Pakistan says it has repaid $3.45 billion debt to UAE

Riyaz ul KhaliqSaturday April 25, 2026 Pakistan said Friday that it has fully repaid $3.45 billion in debt to the United Arab Emirates, marking the clearing of a major external obligation for the cash-strapped economy. In a statement, the State Bank of Pakistan said it had returned a $1 billion deposit to the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), UAE. “Deposits of $2.45 billion were repaid last week. This completes the repayment of total deposits of $3.45 billion to the UAE,” the central bank said. The repayment comes at a…

Drought displaces 62,000 in Somalia, IOM warns of worsening crisis

Saturday April 25, 2026 Severe drought has driven at least 62,000 people from their homes in five districts across Somalia since the beginning of 2026, as the country faces mounting climate pressures, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday. The United Nations migration agency said its data shows drought is now responsible for three out of every four new displacements, marking a 22 percent increase from a year earlier and underscoring the worsening toll of climate shocks. Manuel Marques Pereira, IOM’s…

Malian army battles terrorist groups as gunfire erupts in Mali

Mali’s army said it was fighting off attacks by "terrorist groups" after coordinated assaults struck parts of the west African country, where more than a decade of jihadist violence has battered security and shaken daily life. Witnesses described clashes in the capital, Bamako, as well as in other major urban centres in the landlocked nation, where the military took power in successive coups in 2020 and 2021. In a statement, the army said: "Terrorist groups, not yet identified, early this morning targeted certain points and…

Mali Experiences Large-Scale Coordinated Armed Attacks

Violence erupted early Saturday on the outskirts of Bamako, as well as in various regions throughout Mali, when the Malian army engaged in fierce clashes to counter large-scale, coordinated assaults from armed groups, multiple media sources have reported. A coalition of jihadist and separatist factions launched a significant offensive across the nation, targeting key military installations and urban areas, extending from the northern regions all the way to the capital. This marked one of the most notable escalations in…

Former intelligence chief criticizes Somali president over security and governance

Saturday April 25, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbalooshe, Somalia’s former intelligence chief, has delivered a pointed rebuke of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing his administration of failing to make headway on the country’s worsening security and political problems. Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Sanbalooshe said hopes that the president would remedy earlier governance failures had not materialized. “Nothing has been corrected. There is no progress in the country as a whole,” he…

Maritime agency says oil tanker hijacked off Somalia

An oil tanker has been hijacked off Somalia’s coast and forced into the country’s territorial waters, according to the British maritime security agency UKMTO, in a fresh sign of mounting danger for vessels moving through the region. The incident underscores the growing hazards facing ships in the Red Sea corridor, an increasingly vital supply route as Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz — the gateway to the Gulf on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula — tightens pressure on maritime traffic. UKMTO said the tanker was…

Somalia international partners and role in elections 2026

Somalia’s election plans for 2026 sit at the centre of a wider political transition, involving federal institutions, regional states, and a long list of external partners. Over the past year, international stakeholders have focused on one main goal: helping Somalia conduct elections that are credible, inclusive, and accepted by key domestic actors—while also supporting the security conditions needed for voting. Background: How Somalia’s election process is shaped Somalia’s political system is built on a federal model,…

Somalia launches national effort to build cybersecurity framework

Saturday April 25, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s push to shore up its digital defenses moved a step forward on Saturday when the National Communications Authority (NCA) brought together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss a proposed Cybersecurity Risk Management and Compliance Framework. The national consultation drew representatives from government institutions, the private sector, education, civil society, and the technical community, all tasked with helping shape a framework designed to strengthen the country’s…

Ifrah F Ahmed’s debut cookbook celebrates Somali cuisine, history and people

Sundus AbdiSaturday April 25, 2026 Ifrah F Ahmed turned to Somali community members around the world to research her book, Soomaaliya: Food, Memory and Migration. Photograph: Khadija Farah On a video call from Brooklyn, with a book tour stretching between cities, Ifrah F Ahmed sips ginger-root tea. The aroma pulls her back to a childhood kitchen where her mother would often bake fragrant cardamom cake. “That’s a core childhood memory for me,” she said. For Ahmed, food has never been only about eating. It carries memory,…

US strike on vessel in eastern Pacific kills two

A US military strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel killed two people, pushing the reported death toll from Washington’s campaign against what it calls “narco-terrorists” in Latin America to at least 182. In a post on X, US Southern Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said the military had "conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations." It said intelligence had determined the vessel was moving along established drug-smuggling routes in the Eastern…