Brown University shooting leaves two dead, mayor says

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Two people were killed and eight others were critically injured in a shooting at Brown University on Friday, prompting a campuswide shelter-in-place order as police launched a manhunt for the gunman, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. Shots were fired inside Barus and Holley, Brown’s main engineering building on College Hill, while exams were underway. The university issued an emergency alert at 4:22 p.m. local time reporting an “active shooter near Barus and Holley Engineering,” and urged students,…

Turkey building Somalia spaceport as U.S., China, France boost satellite surveillance

Turkey starts building Somalia spaceport, a strategic equatorial launch site drawing global scrutiny Turkey has begun constructing a satellite and rocket launch site on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast, a bold step that Ankara says will accelerate its space ambitions and that outside observers say is already drawing intense attention from rival powers. The spaceport — publicly backed by Baykar chairman Selçuk Bayraktar — is being developed under Turkish state authority on a roughly 30-by-30-kilometer coastal tract. Turkish…

Cambodia seals Thailand border crossings as deadly fighting flares

Cambodia shuts border crossings with Thailand as Bangkok denies Trump claim of ceasefire Cambodia has closed all official crossings with Thailand amid days of cross-border clashes, hours after Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul contradicted former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that the two countries had agreed to halt fighting. The Interior Ministry in Phnom Penh said it would “suspend all entry and exit movements at all Cambodia-Thailand border crossings” effective immediately, following new fatalities along…

Evaluating Trump and Somalia: Leadership, Reform, and International Standing

OP-ED: Trump’s Appraisal, Somalia’s Test: Leadership, Reform, and Global Perception Somalia once again finds itself judged by a sound bite. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks — widely criticized as dismissive — have stirred fresh debate not just about global perceptions of Somalia, but about the country’s own leadership and the substance of international engagement. That debate matters. Language shapes policy, donor priorities and public attention. But rhetoric is not destiny. Somalia’s future will be…

Minneapolis chokehold on U.S. citizen symbolizes Trump’s Somali crackdown

MINNEAPOLIS — The takedown happened in seconds: masked federal agents sprinting toward a 20-year-old Somali American as he stepped from a restaurant, forcing him through a doorway and pinning him against a metal gate. “Why are you running?” one demanded in the bystander video, despite footage showing he had stopped. Moments later, as snow gathered on his jacket, an arm slid around his neck and he was shoved into an unmarked gray SUV while neighbors shouted that he is a citizen. The man, who asked to be identified as Mubashir…

ISIS ambush in Syria kills two U.S. service members

Two U.S. service members and an interpreter were killed in central Syria when an alleged Islamic State gunman opened fire on a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol near Palmyra, U.S. Central Command said, marking a deadly escalation as Washington and Damascus deepen military coordination against ISIS remnants. CENTCOM announced the deaths on X, adding that three additional troops were wounded in what it described as “an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman.” The attacker “was engaged and killed,” the command said. Officials said the identities…

Banadir issues voter cards to nearly 200,000 as election deadlines loom

Mogadishu races to deliver voter cards as Dec. 25 Banadir local elections near MOGADISHU — Nearly 200,000 registered voters in Banadir have received official voting cards ahead of the Dec. 25 local council elections, Somalia’s National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) said Saturday, easing fears that delays could keep many Mogadishu residents from the polls. The vote will be the first time Mogadishu residents directly elect their local council and mayor — a milestone the commission has called historic.…

UK police won’t investigate allegations involving Andrew’s bodyguard

Met Police decline criminal probe into report Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked bodyguard to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre The Metropolitan Police will not launch a criminal investigation into reports that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked a taxpayer-funded bodyguard to obtain personal information about Virginia Giuffre, the woman who has accused him of sexual abuse, a senior officer said. Central Specialist Crime Commander Ella Marriott said the force has completed an assessment of the claims, which were reported in October…

Belarus releases Nobel Prize winner as U.S. lifts additional sanctions

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners — including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava — after two days of talks with an envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a U.S. statement. In return, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash, a critical fertilizer ingredient that the former Soviet state produces in large volumes for global markets. The release is the largest announced by Lukashenko since Trump’s administration…

Puntland State Maritime Police Intercept Boat Carrying Explosives Off Eyl Coast

Puntland State maritime force seizes boat with explosives off Eyl, arrests seven GAROWE, Somalia — The Puntland State Maritime Police Force on Saturday intercepted a boat off the coast of Eyl district carrying explosives and materials used to manufacture improvised explosive devices, detaining seven people, according to authorities. Preliminary reports indicated the seized cargo included various chemical substances commonly used in the production of high-impact explosives. The vessel was crewed by two Yemeni nationals and…