1. Deadly earthquake in Balochistan, Pakistan 

On Saturday, Sept. 21 around noon, in Nairobi, Kenya, unidentified gunmen attacked the Westgate Mall and held hostages until Tuesday, Sept. 24. The Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Among the 72 reported deaths, 175 injuries were also reported.

This was the largest and deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya since 1998, when al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy, taking 213 lives.

2. Mass shooting in Kenyan mall leaves 72 dead

On Saturday, Sept. 21 around noon, in Nairobi, Kenya, unidentified gunmen attacked the Westgate Mall and held hostages until Tuesday, Sept. 24. The Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Among the 72 reported deaths, 175 injuries were also reported.

This was the largest and deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya since 1998, when al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy, taking 213 lives.

3. Poachers in Zimbabwe poison nearly 90 elephants

Park rangers in the Hwange National Park found dead carcasses of over 87 elephants and continue to keep finding them. Industrial cyanide that is commonly used in gold mining was found in the water holes that the elephants frequently drink from. Along with this, other animals, such as vultures, that feed on the elephants after they die, have also been dying from the poison. Of the 174, 51 tusks have been recovered. Rangers have been able to track down the poachers and they are expected to go under trial soon.

4. First class stamp prices to go up in January 

The United States Postal Serviceannounced on Wednesday, Sept. 25, that it will raise the cost of mailing a letter from the current price of 46 cents to 49 cents in January. The USPS lost around $16 billion in 2012 and is estimated to lose around $6 billion by the end of 2013.

By bringing the price up three cents, the USPS expects to suffer from a lesser loss. Under federal law, the USPS is only allowed to raise the stamp prices proportional to the inflation rate. The USPS is unique in that it is an independent agency, meaning it receives no tax money for its operations but is still under government control.

Another possibility to fixing the economic situation of the USPS would be to end Saturday delivery service. The agency predicts that this would save $2 billion annually.

5. 50 years after Americans stopped worrying, document reveals that US almost nuked itself

A recently declassified document confirms long held suspicions that a nuclear bomb dropped from a crashing B-52 bomber nearly exploded near the town of Goldsboro, South Carolina in 1961. Released under the Freedom of Information Act, the 1969 report reveals that the weapon was only one stage away from detonation.

Of the 32 so-called “broken arrow incidents” acknowledged by the Defense Department and the hundreds of suspected nuclear weapons accidents, the Goldsboro crash was the closest to actual detonation. The bomb, 260 times more powerful than the one used on Hiroshima, could have spread fallout across the East Coast and killed millions.