BY KALAHAN DENG QUEZON CITY, Philippines—The area where squatters live on National Irrigation Authority land is a warren of narrow alleys, shacks improvised from corrugated zinc sheeting and found wood, and dimly lit sari-sari stores selling candy, chips, ice, and loose cigarettes. In “Area C” women wash clothes in metal bowls and too many teenage mothers heft babies on their ...

BY KALAHAN DENG ROME — An earthquake, believed to be the strongest to hit Italy since 1980, struck the center of the country on Sunday, four days after two back-to-back quakes severely damaged buildings and left thousands homeless in the area. The temblor on Sunday also caused fresh damage to the towns destroyed by a quake that killed nearly 300 ...

Donald Trump claimed he was “a victim of one of the great political smear campaigns in the history of our country” at a campaign rally Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina. “You’re going to view your vote on November 8 to be the single most important vote that you’ve ever cast because we are going to take back the White House,” ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG A planned military offensive to reclaim Mosul from so-called Islamic State (IS) could see up to a million Iraqis flee their homes. The UN’s refugee agency has told the BBC how it and its partners are gearing up to deal with the expected humanitarian crisis by building camps to house those in need. The much-delayed operation ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG The UK could now qualify to join the African Union (AU). If after voting to leave the European Union the UK is feeling lonely and in need of the company of another community of nations, it should consider the AU. The UK has been exhibiting qualities that are very familiar to Africans, including “tribalism”. The tribe ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG The Kenyan government has put in place to tackle cheating in national exams, which begin in early November. Shipping containers are a common feature of the Kenyan landscape. You’ll find these steel boxes converted into comfortable homes, clinics and offices. Others are turned into shops and granaries to store farm products. But now shipping containers have ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG Human rights activists say a 22-year-old woman whose execution was delayed while she was pregnant could be hanged within days in Iran. Zeinab Sekaanvand was convicted of killing her husband, whom she says beat her for months. Her execution was postponed after she remarried in prison and conceived a child. Last month she gave birth to ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG When Thuli Madonsela’s daughter asked her over breakfast how it felt to be “South Africa’s biggest tell-tale”, the public protector just smiled. It was an understated reaction from the woman likely to go down in history as the person who rattled President Jacob Zuma more than any other figure in contemporary South Africa, exposed the growing ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are advancing on Dabiq, a symbolic stronghold of so-called Islamic State. The small town holds great value to IS because of a prophecy of an apocalyptic battle, and features heavily in its propaganda. The operation began as US and Russian envoys met in Switzerland to discuss possible routes to a new ceasefire. No ...

CANBERRA: Singapore and Australia on Thursday (Oct 13) signed the first set of agreements under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), a landmark pact that is expected to take bilateral relations to the next level. Four Memorandums of Understanding in the areas of defence, trade, science and innovation, and anti-drug trafficking were signed. Under the defence initiatives, the Singapore Armed Forces ...