Homes surrounded by water, flooded roads and farmland submerged beneath swollen rivers. Albania and Montenegro were still battling severe flooding on Thursday, 8 January, after days of torrential rain and heavy snow.

Hundreds of French farmers drive tractors into Paris to protest the EU‑Mercosur deal, warning of unfair competition and demanding stronger protections.

One of pop history’s most iconic pieces is going under the hammer. Michael Jackson’s legendary white rhinestone glove worn during his 1983 “Billie Jean” performance, where he unveiled the moonwalk is up for auction.

The World Food Programme is seeking more than $30 million to maintain food assistance for Congolese refugees in Burundi, warning that supplies could run out as early as October 2026 without additional funding.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced Wednesday that France will release 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic reserves to help ease pressure on the fuel market.

The government also said that the deal was not coupled to an agreement on US access to the country’s mineral resources.

Thirty people were killed and at least 18 were injured by Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine that included an attack on a public bus, authorities said Thursday, as an intensive pre-winter wave of attacks continued and power outages worsened in the capital Kyiv.

More than 20,000 Palestinian students and education workers have been killed since the war began, according to the Palestinian Education Ministry.

The announcement has left the planned December legislative and presidential elections, meant to restore civilian rule, in limbo.

Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are escalating with fears of a new regional war growing. Ethiopian drones have reportedly struck Eritrean forces near Adigrat, a city in northern Tigray, according to conflict monitors and witnesses.

WADA urged it to strive for a zero tolerance of drugs in sports as it prepares to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

Senegal and Morocco played a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final in January and they contested the title again Thursday, this time at the Court of Arbitration for Sport which expects a verdict within days.

Pix of the Day, 8 October, 2026 – Across the world

Egyptian prosecutors accused six journalists from an independent fact-checking platform on Wednesday of terrorism-related offences, alleging they worked for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and received foreign funding to spread “false news”.

Nigeria’s Power Crisis Creates New Opportunity for Solar as Togo Deepens Russia Ties

Saudi Arabia said three civilians were killed and 36 people injured in two separate attacks in the capital, Riyadh.

Twenty graduates abducted while travelling to begin Nigeria’s national youth service have been found alive after a week-long search, authorities say.

The Yemeni city of Taiz faces mounting pressure as fighting intensifies in its outskirts in recent days

Its Living Planet Report 2026 shows a 73% declined in monitored populations but says the recovery of some species show its possible to reverse the trend.

Benin issued an international warrant for the influencer’s arrest on December 12 after he supported a foiled coup in which mutinous soldiers claimed on television to have overthrown President Patrice Talon

outh African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Tshwane on Wednesday, focusing on preparations for South Sudan’s December elections and the country’s fragile peace process

Kenya’s Health Ministry has heightened surveillance at border entry points and created an Ebola hotline for citizens to report symptoms related to Ebola

South Africa is aiming to host the first ever Olympics on the African continent. This after it was named as one of seven countries that will officially put forward their case to stage the 2036 Games in November.

Kenya is not in the grips of an ebola outbreak, the country’s health secretary insisted on Wednesday, in the wake of Kenya’s first death from the disease.

Ghana’s cabinet has given the green light to a decision to formally apply to join the BRICS geopolitical and economic bloc, according to the country’s foreign minister.

Africa will launch its own credit rating agency on Wednesday, aimed at countering what many see as unfair assessments by global institutions that make it more expensive for African nations to borrow money.

Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority on Tuesday approved the participation of its domestic investors in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering.

In southern Madagascar, residents are bracing themselves for the impact due in the coming months of the El Nino warming pattern, which experts expect to be the strongest on record.

Eritrean troops have been deployed in recent days around the town of Adigrat, in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a local official and residents told AFP on Wednesday.

French scientist Henri B Kagan and Japan’s Kenso Soai have been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for offering a solution to the chemical mystery of life’s asymmetry.

Several Nairobi residents expressed fear and concern on Wednesday, a day after Kenyan authorities announced the country’s first-ever Ebola death.

It says the north-eastern region now accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all newly confirmed incidents nationwide.

Israelis are gathering Wednesday to commemorate the third anniversary of the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. In Gaza, the territory’s almost two million people live in ruins.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union on Tuesday called on the government to protect health workers, after the country reported its first case of Ebola.

The education ministry says the decision was driven ‘primarily by the need to ensure the safety and protection’ of children.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to replace Aguila Saleh with Al-Salhin Abdulnabi.

The footballer concluded his 21-year run with the national team scoring a goal in the 71st minute of a friendly against Benin.

All 25 people on board, including civilians, died when the military aircraft crashed into a swampy area that is difficult to access.

Government-allied forces say they are using drones against Tigray fighters, while markets and local transport are slowly returning to the streets of the regional capital.

In South Africa’s coastal town of Hermanus, a marine spectacle takes place every year between the months of June and November, when hundreds of southern right whales migrate from Antarctica to the South African coast.