A series of strong earthquakes struck multiple regions across the globe within 12 hours, with the strongest a magnitude 6.5 earthquake off the coast of the southern Philippines.

The USGS recorded 11 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher during the period, affecting countries across Asia, Oceania, Central America and the Caribbean. The events ranged from magnitude 4.6 to 6.5, highlighting the concentration of seismic activity along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates frequently interact.

The largest event was a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck 34 kilometres west-southwest of Sarangani, Philippines , at a depth of 42 kilometres.

The quake occurred in a region that is among the world's most seismically active due to the interaction of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The USGS assigned the event a Green PAGER alert, indicating that widespread fatalities or major economic losses were unlikely.

The tremor came less than three weeks after a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Mindanao on June 8, underscoring the region's continued seismic activity.

Japan recorded two earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5 during the same period.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Yokoshiba at a depth of 43 kilometres, followed later by a magnitude 5.7 event near Oshino at 50.9 kilometres depth, according to the USGS.

Japan sits atop the convergence of four major tectonic plates and experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, making it one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

Elsewhere, the USGS recorded:

Most of these earthquakes occurred along active plate boundaries, particularly around the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped belt that accounts for roughly 90% of the world's earthquakes and about 75% of active volcanoes, according to the USGS.

Why earthquakes cluster along the Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire stretches around the Pacific Ocean through the Americas, East Asia and Oceania. Continuous movement of tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes as plates collide, separate or slide past one another.

Countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand routinely experience significant seismic activity because they lie directly on these plate boundaries.

Virginia remains the birthplace of more U.S. presidents than any other state, producing eight commanders-in-chief, according to historical records from the National Archives, the White House Historical Association, and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The state's unmatched contribution includes four of the nation's first five presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, earning Virginia the nickname "Mother of Presidents." Also born in Virginia were William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.

Virginia's prominence reflects its central role in the nation's founding. During the colonial period, it was the largest and most influential British colony in North America, producing many of the leaders who shaped the American Revolution and drafted the U.S. Constitution.

Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe each served during the republic's formative decades, helping establish the presidency, expand the nation's territory through the Louisiana Purchase, and define key constitutional principles.

Historians note that Virginia's political influence gradually declined after the early 19th century as population and economic power shifted westward.

Ohio ranks second with seven presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding.

Ohio's rise reflected the country's westward expansion during the 19th century. By the late 1800s, it had become one of America's largest states by population and an industrial powerhouse, making it a crucial battleground in national politics .

The state's influence earned it the nickname "Mother of Presidents" during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it produced five presidents within just 28 years.

New York has produced five presidents: Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Donald Trump.

Massachusetts follows with four: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush, who was born in Milton before later establishing his political career in Texas.

Four other states have produced two presidents each: North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Vermont.

While birthplace is a notable historical distinction, historians emphasise that many presidents built their political careers elsewhere. Abraham Lincoln, for example, was born in Kentucky but became politically identified with Illinois, while Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois and rose to national prominence in California .

England generated more transfer revenue than any other football association between 2014 and 2023, earning €13.8 billion from player transfers, according to the latest CIES Football Observatory report, highlighting the Premier League's central role in the global transfer market.

The CIES Football Observatory's analysis of international transfer activity shows England comfortably leading the rankings ahead of Italy (€9.8 billion), France (€8.0 billion), Spain (€7.7 billion) and Germany (€7.0 billion).

The figures cover transfer revenues earned by clubs affiliated with each national football association over the ten years, reflecting both domestic and international player trading.

Although England recorded the highest overall transfer revenue, only 36.6% of its earnings came from international transfers, the lowest proportion among the top ten associations.

The data reflects the Premier League's enormous domestic transfer market, where clubs frequently buy and sell players within England for substantial fees. Financial regulations, broadcasting income and commercial revenues have enabled English clubs to spend more than their European counterparts, creating a highly active internal market.

According to Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance , Premier League clubs consistently generate the highest revenues of any football league worldwide, supporting record-breaking transfer activity.

By contrast, several football associations depend far more on exporting players abroad.

Portugal recorded €3.9 billion in transfer revenue, with 91.3% generated from international transfers, the highest share among the top ten. Portuguese clubs have long developed young talent before selling players to wealthier European leagues, particularly England, Spain, France and Germany.

The Netherlands (90.0%), Belgium (86.7%), Brazil (85.8%), and Argentina (82.6%) also earned the vast majority of their transfer income through overseas deals.

France generated €8.0 billion, with 73.4% coming from international transfers, reflecting Ligue 1's reputation as one of Europe's leading talent-producing leagues. French academies continue supplying players to elite clubs across Europe, particularly the Premier League.

Outside Europe, Brazil (€2.9 billion) ranked seventh, while Argentina (€1.8 billion) completed the top ten. Both South American nations remain among the world's most important exporters of football talent despite comparatively smaller domestic broadcasting revenues.

The imbalance is evident in the rapidly growing Agritech sector, where women-led companies receive a fraction of the available investment compared to their male-led counterparts. While agriculture remains one of Africa’s most important economic sectors, women entrepreneurs working in farming and technology often struggle with limited access to capital, networks and visibility.

But behind the funding gap are stories of women quietly reshaping the continent’s food systems through innovations such as artificial intelligence tools that advise farmers, creating digital platforms that connect livestock owners to veterinary services, developing climate-smart farming businesses and using technology to address food insecurity and climate change.

Here are some of the women changing the future of African agriculture.

Priscillah Wakarera, CEO of Rhea Soil (Kenya)

In Kenya, soil scientist Priscillah Wakarera is addressing poor soil health, a challenge that has quietly undermined agricultural productivity for decades.

As founder and CEO of Rhea Soil, Wakarera developed technology that combines IoT sensors, machine learning and local agricultural knowledge to make soil testing faster, cheaper and accessible to farmers.

She was inspired after seeing how traditional soil testing methods discouraged farmers.

“We collected over 100 soil samples, expecting results in two weeks. It took three months. Farmers found it so tedious that they didn’t want to do it again. That’s when I knew there had to be a better way,” she explained in an interview .

Her portable soil-testing devices can reduce analysis time from weeks to minutes, allowing farmers to receive immediate recommendations while working on their farms.

The company has expanded across Kenya, reaching thousands of farmers through agronomist networks and has also tested its solutions in Tanzania and Rwanda.

Wakarera has also created an AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot that acts as a virtual agronomist, providing farmers with agricultural advice in multiple languages.

“Farmers can just send a simple ‘hi’ to get started,” she said, explaining that the chatbot can support farmers with crop advice, pest identification and nutrient recommendations.

Her innovation has moved artificial intelligence from laboratories to become a practical tool in the hands of rural farmers.

Dorcas Lukwesa, Founder of Mobile Aquaponics (Zambia)

Dorcas Lukwesa is the founder of Mobile Aquaponics, a social venture dedicated to providing a resilient response to climate change through an innovative farming technique called aquaponics. 

Aquaponics is the cultivation of fish and vegetables in a constructed, recirculating ecosystem which utilizes naturally occurring bacterial cycles to convert fish waste to plant nutrients. 

This system uses 90% less water than traditional farming. It is 70% more productive, does not require soil, does not have weeds, has fewer pests and can be built at any scale, anywhere in the world.

“I’ve experienced first-hand the impact of climate change, causing unpredictable weather, not having enough food to sustain us when droughts or flooding destroyed our crops,” she said in an interview and advised farmers to look towards food sustainability.

“One thing I have learned that has really stuck with me: every action towards food security should always be accompanied by sustainability. We might be solving hunger today, but actually causing famine for tomorrow,” she said.

Martha Fanny Gaisie, CEO of Healthy Choice Agro Consult (Ghana)

The founder and CEO of Healthy Choice Agro Consult, Martha Fanny Gaisie, turned to mushroom farming after witnessing how climate change was affecting rural livelihoods.

For her, mushroom farming became a climate-smart alternative as her business uses waste sawdust from wood mills as compost, while the leftover mushroom substrate is transformed into organic fertiliser.

“Over recent years, the weather has become more unpredictable. The wells dry up after an extended drought. We also have bushfires that can burn someone’s whole farm. Mushrooms are a climate-smart crop because there is no need to cut down trees or burn crops. They grow in an enclosed area,” she told CAMFED in an interview .

Beyond production, she has used her business to create jobs, train women and support youth empowerment through her foundation.

Peninah Wanja, Founder of DigiCow (Kenya)

Peninah Wanja is an agricultural extension officer in Kenya who identified a problem with milk production and decided to solve it. 

Growing up in Kenya, she watched her mother struggle to get enough milk from the family cow despite investing time and effort into caring for it.

“Despite all her effort, the cow produced only two cups of milk a day. That experience stayed with me. When you look at the statistics, one extension officer serves close to 4,000 farmers. That means most farmers are left to figure things out on their own,” Wanja told Mercy Corps AgriFin.

That gap led her to create DigiCow Africa Limited, a digital platform helping dairy farmers improve productivity through data. The DigiCow app allows farmers to track milk production, breeding cycles, animal health and access veterinary services.

To overcome barriers, including low digital literacy, the company introduced voice-based advisory services and tools that allow animal health workers to collect farm data on behalf of farmers.

Today, DigiCow supports hundreds of thousands of farmers across Kenya, connecting them with extension officers, veterinarians and agricultural service providers.

“People didn’t think a woman could build a tech company that works with vets and farmers. But I knew if I built something that truly solved farmers’ problems, the results would speak louder than the bias,” she touched on perceptions about women in technology.

Forget Shareka, CEO of Chashi Foods (Zimbabwe) 

Forget Shareka is addressing post-harvest losses, a major challenge facing African agriculture.

Through Chashi Foods, she transforms surplus fruits and vegetables into dried products, helping farmers reduce waste and increase income.

“Many rural African communities end up losing a large portion of their hard-won harvests because of a lack of cold storage facilities and post-harvesting processing. When the produce perishes, it is not only to the detriment of farmers and families, but also to the environment because the crops emit methane as they decompose,” she told CAMFED.

Her company dries tomatoes, apples, bananas, pawpaw, pineapples, herbs and spices. For her, reducing food waste is both an economic and environmental mission.

Olivia Kipo, Founder of Kobaa Farms (Ghana)

Olivia Kipo founded Kobaa Farms to tackle food shortages caused by seasonal farming challenges in Ghana.

Kipo noticed that many farmers depended heavily on rainfall, leaving communities vulnerable during dry seasons. She decided to use irrigation systems and water conservation methods to produce vegetables throughout the year.

“Many of the farms in northern Ghana do not harvest produce outside the rainy season. This means vegetables become more expensive as they have to be transported from the south. It also means there are fewer job opportunities,” she said in an interview .

She supplies hotels, restaurants and households while creating opportunities for local employment.