Rorisang Modiba delivers daily updates from around the world.
Canada – Drake’s mansion in Toronto, The Embassy, was flooded during heavy rainstorms. The artist shared videos on Instagram showing water rushing into his home, which is about the size of 18 tennis courts. “This better be Espresso Martini,” Drake joked in his video caption. The storm left 167,000 people without power. The mansion, designed by Drake and Ferris Rafauli, with its many luxury features, is meant to last 100 years.
US – Rising sea levels make Earth “fatter” at the equator by moving water from melting polar ice caps. This shift, caused by climate change, is slowing down Earth’s rotation, making days a few milliseconds longer. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains this change affects precise timekeeping and space navigation. Professor Duncan Agnew from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California, says the water movement changes Earth’s rotation like a skater’s spin changes with their arm positions. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) sometimes adds a leap second to match atomic time with Earth’s rotation, a change now more affected by climate change.
Kenya – Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, has confessed to murdering 42 women over the past two years, according to Kenyan police. Arrested in Kibera Soweto East, Nairobi, Khalusha admitted to luring, killing, and disposing of the bodies, of which only nine have been found. Police discovered the bodies wrapped in plastic and in various states of decay in an abandoned quarry used as a dump site. Khalusha led police to his rented house, where they found evidence, including a machete and plastic sacks. His arrest was helped by forensic analysis of a mobile phone linked to one of the victims. This case has led to calls for stronger action against gender-based violence in Kenya.
Canada – A wildfire in eastern Canada has burned over 24,000 acres of forest, forcing thousands to evacuate Labrador City and causing a local hospital to close. The fire spread rapidly on Friday due to changing weather, growing by 22,000 acres in just four hours. About 9,500 residents have been evacuated, with essential workers staying to manage the emergency. Now just three miles from Labrador City, the fire has led to evacuation orders for nearby areas, including Wabush. The Labrador West Health Centre will stay closed until it is safe to reopen.
Pictured above: Drake.
Source: Instagram
