At least 94 persons have died in Mozambique after Cyclone Chido wreaked havoc across the country.

A cyclone is a massive scale air mass characterised by inward spiralling winds accompanied with flooding.

The cyclone hit the country on December 15, with winds of 260 km/h (160mph) and 250mm of rainfall tearing across the country on the first 24 hours.

The storm was said to have struck the northern provinces that are usually affected by cyclones, after  ravaging the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, before progressing to Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

The Mozambique National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) said 768 people were injured and more than 622,000 people affected by the natural disaster in the eastern African country.

The INGC said the cyclone impacted the education and health sector, with over 109,793 students affected.

It noted that 52 sanitary units were damaged, posing risks of access to essential health services.

Daniel Chapo, leader of Mozambique’s ruling party, told local media the government is mobilising support on “all levels” in response to the cyclone.

Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said human activities have contributed to the rise in precipitation linked to tropical cyclones.

An Israeli strike on a building in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, has reportedly killed Mohammad Afif, spokesperson for the Hezbollah militant group.

Although Hezbollah is yet to speak on the development, Al-Jadeed, Lebanese broadcaster, reported that Afif was in the building when the attack happened.

The broadcaster aired footage of a building whose upper floors had collapsed onto the first storey, with civil defence workers at the scene.

Lebanese security sources also confirmed to Reuters that the Sunday attack killed the Hezbollah media relations head.

The Lebanese health ministry said one person died in the strike and three were injured.

The Israeli military has also not commented on Afif’s reported elimination. Still, if confirmed, he would be the latest senior Hezbollah figure to have been targeted amid Israel’s intensified focus on the group.

Afif was a long-time media advisor to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s former leader who was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27.

Afif managed Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station for several years before taking over the Iran-backed group’s media relations office.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire for over a year since the group began launching rockets at Israeli military targets after Hamas, its Palestinian ally, carried out a surprise attack on the Jewish nation.

In September, Israel dramatically escalated and expanded its military campaign in Lebanon, heavily bombing parts of the country including the southern suburbs of Beirut alongside ground incursions along the border.

The increased pressure on Hezbollah has raised concerns from world leaders about a wider prolonged war in the Middle East.

A United States man, Anthony Nephew, shot himself, his wife, ex-partner, and two children after the November 5 election that brought President-elect Donald Trump into office.

According to authorities who spoke to the New York Post on Sunday, the 46-year-old Minnesota father had expressed anger over Trump’s election.

The shooter, aged 46, had a “pattern of mental health issues,” Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said on Friday — one day after authorities found five people dead inside two homes in the city.

Authorities found Anthony Nephew’s ex-partner, Erin Abramson, 47, and their son, Jacob Nephew, 15, dead from apparent gunshot wounds inside their home on Thursday afternoon, police said.

After identifying Anthony Nephew as a suspect, police found his 45-year-old wife, Kathryn Nephew, and their 7-year-old son, Oliver Nephew, dead from gunshot wounds inside their family home nearby.

Before the tragedy, Anthony Nephew had been sharing left-wing and anti-Trump posts on his Facebook account.

“My mental health and the world can no longer peacefully coexist, and a lot of the reason is religion,” Anthony Nephew wrote in July.

“I am terrified of religious zealots inflicting their misguided beliefs on me and my family. I have intrusive thoughts of being burned at the stake as a witch or crucified on a burning cross.

“Having people actually believe that I or my child are Satan, or the anti-Christ, or whatever their favourite boogeyman they are afraid of this week.”

In another post, he accused Republicans of “making it harder for women to leave” abusive relationships.

“Gilead here we come,” he wrote, referencing The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel turned Hulu series in which women, stripped of their rights, are forced to reproduce for the ruling class.

Anthony Nephew also shared other political posts, including an image of former President Barack Obama, Trump, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris. The word “hate” was under Trump’s face, while the words “hope,” “heal,” and “grow” corresponded with the Democratic politicians.

“Not that anyone cares, but as an Independent voter, I would really like to see both the political parties in our country pick better candidates,” he wrote in July. “We can do better than a binary choice between fascism and not fascism.”

Anthony Nephew had previously issued a chilling warning about his struggles with mental health, writing in an op-ed for the Duluth News Tribune in 2021, “For millions of Americans, a breakdown leads to suicide — or homicide before suicide.”

“Mental health in this country is stigmatised, ignored, or treated as a burden for the individual to bear alone, with little help and even less understanding,” he wrote.

“Americans deny they have mental health struggles — because they have to, because they’re told to, or because they don’t realise their mind is broken.”

Police said there is no ongoing threat to the community.