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Gaza’s Reconstruction, Between Vision and Reality: Why Rebuilding Will Take Decades Mountains of rubble, thousands of unexploded munitions and a gutted web of water, sewage and power lines define Gaza’s landscape today. More than 80% of structures are damaged or destroyed, according to United Nations assessments, and the price tag to rebuild runs to more than $70 billion over several decades. Against that backdrop, a glossy vision of a “New Gaza” rising in three years—skyscrapers, beach tourism and data centers—has landed…

U.S. begins $70 million upgrade of Kenyan air base after 2020 al-Shabab attack NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States has launched a $70 million project to expand an airfield at Manda Bay Air Base in coastal Kenya, deepening counterterrorism cooperation with Nairobi four years after an al-Shabab assault killed three Americans at the site. The expansion is underway at the Kenyan Defense Forces facility in Lamu County near the Somalia border, a longtime hub for operations against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. U.S. Deputy…

Somalia’s next election is unlikely to be a direct, one person, one vote contest. Time constraints and the limits of the current federal institutions point instead to another indirect vote. The decisive question is not the model, but whether the process can meet a minimum threshold of credibility. After two troubled cycles in 2016/17 and 2021/22, an integrity-first approach is the only path to an indirect election that voters, candidates and institutions can accept. Those past votes did not fail because indirect elections…

Xi’s military purge narrows China’s command — and raises the risk of miscalculation China’s sweeping purge of senior generals has shrunk the country’s top command to a bare minimum, concentrating power around Xi Jinping just as Western leaders intensify outreach to Beijing. The shake-up, which removed Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Joint Staff chief Gen. Liu Zhenli for “violations of discipline and law,” has alarmed analysts who see both short-term caution and longer-term volatility in the world’s…

LISBON — Portugal braced for another bout of heavy rain and gale-force winds as nearly 200,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity days after Storm Kristin swept the country, killing five people, officials said. The national weather agency, IPMA, placed all of mainland Portugal on alert through Monday for persistent downpours accompanied by gusts up to 100 km/h. With rivers already swollen and soils saturated, authorities warned that the new system could bring flash flooding in urban areas, as well as…

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he held “productive and constructive” talks Friday in Florida with Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a meeting that comes on the eve of a new round of Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi backed by Washington. “Today in Florida, the Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings as part of the U.S. mediation effort toward advancing a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict,” Witkoff posted on X, adding, “We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is…

Somalia's NISA Targets Militant Leadership in Strategic Operation This article explores a recent operation conducted by Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), aimed at dismantling the leadership of militant groups in the Middle Shabelle region. The operation, pivotal in the national fight against terrorism, highlights NISA's commitment to protecting civilians and fortifying national security. The operation focused on key militant leaders planning attacks. Conducted in the village of Maha-Said,…

Drone strikes hit towns in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, killing one ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Drone strikes hit two towns and one district in the central zone of Ethiopia’s Tigray region late Friday and early Saturday, killing one person and wounding another, according to local police and information obtained by the BBC. The fatal strike occurred in the town of Entcho, where one civilian was killed and another injured, police told BBC Tigrinya. The reported attacks came amid renewed clashes between federal government forces and…

U.S. clears $9 billion sale of Patriot PAC-3 interceptors to Saudi Arabia The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale of Patriot interceptor missiles and related equipment to Saudi Arabia valued at an estimated $9 billion, the Pentagon said Friday. The package centers on 730 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, known as PAC-3 MSE, with Lockheed Martin named as the principal contractor. In its announcement, the Pentagon said the proposed sale will not alter the military balance…

The U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after a budget deadline passed without House action on a 2026 spending plan, but disruption is expected to be limited with the chamber set to return Monday to take up a Senate-backed deal. The lapse follows a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic fury over two recent fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate leaders responded by splitting off DHS…