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10 die as fire guts hostel in New Zealand

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No fewer than ten people have died as fire gutted a hostel in Wellington, New Zealand on Tuesday.

Some previous reports said the casualties were six while 11 people are still missing.

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Reuters said the blaze broke out on the top floor of Loafers Lodge in the Wellington neighbourhood of Newtown just after midnight.

READ ALSO: One Dead As EFCC Operatives Fight Over Items Recovered From Suspect

The police said the inferno has caused major structural damage that was hampering recovery efforts.

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“There is a significant amount of debris from the roof collapse but at this stage we have located six people,” Bruce Stubbs, the incident commander from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) told a news conference.

According to Reuters, the cause of the fire has not been known, but emergency services were treating the incident as suspicious.

“This is a once-in-a-decade fire for Wellington. It’s the worst nightmare for us,” FENZ Wellington District Commander Nick Pyatt said in a statement.

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READ ALSO: Another Chibok Girl Escapes From Boko Haram’s Den

“This is a tragic event for all involved. My heartfelt condolences go to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives.”

The hostel offered accommodation for people including construction workers, hospital staff and those serving sentences in the community for minor crimes.

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FBI Releases Video Of Charlie Kirk’s Shooter, Recovers Weapons Near Scene [WATCH]

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The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office on Friday released video footage of the man suspected of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk fleeing a rooftop after the incident on September 10, 2025.

The bureau, in a statement accompanied by the video link shared on X on Friday, noted that the video shows the shooter climbing onto a rooftop shortly before the attack and then jumping off and fleeing the scene after firing the fatal shots.

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Investigators also reportedly found the weapon and ammunition used in the shooting in a wooded area near the university.

The agency wrote, “The FBI has released a video and more photos of the shooter in the Utah Valley shooting. The subject is seen jumping from the rooftop of a building after the shooting.

READ ALSO:FBI Arrests Soldier Accused Of Selling US Army Intel To China

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“Around 12 pm Mountain Time on September 10, 2025, the subject climbed up to a rooftop; after he shot and killed Charlie Kirk, he jumped off and ran away. He left a gun and ammunition in a wooded area near the university.

“Trace evidence collected from the rooftop scene included shoe impressions, a forearm imprint, and a palm print. Anyone with information in this case should call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting.”

The bureau added that it is working closely with law enforcement partners to seek justice in the murder of Charlie Kirk.

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READ ALSO:FBI Cracks Down On Lagos Fraudster For Stealing ₦460m In Crypto Meant For Trump’s Inauguration

The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the FBI released initial images of a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Kirk.

The agency also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of those responsible for his death.

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Meanwhile, two people misidentified online as suspects in the fatal shooting of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk also told AFP Thursday they were terrified by the misinformation targeting them, as the manhunt for the real killer continued.

31-year-old Kirk, a major ally of President Donald Trump and the head of the largest conservative youth movement in the United States, was shot dead while attending an event at Utah Valley University.

 

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Watch the video below:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1966444113794109657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1966444113794109657%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-186661262228333818.ampproject.net%2F2508281901000%2Fframe.html

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Russia Threatens Poland Over Belarus Border Closure

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Russia, on Thursday, urged Poland to reopen its border with Belarus, Moscow’s close ally, calling the closure “destructive” and warning of consequences.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Tuesday the closure of the border with Belarus from 0000 on September 12 (2200 GMT on September 11), in response to the upcoming joint Russian-Belarusian war games.

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We urge Warsaw to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The border closure was to “justify a policy of further escalating tensions in the centre of Europe”, she added.

READ ALSO:UK PM Says Latest Russia Strikes On Ukraine Shows Putin ‘Not Serious About Peace’

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NATO’s eastern flank members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are on high alert due to the massive drills, which according to Tusk are designed to simulate occupation of the Suwalki corridor, a strategically important area in Poland.

Usually held every four years, the 2025 iteration of Zapad is the first during the conflict in Ukraine, and is due to run until September 16.

Belarus had said in January that 13,000 troops would be involved in the drills, but in May it said the number was to be reduced by around half.

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Zakharova said Warsaw had “demonstratively” ignored the “goodwill” gestures by Moscow and Minsk to move the exercise away from the Polish border and to reduce the number of military personnel participating.

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Men Can Take Wives’ Surnames —South Africa’s Top Court Rules

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South Africa’s top court ruled Thursday that men should be able to take their wives’ surnames and a law that prevented this amounted to unfair gender discrimination.

The Constitutional Court said the legal ban served no legitimate government purpose and was suspended, paving the way for parliament to enact amendments to the legislation.

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While men were deprived of the ability to take their wives’ surnames, the discrimination was “far more insidious” for women, the ruling said.

READ ALSO:2026 World Cup: All You Need To Know About South Africa Vs Nigeria Match

It “reinforces patriarchal gender norms, which prescribe how women may express their identity, and it makes this expression relational to their husband, as a governmental and cultural default,” it said.

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The case was brought to court by two couples, one of which wanted to honour the woman’s parents who died when she was young. In the other case, the woman wanted to keep her ties to her family surname as she was an only child.

Previously, men would have to apply to the home affairs department to change their surname, a request that was not automatically granted.

Provisions allowing men to assume their wives’ surname on marriage are already in place in other countries, mainly in Europe and in certain US states.

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