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Armed gangs have kidnapped dozens of people attending two churches in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, according to local police. A senior church leader said more than 160 worshippers were abducted by gunmen during Sunday service. It is the latest mass kidnapping in Nigeria, where both Christians and Muslims have been targeted. Gangs, known locally as “bandits”, read more

Thomas Naadi,BBC Africa, Accra and Jean Otalor Cyber Security Authority The authorities released pictures of some of those found in the raids along with their equipment Ghana’s security forces have arrested nine Nigerians suspected of co-ordinating a host of cyber-crime activities from makeshift offices in and around the capital, Accra. Forty-four others, believed to be read more

The lawyers of the owners of a Swiss bar where a deadly fire broke out on New Year’s Eve killing 40 people and injuring 116 have broken their silence to criticise “lies” about their clients. Jessica and Jacques Moretti were “devastated”, the lawyers told local media, but denied being aware of any dangers at their read more

Water has been restored to all properties after another outage in Kent over the weekend, South East Water has said. According to the water company’s incident manager, Matthew Dean, the last 500 properties in Harrietsham, in Maidstone, saw water returned after a leaking main was repaired on Sunday night. South East Water (SEW) said early read more

Mohammad Nawaz Khan regrets the day his father, Sanaullah Khan, a retired government employee, agreed to head the managing committee of the neighbourhood mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar. Khan’s worries began earlier this month after the police started distributing a four-page form, literally titled “profiling of mosques”, to their functionaries, triggering fears read more

At the beginning of the year, German men aged 18 began to receive a compulsory questionnaire registering their fitness for army service under a law passed last month. Joining the army is voluntary for now, but the law allows the government to introduce mandatory service to meet its goal of building what it says will read more

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China’s birth rates sunk to a record low in 2025, despite the government rolling out a spate of incentives to boost it, as the country’s population fell for the fourth straight year. Government data on Monday showed that the country’s birth rate fell to 5.63 per 1,000 people – a record low since the Communist read more

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives has said he wished America had been able to acquire the London site slated for a controversial Chinese “super embassy”. Mike Johnson, of the Republican Party, said there was “some symbolism” behind the fact China had been able to acquire the site at the Royal Mint Court read more

Senegal, meanwhile, progressed past record seven-time champions Egypt in the last four thanks to a second-half strike from talisman Sadio Mane. The 33-year-old netted the winning penalty in the 2021 final, also against the Pharaohs, and proved once again that he is the man for the big occasion. The former Liverpool forward is keen to read more

The government has pulled an amendment to itsproposed HillsboroughLaw amid concerns from campaigners and some MPs that intelligence agencies could use itto “hide serious failures” from the public. It has also withdrawn the legislation from Monday’s parliamentary agenda entirely after initially planning for its report stage and third reading to go ahead and then bring read more

Saidu BahBBC Africa Eye, Makeni BBC Foday Musa has not seen his children for nearly two years Foday Musa looked broken as he listened to the last voice message he received from his son. It is 76 seconds long and the young man sounds desperate. He is crying, begging for his father’s help. “It’s so read more

Senegal beat Morocco to win the Africa Cup of Nations for a second time – but only after the final was overshadowed when they temporarily refused to play after the hosts were awarded a controversial stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless. Referee Jean Jacques Ndala gave the spot-kick in the 98th minute after being advised read more

It was a moment that will haunt Brahim Diaz for years to come. The winger had a chance to write his name into Moroccan folklore after winning a penalty in the eighth minute of second-half added time with Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal goalless. It was a golden opportunity to end his country’s read more

These are the key developments from day 1,425 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The site of a Russian attack on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, on Sunday [Sergey Kozlov/EPA] Published On 18 Jan 202618 Jan 2026 Here is where things stand on Monday, January 19: Fighting Russian attacks killed three people, including a read more

Andrew Rosindell has become the second Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK within a week. The MP for Romford, Essex, announced on Sunday evening he had decided to resign from his position as a shadow foreign office minister in Kemi Badenoch’s frontbench and as a member of the Conservative Party. The move came after read more

Chilean President Gabriel Boric ‍has announced a ‍state of emergency in two southern regions. Published On 18 Jan 202618 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Two dozen active forest fires are tearing across southern Chile, forcing more than 50,000 people to flee their homes and killing at least 18 people, read more