A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, devastating remote mountainous regions and leaving over 800 feared dead. The quake, which hit at 23:47 local time (19:17 GMT), had its epicentre 27 km from Jalalabad in Nangarhar province and was shallow at just 8 km deep. Tremors were felt as far as Kabul, 140 km away, and in neighbouring Pakistan.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the first human case of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, in Maryland. The patient had recently traveled from El Salvador and has since been treated and fully recovered, according to Reuters. Health officials, including the CDC, confirmed there’s been no spread to other people or animals.

A deadly strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on Monday claimed at least eight lives, including four journalists. Among those killed was 33-year-old freelancer Mariam Dagga, who had been reporting for the Associated Press since the start of the Gaza war. Dagga had recently covered the worsening humanitarian crisis, documenting Nasser Hospital doctors’ struggle to save starving children. Al Jazeera confirmed the death of its journalist Mohammed Sa

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has linked his renewed push to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict with a deeply personal goal—earning a place in heaven. Speaking to Fox & Friends on August 19, Trump explained that his motivation extends beyond politics. “If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty… I want to try to get to heaven if possible,” he remarked, adding humorously that he currently sits “at the bottom of the totem pole.

In Anchorage, Alaska, former U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Russia’s Vladimir Putin with an unusually warm reception for a leader condemned for unleashing Europe’s largest land war since 1945. The two met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, greeting each other with a prolonged handshake on a red carpet before riding together in the presidential limousine, “The Beast.” Overhead, American B-2 and F-22 aircraft flew in a symbolic reminder of Cold War tensions.

Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two Zara adverts after ruling they portrayed models who appeared “unhealthily thin,” calling the images “irresponsible.” The ads, featured on Zara’s website in May, prompted a complaint that triggered the investigation.

The Czech Republic is facing one of its worst hepatitis-A outbreaks in 15 years, with the National Institute of Public Health (SZU) reporting 1,053 cases between January and July 2025. This marks a sharp rise compared to 636 cases recorded in all of 2024. The worst-hit regions include Prague (370 cases), the Central Bohemian Region (181), and the Moravian-Silesian Region (113).

Over the weekend, Israeli ground and air forces struck more than 130 Hamas targets throughout Gaza, executing a coordinated assault backed by real-time intelligence. A key highlight was the July 24 airstrike that eliminated Salah al-Din Za'atra, deputy commander of Hamas’s al-Furqan Battalion, who had orchestrated attacks against Israeli civilians and troops.

In a landmark case that has deeply divided Colombia, former President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest on charges of witness tampering and bribery. The 73-year-old conservative leader, who governed from 2002 to 2010 with U.S. backing, was also banned from public office for eight years and fined approximately $776,000.

On the occasion of the Italian Grand Prix, the two worlds unite their creativity and their demands around an exclusive, daring fashion capsule resolutely focused on performance. A series of ten limited-edition pieces, inspired by the raw energy of motorsport, to be previewed at the Alpine Atelier in Milan, before an official launch on September 8.

Just a day after announcing a landmark energy partnership with Pakistan, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 19% tariff on Pakistani goods as part of his expanded "Liberation Day" tariff initiative. Though Pakistan had earlier faced a 29% duty, a last-minute trade agreement saw it reduced to 19%. On Tuesday

A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck far-eastern Russia, triggering widespread tsunami warnings across the Pacific. The quake caused flooding and minor injuries in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, where waves up to 4 meters (13 feet) hit the coast. Tsunami advisories quickly followed in Japan, prompting evacuations of over 1.9 million people from Hokkaido to Wakayama. In Hokkaido alone, 10,500 people were ordered to evacuate. Northern Japan has already seen 30 cm waves, wi

A tragic shooting unfolded Monday inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue, home to major firms like Blackstone, KPMG, Deutsche Bank, and the NFL headquarters. A 27-year-old man from Las Vegas, reportedly wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with an AR-style rifle, opened fire inside the tower, critically injuring a police officer and a bystander. Law enforcement sources later confirmed that five people, including the NYPD officer and the suspected gunman, wer

High-level peace talks between Thailand and Cambodia are set to begin Monday in Malaysia, following the deadliest border clashes in over a decade. The violence, reignited on July 24 after the killing of a Cambodian soldier in May, has claimed over 30 lives and displaced more than 150,000 civilians. Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead the negotiations, beginning at 3 p.m. local time.

Tensions flared on Thursday as Thailand deployed F-16 fighter jets along its northeastern border with Cambodia following reported attacks by Cambodian forces on Thai military bases. According to the Royal Thai Army, clashes erupted at six locations along the disputed border, prompting an airstrike on a Cambodian military target. One of the six F-16s reportedly crossed into Cambodian territory to carry out the strike, then returned safely.

On July 22, Pakistan’s test of the nuclear-capable Shaheen-III ballistic missile reportedly ended in failure, raising serious safety concerns. Fired from the Rakhshani region of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, the missile deviated from its trajectory and crashed in the Matt area of Dera Bugti district, Balochistan. The wreckage landed barely 500 meters from civilian settlements, near the Loop Seharani Levy Station in Grapevine Ravine, triggering a massive explosion heard 20–50 kilom

The devastating monsoon in Pakistan has claimed over 200 lives, with the death toll reaching 216 and 580 injured since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). On Monday alone, 13 fatalities were reported—12 in Punjab and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)—including four children and three women. Punjab has emerged as the worst-hit province, accounting for 135 deaths, while KP reported 42.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition suffered a major setback in the latest parliamentary election, losing its majority in the 248-seat upper house, NHK reported on Monday. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, Komeito, required 50 additional seats beyond their existing 75 to retain control but secured only 47, with one seat still undecided.

Seven months after the overthrow of Bashar Assad, Syria’s fragile transition has erupted into new bloodshed that exposes the volatility of its postwar order. In Sweida province, a local dispute last Sunday spiraled into lethal clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Government troops—under a former al-Qaida affiliate turned interim ruler who pledges to shield minorities—entered claiming to restore calm, yet moved to dislo

A rare but deadly case of pneumonic plague has claimed the life of a resident in northern Arizona, marking the first confirmed fatality from the disease in Coconino County since 2007. The patient died at Flagstaff Medical Center shortly after arriving at the emergency department, according to Northern Arizona Healthcare. Despite immediate medical intervention and life-saving resuscitation efforts, the patient could not be saved.