Republic

Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has named his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Evan Ferguson included despite struggling with an ankle problem.

The forward – on loan at Roma from Brighton, who scored in the 1-0 win against Armenia in October, picked up the injury against Parma on 29 October. However, he is included in the 25-man squad for the final two group games that begin at home to Portugal on Thursday, 13 November (19:45 GMT) before a trip to Hungary on Sunday, 16 November (14:00 GMT).

Hallgrimsson’s side go into the final round of matches in Group F sitting in third, one point behind Hungary who travel to Armenia in the first of their games, knowing qualification for the 2026 World Cup could be out of their grasp with a game to spare should they lose to runaway leaders Portugal.

Missing for that game will be Jayson Molumby and Ryan Manning through suspension, but both are included in the squad.

There is a return for Mark Sykes despite his club Bristol City revealing he would miss their next two games after sustaining a gash on his leg in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat by Blackburn Rovers.

With Callum O’Dowda out, Jimmy Dunne retains his place in the squad after coming in as a late replacement for the October internationals, while American-born 26-year-old Kevin O’Toole receives a call-up with the left-sided New York City player eligible through his grandfather.

However, there is no call for Celtic’s Johnny Kenny – despite scoring three goals in his last two games, including the opener in the League Cup semi-final win over Rangers at the weekend – even though Hallgrimsson is without the injured Sammie Szmodics.

“Death By Lightning,” premiering Thursday on Netflix, introduces itself as “a story about two men the world forgot,” and while it is undoubtedly true that few in 2025 will recognize the name Charles Guiteau, many will know James A. Garfield, given that he was one of only four assassinated American presidents. There are less well remembered presidents, for sure — does the name John Tyler ring a bell? — and assassins better known than Guiteau, but if you’re going to make a docudrama, it does help to choose a story that might be more surprising to viewers and comes with a murder built in. It is also, I would guess intentionally, a tale made for our times, with its themes of civil rights, income inequality, cronyism and corruption.

Indeed, most everything about the Garfield story is dramatic — a tragedy, not merely for the family, but for the nation. For the sense one gets from “Death by Lightning” and from the historical record it fairly represents, is that Garfield, killed after only 200 days in office, might have made a very good chief executive. (The stated source for the series is Candice Millard’s 2011 book “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President”; Millard is also a voice in the more briefly titled, illuminating “American Experience” documentary “Murder of a President.”)

That the longtime Ohio congressman did not seek but was drafted for the job — a compromise chosen, against his protests, on the 36th ballot at the 1880 Republican National Convention, where he’d given a stirring speech to nominate a fellow Ohioan, Treasury Secretary John Sherman — made him, one might say, especially qualified for the job; unlike some politicians one might name, he was self-effacing and humble and not out for personal gain. But he saw, finally, that he had a chance to “fix all the things that terrify me about this republic,” most especially the ongoing oppression of Black citizens, a major theme of his inauguration speech (with remarks transferred here to a campaign address delivered to a crowd of 50,000 from a balcony overlooking New York’s Madison Square Park). “I would rather be with you and defeated than against you and victorious,” he tells a group of Black veterans gathered on his front porch, from which he conducted his campaign. (Some 20,000 people were said to have visited there during its course.)

Political machinations and complications aside, the narrative, which stretches two years across four episodes, is really fairly simple, even schematic, cutting back and forth between Garfield (Michael Shannon, between tours covering early R.E.M. albums) and Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), a drifter with delusions of grandeur, as they approach their historically sealed date with destiny. Garfield is goodness personified; we meet him on his farm, cooking breakfast for the family, planing wood to make a picnic table. (A table we will meet again.) Guiteau goes from one failed project to another, living it up on money stolen from his sister, running out on restaurant checks and rooming house bills, telling lies about himself he might well have thought were true, until he decides that politics is the place to make his mark. Under the impression that he was responsible for Garfield’s election, he believed the new president owed him a job — ambassador to France would be nice — and when none was coming, turned sour. A message from God, and the belief that he would save the republic, set him on a path to murder.

Matthew Macfadyen plays Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, in the miniseries.

(Larry Horricks / Netflix)

The series largely belongs to them — both actors are terrific, Shannon imbuing Garfield with a gravity leavened with kindness and humor, Macfadyen’s Guiteau, optimistically dedicated to his delusions yet always about to pop. But it’s a loaded cast. The ever-invaluable Betty Gilpin, in her fourth big series this year after “American Primeval,” “The Terminal List: Dark Wolf” and “Hal & Harper,” plays Garfield’s wife, Crete, fully up on the political scene and free with her opinions. Shea Whigham is New York senator and power broker Roscoe Conkling, Garfield’s moral opposite, and the series’ villain, if you excuse Guiteau as mentally ill. (The jury didn’t.). As wise Maine Sen. James Blaine, Bradley Whitford exudes a convincing, quiet authority, honed over those years working in the pretend White House on “The West Wing.” All the men have been whiskered to resemble their historical models.

Where most of them, even Guiteau, remain consistent from beginning to end, it’s Nick Offerman’s Chester A. Arthur who goes on a journey. Conkling’s right hand, in charge of the New York Customs House — which generated a third of the country’s revenues through import fees — he’s offered the position of vice president to appease Conkling, New York being key to winning the election. Arthur begins as a thuggish, cigar-smoking, sausage-eating, drunken clown, until he’s forced, by events, and the possibility of inheriting the presidency, to reckon with himself.

When First Lady Crete Garfield wonders whether there should be a little extra security (or, really, any security at all) around her husband, he responds, “Assassination can no more be guarded against than death by lightning — it’s best not to worry too much about either one,” giving the series its title and clearing up any confusion you may have had about its meaning. Indeed, Guiteau moves in and out of what today would be well guarded rooms with surprising ease, managing encounters (some certainly invented) with Crete, Blaine, a drunken Arthur and Garfield, whom he implores, “Tell me how I can be great, too.”

Created by Mike Makowsky, it isn’t free from theatrical effects, dramatic overreach or obvious statements, but as period pieces go, it’s unusually persuasive, in big and little ways. Only occasionally does one feel taken out of a 19th century reality into a 21st century television series. The effects budget has been spent where it matters, with some detailed evocations of late 19th century Chicago and Washington that don’t scream CGI. The first episode, which recreates the 1880 convention, held at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, aligns perfectly with engravings of the scene and brings it to life, supporting the wheeling and dealing and speechifying in a way that one imagines is close to being there.

Because we know what’s coming, the series can be emotionally taxing, especially as a wounded Garfield lingers through much of the final episode, while being mistreated by his doctor, Willard Bliss (Zeljko Ivanek), who ignores the advice of the younger, better informed Dr. Charles Purvis (Shaun Parkes), the first Black physician to attend to a sitting president; many, including Millard, believe it was the doctor who killed him through a lack of sanitary precautions, and that Garfield might have recovered if he’d just been left alone, an idea the series supports.

But you can’t change history, as much as “Death By Lightning” makes you wish you could.

England have been drawn with Spain in their qualifying group for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Spain beat the Lionesses in the 2023 World Cup final, but England gained revenge when they beat the world champions in the Euro 2025 final in July to retain their European title.

Iceland and Ukraine have also been placed in Group A3 alongside Sarina Wiegman’s side.

Qualifying for the World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, follows the same format as the Nations League and is split into three tiers.

Only the four group winners in League A will automatically qualify for the finals, with the remaining teams having to go through the play-offs for the remaining eight places.

Scotland have been paired with Belgium, Israel and Luxembourg in Group B4, while Wales will face the Czech Republic, Albania and Montenegro in Group B1.

Northern Ireland have been placed in Group B2 with Switzerland, Turkey and Malta, and the Republic of Ireland are in Group A2 alongside the Netherlands, France and Poland.

The qualifiers will be played across six matchdays, on a home and away basis, during 2026, starting on 3 March and finishing on 9 June.

Uefa has been allocated 11 places for the 32-team 2027 World Cup.

An additional European team could also qualify through Fifa’s intercontinental play-offs.

Cars slogged through the flooded streets of Santo Domingo as Tropical Storm Melissa dumped heavy rain and wind gusts up to 80 kilometres per hour. The stom, which also drenched Haiti, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Friday.

The nervy win in Dublin moves the Republic of Ireland up to third in Group F, a point behind Hungary, who boosted their chances of securing a play-off place with a dramatic late draw against Portugal.

The group is delicately poised with two games remaining. If Hungary beat Armenia in their next game, the Republic of Ireland must earn at least a point to take the battle for second place into their trip to Budapest on 16 November.

The Republic of Ireland’s chances have twice been hit by late goals during this window, having conceded a 91st-minute Ruben Neves goal in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon.

However, Azaz hopes the Irish players can build on that performance and Tuesday’s crucial win in their quest to upset Cristiano Ronaldo and co in Dublin on 13 November.

“We know it’s going to be tough, but we’ll take confidence from last week and this game and we’ll be confident we can do something special,” Azaz added.

“It’s going to be a big occasion, we saw the last game we can compete and they’re top players, but we have to be able to compete and no doubt we’ll be right up for it.”

Armenia boss Yegishe Melikyan said Barseghyan apologised to his team-mates after the game.

“Of course, the red card changed the game. It was a mistake,” said Melikyan.

“He took responsibility. He said sorry to the whole dressing room. But, if a player makes a mistake, it is also my mistake and for that I apologise.

“If there was no red card and we played 11 v 11, I think we could have got a good result. I thought we could have won, but we must go forward and I think we can get good results in the near future.”

Follow our live build-up, with team news, ahead of our full text commentary stream of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier.

If you’re thinking about a holiday for next summer, the travel experts at Club Med are currently running a limited-time sale on all-inclusive breaks.

As the weather begins to turn cold, many Brits will be daydreaming about their next summer getaway. Even though 2026 is still a few months away, travel gurus at Club Med have already unveiled some limited-time luxury holiday bargains.

From 14th to 17th October 2025, the Club Med Summer Sale gives holidaymakers the opportunity to bag premium all-inclusive holidays at swanky resorts and destinations. Ideal for early birds keen to pencil in next year’s holiday, the booking period covers stays from 30th May to 27th November 2026.

The seasonal offer includes up to 20% off premium rooms, including deluxe rooms, suites, and villas, and up to 15% off standard superior rooms, with minimum stays of three nights (five nights during the October half-term) and maximum stays of 28 nights. Little ones under six stay for free, and bookings can be secured with a low deposit starting at £150 per person.

Holidaymakers can escape the winter gloom with a vibrant trip to Marrakech in January. Swap grey skies for golden sunsets, bustling souks and the intoxicating scent of spices wafting through the air.

With agreeable daytime temperatures and fewer crowds, the winter months are a fantastic time to explore the Moroccan city. As part of its Dream Deals promotion, Club Med is offering a five-night stay from £1,001 per person, reported the Manchester Evening News.

Save up to 20% at Club Med resorts

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Club Med

Buy Now on Club Med

Club Med is offering money off Dream Deals, Skiing holidays, winter sun and summer holidays for 2025-26

Marrakech is the ideal destination to kick off the new year feeling refreshed and revitalised. The all-inclusive deal features a lavish stay at the Marrakech La Palmeraie, an Exclusive Collection Space boasting elegant suites with enduring appeal, nestled within verdant gardens and encircled by the splendour of Moroccan artistry.

There’s also a Family Oasis providing spacious accommodation crafted for unforgettable holidays with little ones, delivering a vital fusion of contemporary comfort and heritage.

Kids under six journey at no cost on selected breaks and room enhancements are on offer for an extra fee. Holidaymakers who have already experienced the Moroccan magic of Club Med have awarded it a 4.5 out of five-star rating on TripAdvisor.

One visitor shared their experience and highlights. They said: “Little paradise in Riad. High-quality Service, perfect and delicious catering before resting in comfortable suites.”

Another commented: “Club Med Marrakech is always a perfect place. The setting is beautiful: the gardens are very well-maintained, and the common areas are very clean. The food is excellent and the bar team is always on top.”

A third simply branded it: “A magnificent site with an exceptional team.” However, one holidaymaker who wasn’t entirely convinced noted that they were unhappy with a transfer delay.

They said: “We waited for almost two hours for the transfer to the club and then more than an hour for our pick-up, because it had not been prepared.” For those looking to bask in some winter sun, Club Med Dream Deals are offering exotic getaways to Phuket, Bali and Cancun.

Ski enthusiasts can bag a 15% discount on holidays in Grand Massif and Serre-Chevalier in France, as well as Italy’s Piedmont region. Club Med is also dishing out hefty discounts for summer 2026 holidays, including lavish breaks at its brand-new South African resort.

Set to open its doors on 4 July 2026, the resort offers a beachside retreat coupled with a safari adventure, featuring Club Med’s first-ever surf school. Situated in KwaZulu-Natal, five minutes from Durban.

The resort provides direct beach access and the opportunity to extend your stay with a one to three-night safari experience at Mpilo Lodge. Here, guests can embark on two daily game drives and spot the Big Five in their natural surroundings.

A hit with UK families, the revamped Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic now offers even more. Perfect for summer holidays, it now boasts Club Med’s largest water park with over 20 slides and splash zones, plus a luxurious spa.

Holidaymakers also have the option to upgrade to a premium all-inclusive experience, which includes gourmet dining, drinks, sports and activities. Kids Clubs for children aged four and above are included, although there is an additional cost for under-fours.

The Club Med property in Punta Cana boasts an impressive 4.4-star rating on TripAdvisor. One guest remarked: “It was way better than my expectations. Definitely recommend this resort to every family with kids. I took golf and tennis lessons there with my wife, and the instructor knew what they’re doing.”

One holidaymaker shared their glowing review: “I had an amazing experience during my stay at Club Med Punta Cana. The resort itself is beautiful – the beach, the activities, and the atmosphere make it a perfect spot to relax and enjoy. The staff truly go above and beyond to make you feel welcome.”

However, not every piece of feedback was completely glowing. A visitor highlighted some disadvantages: “There is a ton of seaweed on the beach these days, which is a bummer, and the music is a bit too loud for my taste, but I am told this will change once the renovations are completed this Fall. However, overall, the value of what is included (everything) and the quality of service can not be beat.”

Autumn is consistently a favoured time of year for planning ahead. Should Club Med getaways not quite fit the bill, Jet2 is providing up to £240 off summer holidays for 2026, featuring premium resorts as part of the Indulgent Escapes collection and complimentary child places.

For travellers watching their pennies, On The Beach has recently launched its 2026 summer holiday offers. There are numerous bargains to be discovered, but a seven-night break in Spain departing from Manchester in June starts from £240 per person.

Club Med is offering a pre-registration for Summer 2026 bookings until 10 October 2025 via their pre-booking page. The main sales period will run from 14 to 17 October, with offers available on the Summer Holiday Deals page.

The population of Am Dafock, situated on the border between  Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), have been forced to abandon their homes and take refuge in the camp of the United Nations Multidimensional Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) following an attack early this morning of Monday, Sept. 22, by unidentified assailants from Sudan.

This attack is suspected to be a reprisal, happening three days after the killing of four Sudanese Arabs by Russian mercenaries on Sept. 16, in Am Dafock, and marks an escalation of violence on the border between Sudan and CAR. The attack happened in a village seven kilometres from Am Dafock on the  CAR side of the border. The Sudanese conflict has been spilling into the country for some time now. 

“Today’s attack was concentrated in the Bilibili zone, where clashes took place between youths and yet to be identified assailants. Several victims were recorded, but the casualty figure remains unknown due to the confusion that currently reigns in the area,” an anonymous military source told HumAngle. 

Zachir Eric Takiya, former president of the youth prefectural council in Vakaga, has confirmed the ‘attack by Sudanese aggressors’, adding that it resulted in deaths and injuries within the local population, but no exact numbers of casualties were confirmed.

“Faced with this new wave of violence, the population of Am Dafock have massively fled from their homes in search of places of refuge, with most of them going to the MINUSCA base in the town. This collective escape is proof of the terror that has seized the inhabitants who are now convinced that their security can no longer be ensured by their national army,” opined an anonymous civil society activist. 

“The behaviour of the national army, popularly known by the acronym FACA, deployed in the zone has been contributing to the confusion, visiting the local population. The behaviour of the FACA forces is proof of the fact that they are incapable of facing the attackers,” the activist added. 

Am Dafock is currently in a state of total paralysis. This situation is proof of the collapse of state authority in this strategic border region.

This new escalation in violence confirms the analysis by Zachir Eric Takiya, who had alerted the authorities to the porous situation of the CAR border with Sudan during the national dialogue in 2022. According to him, the border resembles “two passageways which enable Sudanese and Chadians to enter and go as they like in the Central African Republic territory. These foreign populations, most times, know the terrain more than the Central African Republic natives themselves.” 

“The contrast between the reality lived by the populations and the official version of events is becoming more and more difficult to decipher,” declared another anonymous civil society activist.

The Am Dafock crisis demonstrates the total failure of the security strategy based on the use of Russian mercenaries. Their initial attack against innocent herders has sparked off a cycle of reprisals which have spiralled out of control. 

Ogbene, who has since made the switch to fellow Championship side Sheffield United, said he spent “a lot of hours getting to know my body” and “watching clips” to help him return physically and tactically sharper for pre-season this summer.

“Watching a lot of football for nine months, you learn a lot more. When you’re immersed in it it is 100 miles an hour and the stuff the manager says you don’t really understand but when you’re out of it and watching from the side it’s a really good education,” he explained.

“I spoke to John Egan and Gavin Bazunu, who had previous Achilles [injuries]. I spoke to them about their journeys so I made sure I put those things in my rehab early, and I had a very smooth and successful rehab.

“I’m so glad it has paid off I had a wonderful pre-season and my body has felt as fit and strong as it has ever been so I am excited.”

Ogbene will be hoping to add to his 24 caps for the Republic of Ireland in this international window as they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign.

They host Hungary on Saturday in Dublin before travelling to face Armenia on Tuesday and Ogbene is targeting two wins to help them get their Group F campaign off to a flying start.

“I hope everyone goes in with the mentality that we want to get six points. That’s how the manager sees it and that’s how I see it. I want us to get six, minimum four but I don’t want to sit here and say I want four points,” Ogbene added.

“I think we can beat Hungary if we do the right things and we can beat Armenia. The way the guys are training, we want six points.

“I’m very happy with what I saw [in training] and I have a really good feeling about this camp.”

The firing of a top United States statistics official by President Donald Trump last week has drawn concerns from economists and policymakers regarding the credibility of data in the world’s biggest economy.

Trump’s dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the release of disappointing employment figures on Friday has raised fears over the integrity of Washington’s economic data, which are relied on by countless businesses and investors in the US and across the world.

The National Association for Business Economics warned that McEntarfer’s “baseless” ouster risked doing “lasting harm to the institutions that support American economic stability”.

“It could open the door to political meddling and certainly will undermine trust in federal statistics that businesses, policymakers and individuals use to make some of their most important decisions,” Erica Groshen, who led the Bureau of Labor Statistics under former President Barack Obama, told Al Jazeera.

If Trump’s dismissal of McEntarfer and other presidential appointees is allowed to stand, Groshen said, he could make a habit of firing any head of a statistical agency or other body that delivers “unwelcome news”.

“Then he is likely to replace them with appointees who prioritise serving his goals over serving the mission of their agencies, ethical standards or scientific integrity,” Groshen said.

Trump, who justified McEntarfer’s removal by claiming without evidence that the latest job figures were “rigged” to make him look bad, said on Sunday that he would announce a new Bureau of Labor Statistics head in three or four days.

‘Global ramifications’

A collapse in trust in official economic data about the US would have ramifications worldwide.

Despite the growing influence of emerging economies such as China and India, the US remains the world’s largest economy by some distance.

The US gross domestic product (GDP) at about $30.3 trillion accounts for more than one-quarter of the global economy. China’s estimated GDP is about two-thirds that amount.

US government data on trade, employment, consumer spending and GDP are considered important signals for the direction of the global economy and are closely followed by businesses and investors from London to Dubai and Tokyo.

Many countries, including democratic states, have faced accusations of fiddling with economic statistics for political reasons, often with serious reputational consequences.

In 2010, the European Commission published a withering report accusing Greece of deliberately falsifying data to conceal the poor state of its public finances.

In 2013, the International Monetary Fund officially censured Argentina for providing what it said was inaccurate data on inflation and economic growth.

‘Economic data manipulation’

Some research suggests that countries run by strong-arm leaders are especially prone to misrepresenting the state of their economies.

A 2024 study published in the European Journal of Political Economy found that economic openness and democracy decreased the likelihood of governments manipulating statistics although there were no observable positive effects from media freedom or the independence of the statistical office.

In a 2022 paper that used satellite imagery of nighttime light as a proxy for economic development, Luis Martinez, a professor at the University of Chicago, estimated that autocratic countries artificially inflated their annual GDP growth by about 35 percent.

“Economic data manipulation is pervasive in history, especially in autocracies and dictatorships to create narratives for the people – typically to embellish standards of living,” Tomasz Michalski, an associate professor of economics at the HEC Paris business school, told Al Jazeera.

“What is rarer, though, is to find such deliberate behaviour in countries that strive to be democracies or are more developed.”

After Trump’s firing of McEntarfer, a career economist who was appointed in 2024 with overwhelming bipartisan support, critics were quick to note parallels to tactics attributed to strongman leaders seeking to bolster public approval for their policies.

“It’s one more step on our rapid descent into banana republic status,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Substack, a subscription-based newsletter platform.

Lawrence Summers, who served as US Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, described the firing as the “stuff of democracies giving way to authoritarianism”.

Scott Sumner, a professor of economics at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said Trump’s move made the US “look more like a banana republic” although it remained to be seen whether he would seek to directly manipulate the government’s economic figures.

“It’s actually hard to fool the public, and almost no one was fooled by the Argentina manipulation,” Sumner told Al Jazeera.

“It’s too soon to say whether Trump will try to do the same. Any attempt to do so would likely fail.”

‘The quality of US economic statistics’

The quality of US economic data has been a growing concern for some time due in part to the Trump administration’s freeze on hiring federal employees and staff cuts at numerous agencies.

In March, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dissolved two expert committees that advised the government on its economic statistics, prompting concern among some economists.

In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that it had stopped collecting price-related data in three US cities – Buffalo, New York; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Provo, Utah – due to limitations in “current resources”.

But even before Trump’s return to the White House in January, declining response rates to surveys among the public in recent years had made the collection of data increasingly difficult, raising concerns about accuracy.

In a poll published by the Reuters news agency last month, 89 of 100 policy experts surveyed said they had at least some concerns about the quality of US economic statistics.

“Some data is just unreliable because people stopped responding to surveys or the responses became so biased given the nonhomogeneous response rates,” said Michalski, the HEC Paris associate professor.

“There are no easy remedies often for improving data collection given that many people are not using landlines, are unreachable or provide careless answers to investigators,” he said.

Even with sound methodology, data are always at risk of manipulation once politicians get involved, Michalski added.

“Even with correct numbers, it is possible to spin a story about inflation or GDP growth by changing the base years or selecting some specific periods to weave narratives,” he said.

“The incentives to manipulate and falsify are clearly there. There is little or no punishment.”

Groshen said that while she does not expect US economic data to stop being reliable in the immediate future, “we seem headed in that direction.”

“For now, the BLS will continue to operate as it has before,” she said.

“We will need to start worrying if and when the president’s people are embedded there.”

Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom have been sentenced for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court has convicted two leaders of a predominantly Christian rebel group in the Central African Republic for multiple war crimes committed against Muslim civilians during the country’s civil war in 2013 and 2014, sentencing each to more than a decade in prison.

The former president of the CAR Football Federation, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, along with Alfred Yekatom, a rebel leader known as “Rambo,” were found guilty on Thursday of their involvement in atrocities including murder, torture and attacking civilians.

The court sentenced Yekatom to 15 years for 20 war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ngaissona received 12 years for 28 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The charges stem from their roles as senior leaders in a militia known as the anti-Balaka, which was formed in 2013 after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels stormed the capital Bangui in March of that year and toppled then-President Francois Bozize, a Christian.

The violence that ensued left thousands of civilians dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. Mosques, shops and homes were looted and destroyed.

The ICC’s presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt read harrowing details in The Hague of the violence committed by the militia against suspected Seleka Muslims.

Yekatom’s men tortured one suspect by cutting off his fingers, toes, and one ear. This man’s body was never found. Others were killed and then mutilated.

Appearing in court dressed in a light brown suit and waistcoat, white shirt, and dark tie, Yekatom listened impassively as the judge read out the verdict.

Dressed in a bright blue jacket, Ngaissona nodded to the judge as his sentence was delivered.

The court found Yekatom not guilty of conscripting child soldiers and acquitted Ngaissona of the charge of rape.

Both men had pleaded not guilty to all charges laid out in the trial, which opened in 2021. It is the first case at the ICC, which began in May 2014, to focus on the violence that erupted after the Seleka seized power in the CAR in 2013.

Yekatom was extradited to The Hague in late 2018, after being arrested in the CAR for firing his gun in parliament. Ngaissona was arrested in France in December 2018 and extradited to The Hague.

The trial of an alleged Seleka commander, Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, is ongoing.

Last year, judges at the ICC unsealed another arrest warrant in the investigation. According to prosecutors, Edmond Beina commanded a group of about 100-400 anti-balaka fighters responsible for murdering Muslims in early 2014.

Separate proceedings against Beina and five others at a specially-created court are slated to begin in the CAR on Friday.

The CAR is among the poorest nations in the world and has endured a succession of civil wars and authoritarian governments since gaining independence from France in 1960.

Violence has subsided in recent years, but fighting occasionally erupts in remote regions between rebels and the national army, which is backed by Russian mercenaries and Rwandan troops.

Dominican authority says 17 other refugees and migrants rescued from the boat heading for Puerto Rico, a US territory.

Four refugees and migrants have died and about 20 were missing after their boat capsized off the coast of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, authorities said, as Haitians and Dominicans continue to take life-threatening risks to make the crossing to what they hope is a better life.

The Dominican civil defence authority was quoted by AFP news agency as saying on Friday that 17 other people were rescued from the boat, which was carrying about 40 people and headed for Puerto Rico, a United States territory.

The Caribbean nation’s navy said it had rescued 10 Dominicans and seven Haitians. A child was among the survivors.

So-called “yola” migrant boats, such as the one that ran into trouble, are constructed from wood or fibreglass and do not comply with safety regulations, according to authorities.

Refugees and migrants pay as much as $7,000 for a one-way trip to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with crisis-torn Haiti.

Illegal migration from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico has been a growing phenomenon in the last decade.

In 2022, at least five people drowned and another 66 were rescued in an incident involving a suspected human smuggling boat near the uninhabited island of Mona, west of Puerto Rico.

Mona Island, a nature reserve, is located between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and has, over the years, been used by smugglers carrying people between the two. Those on that route are typically Dominican or Haitian.

July 4 (UPI) — A major power outage on Friday struck the Czech Republic, including the capital Prague, which disrupted public transportation and hospitals.

Also affected were regions of Ústi, Liberec and Hradec Králove, Euro News reported, citing CEPS power grid operator and domestic media.

Czech Republic has a population of 10 million and borders Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland, which didn’t report outages. Weather was nice Friday with highs in the mid-70s, contrasting with highs in the mid-80s earlier in the week.

In late April, a power grid failure led to the blackout of the entire Iberian Peninsula in Spain and Portugal.

The Czech blackout, shortly after noon, was triggered by the failure phase conductor on line V411, cutting power to eight major substations. Five were restored by the afternoon.

“It was an issue in the upper-level transmission grid,” Karel Hanzelka, spokesperson for Prague’s power provider PRE, told Czech Radio. “To put it simply, electricity stopped flowing into Prague from the outside.”

The cause of the outage remains under investigation.

There was no evidence of a cyberattack, National Cyber and Information Security Agency and counterterrorism unit confirmed.

In Prague, trams and metro lines stopped, traffic lights were inoperable and people were trapped in elevators.

Metro lines A, B, and C were temporarily out of service, Prague Morning reported.

In a reflection of how service outages varied, most trams on the right bank of the Vltava River in Prague were halted but those on the left bank weren’t affected.

Firefighters evacuated three trains on the Prague Kolin section.

“This is a serious and disruptive situation. Everyone is working intensively to restore power,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a video post on X.

He later activated the Central Crisis Staff.

“This isn’t something that can be fixed in minutes,” Industry Minister Luka Vlceksaid. “It will take hours. The outage has affected a significant portion of the country.”

Fire brigades were swamped with calls.

“The power outage is generating a high number of incidents — rescues from elevators, reported fires caused by diesel backup generators starting up,” Miroslav Rezac, a spokesman for Prague’s firefighters, said.

By 2 p.m., firefighters had responded to 215 elevator rescues nationwide.

In Kutna Hora, the entire hospital ran on a backup generator with an eight-hour fuel reserve. “We’re looking for a gas station to refill,” a hospital receptionist told Prague Radio.

Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague was not hit by the power outage, according to Czech media.

The N’Djamena peace accord, signed on April 19, 2025, between the government of the Central African Republic, the rebels from the Return, Rehabilitation, and Reclamation (3R) and the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC), continues to face challenges due to repeated violations by parties involved.

The agreement aims to help reintegrate rebels into civilian life and to disband their movements, as outlined in the 2019 peace accord. However, the recent resurgence of violence in Nzakoundou caught the authorities off guard, highlighting their lack of preparedness for the disarmament process. 

On Saturday, June 28, heavily armed 3R rebels emerged in large numbers from the bush in Nzakoundou, Yeme council. Their overwhelming presence overshadowed the Central African Republic National Army (FACA) soldiers. Outnumbered, FACA soldiers had no choice but to retreat from Nzakoundou, fleeing to the bushes 15 kilometres away along the Paoua highway, leaving the village under the control of the 3R rebels. This retreat has instilled panic among the villagers, who are concerned that tensions may escalate if the rebels’ basic needs are unmet.

Meanwhile, in the Ouaka region, UPC rebels have initiated the disarmament process in Bokolobo, Maloum, Mbomou, and Nzacko. Motivated by promises of reintegration into the national army, UPC combatants voluntarily laid down their arms. However, their primary challenge is the lack of food and other essential supplies.

The situation is different in Yaloke, situated 225 kilometres from Bangui, the republic’s capital, where disarmed former Anti-Balaka militia led by General Jeudi have been complaining of the absence of food rations and access to water, a recurrent problem in the several sites earmarked for disarmament. At Moyo, the situation is particularly disquieting because the rebels who are still armed have been terrorising the population and taking whatever they need by force.

The Central African Republic is facing significant challenges with its disarmament and reintegration programme, which has been ongoing since 2017. According to President Touadera, this programme has successfully disarmed 5,000 combatants and dissolved nine armed groups. However, Moyo’s lack of cantonment zones and the necessary resources to support disarmed combatants hinders progress. 

This issue is further compounded by the ineffectiveness of the FACA soldiers, who cannot secure areas like Nzakoundou. The residents there are living in constant fear of violence, especially since 2023, when the 3R rebels set fire to multiple homes and killed civilians, prompting the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) to send troops to the village and its surrounding areas.

The departure of FACA soldiers has created a significant dilemma: If the rebels choose to lay down their arms, the state is expected to take responsibility for them. However, without access to food or opportunities for reintegration, these former combatants may resort to acts of banditry to survive, including nighttime robberies targeting local populations. This troubling trend is already evident in areas like Dawala, Thicka, and Sataigne and has the potential to escalate into a new source of violence. Such developments could undermine the progress achieved through the N’Djamena peace accord.

Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson bemoaned his side’s “sloppy” and “boring” performance in their 0-0 friendly draw with Luxembourg.

Despite twice hitting the woodwork, it was a laboured performance from the Boys in Green, who lacked the intensity that was evident against Senegal in Dublin on Friday.

Hallgrimsson was disappointed with their showing against a side ranked 31 places below them by Fifa in their last game before the start of World Cup qualifying in September.

“Let’s be honest, we’re not happy with this performance,” the Icelander told RTE.

“It is good to keep a clean sheet, it’s the first one since I have come in, but we all felt the first half we were sloppy and the game was boring.

“All the good things we did against Senegal were missing, all the quick movements, the press and the ball speed. The effort was so much less than against Senegal.”

The Dominican Republic has deported nearly 150,000 people it claims are of Haitian descent since October 2024. Many of them are unaccompanied minors or people born in the Dominican Republic but stripped of citizenship in 2013. While officials say they are enforcing immigration laws, a recent Al Jazeera documentary points to a deeper history of anti-Blackness and anti-Haitian sentiment on the island.

May 30 (UPI) — More than 200,000 undocumented migrants have left the Dominican Republic this year, including at least 145,000 Haitians deported by immigration authorities.

The figure marks a 70% increase from the same period last year and is part of a plan by President Luis Abinader and the National Security and Defense Council to reduce the number of undocumented migrants in the country.

The Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Migration has stepped up immigration operations and deportations of Haitians since October 2024, when a new immigration law took effect.

International organizations have raised concerns about the impact deportations have had on the Haitian community in the Dominican Republic. Many people now live in fear of being detained and expelled, which has limited their access to basic services such as healthcare and education.

The Caribbean nation has barred entry to pregnant Haitian women in their third trimester, saying its healthcare system cannot cover the cost of childbirth for undocumented foreigners.

The United Nations condemned the deportation of 900 pregnant or breastfeeding Haitian women from the Dominican Republic in recent months.

U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the International Organization for Migration provided assistance at the border to an average of 30 such women each month during their deportation, calling the practice a violation of international standards.

Dujarric added that nearly 20,000 Haitians were repatriated from the Dominican Republic between April and May 2025, the highest number on record for that time period.

The Dominican Republic has tightened its immigration policy by partially closing its border with Haiti and building a 160-kilometer border wall equipped with sensors, cameras and watchtowers. The government said the measures aim to curb irregular migration, smuggling and insecurity.

The DGM defended the immigration operations, saying they comply with human rights standards.

“Our actions are carried out with strict respect for the fundamental rights of those involved, ensuring dignified treatment, proper safety and hygiene conditions, and due process in accordance with national and international human rights standards,” the agency said in a press release.

Haiti is facing one of the worst crises in its recent history, marked by widespread violence from armed gangs that control more than 80% of Port-au-Prince. These groups have carried out attacks on public institutions, mass killings, and prison breaks, displacing more than 1 million people and leaving the transitional government, led by the Presidential Transitional Council under Fritz Alphonse Jean, in collapse.

The insecurity has overwhelmed Haiti’s health system, forcing hospital closures, driving medical professionals to flee the country, and triggering outbreaks of diseases such as cholera. The crisis is compounded by severe food insecurity, with more than 5 million people struggling to access adequate food and thousands living in famine conditions.

May 28 (UPI) — The Czech Republic accused China on Wednesday of being responsible for a “malicious cyber campaign” that targeted an unclassified network of the foreign ministry.

Little information about the cyberattack was made public, the Czech government said it began in 2022, affected an institution designated as Czech critical infrastructure and that it was perpetrated by well-known China-backed hackers APT31.

“The Government of the Czech Republic strongly condemns this malicious cyber campaign against its critical infrastructure,” the Czech foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

“Such behavior undermines the credibility of the People’s Republic of China and contradicts its public declarations.”

APT31, which stands for Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31, is a collection of China state-sponsored intelligence officers, contract hackers and support staff that conduct cyberattacks on behalf of the Chinese government.

Seven Chinese nationals were charged in the United States in late March for their involvement in APT31, which federal prosecutors said has targeted U.S. and foreign critics of the Chinese government, business, and political officials over the last 14 years.

The Czech government said Wednesday it tied APT31 to the cyberattack through an “extensive investigation,” which “led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor.”

“The Government of the Czech Republic has identified the People’s Republic of China as being responsible,” it said.

NATO and the European Union — both of which Czech is a member of — were quick to condemn China following Prague’s revelation.

“We stand in solidarity with the Czech Republic following the malicious cyber campaign against its Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the security alliance said in a statement.

NATO did not blame China but acknowledged the Czechs’ accusation of Beijing for the attack and said that it has observed “with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People’s Republic of China.”

Similarly, the EU did not directly point the finger at China for the attack on the Czech Republic, but said there have been cyberattacks linked to Beijing targeting EU and its member stats.

“In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territories. Since then, several Member States have attributed similar activities at their national level,” the EU’s high representative, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement.

“We have repeatedly raised our concerns during bilateral engagements and we will continue to do so in the future.”

Despite the recent peace accord signed by the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and two rebel groups, the warring parties have continued attacking each other, with unarmed civilians at the receiving end.

The latest clashes occurred on May 15, 2025, between the CAR soldiers and dozens of rebels around the Mambere prefecture of the country. Events leading to the clashes remain unknown, but local media reports reveal that a soldier was injured during the fighting.

The incident came 24 hours after another attack in the town of Ouadda, situated 204 kilometres from Bria in the Haute-Kotto prefecture. There, the armed group, Rassemblement de la Nation Centrafricaine (PRNC), carried out an offensive which resulted in the death of five soldiers and two civilians.

The CAR authorities have not made any declaration concerning the incidents, and the exact circumstances of the clashes and the details of the armed groups involved remain unclear.

The country has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since 2013, when the Séléka, a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition, seized power and ousted President François Bozizé. This marked the beginning of a devastating conflict that has ravaged the country, causing widespread displacement, hunger, and human rights abuses.

Historical grievances played a significant role in the conflict’s escalation. The Séléka rebels accused the government of failing to abide by previous peace agreements, which led to their takeover. Religious and ethnic tensions between the mostly Muslim Séléka rebels and the predominantly Christian Anti-balaka militias have fueled the conflict. 

Over 737,000 Central Africans are registered as refugees, and 632,000 are internally displaced. Half of the population lacks access to sufficient food, and the country ranks worst on the Global Hunger Index. The healthcare system is barely functioning, with a shortage of skilled health workers and medical supplies. The ongoing conflict has had a profound impact on the country’s development and its people. The situation remains complex, with multiple factors contributing to the crisis.