permanent residency “to steal the identities of innocent Americans so he could live lavishly … without an ounce of remorse.”

He added that the sentence ensured Adekoya “deserves every last day” of the two decades he will serve.

The investigation began in May 2022 after Broadview Federal Credit Union in Albany detected suspicious transactions and alerted the FBI. The inquiry exposed Adekoya as the ringleader of an operation that spanned several states and involved at least 13 other conspirators, all of whom pleaded guilty before his trial.

FBI agents arrested Adekoya in December 2023, recovering numerous burner phones, designer items, luxury watches, a 51,000-dollar engagement ring, and 26,000 dollars in a bank account linked to money laundering. These assets have since been forfeited.

US District Judge Mae D’Agostino, who handed down the sentence, noted Adekoya’s long history of identity theft and fraud offences stretching back to 2008.

In addition to his prison term, he must serve five years of supervised release, pay more than $2.2 million in restitution, and face removal from the United States after completing his sentence.

His co-conspirators received sentences ranging from time served to 11 years’ imprisonment. They included individuals from New York, Virginia, Wisconsin and Alabama who played roles in impersonation, logistics, money movement and document procurement.

The case involved extensive cooperation from FBI field offices across the United States and multiple state and local law enforcement agencies.

The US Attorney’s Office said the sentence brings an end to nearly two decades of criminal activity that exploited financial institutions and ordinary citizens across the country.

The President touched down on Saturday, December 5, and is scheduled to deliver opening remarks on the theme, “Education as Justice in Times of Crisis.”

He will also contribute to a high-level panel discussion on “Economic Empowerment in Africa: Pathway to Inclusive Prosperity,” where he is expected to articulate Africa’s strategic opportunities for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Beyond the Forum’s plenary sessions, President Mahama will hold bilateral talks with the Emir of Qatar to deepen cooperation between the two nations.

He travelled to Doha aboard a Qatar Airways Executive Jet provided by the State of Qatar and is expected to conclude his engagements and depart on Sunday.

Ato Forson beats all to lead NDC flagbearership race – Global…

On his first day in office in January, President Donald Trump signed an order to end birthright citizenship for those born to parents who are in the country illegally, but the move was blocked by multiple lower courts.

No date has been set yet for the Supreme Court arguments, and a ruling is months away.

Whatever the court decides could have major implications for Trump’s immigration crackdown and for what it means to be an American citizen.

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution has established the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and foreign military forces.

The language of the amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

Trump’s executive order seeks to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas. It is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reform the nation’s immigration system and combat what they have called “significant threats to national security and public safety”.

The administration has argued the 14th Amendment clause “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means the amendment excludes children of people who are not in the country permanently or lawfully.

Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case, told the BBC’s news partner CBS that no president can change the 14th Amendment’s fundamental promise of citizenship.

“For over 150 years, it has been the law and our national tradition that everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen from birth,” Ms Wang said in a statement.

“We look forward to putting this issue to rest once and for all in the Supreme Court this term,” she added.

The US is one of about 30 countries – mostly in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.

After legal challenges were brought to Trump’s executive order, several federal court judges ruled that it violated the Constitution, while two federal circuit courts of appeals upheld injunctions blocking the order from going into effect.

Trump then went to the Supreme Court to fight the injunctions. In a win for Trump, the court ruled in June that the injunctions issued by the lower courts exceeded their authority, though it did not address the issue of birthright citizenship itself.

The 14th Amendment was passed in the wake of the US Civil War in order to settle the question of the citizenship of freed, American-born former slaves.

US Solicitor General D John Sauer has argued that the amendment was adopted “to confer citizenship on the newly freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens temporarily visiting the United States or of illegal aliens”.

He has said it’s a “mistaken view” that birth on US soil confers citizenship and has argued that that understanding has had “destructive consequences”.

About 250,000 babies were born to unauthorised immigrant parents in the US in 2016 – a 36% decrease from a peak in 2007, according to The Pew Research Center.

By 2022, the latest year that data is available, there were 1.2 million US citizens born to unauthorised immigrant parents, Pew found.

A study published in May by the thinktank Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University’s Population Research Institute suggested that repealing birthright citizenship could increase the size of the unauthorized population in the US by an additional 2.7 million by 2045 and by 5.4 million by 2075.

The tech giant announced last month that it had begun notifying users aged between 13 to 15 years old that their accounts would start being shut down from 4 December.

An estimated 150,000 Facebook users and 350,000 Instagram accounts are expected to be affected. Threads, similar to X, can only be accessed via an Instagram account.

Australia’s world-first social media ban starts on 10 December, with companies facing fines of up to A$49.5m (US$33m, £25m) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to stop under-16s from having accounts.

A spokesperson for Meta told the BBC on Thursday that “compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multi-layered process”.

“While Meta is committed to complying with the law, we believe a more effective, standardised, and privacy-preserving approach is needed,” she said.

The government should require app stores to verify the age of users when they download apps and ask for parental approval for under-16s, Meta said, as this would eliminate the need for teens to verify their age across different apps.

Last month, Meta said users it had identified as under 16 would be able to download and save their posts, videos and messages before their accounts are deactivated.

Teens who believe they have been wrongly categorised as under 16 can ask for a review and submit a “video selfie” to verify their age. They can also provide a driver’s licence or a government-issued identification.

Alongside Meta’s three platforms, the other social media sites affected by the ban are YouTube, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick and Twitch.

The government says the ban is aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media but critics say the move may isolate certain groups who depend on platforms for connection and push children to less-regulated corners of the internet.

Communications Minister Anika Wells on Wednesday said she expected teething problems in the first few days and weeks of the ban but it was about protecting Gen Alpha – anyone under 15 years – and future generations.

“With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by the predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as behavioural cocaine,” Wells said.

She described youngsters as being connected to a “dopamine drip” from the moment they got a smartphone and social media accounts.

YouTube, which was originally exempt from the ban but then later included, labelled the law as “rushed” and claimed that banning children from having an account – which comes with parental controls – will make its video-sharing platform “less safe”.

Australia’s social media ban, the first of its kind in the world, is being closely watched by global leaders.

The government commissioned a study earlier this year which found that 96% of Australian children aged 10-15 used social media, and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content such as misogynistic and violent material as well as content promoting eating disorders and suicide.

One in seven also reported experiencing grooming-type behaviour from adults or older children, and more than half said they had been the victim of cyberbullying.

H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in speciality fields, are crucial for U.S. tech companies which recruit heavily from countries including India and China.

Many of those companies’ leaders threw their support behind Trump in the last presidential election.

The cable, sent to all U.S. missions on December 2, orders U.S. consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants – and family members who would be travelling with them – to see if they have worked in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others.

“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible,” under a specific article of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the cable said.

Details on the enhanced vetting for H-1B visas, including the focus on censorship and free speech, have not been previously reported. The State Dept did not respond to a request for comment on the contents of the cable.

The cable said all visa applicants were subject to this policy, but sought a heightened review for the H-1B applicants, given they frequently worked in the technology sector, including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.”

“You must thoroughly explore their employment histories to ensure no participation in such activities,” the cable said.

The new vetting requirements apply to both new and repeat applicants.

The Trump administration has made free speech, particularly what it sees as the stifling of conservative voices online, a focus of its foreign policy.

Officials have repeatedly weighed in on European politics to denounce what they say is suppression of right-wing politicians, including in Romania, Germany and France, accusing European authorities of censoring views like criticism of immigration in the name of countering disinformation.

In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who censor speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies.

The Trump administration has already significantly tightened its vetting of applicants for student visas, ordering U.S. consular officers to screen for any social media posts that may be hostile towards the United States.

As part of his wide-ranging crackdown on immigration, Trump in September imposed new fees on H-1B visas.

Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms, claims that have centred on efforts to stem false claims about vaccines and elections.

The images and videos show several bedrooms, bathrooms and what appears to resemble a dentist’s chair in one room with masks on the wall, as well as a landline telephone with first names written on the speed dial buttons, including Darren, Rich, Mike, Patrick and Larry.

Multiple videos capture the opulent grounds of a home resembling a luxury resort, featuring a swimming pool, palm trees and a winding path overlooking the ocean. One photo appears to capture a study featuring a blackboard: Scribbled on it are words like “power,” “deception,” “plots” and “political.”

A Democratic committee aide told CNN that the photos and videos released by the committee on Wednesday have previously never been made public, and were all taken from Little St. James Island in the US Virgin Islands. There are several redactions in the images of the phone and the blackboard – the aide said any women’s names were redacted out of an abundance of caution.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released images Wednesday from a private island in the Caribbean that Jeffrey Epstein once owned. Portions of some images were redacted before their release. House Oversight Democrats

After releasing an initial 14 images and videos, Democrats on the panel later released another tranche showing more of the island estate.

The disclosure comes on the heels of President Donald Trump signing into law a bill compelling the Justice Department to release the Epstein-related documents in its possession. The release of those so-called Epstein files is highly anticipated and could come in a matter of days.

“These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island. We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said in a statement.

The US Virgin Islands have long been of great interest for investigators probing Epstein’s decades of abuse. Epstein privately owned Little St. James Island — sometimes nicknamed “Little St. Jeff’s” — and Great St. James.

Epstein frequented his homes there and invitations were often extended to many of his powerful and wealthy friends and acquaintances. These private islands allowed Epstein to carry out his sex-trafficking ring for years out of the public eye.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent victims, wrote in her posthumous memoir, for example, that it was on one of the islands — when she was 18 – that Epstein “trafficked me to a man who raped me more savagely than anyone had before.”

“He repeatedly choked me until I lost consciousness and took pleasure in seeing me fear for my life. Horrifically, the Prime Minister laughed when he hurt me and got more aroused when I begged him to stop,” she wrote of Epstein and an unidentified world leader.

Both islands were purchased by billionaire investor Stephen Deckoff in 2023. Deckoff has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment about the islands.

Last month, the House Oversight Committee requested documents from US Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon Rhea to further dig into Epstein’s life on the two private islands where he allegedly leveraged his personal and business relationships to negotiate lucrative tax breaks and even pay off local law enforcement, according to the panel’s letter. The committee wants to learn more about USVI’s 2020 law enforcement action against Epstein and the subsequent settlements to the tune of millions of dollars.

“The Committee believes that the documents related to Mr. Epstein, his estate, and the USVI litigation will aide its ongoing investigation into Mr. Epstein, Ms. Maxwell, and the federal government’s investigation into both individuals,” the committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. James Comer, stated in his subpoena letter.

The House Oversight Committee is currently looking to expand its probe into Epstein and is searching for new targets.

The meeting, scheduled for Thursday and hosted by Ghana’s First Lady, H.E. Lordina Dramani Mahama, will focus on ending mother-to-child transmission and achieving the triple elimination of HIV, syphilis, and Hepatitis B across the continent.

The dialogue will emphasise the role of women in leadership in combating stigma, abuse, and neglect—challenges that disproportionately affect women and children—and highlight the need to strengthen protections for vulnerable groups.

Mrs. Mahama and the Lordina Foundation have earned global recognition for over a decade of advocacy in health and humanitarian support. In 2013, she was appointed a Health Ambassador to champion the Heart-to-Heart campaign for HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana.

In 2016, as President of OAFLAD, she delivered a powerful call for a proactive response to HIV and greater protection of sexual and reproductive rights at the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Accra.

First Ladies from Kenya, Liberia, and a former First Lady of South Africa are also expected to attend the high-level gathering.

READ ALSO:

• Jinijini–Drobo–Sampa road now a danger zone — Berekum West MP raises alarm over rising armed robberies
• NaCCA is developing a mobile App to give parents real-time access to students’ performance – NaCCA Boss
• Fresh nationwide SIM registration exercise to be rolled out by first quarter of 2026 – Sam George

“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” chronicles his rise to become one of the most powerful men in hip-hop to his downfall amid a wave of accusations involving sexual assault and abuse.

Jackson, who executive-produced the project, told NBC News in a recent interview that he had worked on the documentary for over a year with director Alexandria Stapleton.

Below are some of the key moments from the series.

The murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls

The documentary dives into the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. (real name Christopher Wallace), a catalyst of the East Coast and West Coast feud in the 1990s.

Shakur died on Sept. 13, 1996, six days after he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

The Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on March 9, 1997, after leaving a Soul Train Awards afterparty in Los Angeles with Combs.

Combs discovered the rapper and had signed him to his label Bad Boy Entertainment.

Stapleton told NBC News that the documentary includes “a lot of new information” about the murders and that “no one had ever really put it together like that before.”

“Biggie is a foundational piece of Bad Boy and that relationship. I mean, you don’t have Puff Daddy without Biggie Smalls, right? … We had sources and were able to procure more intel and information, and I think that it was the first time that you could really tell this story,” she said.

Singer Aubrey O’Day reveals Combs may have assaulted her

Aubrey O’Day, a member of the former girl group Danity Kane, revealed in the documentary that she may have been sexually assaulted by Combs.

She said a lawyer representing an alleged victim reached out to her about an affidavit the lawyer had received.

“I was told it was an assault,” O’Day said. She said she has no recollection of the alleged assault.

In the series, O’Day read from the affidavit, which said that the alleged victim was at Bay Boy studios when she walked into a room. The woman, according to the affidavit, said she saw Combs and another man assaulting O’Day.

The woman said that O’Day seemed to be “out of it” and was not fully clothed, according to the affidavit. It was unclear from the documentary if the affidavit was ever filed in court.

“Does this mean I was raped? Is that what this means? I don’t even know if I was raped, and I don’t want to know,” O’Day said in the documentary.

Stapleton told NBC News that they spent hours on the phone with O’Day to make sure she was comfortable sharing her story.

“I think what you see in the film is her struggling to digest, ‘Did this happen to me or not?’ And I think it’s a very real moment,” Stapleton said. “I think matters of sexual assault, allegations like this, are very complex and very complicated. And I think that she’s a very real person who is walking you through why this feels so complicated.”

O’Day, who appeared on Combs’ “Making the Band 3,” also shared sexually explicit emails she said Combs sent to her while she was a member of Danity Kane.

“This is your boss at your work sending you that email,” she said. “What happens in real life to anyone else? Your boss gets fired. Six months later, I was fired.”

O’Day said she “absolutely felt that I was fired for not participating sexually.”

When asked for comment on O’Day’s remarks in the documentary, representatives for Combs said in a statement to NBC News, “We’re not going to comment on individual claims being repeated in the documentary. Many of the people featured have longstanding personal grievances, financial motives, or credibility issues that have been documented for years.”

“Sean Combs will continue to address legitimate matters through the legal process, not through a biased Netflix production,” the statement said.

Representatives for O’Day did not immediately respond to requests for comment on her appearance in the documentary.

Secret video shows Combs days before arrest

The documentary includes never-before-seen footage of Combs discussing his legal troubles days before his arrest at a New York City hotel in September 2024. Jackson declined to say how he got the video.

He was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation for purposes of prostitution. He was acquitted in July of racketeering and sex trafficking, but was convicted on two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

In October, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison.

Combs’ publicist said that the video was never authorized for release and that it includes private moments and “conversations involving legal strategy” from an unfinished project.

“The footage was created for an entirely different purpose, under an arrangement that was never completed, and no rights were ever transferred to Netflix,” Juda Engelmayer said in a statement. “A payment dispute between outside parties does not create permission for Netflix to use unlicensed, private material. None of this footage came from Mr. Combs or his team, and its inclusion raises serious questions about how it was obtained and why Netflix chose to use it.”

Combs’ legal team sent Netflix a cease and desist letter Monday.

Netflix said it obtained the video legally and has the necessary rights for it.

Netflix spokesperson: “The project has no ties to any past conversations between Sean Combs and Netflix,” a Netflix spokesperson said Tuesday. “The footage of Combs leading up to his indictment and arrest were legally obtained. This is not a hit piece or an act of retribution. Curtis Jackson is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate.”

Jurors from sex trafficking trial speak out

Two of the jurors spoke out in the documentary about the trial and verdict.

Juror 75 recalled being “confused” by Combs’ relationship with Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against him in 2023, accusing him of repeated physical abuse, rape and forcing her to have sex with male sex workers. The suit was settled privately one day after it was filed, with Combs denying any wrongdoing.

“If you don’t like something, you completely get out. You can’t have it both ways. Have the luxury and then complain about it. I don’t think so,” Juror 75 said.

He said he “100%” thinks justice was served in the end.

“We saw both sides of it, and we came to our conclusion,” he said.

Juror 160 recounted how Combs would often nod.

“That’s pretty much all it was. It wasn’t anything crazy, or like, it wasn’t like he was trying to sway us,” she said.

When asked about the verdict, she said: “When we were in the deliberation room, and we’ve come to an agreement, and we’re only saying that he’s guilty for these two counts, my words exactly were, ‘Oh, s—.'”

The military-led government launched an audit of Mali’s mining sector in early 2023 that uncovered massive shortfalls for the state and paved the way for a new mining code.

That new mining law raised royalties, boosted state stakes in mining companies and scrapped stability clauses.

A recovery commission was set up after an audit by firms Inventus and Mozar flagged financial irregularities and shortfalls for the state estimated at 300 to 600 billion CFA francs.

The overhaul of the industry triggered a two-year dispute with Canadian miner Barrick Mining, Mali’s top gold producer, before a deal was struck in November.

Economy and Finance Minister Alousséni Sanou, speaking on state television late on Monday, did not say if the recovered sum included Barrick’s recent 244 billion CFA francs deal.

Other operators, including B2Gold, Allied Gold, Resolute Mining, Endeavour Mining, and lithium players like Ganfeng and Kodal settled their arrears and migrated to the new regime earlier.

“I am delighted with these results, among which we can mention the recovery of 761 billion CFA out of a target of 400 billion,” Sanou said during a ceremony presenting the audit report to President Assimi Goita.

Sanou added that all mining companies will now operate under the 2023 code, which is expected to lift annual revenues by 586 billion CFA francs on audited firms alone, bringing their total contribution to about 1,022 billion CFA francs each year.

Audit and legal costs amounted to 2.87 billion CFA francs, he said.

Mamou Touré, a member of the renegotiation committee, said the goal was not only to recover funds but also to give the state a sizable stake in mining contracts.

Mali, one of Africa’s top gold producers, relies heavily on mining for export earnings and fiscal revenues.

The scrutiny to tighten oversight has squeezed growth, with industrial gold output falling 32% year-on-year to 26.2 metric tons by the end of August.

The investment will help extend access to blood, vaccines, and other essential health supplies to as many as 15,000 health facilities.

The announcement was made during a U.S. Embassy digital press briefing on December 2, outlining the initiative as part of the U.S. Department of State’s new America First Global Health Strategy.

The strategy aims to boost the value of U.S. foreign assistance by reducing waste, avoiding dependency, and aligning global health investments with U.S. policy goals.

Speaking at the briefing, Jeff Graham of the State Department said the partnership prioritises reaching remote and underserved communities with critical health commodities.

He explained that working with Zipline—an American robotics and drone-technology firm—is central to modernizing the U.S. approach to global health logistics.

Under the agreement, U.S. support will drive the deployment of Zipline’s advanced, American-made autonomous aircraft to tackle slow and unreliable delivery systems that hinder timely access to medical supplies.

Graham described the investment as a significant step toward strengthening health systems’ capacity to respond swiftly to disease outbreaks and medical emergencies.

He emphasised that while the U.S. is providing initial capital, partner governments will ultimately assume operational responsibility for their national health delivery networks.

Zipline will open new distribution centres across the participating countries, with Rwanda expected to double its daily delivery capacity, enabling the network to eventually serve up to 130 million people across Africa.

Caitlin Burton, CEO of Zipline Africa, noted that the company’s autonomous, all-weather drones already operate around the clock to maintain a responsive, on-demand medical supply chain—often outperforming traditional delivery systems.

Supported by partners such as the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Zipline has demonstrated that its model is both impactful and cost-effective.

Burton said the new U.S. partnership will help Zipline reach nationwide scale in all five countries, creating an estimated 1,000 jobs and contributing more than $1 billion in annual economic gains.

She stressed that Zipline’s mission goes beyond logistics, aiming to equip health systems to end preventable deaths—from HIV transmission to maternal mortality and severe malnutrition.

“This system is meant to operate nationwide and at a scale that truly changes health outcomes,” she explained.

“We now know how to solve challenges like maternal mortality and malnutrition, and the network is built to meet those goals.”

Burton added that while the U.S. may provide seed capital, governments will cover predictable long-term operating costs, enabling them to replace multiple vertical health programmes with one unified national delivery system.

“You’re not funding a single programme or one-off intervention,” she said.

“You’re ensuring essential medical products reach patients everywhere—including communities where distance or stigma might prevent people from seeking care.”

READ ALSO:

• 
  WAEC flags social media language, non-standard English in 2025 WASSCE answers
• Nitiwul clarifies remarks on El-Wak GAF recruitment stampede
• Agogo Presby Women’s College Students plead with Moderator to stop Principal from leaving

According to Russian media 47news on December 1, the remains were buried in thick plastic bags in a remote desert area and were discovered following the detention of several suspects linked to the double homicide.

Citing information from UAE police, 47news reports that the bodies were located within a 500-by-500-meter area of desert, based on testimony provided by individuals arrested in connection with the case.

The couple’s bodies were intact, placed in polyethylene bags, and covered with chemical solvents. The discovery has prompted the initiation of the formal process to repatriate the bodies to Russia for burial.

Roman Novak, originally from Saint Petersburg, was the founder of Fintopio, a platform for rapid cryptocurrency transfers.

He reportedly raised up to $500 million in investments before disappearing, according to 47news. In 2020, Novak had been sentenced in Russia to six years in prison for fraud, and multiple enforcement proceedings were pending against him at the time of his death.

According to 47news, the Novaks were lured to a rented villa in the Emirati city of Hatta under the pretense of meeting potential investors. There, they were tortured for access to their crypto wallets and subsequently killed. The UAE police reportedly discovered their remains in November, though confirmation was issued only recently.

As noted by 47news, three individuals were detained in Saint Petersburg on suspicion of involvement, including 53-year-old Konstantin Shakht, believed by investigators to be the organizer. Two of the suspects admitted to the killing, while Shakht denied all charges.

Earlier, United24 Media reported that Roman Starovoit, Russia’s former transport minister, was found dead near Moscow shortly after his dismissal—raising questions over a possible cover-up tied to embezzlement investigations.

Dr. Bernard Addo, currently the Principal of Vista Academy, the top-performing middle school in East New York, Brooklyn, has dedicated nearly three decades to providing quality education to students.

He began his career as a teacher in Brooklyn in 1998, rising to Assistant Principal by 2004 and later to Principal.

Beyond his 20 years in school administration, Dr. Addo has worked closely with elected officials and corporate sponsors to bring resources to public school students.

The award organisers highlighted several of Dr. Addo’s notable initiatives.

He partnered with Verizon to provide Wi-Fi-enabled laptops to all students, bridging the gap between home and school well before virtual learning became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also collaborated with Food Bank NYC to facilitate monthly food distributions for students and families, helping support the broader school community.

“Dr. Addo’s innovative approaches to holistic education deserve recognition,” the organisers said.

Reacting to the honour, Dr. Addo expressed gratitude and humility. “We love what we do, and we do it with passion. I least expected that people at different places had their eyes on me. This recognition serves as a reminder that I need to continue illuminating my corner,” he said.

The event also celebrated several other Ghanaians making a difference in their fields, including legendary musician Amakye Dede, who delighted the audience with memorable performances.

READ ALSO:

• ECOWAS Chair Maada Bio meets Guinea-Bissau junta, pushes for swift return to constitutional rule
• A stranger messaged him on Facebook. It was the start of a nightmare that cost him $280,000
• Elon Musk says H-1B visas being ‘gamed’ by outsourcing firms

He reaffirms the regional bloc’s firm resolve to see constitutional order restored without delay.

President Bio met Major-General Horta Inta-a and his team in Bissau on Monday, December 1, 2025, in what officials described as a constructive engagement aimed at easing the country back onto a democratic path.

He was accompanied by Dr Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission; Leonardo Santos Simão, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel; and Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister and Chair of the ECOWAS Executive Council, Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba.

The mission followed a directive from an extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, which tasked President Bio with leading a high-level delegation to press the military authorities to commit to a full return to constitutional governance.

As part of the visit, the delegation also met with Guinea-Bissau’s Electoral Commission.

Its Chairman and members briefed President Bio on the current electoral landscape and the state of preparations in the country.

ALSO READ:

Gov’t confirms petitions against EC Chair, deputies and Special prosecutor forwarded…

Teshie-bound lane of Kpeshie Bridge reopened after major upgrade – Roads…

Background of the Ordeal

The trouble began just three months after Novak posted about his son’s struggle with celiac disease. This post attracted the attention of a woman named Ailis Danner, who claimed to be a fashion designer in New York City. The two quickly developed a connection via Facebook and later transitioned to WhatsApp, where their correspondence became increasingly intimate.

Building Trust

• Ailis portrayed a glamorous lifestyle, sharing images of luxury cars and lavish vacations.
• She expressed sympathy for Novak’s situation, as he was undergoing a divorce and was in a custody battle for his children.
• By February, they professed their love for one another.

Unfortunately, this relationship was a facade, meticulously crafted to gain Novak’s trust. By April 2025, he began investing heavily in a supposed cryptocurrency opportunity introduced by Ailis. He invested nearly his entire life savings under the belief that it was a legitimate chance for financial growth.

The Deception Unfolds

Initially, to test the investment site, Novak made small deposits, which he could withdraw without difficulty. This led him to become more comfortable, ultimately investing a total of $280,000. However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, he was met with unexpected fees and ultimately discovered he couldn’t access any of his money.

The Dark Reality

• By March, Novak realized he was likely a victim of a scam known as “pig-butchering,” where scammers cultivate relationships to defraud victims.
• Online experts have reported an increasing number of individuals falling for similar traps, losing billions through such fraudulent crypto schemes.

As Novak’s desperation grew, so did his isolation, leaving him feeling overwhelmed and ashamed. Despite being a tech executive with a strong background, he had overlooked critical warning signs throughout his interactions with Ailis.

Seeking Justice

Once Novak recognized the scam, he reported it to the local authorities and filed a claim with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. He continues to seek justice while struggling to rebuild his life.

Lessons Learned

• Novak emphasizes the importance of skepticism, especially in online interactions.
• He urges others to be cautious and to trust their instincts.
• Through his experience, he hopes to raise awareness about the risks of online scams.

As he navigates the aftermath of this painful experience, Novak is focused on healing and ensuring a stable future for his children. Although this chapter of his life has been immensely challenging, he is determined to share his story to help others avoid similar fates.

Roughly 70% of these visas – that allow US companies to hire skilled foreign workers – are used by Indian citizens working in sectors like technology and medicine.

In September, US President Donald Trump added a $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants to the H-1B visa programme, sparking anxiety among Indian workers and employers.

Musk was speaking to Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath on his podcast, released on Sunday evening, and also touched on a range of other issues from tariffs to immigration.

During the conversation, Musk maintained that America has “long benefitted” from talented Indian migrant workers, but acknowledged concerns about the “misuse” of the H-1B visa programme.

H-1B visas are given out through a lottery, and outsourcing and staffing firms have often been accused of manipulating the system using tactics such as submitting multiple entries for the same worker or using the visa to hire low-cost contract workers rather than for speciality occupations.

“We need to stop the gaming of the system,” Musk said.

“But I’m certainly not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H-1B programme…which some on the Right are. I think they don’t realise that that would actually be very bad.”

According to data released this month by a think tank, H-1B visa approvals for Indian outsourcing companies have fallen to the lowest level in a decade.

In this financial year, the top seven Indian companies had only 4,573 H-1B petitions approved for initial employment, a 70% drop from 2015 and 37% fewer than 2024, according to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).

Trump’s policies “could lead to higher denial rates and other problems for employers”, the NFAP report warned.

Besides H-1B visas, Musk also spoke about Trump’s decision to use tariffs as a centrepiece of his economic policy during his second term.

Musk said he had “unsuccessfully” tried to dissuade Trump from raising tariffs, which he said, “create distortions in markets”. But “the President has made it clear he loves tariffs”.

Earlier this year, the US imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil.

While several other countries have inked trade deals with the US , Indian goods exports to the US continue to attract some of the steepest levies in the world.

Negotiations for a trade deal between the two countries are under way, with the goal of concluding an agreement by the end of this year.

Presidential spokesperson Mayo Onanuga said in a statement that Abubakar was quitting on health grounds.

“His resignation comes amid President [Bola] Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course,” the spokesperson said.

Nigeria’s armed banditry is a security crisis

Nigeria has long been plagued by mass kidnappings, but the past weeks have seen a surge in attacks and abductions by armed bandits.

Most recently, gunmen attacked a church in Kogi state in central Nigeria, abducting the pastor along with nearly a dozen worshipers during a Sunday morning service.

On Saturday, some 30 women, including a bride and visiting wedding guests, were kidnapped in Sakoko in northwestern Nigeria.

In all, some 490 people have been abducted across multiple states in the past two weeks, according to Nigeria’s Punch newspaper.

A large number of these were from the St. Mary’s private Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger State, where 315 people, mostly children, were abducted in late November. Around 50 children managed to escape.

Armed bandits, often operating in Nigeria’s northwest and north-central regions, frequently carry out kidnappings for ransom. 

As well as banditry, Nigeria is also battling a deadly Islamist insurgency in its northwestern regions.

But the Nigerian government has long been criticised for failing to stem the security crisis and protect schools in particular.

Security forces stretched thin

In the wake of the kidnappings, President Tinubu declared a security emergency and ordered mass recruitment of police and military personnel.

But the military and police are already low paid, lacking in equipment and in need of training.

“In remote villages and towns, state security agents are virtually non-existent and surveillance remains very poor,” finds Oluwole Ojewale, Regional Coordinator for the Institute for Security Studies, an African think tank, in an analysis.

Nigeria has only approximately 370,000 officers to protect its 220 million citizens, according to a UK government assessment, and significant numbers of these are seconded to protect wealthy individuals.

Corruption and bribery are commonplace, while police response to crimes is often slow, the assessment finds.

Ekane, 74, was among the leaders of an opposition coalition who endorsed Issa Tchiroma Bakary in October’s presidential election.

Tchiroma Bakary says he was the rightful winner of the poll, officially won by 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya. Tchiroma Bakary has since fled to The Gambia.

No official cause of Ekane’s death has been announced. His party has accused the authorities of denying him access to his medication – a charge the government has denied.

According to a spokesman for Ekane’s African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Manidem) party, Ekane died on Monday morning at a military medical facility, after his health worsened over the weekend.

“We have no clarification… His wife had been called to come and when she found herself there, she was just presented the corpse of her husband,” he said.

He added that the family later took the corpse to the mortuary.

Defence ministry spokesman Capt Cyrille Serge Atonfack said the Manidem leader had died from illness, but did not give any further details.

“The deceased, who suffered from various chronic pathologies, had been interned at the Military Medical Centre of the National Gendarmerie,” he said, adding that the politician had been well taken care of by doctors since his arrest on 24 October.

According to Ekane’s lawyers, he was accused of hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection.

“He was never presented before a judge or charged with any misdemeanour,” said one of his lawyers, Hippolyte Meli, in a statement on social media, describing the detention of the Manidem party leader as “illegal”.

In recent weeks, rumours had circulated that the opposition figure had died, and Ekane’s party members had demanded to see him “dead or alive”.

His death has sent shockwaves across the nation, with supporters gathering at the party headquarters in Douala to grieve. Others have taken to venting their anger online.

Manidem says its premises have been surrounded by security forces.

Ekane initially endorsed another vibrant opposition figure, Maurice Kamto, for the presidential election. But Kamto, who endured a long detention after disputing the previous election in 2018, had his candidacy rejected upfront this time by both the electoral body, Elecam, and the Constitutional Council, on the grounds that the party had endorsed more than one candidate.

Ekane and other politicians went on to create the Union for Change Coalition with other politicians, which named former government spokesman Tchiroma Bakary as its candidate.

Authorities say an investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances of Ekane’s death.

Attackers stormed the newly established Cherubim and Seraphim Church on Sunday in the central Kogi state, firing shots and forcing congregants to flee in panic. They seized the pastor, his wife and several worshippers.

In another raid the night before in the northern Sokoto state, a bride and her bridesmaids were among those kidnapped. A baby, the baby’s mother and another woman were also taken, the AFP news agency reports.

Schools and places of worship have increasingly been targeted in the latest wave of attacks in north and central Nigeria.

It is not clear who is behind the kidnappings – most analysts believe they are carried out by criminal gangs seeking ransom payments, however a presidential spokesman has told the BBC they believe they are the work of jihadist groups.

Kogi state government spokesman Kingsley Fanwo confirmed the attack in Ejiba to the BBC but was unable to confirm the numbers.

He said authorities were working to track down the attackers.

“The security network, comprising the conventional security agencies and the local security architecture are currently doing what they should do,” he told the BBC.

In the attack in the mostly Muslim Sokoto state, local media reported that the bride had been preparing for a wedding ceremony the following morning and she was seized alongside her friends and other guests who had gone to support her.

Some 250 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still believed to be missing following the biggest such attack in recent weeks, while those seized in other raids have reportedly been released.

The spate of abductions has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of rural communities. It adds to pressure on the authorities to bolster protection for those at risk – schools, churches and isolated communities.

Paying ransoms has been outlawed in a bid to stop the lucrative kidnapping industry, however it is widely believed that such payments are still being made.

Nigeria’s security crisis attracted the international spotlight last month after US President Donald Trump threatened to send over troops if the government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”.

Nigerian officials and analysts say that members of all faiths are victims of the violence and kidnappings and say it is not true that Christians are being targeted.

READ ALSO:

• Heavy security mounts at Manhyia Palace ahead of Asantehene’s final ruling on Bawku chieftaincy dispute
• Akosua Serwaa to appeal High Court ruling in widowhood case
• World AIDS Day: 334,000 living with HIV – Reports

The floods, which were caused by a rare cyclone that had formed over the Malacca Strait, have hit three provinces and impacted some 1.4 million people, according to the government’s disaster agency.

Another 500 people remain missing, while thousands more have been injured.

Indonesia is just one part of Asia which has been hit with torrential rain and storms in recent days, with Thailand, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka all also reporting deaths.

In Indonesia, the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra have been hardest hit, with thousands still cut off and without critical supplies.

Arini Amalia, a resident from Aceh’s Pidie Jaya Regency, told the BBC the floodwaters had been “like a tsunami”.

“According to my grandmother, this is the worst, the worst in her life,” Amalia said.

Aid workers have been trying to reach people on foot and by motorcycle, as many roads are impassable to larger vehicles.

Pictures from the region show bridges washed away, roads covered in mud and debris, and logs piled high.

At West Sumatra’s Twin Bridges landmark, where floodwaters swept through and deposited enormous amounts of mud and debris, Mariana watched as excavators cleared the roads, hoping they would find her missing family members including her 15-year-old son.

“Watching the excavators, seeing how thick the mud is… I keep thinking, what condition will my child be in when they find him?” she said.
”Will he still be intact?
My mother, my brother-in-law…
Looking at how it is here, maybe their faces won’t even be recognisable any more.”

Many are still waiting for food aid, with some saying they have not eaten for two to three days.

Maysanti, who lives in Central Tapanuli which is one of the worst-hit areas in North Sumatra, told the BBC that aid workers were having trouble reaching her district.

“Everything is gone; our food supplies are running out. We can’t eat,” she said. “Even instant noodles are being fought over now. Our food is gone; we need food and rice. Access to us is completely cut off.”

She said she has to walk kilometres away from her house to get an internet connection and basic necessities, like clean water.

In Central Aceh where local authorities have provided Starlink devices, thousands were seen queuing outside the regency’s office on Sunday night hoping to contact their loved ones or charge their mobile phones.

“It’s been five days with no signal. We’ve been waiting since yesterday in case the network comes back. I’m planning to call my mother in Banda Aceh, but until now I still can’t reach her,” said one resident called Mar.

As rescue efforts continue, anger has started to grow towards the government’s disaster response.

Critics say that authorities were ill-prepared for the floods. Some have blamed bureaucratic red tape for slowing down the distribution of food aid.

On Monday, President Prabowo Subianto – who was visiting some of the flood affected areas in North Sumatra – acknowledged some roads were still cut off, but added “we’re doing everything we can to overcome difficulties”.

“We face this disaster with resilience and solidarity,” he continued. “Our nation is strong right now, able to overcome this.”

READ ALSO:

• WAEC identifies seven key areas behind poor core mathematics performance in the 2025 WASSCE
• Teachers take just 20 cedis for three hours of invigilation, driving exam malpractice – GNAT President [Audio]
• GNAT President attributes rising exam failures to politicisation and Capitation delays

L’Escargot Des Grands Crus in Bouzy, near Reims, said it had been robbed of its entire stock of fresh and frozen snails – a “real blow” ahead of the holiday season.

The thieves broke into the farm overnight into Monday, cutting a border fence before breaking into farm buildings, but a complaint was only filed with police later in the week, news site Franceinfo reported.

Officers are now on the trail, while the farm is trying to restock to meet the end-of-year demand from customers.

Edible snails – or escargots – are a French delicacy, usually cooked in garlic butter or wine before being extracted from their shell.

Producers in France see a rise in sales around December, as people shell out to have the treat during Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrations.

“This is definitely not the kind of post we thought we’d write as the holidays approach,” L’Escargot Des Grands Crus wrote in a statement announcing the theft on Thursday.

It went on to describe the incident as “a shock, an incomprehension, and a real blow to the entire team”, adding: “We are trying our best to replenish our stocks to satisfy you for the holidays.”

The farm has supplied restaurants including the Michelin-starred Les Crayères in Reims, as well as delicatessens and private clients, Franceinfo reports.

Photos of the farm following the theft show shelves and fridges nearly completely cleared of snail products.

“A whole section of finished products was stolen from the store, and raw material stock from my laboratory,” Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne, the farm’s manager, told the news site.

It was my end-of-year stock… We had just the right amount to get through the holidays without any worries.”

The organisation’s Executive Secretary, security expert and humanitarian critic Francis Ahovi, issued the assessment in a press statement dated 27th November 2025, calling for decisive regional and international action to restore stability.

According to him, the current crisis is the product of a sustained breakdown in constitutional order. Repeated unlawful dissolutions of parliament, the unilateral dismissal and appointment of prime ministers, interference in the judiciary, and the politicisation of the security forces have created what Mr Ahovi describes as a “governance vacuum”.

This vacuum, he noted, emboldened military factions and criminal actors, ultimately culminating in the overthrow of constitutional authority.

GLOSARGG identifies multiple, interlinked drivers of instability. These include executive overreach, competing command structures within the military and police, the growing influence of narcotrafficking networks, weak parliamentary oversight, and widespread economic hardship.

Organised crime, in particular the narcotics trade, has, according to Mr Ahovi, penetrated political circles and is shaping decision-making at the highest levels.

He was also critical of the regional response, pointing to weaknesses within ECOWAS and the African Union. He highlighted slow consensus-building, reluctance to sanction sitting presidents who breach constitutional norms, limited rapid-deployment capability, and gaps in intelligence-sharing.

Inconsistent enforcement of sanctions, he warned, has further undermined regional credibility.

The statement outlines several immediate priorities designed to reverse the escalating crisis. These include deploying neutral observers to safeguard civilians, instituting targeted sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes, and stabilising the security forces by halting politically motivated promotions.

GLOSARGG also calls for an independent fact-finding mission comprising ECOWAS, the AU and the UN to document constitutional breaches and human rights violations.

Looking ahead, the organisation proposes a short-term transitional arrangement lasting six to twelve months, led by a civilian authority and backed by a Security Oversight Mechanism to prevent further factional clashes.

Plans also include intensified anti-narcotics operations with UNODC and EU partners, alongside scaled-up humanitarian assistance for vulnerable and displaced populations.

Medium-term reforms, spanning six to 24 months, include comprehensive security sector reform, tightening constitutional checks on executive power, improving electoral integrity, and strengthening anti-corruption systems such as asset recovery and transparent budgeting.

GLOSARGG also advocates a judicial fast-track system to resolve electoral disputes more efficiently.

In the longer term, the organisation recommends structured civil–military training, enhanced regional intelligence-sharing, civic education programmes to reinforce democratic values, and youth employment initiatives to reduce the appeal of extremist or criminal recruitment.

To strengthen regional responses, Mr Ahovi urged ECOWAS and the AU to establish a Rapid Stabilisation Force, adopt automatic sanctions for unconstitutional actions, including those committed by sitting presidents, and create a permanent joint monitoring commission involving the UN and CPLP, with public updates every 90 days.

He concluded that resolving Guinea-Bissau’s political and security crisis will require more than negotiation between political elites.

“A viable solution must confront breaches of executive constitutional authority, the politicisation of the security sector, and the criminal economies that perpetuate instability,” he stated, adding that only bold institutional reforms and firm regional leadership will ensure long-term resilience and prevent future upheavals.

The country’s foreign ministry called Trump’s comments “another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people”.

The US does not legally have the authority to close another country’s airspace, but Trump’s online post could lead to travel uncertainty and deter airlines from operating there.

The US has been building its military presence in the Caribbean, which officials say is to combat drug smuggling. Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has dismissed US claims of drug trafficking as an attempt to oust him.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

The White House did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

With Trump ratcheting up his threats, Democrat and Republican members of US Congress have expressed anger that he has not sought legislative approval.

“President Trump’s reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer posted on X on Sunday.

“Under our Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war,” he added.

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, until recently a close Trump ally, said: “Reminder, Congress has the sole power to declare war.”

Trump’s comments come days after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned airlines of “heightened military activity in and around Venezuela”.

In a statement on Saturday, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said that the US had “unilaterally suspended” its weekly migrant repatriation flights.

“We call directly on the international community, the sovereign governments of the world, the UN, and the relevant multilateral organizations to firmly reject this immoral act of aggression,” it said.

Also Saturday, Venezuela’s military conducted exercises along coastal areas, with state TV showing anti-aircraft weapons and other artillery being manoeuvred.

Venezuela on Wednesday banned six major international airlines – Iberia, TAP Portugal, Gol, Latam, Avianca and Turkish Airlines – from landing there after they failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to resume flights.

The US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, and about 15,000 troops to within striking distance of Venezuela.

It has insisted that the deployment – the largest by the US in the region since it invaded Panama in 1989 – is to combat drug trafficking.

On Thursday, Trump warned that US efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land” would begin “very soon”.

US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats they said were carrying drugs, killing more than 80 people. However, the US has not provided evidence that the boats carried drugs.

The Venezuelan government believes the aim of the US action is to depose Maduro, whose re-election last year was denounced by the Venezuelan opposition and many foreign nations as rigged.

The US has also designated Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns – a group it alleges is headed by Maduro – as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Labelling an organisation as a terrorist group gives US law enforcement and military agencies broader powers to target and dismantle it.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry has “categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected” the designation.

Venezuela’s interior and justice minister Diosdado Cabello, who is alleged to be one of the high-ranking members of the cartel, has long called it an “invention”.

The US state department has insisted that the Cartel de los Soles not only exists, but that it has “corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary”.

At least 128 people are now known to have died in the fire, which engulfed seven tower blocks on Wednesday. A further 83 were injured and 150 remain unaccounted for.

Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of corruption over the renovation works the blocks had been undergoing. Three others were detained earlier on manslaughter charges.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but officials have said it spread up and between the blocks rapidly because of flammable materials placed on their exterior.

Saturday morning’s ceremony was held outside government headquarters, and saw city leader John Lee joined by other Hong Kong officials to observe three minutes of silence.

The flags of China and Hong Kong were flown at half mast.

The government has also set up memorial points across the city, where the public can pay their respects and sign condolence books.

Once the fire started, it spread quickly to seven of the eight towers in Wang Fuk Court, in Hong Kong’s northern suburban Tai Po district.

It then took more than 2,000 firefighters almost two days to bring the blaze under control.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, though authorities have said that polystyrene placed on the outside of the windows and plastic netting around the scaffolding on the buildings facilitated its spread.

The tower blocks were also covered in bamboo scaffolding, which is commonly used for construction and renovation work in Hong Kong. The fire has sparked a debate on whether it should still be used.

Officials have confirmed that an investigation will be taking place over the next few weeks, with police already gathering evidence from the scene.

The fire has caused anger throughout Hong Kong, which is known for its high-rise buildings, as questions about who should be held accountable grow.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court have reported broken fire alarms and negligence from the company carrying out the renovations on the Wang Fuk Court, while Hong Kong’s fire service has said fire alarms in all eight blocks were not working effectively.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) said those arrested in the corruption probe on Friday included directors at an engineering company and scaffolding subcontractors.

Hong Kong’s Labour and Welfare Secretary, Chris Sun, told reporters that his department had made 16 checks on the works at Wang Fuk Court since July last year.

The housing estate was built in 1983 and had provided 1,984 apartments for some 4,600 residents, according to a 2021 government census.

In August, Russia began limiting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing ⁠the foreign-owned ‌platforms of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud ‍and terrorism cases.

On Friday, the Roskomnadzor watchdog again accused WhatsApp of failing to comply with ​Russian requirements designed to prevent and combat ‌crime.

“If the messaging service continues to fail to meet the demands of Russian legislation, it will be completely blocked,” Interfax news agency quoted it ⁠as saying.

WhatsApp has accused Moscow ​of trying to block ​millions of Russians from accessing secure communication.

Russian authorities are pushing a state-‍backed rival ⁠app called MAX, which critics claim could be used to track users. ⁠State media have dismissed those accusations as false.

On Friday, in a post on X, Edlow said the pause would be in place “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible”.

The announcement comes hours after President Donald Trump pledged to “permanently pause migration” to the US from all “third world countries”.

On Thursday, Trump announced that a US National Guard member had died from her injuries after Wednesday’s shooting, for which an Afghan national has been blamed.

Officers at the USCIS, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, were instructed to refrain from approving, denying or closing asylum applications received by the agency for all nationalities, according to reporting by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

According to guidance seen by CBS, officers could continue to work asylum application and review cases up to the point of making a decision.

“Once you’ve reached decision entry, stop and hold,” the directive said.

There are still few details available about both Friday’s directive and Trump’s earlier remarks.

Trump did not name which countries might be affected by his plan. Such a move could face legal challenges and has already prompted pushback from UN agencies.

Both announcements followed Wednesday’s fatal attack, and represent a further toughening of the Trump administration’s stance towards migrants during his second presidency.

Among other moves, Trump has sought to enact mass deportations of migrants who entered the US illegally, to drastically cut the annual number of refugee admissions, and to end automatic citizenship rights that currently apply to nearly anyone born on US territory.

In the wake of Wednesday’s shooting, Trump promised to remove from the US any foreigner “from any country who does not belong here”. The same day, the US suspended processing all immigration requests from Afghans, saying the decision was made pending a review of “security and vetting protocols”.

Then on Thursday, the USCIS said it would re-examine green cards issued to individuals who had migrated to the US from 19 countries. The agency did not explicitly mention Wednesday’s attack.

When asked by the BBC which countries were on the list, the USCIS pointed to a June proclamation by the White House that included Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela. There were no further details about what the re-examination would look like.

Trump’s strongly worded two-part post on Thursday night went further still, pledging to “end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens”.

The US president wrote on Truth Social that this would “allow the US system to fully recover” from policies that had eroded the “gains and living conditions” of many Americans.

‘Third-world countries’
In the post, the president also blamed refugees for causing the “social dysfunction in America” and vowed to remove “anyone who is not a net asset” to the US.

He said that “hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia were completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota” and took particular aim at the state’s Democratic lawmakers.

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” the president wrote.

The phrase “third world” is a term that was used in the past to describe poorer, developing nations.

The president had already imposed a travel ban on nationals of Afghanistan – and 11 other countries, primarily in Africa and Asia – earlier this year. Another travel ban targeting a number of majority-Muslim countries was enacted during his first term.

The UN responded to Trump’s words by urging his administration to observe international agreements regarding asylum seekers.

“We expect all countries, including the United States, to honour their commitments under the 1953 Refugee Convention,” the deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary general told Reuters.

The Trump response amounted to a “scapegoating” of migrants in the US, argued Jeremy McKinney, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme before Trump’s latest comments, Mr McKinney highlighted that the attacker’s motive was not known.

“These types of issues – they don’t know skin colour, they don’t know nationality,” he said. “When a person becomes radicalised or is suffering some type of mental illness, that person can come from any background.”

Suspect in DC shooting is Afghan
The flurry of announcements come after officials said that the suspect in the Washington DC shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had come to the US in 2021.

He travelled under a programme that offered special immigration protections to Afghans who had worked with US forces in the wake of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr Lakanwal previously worked alongside the CIA, the agency’s current director has said.

Mr Lakanwal would have been vetted by the US both at the time the he started his work alongside the CIA, and when he ultimately travelled to the US, according to a senior US official who spoke to CNN.

A childhood friend told the New York Times that Mr Lakanwal had experienced mental health issues after his work with his unit.

Mr Lakanwal later applied for asylum in 2024. His application was reportedly granted earlier this year, after Trump returned to power.

But his request for a green card, which is tied to the asylum grant, is pending, a Homeland Security official told CBS.

The suspect was arrested after the attack and was said to be not co-operating with authorities. Trump described the incident as an “act of terror”.

He said the following day that one of the two members of the National Guard who were shot had died.

Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old from West Virginia, was working in the city as part of Trump’s deployment of National Guard members to crack down on crime.

She had volunteered to work in DC over the US Thanksgiving holiday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

The second National Guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, was said by Trump to be “fighting for his life”.

Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of corruption over the renovation works the blocks had been undergoing before the fire. Three others were detained earlier on manslaughter charges.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, though officials said that polystyrene and protective netting placed on the outside of the windows facilitated its spread.

A further 79 people were injured in the blaze – the city’s deadliest in more than 70 years. Dozens remain missing.

Police went into the buildings to start gathering evidence, after authorities said that an investigation would take place over the next three to four weeks.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said that those arrested on Friday included directors at an engineering company and scaffolding subcontractors.

Some 2,311 firefighters worked to bring the fire under control after it spread across seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight apartment blocks.

Firefighting efforts have now ceased. The fire was fully extinguished by 10:18 local time (02:18 GMT) on Friday, the fire department said at a news conference.

It also said 89 bodies have yet to be identified, and 16 bodies remain inside the buildings.

Meanwhile, crowds have been gathering at a nearby community hall that has been opened to families looking for missing loved ones. Relatives are being asked to help with the identification process by bringing in family photos.

The Hong Kong government has also set up shelters and support centres for displaced residents. Groups of volunteers have been packing and organising supplies for those affected, including clothing and hygiene products.

The blaze started at 14:51 local time (06:51 GMT) on Wednesday, and by 18:22 local time it had been upgraded to the most serious category by fire officials.

The fire department said the fire started at a lower level before moving upwards, and reached a peak temperature of 500C (932F).

As a result, the blaze reignited in some places after being doused, they said.

One former resident, who moved out earlier this year and only gave his surname, told the BBC: “There was nothing we could do. Together we watched our homes burn gradually.”

The fire spread quickly across the separate blocks due to the presence of flammable netting and other materials on the outside of the buildings.

Firefighter Ho Wai-ho, 37, has been identified as among those killed. He was found collapsed at the scene on Wednesday, about 30 minutes after contact with him was lost.

Twelve other firefighters have also been injured, authorities said.

Two Indonesian nationals who had been working on the buildings were also killed in the fire, a migrant charity said. Indonesian and Filipino workers are among those still unaccounted for.

Indonesian worker Fita had been inside the building with her employer when she heard the fire brigade siren. She described it as scary and confusing, but added that she felt “so grateful” to be safe.

“But I’m concerned about friends I know… Usually we talk, and then I haven’t met them [since the fire],” she told news agency Reuters.

Many of those in the shelters have been unwilling to speak to the media while reeling from the trauma.

Shock has quickly shifted to anger in Hong Kong, as questions grow on who should be held accountable for the blaze.

Several residents have said they did not hear a fire alarm when the fire broke out. Hong Kong’s fire service found that fire alarms in all eight blocks were not working effectively.

Meanwhile, one resident told the BBC that some of the alarms had been turned off by construction workers.

Reports of residents’ prior complaints over high renovation fees and whether the materials used complied with fire-safety regulations have also resurfaced and are circulating widely online.

“We have reason to believe that those in charge at the company were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” a police spokesperson said.

Wang Fuk Court was built in 1983 and had provided 1,984 apartments for some 4,600 residents, according to a 2021 government census.

Nearly 40% of its residents are estimated to be at least 65 years old. Some have lived in the subsidised housing estate since it was built.

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire on record killed 176 people in 1948 and was caused by a ground-floor explosion at a five-storey warehouse.

READ ALSO:

• Full Text: Tribute to a trailblazer – NDC eulogises Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings
• Ghana will remember you – Mahama’s tribute to Nana Konadu
• Ghana EXIM Bank leads joint inspection tour of coconut farms in Bono Region as global demand for Ghanaian coconuts surges

It follows negotiations by the regional West African bloc Ecowas to secure his transfer amid rising tensions in Guinea-Bissau.

Senegal’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Embaló had landed in the country “safe and sound” on a chartered military flight late on Thursday.

The military in Guinea-Bissau has already sworn in a new transitional leader, Gen Horta N’Tam, who will rule the coup-prone country for a year.

Wednesday’s coup came a day before authorities were due to announce the provisional results of a presidential and parliamentary election.

The military has suspended the electoral process and blocked the release of the results.

It said it was acting to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians who had “the support of a well-known drug baron” to destabilise the country, and imposed a night-time curfew.

READ ALSO:

• State funeral for former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings [Photos]
• ‘Music now is the cheapest thing to do’ – Kwaisey Pee claims
• NDP honors Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings as guiding light of party and advocate for women

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries, President Trump said on Thursday evening.

The second National Guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, “is fighting for his life”, he said.

Both were shot at close range near Farragut Square in downtown Washington just after 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Police have arrested one suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan.

President Trump confirmed Ms Beckstrom’s death while on a Thanksgiving call with US service members.

“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person … She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us,” he said.

Trump later spoke with her parents, a White House official told BBC’s US partner CBS News.

Ms Beckstrom had enlisted on 26 June 2023 and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army National Guard.

She had volunteered to work in the nation’s capital over the American Thanksgiving holiday, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News after the shooting.

Jim Justice, a Republican senator from West Virginia, said he was “absolutely devastated” to learn of Ms Beckstrom’s passing.

“Our prayers are with her family, friends, and fellow guardsmen during an incredibly difficult Thanksgiving Day,” he said in a statement.

“We are also lifting up Andrew Wolfe in prayer as he continues his journey to recovery.”

Both soldiers had been on a high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I streets, an area where many office workers mill around at lunchtime.

More than 2,000 troops have been guarding the nation’s capital since August, when the president began deploying troops to cities to tackle what he called “out of control” crime.

Ms Beckstrom and Mr Wolfe were among those who were deployed in August, the West Virginia National Guard confirmed to BBC News.

National Guard troops are a reserve force that can be activated to serve as military troops, but have limited power as they cannot enforce the law or make arrests.

The location of the shooting, just blocks from the White House, meant a number of law enforcement officials were quickly on the scene to treat the two victims and apprehend the gunman.

The suspect was shot four times while he was apprehended, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

Suspect once worked alongside CIA in Afghanistan

Officials said Mr Lakanwal came to the US from Afghanistan in 2021.

He will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed as well as possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday morning at a news conference, before news of Ms Beckstrom’s death.

“We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree,” Pirro added. “But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge: murder in the first degree.”

Attorney General Bondi told Fox News on Thursday that her office will seek the death penalty against the suspect, calling him a “monster who should not have been in our country”.

Mr Lakanwal reportedly came to the US under a programme named Operation Allies Welcome, which offered special immigration protections to Afghans in the wake of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He had helped guard US forces at Kabul airport in 2021 as thousands scrambled to escape Afghanistan before the Taliban took power, a former military commander who served alongside him told the BBC’s Afghan Service.

The suspect had been recruited to Unit 03 of the Kandahar Strike Force. His unit was known locally as Scorpion Forces, operating initially under the CIA but eventually for the Afghan intelligence department known as the National Directorate of Security.

Mr Lakanwal was a GPS tracker specialist, the former commander told the BBC, describing him as a “sporty and jolly character”.

His whole unit was moved from Kandahar to Kabul five days before the Taliban entered the capital. They continued to protect the airport for another six days, before they too were airlifted out to the US.

At a press conference on Thursday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Mr Lakanwal’s connection to US forces, saying the suspect “had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces”, before moving to the US.

Mr Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024, and his application had been granted earlier this year, an official told CBS.

On Thursday, Joseph Edlow US Citizenship and Immigration Services chief said the president had directed him to conduct “a full scale, rigorous re-examination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern”.

When asked by the BBC which countries were on the list, the agency pointed to a June proclamation by the White House that included Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela.

Godfrey Arthur Jalale, who served as State House deputy chief of staff under former President Lazarus Chakwera, has been arrested in connection with the theft of the four German Shepherds. He denies the charge.

Chakwera vacated the palace after losing the elections to President Peter Mutharika.

Late on Wednesday, police denied reports that Chakwera had been arrested but confirmed securing a search warrant for his residence after information suggested the stolen dogs were being kept there.

Chakwera, who came second with 33% of the vote in the September election, is facing numerous allegations of public resources mismanagement, especially during the handover.

His Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has accused Mutharika’s administration of “harassing and intimidating” the former leader. Chakwera has not commented.

Local media have reported the theft of state property from two presidential residences – the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, and Sanjika Palace, in Blantyre, the country’s second biggest city.

The four dogs, valued at $2,300 (£1,700), were taken out of the palace between 19 September and 4 October, according to the state prosecutors.

In a statement on Wednesday, police said they had “intensified investigations following reports of property looting” from Kamuzu Palace.

“The Malawi Police Service assures the public that the investigation is progressing smoothly,” it added.

MCP MPs boycotted parliamentary sessions on Wednesday and camped out at Chakwera’s residence in Lilongwe amid reports that he faced arrest following a heightened police presence, local media reported.

Chakwera, a pastor before entering politics, accepted defeat and has kept a low profile since the election.

He made his first public appearance last week when he announced that he had accepted a Commonwealth appointment to help mediate in Tanzania’s post-election unrest.

Mutharika, who first served as president between 2014 and 2020, campaigned on a pledge of a “return to proven leadership” – which resonated with Malawian voters.

He returned to power in a country that is in deep crisis, with a severe shortage of fuel and foreign currency.

The former law professor was rarely seen in public during the campaign, in contrast to Chakwera who held numerous rallies across Malawi.

As a result, speculation about Mutharika’s health is rife and there are questions about whether he has the stamina to lead Malawi again at the age of 85.

The long-dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano in the Afar region in Ethiopia’s northeast roared to life Sunday, covering the neighboring villages in dust and creating challenges for farmers.

While no casualties were reported, the eruption poses a threat to the local community of livestock herders by smothering vital grazing lands, local administrator Mohammed Seid told The Associated Press

Residents described hearing a terrifying blast at the moment of the eruption.

“It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash,” local resident Ahmed Abdela told the news agency.

The eruption was visible from satellites, with NASA images showing thick plumes of dust rising into the sky and billowing across the Red Sea.

Volcanic clouds from the eruption drifted over Yemen, Oman, and into Pakistan and India, according to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

Pakistan’s Meteorological Department issued a warning after ash entered its airspace late on Monday.

In India, flag carrier Air India cancelled several domestic and international flights to carry out “precautionary checks on those aircraft which had flown over certain geographical locations after the Hayli Gubbi volcanic eruption,” it said on X.

Delhi, which is experiencing a wave of severe air pollution, is not expected to be significantly affected because the ash is drifting at a high altitude, India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Ash billows from an eruption of the long-dormant Hayli Gubbi Volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region on November 23, 2025. Afar Government Communication Bureau/AP

The plumes are expected to rapidly move eastwards, the IMD added.

Located about 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of capital Addi Ababa, Hayli Gubbi is the southernmost volcano of the Erta Ale Range, a volcanic chain in Ethiopia’s Afar region.

It rises about 500 meters in altitude and sits within a zone of intense geological activity where two tectonic plates meet.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the takeover disrupts the democratic process, particularly following the peaceful presidential and legislative elections held on November 23.

Ghana expressed “profound concern and deep dissatisfaction” over what it called a brazen attempt to overturn the will of the people, warning that the situation has dangerously derailed Guinea-Bissau’s democratic trajectory and obstructed the expected announcement of election results scheduled for November 27.

The statement urged all actors in Guinea-Bissau to respect democratic processes and to address any electoral grievances through peaceful, transparent, and legally recognized mechanisms.

Ghana also called for the protection of all citizens and foreign nationals, particularly the officials of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission currently in the country, emphasizing that their safe passage must be ensured without delay.

Additionally, the government appealed to the people of Guinea-Bissau to remain calm, exercise restraint, and avoid actions that could escalate tensions.

Ghana reaffirmed its full support for ECOWAS and the African Union in coordinating a regional response that upholds democracy, good governance, and constitutional rule.

READ ALSO:

• Constitutional rights take precedence over school choice, says Kofi Asare
• Muzic Mensah blends Afrobeats and Amapiano soul on new song ‘Monalisa’
• Hearts of Oak to host home games at UG Stadium