RUSSIA: A court in Moscow today convicted 19 people of involvement in the 2024 shooting rampage in a Moscow concert hall that killed 149 people and wounded over 600 in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years.

All 19 defendants were handed lengthy prison terms: 15 were sentenced to life in prison, one was handed 22 years and six months and three others were given 19 years and 11 months each.

SENEGAL: Senegal’s parliament approved a new Bill today that toughens punishment for homosexuality in the largely Muslim west African nation, the latest African country to impose harsh penalties against the LGBT+ community.

The new Bill, introduced to parliament last month by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, doubles the punishment for those convicted from prison sentences of one to five years to between five and 10 years.

UKRAINE: Ukraine is awaiting White House approval for a major drone production agreement proposed by Kiev last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today.

The proposed US-Ukraine deal would cover various types of drones and air defences that operate as a single system capable of protecting against swarms of hundreds or even thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones and missiles, President Zelensky said in a social media message.

ETHIOPIA: At least 50 people have died and 125 others are missing after landslides hit three districts in southern Ethiopia following a week of heavy rains, a local official said today.

The landslides happened in Gamo Zone and affected the Gacho Baba District, Kamba District and Bonke District, according to Gamo Zone director of disaster response Mesfin Manuqa.