Lagosians speak on LASTMA’s new powers

A fire and explosions at a substation in southern Iraq led to major power cuts in the country. It comes amid peak electricity demand in midsummer heat, with temperatures near 50 degrees Celsius in Baghdad.

Sub-Saharan Africa trails the world when it comes to access to electricity. It needs to fix more than its power supply issues to get the continent electrified.

Authorities started evacuating people from several Catalan villages as the forest fire spreads near the French border. Strong winds have fanned the flames while preventing water-bombing planes from taking off.

In May, Uganda enacted a new law against homosexuality. The new legislation now affects international funding to the country. InfoMigrants examines whether the law might cause more people to flee the country.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers took over the capital Kabul on August 15, 2021. A Taliban spokesperson denied the group was anti-woman in comments to DW, while the UN has accused it of gender apartheid.

Firefighters are working to keep open the only highway out of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, as wildfires approach. Canada currently has more than a thousand active fires.

Africa is in dire need of electricity — and hydro power is expected to play a crucial role in its delivery. The potential is huge, but every project bears challenges which must be overcome.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday his government was looking to change the law following reports British nurse Lucy Letby was refusing to leave her cell for sentencing. Letby was convicted on Friday (August 18) of murdering seven babies and trying to kill another six at the hospital where she worked in northwest England, making her one of the country's worst serial child killers.

The German government has approved a law of self-determination allowing people to change their gender and name more easily.

The controversial law cracks down on criticism and bans anonymous internet pathways. Activists fear that this will affect the LGBTQ minority.

A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.

The regional bloc CCAS, and the country's opposition coalition, have urged international partners to push for a rapid return to civilian rule. Also in this edition: In Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 48 protesters are reported to have been killed in the eastern city of Goma. And finally: In South Africa, the death toll rises to 76 after the devastating Johannesburg fire at an abandoned apartment block that housed dozens of homeless people and squatters.