At least 31 people died after a powerful cyclone struck Madagascar, says the disaster authority in the Indian Ocean island. Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, hitting the island’s main port, Toamasina. Madagascar’s disaster management office said there was “total chaos” – reporting that houses collapsed in the impact zone, where the bodies were found. Neighbourhoods were plunged into darkness as power lines snapped, while trees were uprooted and roofs ripped off. “What happened is a disaster, nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed,” the country’s military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in October, told the…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
US federal prosecutors have failed to secure an indictment against six members of Congress who published a video last year encouraging US troops to disobey orders they deem illegal. A grand jury declined to indict the Democratic lawmakers on charges of seditious conspiracy in the case pursued by the office of the US attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, who was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump. Trump had branded the video “seditious” and a federal probe into the video was launched shortly after. One lawmaker, Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain and astronaut, has…
The US Department of Defense said it had disabled drones being used by Mexican cartels when it shut the airspace over El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday night. “Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones,” a Trump administration official said after the area reopened Wednesday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday suddenly ordered flights in and out of the El Paso International Airport to be halted for 10 days, causing shock and confusion. Saying the FAA had worked with the Pentagon to “address a cartel drone incursion”, Transportation Secretary Sean…
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Wednesday called for Coast Regional Police Commander Ali Nuno to withdraw his directive, authorising officers to shoot gangs such as the Panga Boys and other machete-wielding groups. This is in connection with the recent escalation of violent crimes in Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale counties. KNCHR chairperson Claris Ogangah said the police response must respect human rights in line with the Constitution. The commission added that such orders threaten the implementation of the Bill of Rights and institutional accountability, effectively curtailing judicial oversight in matters of use of force. “KNCHR emphasizes the grave…
The Council of Governors (CoG) made good its threat to publicly name Senators it accuses of intimidating and attempting to extort Governors appearing before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC). In a statement issued after a meeting on Wednesday, the CoG singled out four Senators including CPAC Chairperson Moses Kajwang, Vice-Chairperson Johnes Mwaruma, Edwin Sifuna and Samson Cherargei, alleging that they have been “notorious” for misconduct during oversight sessions. The four have denied the claims by the governors. The governors accused the lawmakers of engaging in extortion, political witch-hunts, intimidation and harassment of county chiefs summoned before the committee.…
A suspected cybercriminal was arraigned in court over an elaborate scheme that siphoned Sh11.4 million from a leading microfinance institution. Detectives from the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit (BFIU) arrested Seth Mwabe Okwanyo, also known as Seth Onyango Odhiambo, in connection with the cyber heist that occurred on July 16, 2025. According to investigators, a total of 38 fraudulent transactions were executed through the institution’s system on the material day, leading to a loss of Sh11,410,165. The transactions were reportedly processed successfully to the beneficiaries but were mysteriously missing from the microfinance institution’s official records. The institution lodged a formal complaint…
Ghana has designated every Wednesday as a day to wear the country’s traditional outfit, the fugu, days after it sparked an online debate with Zambians. The garment gained prominence last week when President John Dramani Mahama wore it during a state visit to Zambia, where some mockingly called it a “blouse,” prompting a fierce response from Ghanaians online. Ghana’s Minister for Tourism Abla Dzifa Gomashie said on Tuesday that wearing the outfit every week would help project the country’s identity “with pride on the global stage”. She encouraged wearing the outfit “in all its diverse forms, designs, and expressions, complemented…
The FBI released images of a masked person in the hunt for news anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother. Officials are seeking to identify the individual, who they say was armed, more than eight days after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home. Savannah Guthrie said on Monday that her family believes their mother is still alive and issued a new appeal to anyone with information. Nancy Guthrie disappeared in the middle of night from her Tucson, Arizona, home and was last seen on 31 January. Authorities believe she was taken against her will. “As of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered…
The prosecution presented two more witnesses Tuesday at the Milimani High Court in the ongoing murder trial of John Matara Ong’oa, who is accused of brutally murdering 24-year-old socialite Starlet Wahu on the night of January 3, 2024, at Papino Apartments in South B, Nairobi. Appearing before Justice Alexander Muteti, Emily Oporo, a Government Chemist told the court that the DNA profiles from both Starlet Wahu and John Matara were found on the knife believed to be the murder weapon and a towel recovered from the scene. Horace Arwa, the arresting officer attached to South B Police Station, gave a…
Singer Marc Anthony has described the Beckham family rift as “extremely unfortunate”, but added that the way it has played out is “hardly the truth”. The 57-year-old performed at Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham’s wedding reception in 2022, and is a close friend of the wider family. But Brooklyn recently said the way the couple’s first dance was handled at the wedding left him feeling “uncomfortable and humiliated”, after Anthony reportedly called for him to dance with his mother instead of his wife. Beckham added that his mother then danced “very inappropriately” on him. Sir David and Lady Beckham have…
Apple and Google have agreed to make changes to their app stores in the UK following an intervention from the UK markets regulator. According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the tech giants have committed to not giving preferential treatment to their own apps and will be transparent about how others are approved for sale, among other agreements. It comes seven months after the regulator said Apple and Google had an “effective duopoly” in the UK over their dominance in the sector. The CMA’s head Sarah Cardell said the proposed commitments “will boost the UK’s app economy” and were…
Madagascar’s military government has criticised Eswatini for hosting ousted President Andry Rajoelina last week, describing the visit as a “grave infringement of its sovereignty”. Last Friday, the Eswatini government shared photos of King Mswati III meeting Rajoelina, during which the king called on Madagascar’s military junta to restore constitutional order. In a statement, Madagascar’s military leader Col Michael Randrianirina voiced his “strongest condemnation” of the visit, terming it “politically unacceptable”. Rajoelina was overthrown last October by an elite military following weeks of youth-led protests in the Indian Ocean island. The demonstrations were over persistent power and water shortages, culminating in…
An airline in Somalia has praised one of its pilots after he landed his passenger plane, which had suffered a technical fault, on the shoreline next to the capital’s international airport. There were no fatalities among the 50 passengers and five crew. Starsky Airlines said the pilot’s quick thinking was critical in saving all lives on board. The aircraft, a Fokker 50, reported a problem shortly after take off from Mogadishu on Tuesday and the crew requested that the plane return, Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said. It then touched down but failed to stop on the runway, overshooting the…
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Europe to assert itself on the world stage, saying it is time to start acting like a “power”. In the face of growing threats from China, Russia and now the US, he told a group of European newspapers that the continent faced a “wake-up call”. “Are we ready to become a power? This is the question in the field of economy and finance, in defence and security, and in our democratic systems. “In another era we might have said it is the moment to ‘assume our majority’,” he said ahead of an EU summit…
US lawmakers say files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were improperly redacted ahead of their release by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Members of Congress on Monday were allowed to begin a review of the unredacted versions of the approximately three million pages of files released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) since December. “The core issue is that they’re not complying with… my law, because these were scrubbed back in March by Donald Trump’s FBI,” Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told MS NOW. At least one document has been unredacted since the lawmakers’ complaint, with Deputy Attorney…