Egypt’s Sisi flies to UAE following Cairo talks with Somali leader

Egypt’s Sisi heads to UAE after talks with Somali leader in Cairo CAIRO — Egypt’s presidency said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is traveling to the United Arab Emirates for a fraternal visit to meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with talks focused on developments in the Horn of Africa. The trip comes shortly after al-Sisi hosted Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Cairo, underscoring how shifting alignments in the Horn are drawing intensified attention from key Arab and African partners. In a…

Keir Starmer to brief Labour MPs as Mandelson controversy escalates

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will face his MPs this week as he fights for his political survival after his chief of staff resigned over the fallout from the Peter Mandelson appointment and its links to Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer is expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party amid anger over his decision to name Mandelson ambassador to the United States, despite knowing Mandelson’s association with Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offenses. The government is…

Senior Hamas leader rules out disarmament, opposes any foreign rule

Hamas will not surrender its weapons or accept foreign oversight in Gaza, senior leader Khaled Meshal said in Doha, rejecting U.S. and Israeli demands as a U.S.-brokered Gaza cease-fire moves into a phase that envisions demilitarization and an Israeli withdrawal. “Criminalizing the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,” Meshal told a conference in the Qatari capital. “As long as there is occupation, there is resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation ……

Ghislaine Maxwell to face U.S. congressional questioning in Epstein investigation

Ghislaine Maxwell to face closed-door House deposition; expected to invoke Fifth Amendment Ghislaine Maxwell, serving a 20-year federal sentence for trafficking girls to financier Jeffrey Epstein, will be questioned behind closed doors by the House Oversight Committee via prison videolink — but her legal team says she will refuse to answer on Fifth Amendment grounds. The extraordinary deposition, part of a congressional probe into Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and the handling of information about his crimes, follows a…

The extensive roster of high-profile figures linked to Jeffrey Epstein

At a glittering 2002 gala in Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel, world leaders, Nobel laureates and cultural icons rubbed shoulders. Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Mikhail Gorbachev were in the room. Quincy Jones presented an award to Bono. Chuck Berry played. And Jeffrey Epstein slipped in—not to be honored, simply to be there. A quarter-century later, the “Epstein files” are forcing that world of proximity and prestige into a reckoning. Those Dublin snapshots capture the financier’s method: relentless, targeted networking…

Somalia Introduces Modern Labor Law to Advance Fair Work, Social Dialogue

Somalia has unveiled a revised Labour Code designed to modernize employment relations, strengthen social dialogue and protect workers’ rights, marking a significant step in the country’s labour governance. The Federal Government formally launched the Somali Labour Code (Law No. 36, 2024) at a national ceremony in Mogadishu, positioning the law as a framework for decent work and clear responsibilities for both workers and employers. The launch at Hotel Afrik brought together a wide coalition of stakeholders, including Members…

Manchester United seal fourth straight under Carrick as Arsenal open nine-point lead

Carrick’s perfect start lifts Manchester United into Champions League race as Arsenal surge nine points clear Manchester United’s season is back on the rails. Four straight Premier League wins under Michael Carrick, capped by a composed 2-0 defeat of 10-man Tottenham on Saturday, have turned a campaign that looked rudderless weeks ago into one with a credible route back to the Champions League. United’s victory maintained Carrick’s 100% start as head coach and pushed the 20-time English champion up to 44 points — already…

UK PM’s Chief of Staff McSweeney Quits Over Mandelson Appointment

Morgan McSweeney quits as Starmer’s chief of staff over Mandelson appointment, plunging Labour into deepest crisis of premiership Morgan McSweeney resigned as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff on Sunday, taking responsibility for advising the appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to the United States despite Mandelson’s known links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The departure of McSweeney — a Cork-born strategist instrumental in Labour’s 2024 landslide — comes amid newly released files…

Somali President Launches Third-Term Bid Amid Mounting Political Tensions

MOGADISHU, Somalia — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said he will seek a third term, asserting Somalia’s provisional constitution permits him to run again because his two previous mandates were not consecutive, a move that deepens political tensions over contentious constitutional changes. Mohamud, first elected in 2012 and returned to office in 2022 after five years out of power, framed his bid as consistent with the law’s limit on back-to-back presidencies. “The constitution does not prohibit me from running again,” he…

Algeria Moves to Terminate Air Services Agreement with the UAE

ALGIERS — Algeria has begun the process of terminating its air services agreement with the United Arab Emirates, a bilateral aviation pact signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013 and ratified the following year, state media said Saturday. Algeria’s state-owned radio said authorities had “initiated procedures to terminate the air services agreement with the United Arab Emirates, signed in Abu Dhabi on 13 May 2013 and ratified by a presidential decree dated 30 December 2014.” The broadcaster cited Article 22 of the accord, which…