Police in South Africa have arrested a pastor and his wife after a raid on a church-run rehabilitation centre in Mpumalanga province revealed shocking living conditions.

Foxes, owls and deer made from pumpkins have taken over Groot-Bijgaarden Castle near Brussels. The Pumpkimania festival features a 772kg giant, pumpkin boat rides and Halloween activities until 1 November.

A father-and-son team at the Cape Honeybee Conservancy have moved over 250 wild bee colonies from urban locations since 2018.

Kenya is on high alert as it races to contain Ebola! Linked to a deadly outbreak in the DRC, the virus has reportedly claimed one life in Kenya, with two cases recorded. At the Ugandan border, screenings are intensifying, with travelers undergoing temperature checks and handwashing measures.

A Chinese Medical ship with a crew of 376 arrived at the port of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Thursday and began offering free medical consultations and medicines to local residents

Russian strikes ignited massive fires at businesses in Odesa and Zaporizhzhia as President Zelensky met European leaders for talks.

Pix of the Day, 16 October, 2026 – Across the world

Flight delays and cancellations disrupted Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on Friday 16 October after a fault in the data-transmission network supporting Italy’s nationwide air traffic control system.

At least 10 students have died from Ebola in Ituri Province, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, authorities said Thursday

President Hakainde Hichilema described it as an endorsement of the country’s commitment to protecting human rights.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola will resume his duties on Monday after he was cleared of charges that he broke public finance rules.

In September, the U.S. refused to grant Burhan a visa to attend the U.N. General Assembly meetings, a move seen as punishment for Burhan’s reservations about Washington’s easefire proposal

Rival jihadist factions in the Sahel have clashed on an unprecedented scale in recent weeks. On Monday, the Islamic State in the Sahel Province said it had killed more than 400 fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM four days earlier.

A Ukrainian company has demonstrated an unusual new battlefield rescue system: a drone capable of carrying a wounded soldier inside an enclosed cabin. Developed by SkyFall, the aircraft, named StarGate, was filmed taking off, flying and landing with a person on board.

The International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to 4.5% this year and its Africa Director Zeine Zeidane praised the continent’s resilience.

Torrential rain has turned streets into rivers near Istanbul, overturning vehicles and cutting off power. At least 3 people have died and 5 remain missing as emergency crews clear the wreckage.

Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner sharply criticised Formula One’s plans to hold an African Grand Prix in Rwanda, saying it would help “polish the image of an authoritarian leader.”

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reportedly spread to North Ubangi, at the border with the Central African Republic, making it the eighth Congolese province affected by the virus.

Fires burn in central Tirana as protesters throw stones and police respond with tear gas and water cannon. Student-led demonstrations demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation enter their third day.

It is the first time he faces the 37-members since he was forced to drop his secretive and divisive World Cup sell-off plan.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have struck Riyadh’s King Khalid international airport 20 times since the start of October. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said the attacks involved 10 drones, four ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and two unidentified projectiles.

Scientists in the southern Ugandan city of Masaka are conducting a phase I trial of a candidate vaccine against the deadly Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BDBV), a strain for which no licensed vaccine or effective treatment currently exists.

A top US Treasury official highlighted Dakar’s case as an example of improvements in sovereign debt restructuring.

Africa CDC chief Dr. Jean Kaseya says more than $700 million in donor funding for Ebola response in the DRC cannot be traced

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are back in the public eye in Britain. The couple greeted crowds, met children and visited community projects in Nottingham, the city where they first appeared together after their engagement in 2017.

International NGO Human Rights Watch is calling for greater access to Ethiopia’s Tigray region to better protect the population. The organisation says the renewed fighting between federal forces and Tigrayan rebels has cost lives and access to vital services.

The World Food Programme says more than 250,000 children receive meals in 335 schools across the country.

Apocalyptic orange skies engulf Palangkaraya in Indonesia, while Singapore’s famous Marina Bay Sands nearly disappears behind thick smoke. Months of wildfires have triggered an air pollution crisis across Southeast Asia.

Visitors to Frieze London in the UK are becoming part of the artworks themselves, climbing a giant interactive spider, entering virtual worlds and taking part in installations that turn spectators into participants.

Participants at Africa Energy Week in Cape Town are calling for greater efforts to ensure the vast resources of the African continent deliver industrial growth and provide much-needed employment as deals worth billions of dollars have already been struck at the five-day event.

Rising fuel prices are having a negative impact on household budgets and sectors including transport, agriculture, and construction.

A school roof collapsed in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, on Thursday 15 October, killing at least 32 pupils and a teacher. Officials said the roof was structurally weak and had been overloaded by construction work. The school’s owner was arrested and an investigation launched.

Somalia announced on Thursday that parliamentary and presidential elections would be held next year, despite an increasingly fractured political landscape and worries over mounting instability.

Pix of the Day, 15 October, 2026 – Across the world

Emergency crews in the Egyptian capital Cairo have recovered the bodies of six people, including three children, after the collapse of a five-storey building.

In a complaint filed at the Special Criminal Court of Yaoundé, the Association of Amateur Clubs of Cameroon (ACFAC) claims Eto’o accepted public funds ostensibly to pay for expenses already covered by the organizers of friendly matches Cameroon played against Russia and Mexico in 2023

The announcement comes after Asmara abruptly withdrew returns cooperation earlier this year.

Nearly 70 women were killed in Cameroon this year for reasons related to their gender, according to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. The rise of these killings has sparked protests and calls for government action.

Mauritius extended a curfew on Wednesday over roughly a third of the island after rare violent protests saw almost 100 people arrested

The “Sovereignty League” tournament will feature 20 teams representing all the country’s regions and aims to expand high-level football beyond major cities.