Hundreds of villagers were ordered to evacuate in eastern Belgium on Saturday as firefighters fought a wildfire that had burned more than 2,700 hectares, the largest on record in Belgium, with European Union aircraft and water bombers assisting.

The fire began on Friday in the High Fens park near the German border and rapidly expanded across peatland and pine forest, scorching 2,620 hectares more than the 80 hectares recorded the previous day, according to local authorities.

Residents of Sourbrodt and Buetgenbach were instructed to leave on Saturday afternoon, and about 600 people were relocated to a gymnasium in Malmedy that was opened as a shelter, the Belgian Red Cross said.

Regional officials warned that rugged terrain hampered ground access, forcing firefighters to retreat to forest edges and allow parts of the heathland to burn, while reliance on aerial resources increased, according to a spokesperson for the Wallonia regional authorities.

The European Union civil protection mechanism was activated, allowing the deployment of a Dutch helicopter already on site and two additional helicopters and two Swedish water‑bombing aircraft expected to become operational the next day, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told AFP.

The blaze occurred during a period of intense heat, with temperatures reaching 37 °C in parts of Belgium, and was part of a broader pattern of early and northern wildfire activity linked to climate upheaval, she added.

An AFP journalist entered the burn zone and observed extensive blackened vegetation and thick yellow smoke, while officials noted the fire remained uncontrolled and posed a risk to nearby homes.

Farmers posted images on social media showing themselves assisting emergency crews, and Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said he was shocked by the speed of the destruction but thanked volunteers for helping to wet down the area.

The fire was located a few dozen kilometres from a separate major blaze in western Germany that had forced the evacuation of about 1,800 people, according to reports.

The situation remained unresolved as of Saturday night, with officials stating that full containment had not yet been achieved and that continued aerial support would be required.

Authorities reported that at least 47 people were killed after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck offshore near Flores Island early Saturday, just before 5 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was in waters north of the island, about 1,000 miles east of Jakarta. The quake occurred at a depth of roughly 6 miles and was followed by multiple aftershocks. More than 2 million residents across the region felt strong to severe shaking, according to the agency. A tsunami warning was issued for several coastal areas and later lifted by Indonesian officials.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNBP) said 47 deaths were confirmed, with about half occurring in Manggarai Regency on Flores. Lieutenant General Suharyanto, head of the BNBP, said 16 bodies were recovered from a landslide in a village. The earthquake caused building collapses, disrupted communications and road access, and prompted the evacuation of roughly 2,000 people from the Nagekeo area as a precaution. Emergency teams were deployed to assess damage, treat victims, and assist affected communities.

Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,500 islands, sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Australian and Sunda tectonic plates converge, making it prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. Since 1950, the country has experienced 37 magnitude‑6 or greater quakes, including a 7.8‑magnitude event and tsunami in 1992 that killed at least 2,500 people. Rescue operations are expected to be complicated by the remote geography, and authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant as aftershocks continue.

International observers monitoring Zambia’s August 13 presidential election raised concerns about reports of intimidation and violence that caused a several‑hour suspension of vote counting.

President Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is seeking a second term with the ruling United Party for National Development, while former minister Brian Mundubile runs as the opposition candidate for the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity.

Vote counting was halted on Friday after police and soldiers responded to incidents in which ballot papers were allegedly stolen and polling staff were threatened. The Electoral Commission said the security threat had been contained and counting resumed later that evening. Observers from the European Union and the Southern African Development Community said they could not monitor the counting during the suspension. The SADC mission’s lead, former Malawian justice minister Samuel Tembenu, said the pause created uncertainty and anxiety and that reports of assault, abduction and property damage were received from five provinces, though verification was not possible. EU chief observer Michael McNamara said the authorities needed to explain the decision to suspend the count and noted a backdrop of constrained democratic space. European Parliament observer Reinhold Lopatka described the pause as disproportionate, given that only a small fraction of the more than 13,000 polling stations were affected. He said his mission had been told that opposition figures faced intimidation, that some candidates withdrew under pressure and that opposition rallies were broken up by violence. Zambian police reported the arrest of nine individuals in connection with the killing of a 57‑year‑old polling agent in a township outside Lusaka. Meanwhile, Mundubile claimed victory based on a parallel count and alleged that military personnel had taken control of tallying centres in Mufulira, that result forms were missing, and that officials in North‑Western Province had been instructed to halt result releases. Hichilema has not declared victory, saying only that his campaign was seeing “encouraging” results as official counting continued. The commission released partial results late Saturday showing Hichilema with 438,708 votes (52.6 percent), Mundubile with 351,281 votes (42.1 percent) and a third candidate with 3,965 votes; it cautioned that the figures were not final.

The commission said it would issue another notice on Sunday morning regarding the timing of the next results announcement. About 8.7 million people were registered to vote in the 22 million‑person nation that has a long history of peaceful transfers of power.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday, killing at least 51 people and displacing about 5,000 residents. The quake occurred at 5:58 am local time (21:58 GMT Friday) with its epicentre 68 km north‑northwest of Ende on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, according to the US Geological Survey, and was followed by 341 aftershocks. The event, at a depth of 10 km, damaged more than 1,300 homes and destroyed at least 157 houses, forcing roughly 2,000 villagers in Nagekeo regency into temporary shelters, said the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Rescue teams deployed three helicopters and a vessel to the region, where scattered islands hinder access, and reported that landslides blocked roads and disrupted communications, according to the local search and rescue agency. More than 3,300 people in Sikka regency took shelter in a sports arena, while 77 people suffered minor injuries and 36 were seriously injured, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus told a televised meeting. Authorities are considering a state of emergency for East Nusa Tenggara to unlock additional resources, and 20 petrol stations remained closed because of power outages, state energy firm Pertamina reported. Aftershocks are expected to continue for several days, and officials have ordered further evacuations in northern areas while urging residents to avoid damaged structures and shorelines, Al Jazeera correspondent Jessica Washington reported. The same coastline was hit by a similarly powerful quake in December 1992, which triggered a tsunami that killed more than 2,500 people, the Indonesian geophysics agency said; Indonesia remains one of the most seismically active nations, sitting on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Zimbabwe police reported that the death toll from a capsized ferry on Lake Kariba rose to 68 after 22 additional bodies were recovered on Saturday.

The ferry capsized on Tuesday on the border with Zambia, and an investigation suggested it overturned during heavy winds while overloaded.

Authorities said the vessel was authorized for 90 passengers but was carrying 114 adults, five crew members and an unspecified number of children, including 18 children who died.

Lt Col Joseph Muchechesi, commander of the boat regiment, said the search operation was continuing and that all bodies were expected to be retrieved.

Seventy‑seven people were rescued, and families gathered at the district hospital in Kariba to identify the deceased.

A public memorial service was held in the lakeside town on Thursday, followed by burials.

Survivors recounted pleading with the driver to turn back as water began to fill the boat soon after departure.

Lake Kariba, created in the 1950s by damming the Zambezi River, is the world’s largest manmade lake by volume.

Previous incidents include a 2014 capsizing in Zambia that killed 26 people, mostly children, and a 2021 accident on the Zimbabwean side that resulted in five drownings.

Moroccan security forces detained more than 100 migrants attempting to cross into the Spanish North African exclave of Ceuta on Saturday, according to security sources cited by Spanish media and Reuters. The detentions took place around the town of Fnideq, about 3 km from the border, and involved individuals primarily from sub‑Saharan Africa. Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups gathered on nearby hills, and the government said it was monitoring social‑media posts calling for a mass crossing.

Spain has increased its security presence, deploying more than 1,500 officers to patrol the area and installing a metal fence and a floating barrier after a previous influx in which roughly 78,000 migrants arrived by sea in a matter of hours, resulting in 100 deaths, according to the city’s mayor. Moroccan authorities also deployed army officers, navy speedboats and drones to the border.

Italy suspended its participation in the Schengen free‑movement agreement with Spain and introduced border checks on arrivals from Spain, a move supported by Finland, Denmark and the Czech Republic, which called for a temporary suspension of Spain’s Schengen membership. Spain responded that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area and that migrants had not reached the mainland, noting that it had also introduced its own border controls after Italy refused to drop them.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his country was carefully controlling arrivals and denied any intent to wage a “battle” against Spain, adding that the problem originated in Morocco. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Ceuta’s status outside Schengen meant migrants could not travel to other European countries and urged Italy to reverse its border measures.

The incident has renewed diplomatic tension between EU members over border management, but no immediate escalation has been reported.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that New South Wales will begin a gun buyback program on November 2, offering up to A$1,000 ($700) for each handgun or rifle turned in, as part of a nationwide response to the December 14, 2025, Bondi Beach attack that killed 15 people.

The attack, carried out by a father‑son duo inspired by ISIL, used firearms obtained legally. Australia recorded a record 4.1 million firearms in the previous year, with more than 1.1 million in New South Wales, the country's most populous state. The 1996 Port Arthur massacre led to sweeping bans on automatic and semi‑automatic weapons, and NSW has since limited individual ownership to four firearms.

The new buyback scheme will be paired with tighter gun‑license checks and a crackdown on hate‑motivated activity, Albanese said on Sunday. Owners may receive the payment after surrendering their weapons, and the program will run alongside existing restrictions that cap ownership at four guns per person.

Police say the suspects, Naveed Akram, 24, have not yet entered pleas to 15 counts of murder and other charges.

The initiative marks the first state‑level buyback since the national reforms following Port Arthur, and its impact on overall gun prevalence remains to be determined.

Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, 63, is set to begin trial on Monday in Las Vegas on a murder charge for the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur was fatally shot in a drive‑by after a fight at the MGM Grand following a Mike Tyson boxing match and died six days later. Davis, the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is the only person ever charged in the case. Prosecutors allege he arranged the shooting and provided the gun, though he did not fire the weapon. He has said the killing was retaliation for the shooting of his nephew, Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson. His 2019 memoir details his account of the night and includes statements about the pursuit and the gun. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks and will feature up to 45 witnesses, including police officers, technical experts and associates of both Shakur and Davis. Marion 'Suge' Knight, who was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, remains incarcerated and may be called as a witness. The defense plans to call only a few witnesses and has not indicated whether Davis will testify. The jury will decide whether Davis’s statements are credible or fabricated.