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At least 55 dead in Karachi mall fire as families provide DNA amid painstaking search at Gul Plaza KARACHI, Pakistan — The death toll from a weekend fire at a shopping mall in Pakistan’s largest city climbed to at least 55 as rescuers combed the wreckage of the three-story Gul Plaza and families waited for news of missing loved ones, authorities said. “A total of 55 bodies have been recovered since Saturday night” when the blaze erupted, said Javed Nabi Khoso, deputy commissioner of Karachi’s south district, speaking to AFP.…

MOGADISHU — The Intergovernmental Authority on Development on Wednesday welcomed Somalia’s ratification of the new IGAD Treaty, calling it a significant step toward stronger regional cooperation and integration across the Horn of Africa. Somalia’s House of the People approved the treaty by show of hands after the agreement was presented by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Omar Balcad, who urged lawmakers to endorse it as essential to the country’s regional engagement and political stability. According to Speaker…

MOUNT MAUNGANUI, New Zealand — A rain-fueled landslide slammed into a seaside campsite on New Zealand’s North Island, burying a shower block and smashing several camper vans under tons of mud, with multiple people missing and rescuers racing against dangerously shifting ground. The slide struck at the base of Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcanic cone in northern New Zealand, after heavy overnight downpours. Photos and video shared on local media showed a mound of saturated earth crushing the camp’s shower facility and…

Trump retreats from Greenland seizure threat, touts open-ended Arctic security deal and lifts tariff warnings DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump backed down from threats to seize Greenland by force from U.S. ally Denmark, announcing a vague security arrangement he said delivers “everything we wanted” and lifting promised tariffs on European partners that opposed the move. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Trump said the agreement was negotiated with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and would last “forever,”…

Somalia’s Federal Government has not issued an official response to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who used a World Economic Forum appearance in Davos, Switzerland, to question Somalia’s statehood and accuse Somalis of large-scale financial crimes. In his address, Trump alleged that “Somali thieves” had taken billions of dollars in the United States and described Somalis as “low in intelligence.” He also claimed the U.S. had waged military action against Somali pirates, drawing a comparison to operations against…

DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine would be “stupid” not to strike a peace deal and claimed he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos on Thursday, even as Kyiv insisted Zelensky remains in the Ukrainian capital. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Trump repeated his view that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky are close to an agreement to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. “I believe they’re at a point now where they…

Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 HARGEISA — North Western State of Somalia security forces killed two suspected gunmen and arrested several others in a planned operation in the Salal region on Wednesday, days after the killing of two civilians triggered a manhunt and heightened security measures, the military said. Two suspected attackers were killed; four others were wounded in the clash Several suspects arrested and illegal weapons, including AK-47 rifles, seized Operation conducted in the Indho-Biraale area of Salal following…

Irish trainee field guide rescued by helicopter as deadly floods swamp Kruger National Park PHALABORWA, South Africa — In the pitch black and pouring rain on a hillside above the Olifants River, Kim McNaughton waited for the thump of rotor blades. The trainee field guide from County Monaghan had scrambled to higher ground with colleagues after floodwaters cut off their safari lodge in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, washing away a nearby bridge and turning escape routes into impassable mud. “Survival mode just kicked…

Gunmen Kidnap Worshippers from Churches in Kaduna State, Nigeria Authorities in Nigeria's Kaduna State have confirmed that gunmen kidnapped scores of worshippers from three churches on Sunday, reversing an earlier denial of the incident. This distressing event has sparked outrage and fear within the local communities, highlighting ongoing security challenges in the region. The Kaduna Police Commissioner initially dismissed the reports of the kidnappings as "falsehoods peddled by conflict entrepreneurs" seeking to "cause…

Ireland’s EU Commissioner Michael McGrath warned that Europe’s ties with the United States have reached a “pivotal and dangerous” moment, saying the European Union would deliver a “robust” response if the Trump administration proceeds with tariffs against countries that opposed the U.S. president’s ambitions to seize Greenland. Speaking to RTÉ News in Davos, McGrath said “we are at a moment of danger in the overall transatlantic relationship,” and cautioned that undermining the international rules-based order would leave the…