At least 22 dead, several injured, in fire at DR Congo wedding reception

At least 22 dead, several injured, in fire at DR Congo wedding reception

SCMP

A fire at a wedding party in Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa left at least 22 people dead, the regional mayor said on Saturday. Several others were injured. The fire started on Friday night and continued into early Saturday in a building in Lingwala in northern Kinshasa. The building’s narrow hallways were constricted by people trying to escape the fire. Several people - some alive...

Possums in the roof, koalas in bed: study shows how animals resort to Australian homes after habitat loss

Possums in the roof, koalas in bed: study shows how animals resort to Australian homes after habitat loss

The Guardian

Microbats and wombats among the most common species found in buildings, with some discovered in letter boxes or air conditioning systemsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPossums in the roof, bats in the curtains and ducks on the balcony: new research has revealed how native animals are making themselves at home in our houses.Researchers have analysed a decade of wildlife r...

Alarming AI ads are flooding social media in the lead-up to Victoria’s election. But who is behind them?

Alarming AI ads are flooding social media in the lead-up to Victoria’s election. But who is behind them?

The Guardian

A machete-wielding robber, a ‘tsunami of debt’ … campaigns echoing opposition talking points outspend major partiesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man clad in a balaclava and brandishing a machete terrorises a worker at a petrol station before firebombing the building on the way out.A woman gives birth on the side of the road, unable to reach a hospital due to ambulanc...

Commemoration held for late Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic

Commemoration held for late Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic

SCMP

A commemoration was held on Saturday in Belgrade for war criminal Ratko Mladic two days ahead of his burial, attended by dozens of former military staff, family members and officials. Mladic died last week after suffering several strokes while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes committed during the 1990s war in Bosnia. His body was returned to Serbia on a government plane on Thurs...

Competitors dig deep at Hungarian gravedigging contest

Competitors dig deep at Hungarian gravedigging contest

SCMP

A gravedigging contest in a Hungarian cemetery may sound like the opening line of a comedy sketch. It proved to be anything but as 38 competitors grabbed picks and shovels on Saturday. The Hungarian Association of Cemetery Maintainers and Operators organises the contest to showcase the gravedigging trade and its skills, and shake off death-related taboos. The dry summer-baked soil in the public ce...

Putin begins talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ending war with Ukraine

Putin begins talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ending war with Ukraine

The Guardian

Moscow and Kyiv vow not to strike each other’s capitals for three days during negotiationsRussian president Vladimir Putin began talks with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on ending more than four years of war in Ukraine in the Kremlin Saturday, ahead of their first visit to Kyiv expected on Sunday.Both Russia and Ukraine vowed not to strike each other’s capitals for three days during th...