Hard Numbers: Biya says bye-bye to opposition leader’s hopes, Church attacked in DRC, Google admits earthquake alert failure, & More

France's President and Cameroon's President Paul Biya take part in a joint press conference at The Presidential Palace in Yaounde, Cameroon on July 26, 2022.
France's President and Cameroon's President Paul Biya take part in a joint press conference at The Presidential Palace in Yaounde, Cameroon on July 26, 2022.
Lemouton Stephane/Pool/ABACA via Reuters Connect

13: Cameroon’s electoral office Elecam accepted just 13 of the 83 candidates who applied to run for president in elections later this year. Among the omissions was prominent opposition leader Maurice Kamto. The 92-year-old incumbent president, Paul Biya, is running for an eighth seven-year term.

40: An Islamic State affiliate killed over 40 churchgoers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sunday, including at least nine children, amid rising violence in the region. The attack highlights the spread of jihadist extremism beyond Africa’s Sahel, and came on the same day that the DRC signed a peace agreement with Rwanda-backed rebels in its mineral-rich east.

10 million: Google admitted that it failed to sufficiently alert 10 million people who lived near the epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in February 2023. Only 469 people received a “Take Action” warning after the initial quake. Over 55,000 people died as a result of the disaster.

2: England women’s soccer team won their second straight European Championship on Sunday, defeating Spain in a penalty shootout after yet another comeback. This was England head coach Sarina Wiegman’s third consecutive triumph in the tournament: she won the 2017 tournament as coach of the Netherlands squad.

10 or 12? US President Donald Trump is losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he must agree a deal with Ukraine within the next “10 or 12 days,” shortening a deadline of 50 days he had made two weeks ago. Trump has threatened to impose crushing “secondary” tariffs on any countries that trade with Russia.

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U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after an announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is currently undergoing renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025.
REUTERS

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