International
JUST IN: Mozambique opposition leader returns from self-exile, declares self President Elect
Mozambique opposition leader Venancio Mondlane returned from self-exile on Thursday, defiantly claiming to have won a hotly contested October election, but security forces later used tear gas to disperse supporters who had gathered to greet him.
The disputed Oct. 9 poll, which Mondlane says was rigged, has sparked demonstrations over the past few months in which hundreds of protesters have been killed in the southern African nation of 35 million.
“My return does not result from any political agreement. My return is a unilateral decision to be in Mozambique,” he told reporters at Maputo airport upon his return.
“I’m here to prove that I didn’t leave Mozambique out of fear,” he said, ending a period of exile that began a few days after the vote, when Mondlane had said his life was in danger.
Mondlane’s return could further exacerbate protests which have continued sporadically since the electoral commission declared victory in mid-October for the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, extending its half-century in power.
The official winner of the presidential vote, Daniel Chapo, is to be sworn in next week, another potential flashpoint in Mozambique’s political crisis.
Chapo and Frelimo deny accusations of electoral fraud.Mondlane reiterated his view that he was the true winner of the election, despite officially only securing 20% of the vote.
“I, Venancio Mondlane, (am the) president elected by the Mozambicans,” he said at the terminal, holding a Bible.
Not by the Constitutional Council, not by the national commission of elections, but by the genuine will of the people”.
International
Death toll in Hong Kong fire rises to 44 with 279 still missing, authorities say
Hong Kong authorities say the fires in four of the buildings have been brought under control, but large plumes of smoke are still hanging over the residential estate.
Photo: AFP
At least 44 people have been killed so far in a major fire engulfing public housing apartments in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, with 279 people not accounted for.
Three construction company executives have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter connected to flammable materials, including mesh and plastic sheets, that may have allowed the fire to spread quickly.
More than 800 firefighters are tackling the blaze at Wang Fuk Court, which has been burning for over 18 hours.
The fire has been classified a level five blaze, the most serious level in Hong Kong.
A baby and an elderly woman were rescued during a late-night rescue, local media reports.
Hong Kong authorities say the fires in four of the buildings have been brought under control, but large plumes of smoke are still hanging over the residential estate.
I can smell it in the air. I can also see a number of small fires still burning in the apartment blocks.
Even more fire engines and an ambulance have arrived this morning to help with rescue efforts
BBC.
An Indian fighter jet has crashed while performing a display at an airshow in Dubai, officials have said.
Details later.
A Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death.
The verdict, delivered on Monday, November 17, 2025, follows a months-long trial that found Hasina guilty of ordering a lethal crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. She received a death sentence for the killing of several protesters and a life sentence on charges of crimes against humanity.
The ruling marks the most significant legal action against a former Bangladeshi leader in decades and comes ahead of parliamentary elections expected in early February 2026. There was cheering and clapping in the courtroom as the death sentence was pronounced. The verdict can be appealed in the Supreme Court, though Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, said they would not appeal unless a democratically elected government, including the Awami League, is in office.
Prosecutors told the court that evidence showed Hasina directly ordered security forces to use lethal force to suppress protests in July and August 2024. A United Nations report estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the demonstrations, with thousands more injured, making it the deadliest unrest in Bangladesh since its 1971 war of independence.
Hasina, represented by a state-appointed defense lawyer, denied the charges, calling the tribunal proceedings unfair and claiming a guilty verdict was “a foregone conclusion.”
Tensions in Bangladesh had escalated ahead of the verdict, with at least 30 crude bomb explosions and 26 vehicles torched in recent days, though no casualties were reported.
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