A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday, leaving at least 20 people dead and more than 640 injured. The tremor caused significant destruction in several communities, including damage to the centuries-old Blue Mosque in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Local authorities reported that the town of Khulm, near the quake’s epicentre, suffered widespread building collapses. Residents have been digging through debris in search of survivors as rescue operations continue. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said military and emergency teams have reached the af

British police have charged a 32-year-old man with multiple counts of attempted murder after a stabbing on a train left 11 people injured over the weekend. British Transport Police said Anthony Williams faces 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of causing actual bodily harm, and one count of possessing a bladed article. The charges stem from an attack on a passenger train on Saturday that forced an emergency stop. Authorities said Williams is also accused of attempted murder in a separate incident earlier the same day at a London transit station. He was arrested after officers boarded the

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians to authorities in Gaza, one day after Hamas returned to Israel the remains of three soldiers captured during the October 7, 2023 attacks. Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza confirmed receiving the bodies on Monday afternoon. The exchange took place under a fragile ceasefire mediated by the United States, which has seen a series of coordinated returns of human remains between both sides. According to health authorities in Gaza, identifying many of the bodies has been difficult due to a

A 52-year-old bus driver from the Waterloo Region has died following a single-vehicle crash involving a school bus on Highway 401 west of London on Sunday morning. Four students were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Ontario Provincial Police say the crash occurred just after 9 a.m. as the bus, carrying 42 passengers, veered into a ditch while travelling from Kitchener-Waterloo to Point Pelee National Park near Leamington. The students were on their way to a three-day geography field trip. Charlotte Weldon, a 13-year-old student from Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocati

Federal authorities say multiple suspects have been taken into custody in Michigan in connection with what officials describe as a planned violent attack over the Halloween weekend. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the arrests in a post on social media, noting that the operation took place Friday morning. Patel did not release details about the number of people arrested or the nature of the alleged plot, saying additional information would be shared as the investigation progresses. Local police in Dearborn said they were aware of the FBI’s activity in the city on Friday and reassured reside

The Trump administration has announced a sharp reduction in the number of refugees the United States will accept in the coming fiscal year, setting a cap of 7,500 – the lowest in the country’s modern history. A notice published Thursday in the Federal Register confirmed the decision, which also prioritizes applications from white South Africans, a move critics say signals a major shift in U.S. refugee policy. The new ceiling marks a drastic decline from the 125,000 refugee limit set under President Joe Biden’s administration. The White House offered no detailed explanation for the cut, s

A plane crash killed 11 people, mostly foreign tourists, in Kenya's coastal region of Kwale. The crash occurred early Tuesday while the group was en route to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Mombasa Air Safari said eight Hungarian and two German passengers were onboard and that the Kenyan pilot was also killed. The plane crashed in a hilly, forested area about 25 miles from Diani airstrip. The pilot failed to communicate after departure, and the tower tried to reach him for 30 minutes, according to the airline. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the crash, which ha

Amazon says it plans to lay off about 14,000 corporate employees this year as part of a restructuring effort tied to the company’s growing use of artificial intelligence. The move marks one of the largest workforce reductions in the tech giant’s history and reflects the company’s transition toward greater automation. In a statement, Amazon said it will continue to hire for roles in key growth areas, including AI development and cloud services, and that laid-off employees will be given priority for those positions. The company added that additional job cuts could follow as it continues to

Former U.S. president Donald Trump met Japan’s newly appointed prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, on Tuesday during his visit to Asia. Takaichi, who recently became Japan’s first female leader, joined Trump aboard an American aircraft carrier where he addressed U.S. troops stationed in the region. Both leaders signed agreements aimed at deepening the U.S.–Japan alliance, including cooperation on critical minerals and economic development. Trump’s team said the talks were tied to a broader trade framework that could bring up to $490 billion in Japanese investment to the United States. Taka