Zimbabwe ferry disaster death toll rises to 46 as survivors describe capsizing horror
Zimbabwean police said August 13, 2026 that the death toll from a ferry that capsized on Lake Kariba on August 11 had risen to 46, with dozens still missing three days after the sinking. The vessel, rated to carry 90 people, was overloaded with 114 adult passengers, five crew and an unspecified number of children when it went down; 77 people were pulled from the water and brought to safety, according to the country's Civil Protection Unit. Survivors described a chaotic scramble as the overcrowded boat listed and sank, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the sinking a national disaster as rescue teams continue searching the lake for the missing.
Read more →Zimbabwe ferry disaster death toll rises to 46 as survivors describe capsizing horror
Zimbabwean police said August 13, 2026 that the death toll from a ferry that capsized on Lake Kariba on August 11 had risen to 46, with dozens still missing three days after the sinking. The vessel, rated to carry 90 people, was overloaded with 114 adult passengers, five crew and an unspecified number of children when it went down; 77 people were pulled from the water and brought to safety, according to the country's Civil Protection Unit. Survivors described a chaotic scramble as the overcrowded boat listed and sank, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the sinking a national disaster as rescue teams continue searching the lake for the missing.
Colombia earthquake death toll climbs to 281 as damage assessment widens
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said the death toll from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country's coffee-growing region on August 10, 2026 had climbed to 281 as of August 13, with 3,971 people injured and 379 still listed as missing. More than 12,000 homes were destroyed and over 74,000 more damaged, while upwards of 170 buildings collapsed, a pedestrian bridge came down, 20 road bridges were affected, more than 200 roads were damaged and five airports and 44 aqueducts were knocked out. The rising toll has strained President de la Espriella's government just months into office, as rescue crews keep digging through rubble in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo.
Read more →Colombia earthquake death toll climbs to 281 as damage assessment widens
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said the death toll from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country's coffee-growing region on August 10, 2026 had climbed to 281 as of August 13, with 3,971 people injured and 379 still listed as missing. More than 12,000 homes were destroyed and over 74,000 more damaged, while upwards of 170 buildings collapsed, a pedestrian bridge came down, 20 road bridges were affected, more than 200 roads were damaged and five airports and 44 aqueducts were knocked out. The rising toll has strained President de la Espriella's government just months into office, as rescue crews keep digging through rubble in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo.
Zambians vote in tight presidential election testing Hichilema's economic reforms
Zambians cast ballots on August 13, 2026 in a general election that tests whether President Hakainde Hichilema's economic gains since a pandemic-era debt crisis are enough to secure him a second term, with vote counting getting underway Thursday evening after polls closed. Hichilema was long seen as favored to win given the advantages of incumbency and a historically fractured opposition, and his party could return with dominant control of parliament after the main opposition failed to field candidates in nearly a third of legislative seats. But a newly reorganized opposition, led by challengers including Cornelius Mundubile and Sean Tembo, has turned the race into a closer contest than initially expected, with official results due in the coming days.
Read more →Zambians vote in tight presidential election testing Hichilema's economic reforms
Zambians cast ballots on August 13, 2026 in a general election that tests whether President Hakainde Hichilema's economic gains since a pandemic-era debt crisis are enough to secure him a second term, with vote counting getting underway Thursday evening after polls closed. Hichilema was long seen as favored to win given the advantages of incumbency and a historically fractured opposition, and his party could return with dominant control of parliament after the main opposition failed to field candidates in nearly a third of legislative seats. But a newly reorganized opposition, led by challengers including Cornelius Mundubile and Sean Tembo, has turned the race into a closer contest than initially expected, with official results due in the coming days.
Syrian court sentences Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity
A Damascus court sentenced former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on August 11, 2026 for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the country's 14-year conflict, the first such ruling since his regime's fall in December 2024. The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus handed the same sentence to seven other former security officials, including Assad's brother Maher and his cousin Atef Najib, who appeared in court in a prisoner's uniform inside a cage as the judge read the verdict. Assad and Maher fled to Russia after the government collapsed and have since received political asylum there, putting the death sentence largely beyond immediate enforcement but marking a landmark step in Syria's reckoning with a conflict that killed roughly half a million people.
Read more →Syrian court sentences Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity
A Damascus court sentenced former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on August 11, 2026 for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the country's 14-year conflict, the first such ruling since his regime's fall in December 2024. The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus handed the same sentence to seven other former security officials, including Assad's brother Maher and his cousin Atef Najib, who appeared in court in a prisoner's uniform inside a cage as the judge read the verdict. Assad and Maher fled to Russia after the government collapsed and have since received political asylum there, putting the death sentence largely beyond immediate enforcement but marking a landmark step in Syria's reckoning with a conflict that killed roughly half a million people.