Abdiwahab Ahmed

Under the shadow of possible Ukrainian strikes, Russia staged its most stripped-down Victory Day parade in years, a stark departure from the grand military spectacles that once defined 9 May as Moscow still struggles to secure the triumph it promised in the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. The parade on Red Square marks Russia’s most important national holiday, commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany and honoring the 27 million Soviet citizens who died in the war, including many from Ukraine. Long…

On the frontlines of a deepening humanitarian emergency, the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) and its more than 19,000 volunteers continue to deliver life-saving aid across the country — a relentless effort that the Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement is marking today by honoring the volunteers and staff who show up for people in crisis. "South Sudanese people continue to face severe humanitarian consequences, driven by relentless conflict and violence, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and a struggling economy in a…

A hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship has left three people dead and six others confirmed infected, prompting a World Health Organization warning and plans to fly American passengers back to the United States. "As of 8 May, a total of eight cases, including three deaths (case fatality ratio 38%), have been reported. Six cases have been laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, with all identified as Andes virus (ANDV)," it said in a statement. "WHO assesses the risk to the global population posed by this event as…

Wales’ political landscape has been jolted by a landmark defeat: First Minister Eluned Morgan has lost her Senedd seat in a crushing election for Welsh Labour. Her defeat makes history as the first time a sitting Welsh leader has been unseated in an election to the Welsh parliament. Labour has governed Wales since the Senedd was created as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, and the party has remained the country’s largest political force for more than 100 years. Ms Morgan’s exit caps a punishing day for Labour in Wales…

A dramatic hostage ordeal at a bank in western Germany ended with a special police unit freeing two people from a vault unharmed, but the suspects had already vanished and remained at large, police said. When officers moved into the branch in Sinzig, they found no trace of the attackers, according to police. Investigators now believe that "immediately after locking the individuals in the vault, the perpetrator or perpetrators left the scene by means as yet unknown", authorities said in a statement. The incident began at…

Ireland would see it as a "big moment" if Iceland votes to resume negotiations on joining the European Union, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne has said, as Reykjavik moves toward a fresh decision on its stalled membership bid. The Nordic island nation is expected to hold a referendum on 29 August on whether to reopen talks on entering the EU. Iceland first applied for membership in 2009, before the accession process was suspended in 2015 after a change of government. Its current administration, which took…

Fresh violence in the Strait of Hormuz has thrown a fragile US-Iran ceasefire into doubt, with Tehran accusing واشنگتن of violating the truce and both sides trading blame for an overnight confrontation in one of the world’s most strategically sensitive waterways. "The action carried out last night was both a blatant violation of international law and a breach of the ceasefire," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to the ISNA news agency. "At the same time, the country's defenders delivered a 'major…

A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a luxury expedition cruise in the Atlantic has triggered a global health response, but the World Health Organization says the episode does not signal the start of a new Covid-style emergency. "This is not the start of an epidemic. This is not the start of a pandemic," WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters, insisting: "This is not Covid." The WHO said it expects the outbreak to remain "limited" provided countries enforce public…

April 2026 underscored the planet’s persistent warmth, delivering the second-highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded for oceans outside the polar regions. Across broad stretches of the tropical Pacific, sea temperatures hit record highs, driven by intense marine heatwaves. The global average surface air temperature reached 14.89°C. That placed the month 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels for April. According to the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service, that made April the joint third-warmest April recorded worldwide.…

Few voices have shaped humanity’s understanding of the living world like David Attenborough’s, and on his 100th birthday the veteran British naturalist is being celebrated as both a broadcasting icon and one of the most influential environmental campaigners of the modern era. Across more than 70 years of filmmaking, Mr Attenborough’s unmistakable narration has become inseparable from the way nature is seen, heard and understood. Even now, he remains at the forefront of the fight to protect the planet, delivering some of the…