Author: BBC

Nigeria’s army chief Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja has died after a “period of illness” aged 56, President Bola Tinubu has announced. He died on Tuesday night in Lagos. The exact details of his illness were not made public. In a statement shared on X by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu expressed his “heartfelt condolences” […]

Once regarded as a safe haven for refugees, Kenya is slowly becoming a hostile place for some of those seeking protection from political persecution and war, rights groups say. Their concerns come after masked men abducted at gunpoint four Turkish refugees in the capital, Nairobi, last month – the latest in a series of such […]

A series of parcel fires targeting courier companies in Poland, Germany and the UK were dry runs aimed at sabotaging flights to the US and Canada, Polish prosecutors say. Katarzyna Calow-Jaszewska revealed late last month that four people had been arrested and authorities across Europe were investigating the incidents. Western security officials have now told […]

North Korean soldiers have clashed with Ukrainian troops for the first time, Ukraine’s top officials have revealed. In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said a “small group” of North Korean soldiers were attacked. Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who had earlier condemned the West’s lack of response to the […]

Protests have erupted in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the country’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu said a “crisis of trust” between the two leaders led to his decision, adding that his trust in Gallant had “eroded” in recent months and Foreign Minister Israel Katz would step in to replace him. Gallant said […]

At the wheel of an ambulance, Samir El Chekieh drives with sirens wailing to the latest Israeli air strike in El Karak in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon. The 32-year-old firefighter and paramedic with the Lebanese Civil Defense Force (CDF) only got a few hours’ sleep last night. It is now the middle of the […]

ANTHONY ZURCHER DONALD Trump declared victory in the US election while addressing jubilant supporters in Florida on Wednesday. “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” he said to cheering crowds. The Republican has picked up the battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, leaving Kamala Harris with only a narrow path to […]

Razor wire. Thick black iron fencing. Metal detectors. Armed security guards. Bomb sweeps. The security at this centre where workers count ballots mirrors what you might see at an airport – or even a prison. And, if needed, plans are in place to further bolster security to include drones, officers on horseback and police snipers […]

Scientists believe they have found a quirky way to fight mosquito-spread diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika – by turning male insects deaf so they struggle to mate and breed. Mosquitoes have sex while flying in mid-air and the males rely on hearing to chase down a female, based on her attractive wingbeats. […]

Quincy Jones lived for 50 years after attending his own memorial service. When the musician suffered a brain aneurysm in 1974, his chances of survival were said to be so slim, and his stature so high, that his famous friends started planning a tribute concert. Then aged 41, Jones had already made an indelible mark […]