France Confirms Two MERS Cases Linked to Visiting Tourist Group

PARIS — French health authorities have isolated two people infected with the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) after they returned from a joint tour of the Arabian Peninsula, the health ministry said late Tuesday. Both patients are in a “stable” condition in a French hospital, the ministry said in a statement, and all measures have been put in place to limit the risk of transmission to their entourage and to health-care staff. The ministry said those measures include contact tracing, “barrier…

‘Japa’ Exodus: Why Millions of Nigerians Leave Every Year

“Japa” is Yoruba slang for “to leave” — a word that has become shorthand across Nigeria for a mass movement of people seeking lives abroad. The exodus is not only a migration trend; it is a cultural phenomenon, a catchall for frustration and hope in a nation where a booming headline economy sits uneasily beside entrenched poverty and insecurity. Nigeria is young and vast: more than 230 million people, a median age of about 18, and roughly two‑thirds under 30. Economists predict growth this year and next, yet everyday…

Ireland weighs a ban on children’s social media use, department says

Ireland is weighing whether to bar children and young people from social media — a so-called "digital age of majority" — as governments worldwide watch Australia’s landmark under-16 ban for lessons on enforcement, rights and technical feasibility. Officials in Dublin told reporters the country prefers a coordinated European Union approach, noting the issue should be considered “by the EU and EU member states together” and that any move must respect the rights of children and young people. The European Commission has…

Macron urges Xi Jinping: France and China must bridge their differences

BEIJING — President Emmanuel Macron told President Xi Jinping on Tuesday that France and China must overcome their "differences" as he pressed Beijing on both Ukraine and trade during a three-day state visit to China. "Sometimes there are differences, but it is our responsibility to overcome them for the greater good," Macron said at the start of talks in the Great Hall of the People, as he sought to put the Macron China visit on a cooperative footing. Xi echoed the sentiment, calling for "more stable" ties and saying…

Lawmakers Alert on Potential Funding Shortfalls for Liberia’s Major Budget

Lawmakers Warn of Risks to Draft 2026 National Budget Targets Lawmakers are raising alarms about the ambitious US$1.2 billion target of the Draft 2026 National Budget, insisting that without key reforms, these goals remain at risk of being unmet. This budget, the largest proposed under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai's administration, signifies a bold expansion in government spending. It emphasizes funding for social projects, civil service restructuring, infrastructure investment, and governance reforms. However, lawmakers…

Lobito Corridor: Reflecting Africa’s Socioeconomic Struggles and Failures

Lobito Corridor, the multimodal transport link from Angola’s Atlantic port to Central Africa’s mineral belts, has been paraded at this week’s 7th African Union–European Union Summit in Luanda as a flagship sign of renewed partnership between Europe and Africa. Western capitals and sympathetic media have billed the corridor as a strategic answer to China’s expanding footprint on the continent. But in a stinging appraisal published in Maka Angola, journalist Rafael Marques de Morais urges a different reading: the corridor, he…

New search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 set to resume this month

Malaysia's transport ministry said the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will resume Dec. 30, more than a decade after the Beijing-bound Boeing 777 vanished in one of aviation's most enduring mysteries. The renewed operation, announced in a ministry statement on Friday, will be carried out “in targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft,” but officials did not disclose a precise search location. MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with…

Sudan’s RSF Accused of Atrocities in Refugee Settlement

War Crimes Committed in Sudan's Zamzam Camp, Amnesty Reports An international rights group has alleged that Sudanese paramilitary forces committed war crimes during a brutal raid earlier this year on Darfur's largest displacement camp. The report highlights severe humanitarian violations as the conflict in Sudan deepens. Amnesty International accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting civilians in the Zamzam camp. The attack was part of a broader assault on the city of el-Fasher in North Darfur.…

Somali PM Addresses Trump’s Remarks as Minnesota Immigration Raids Begin

Somalia’s Prime Minister Responds to Trump Remarks as Immigration Raids Begin in Minnesota Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has responded to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about Somali immigrants, as reports indicate U.S. immigration authorities are preparing enforcement operations aimed at Somali communities in Minnesota. Trump, speaking during a cabinet meeting, said he does not want Somalis in the United States and told them to “go back to where they came from.” He described Somalia as “a bad country” and…

Mogadishu doctors diagnose rare C-section scar endometriosis in Somali patient

Mogadishu — A rare cesarean section complication has been confirmed in Somalia after a 30-year-old woman developed scar endometriosis, a painful condition in which endometrial tissue grows in a surgical incision, according to a new case report by Dr. Abdirahman Omar Moallim of Kaafi Hospital and Dr. Mohamed Ali Kahiye of Sahan Diagnostic Center. The case underscores an emerging risk in Somalia’s maternal health system as cesarean deliveries rise, especially in urban centers. Scar endometriosis is often mistaken for a hernia…