People around the world have been celebrating the Day of the Dead, bringing light and colour to streets and cemeteries.

The holiday blends pre-Colombian rituals with the Roman Catholic observance of All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2.

The Day of the Dead, or El Dia de los Muertos, is not for mourning or grieving, but for celebrating the lives of those who have passed.

It is believed to be a time when the living and the dead can connect.

Traditional practices are performed, such as placing marigold flowers on altars and offering certain food items, the aroma and colour of which are thought to help spirits return to visit the living.

To commemorate the dead, people also dress up in colourful skeleton costumes.

The holiday is especially popular in Mexico, but is also observed in other countries, including the United States and Germany.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in for a second term amid tight security, following an election marred by violent protests and rejected by the opposition as a sham.

The inauguration ceremony is being held at a military parade grounds in the capital, Dodoma, in an event closed to the public but broadcast live by the state-run TBC.

Samia was declared the winner on Saturday with 98% of the vote. She faced little opposition with key rival candidates either imprisoned or barred from running.

International observers have raised concerns about the transparency of the election and its violent aftermath, with hundreds of people reportedly killed and injured.

The authorities have sought to downplay the scale of the violence. It has been difficult to obtain information from the country or verify the death toll, amid a nationwide internet shutdown in place since election day

In her victory speech, Samia said the poll was “free and democratic” and described the protesters as “unpatriotic”.

Opposition leaders and activists say hundreds were killed in clashes with security forces. The opposition Chadema party told the AFP news agency that it had recorded “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

The UN human rights office earlier said there were credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities.

Following the unrest, the prices of food, fuel and other essentials have more than doubled or tripled in many areas. Schools and colleges are closed and public transport is halted.

Chadema – which was barred from competing – rejects the results announced by the electoral commission, saying they had “no basis in reality as the truth is that no genuine election took place in Tanzania”. It has called for a fresh election.

On election day, polling stations remained largely empty – but the electoral authorities later said turnout had been 87%.

On Sunday, police spokesman David Misime blamed motorbike operators and foreign nationals for the violent demonstrations and vandalism.

He said there were individuals who had “entered the country illegally with the intention of causing chaos” in Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Mwanza and Songwe provinces.

Except for the port city of Dar es Salaam, the areas mentioned lie near the borders with Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi.

Misime has urged Tanzanians to report “any foreigner who is unknown or whose activities in Tanzania are unclear” to the authorities.

His remarks come amid reports that several Kenyan nationals have gone missing in Tanzania. Kenyan activist Hussein Khalid said on X that he had received reports of a Kenyan teacher being killed and others still unaccounted for.

The situation in Tanzania has sparked global concern, with Pope Leo XIV on Sunday calling for prayers, saying post-election violence had erupted “with numerous victims”.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas urged Tanzanian authorities to exercise restraint to preserve lives, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation “including reports of deaths and injuries”.

Video shows damage to Afghanistan’s shrine of Mazar-i-Sharif, also known as The Blue Mosque, after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Officials in the area say at least seven people have been killed and 150 injured.

At least eight people have died after an earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, say local authorities, with the toll expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.

Some 180 people have also been left injured, Samin Joyenda, a health department spokesman of a nearby province told the BBC.

The earthquake struck Mazar-e-Sharif, which is home to around 500,000 people, in the early hours of Monday, at around 01:00 local time (20:30 GMT).

It had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17mi, according to the US Geological Survey, and was marked at an orange alert level, which indicates “significant casualties” are likely.

Haji Zaid, a Taliban spokesman in Balkh province – of which Mazar-e Sharif is the capital – wrote earlier on X that “many people are injured” in the Sholgara district, just south of Mazar-e- Sharif.

He said they had received “reports of minor injuries and superficial damages from all districts of the province”.

“Most of the injuries were caused by people falling from tall buildings,” he wrote.

Mazar-e Sharif is home to more than 500,000 people. Many of the city’s residents rushed to the streets when the quake struck, as they feared their houses would collapse, AFP reported.

The Taliban spokesman in Balkh also posted a video on X appearing to show debris strewn across the ground at the Blue Mosque, a local landmark in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The religious complex is believed to house the tomb of the first Shia Imam – a religious leader believed to hold divine knowledge. It’s now a site where pilgrims gather to pray and celebrate religious events.

Khalid Zadran, a Taliban spokesman for the police in Kabul, wrote on X that police teams were “closely monitoring the situation”.

Numerous fatalities were also reported in Samangan, a mountainous province near Mazar-e-Sharif, according to its spokesman.

The quake on Monday comes after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan’s mountainous eastern region in late August, killing more than 1,000 people.

That earthquake was especially deadly as the rural houses in the region were typically made of mud and timber. Residents were trapped when their houses collapsed during the quake.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because of its location on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.