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BRUSSELS — An EU expert group will begin work this week on whether to restrict or ban social media access for children, aiming to deliver recommendations by summer, the European Commission said. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend the panel’s inaugural meeting on Thursday, underscoring the political weight behind the effort she launched in September. Brussels is weighing a minimum age to use social media across the 27-nation bloc, taking cues from Australia, which in December ordered TikTok, YouTube,…

Belgian Authorities Arrest Leaders Linked to Cameroon War Crimes Belgian prosecutors have announced the arrest of three individuals as part of a probe into possible crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Cameroon due to the country's secessionist rebellion. The arrests underscore the expanding international efforts to address human rights violations associated with the conflict. The suspects are believed to be leaders of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), a militia advocating for the independence of…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali police arrested a senior advisor to the president of Puntland State during a late-night raid at an airport-area hotel in the capital, prompting allegations of intimidation and physical assault against federal lawmakers and sharpening political tensions across the country. Authorities identified the detainee as Ahmed Abdi Mahamud Hurre. Witnesses and local reports said Hurre was meeting several members of the Somali Federal Parliament at the Airport Hotel in Mogadishu when police moved in and took…

Somalia says senior al-Shabab planner behind 2025 attacks killed in Lower Shabelle strike MOGADISHU, Somalia (AX) — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said Tuesday it killed a senior al-Shabab leader accused of orchestrating several of the extremist group’s deadliest operations last year, including the assault on the Godka Jilacow detention complex in Mogadishu. NISA said the March 1 operation took place in the Hantiwadaag area of Awdheegle district in the Lower Shabelle region and was conducted in…

Mosiuoa Lekota, the 77-year-old former leader of the Congress of the People (COPE) and a veteran of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, has died, COPE confirmed Friday. Lekota, who stepped away from frontline politics in 2025, had been battling health problems in recent years. In a brief statement, COPE leader Teboho Loate said Lekota died “after a period of illness.” The Lekota family has asked for privacy, Loate said, and details about memorial arrangements would be announced in due course. Lekota was a former Robben…

U.S. judge grants preliminary approval to up to $35 million Jeffrey Epstein estate settlement in Manhattan class action A U.S. judge has granted preliminary approval to a settlement that would see Jeffrey Epstein’s estate pay as much as $35 million (€30 million) to resolve a class action accusing two of the disgraced financier’s longtime advisers of aiding and abetting his sex trafficking of young women and teenage girls. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan said the agreement appears fair and set a Sept. 16…

Israel strikes Beirut hotel as war enters fifth day Israel carried out a strike on a hotel in Beirut as the war entered its fifth day, according to initial updates from the scene. Immediate details on the location within the capital, the extent of damage and whether there were casualties were not available. The strike underscores the volatility and speed at which events are unfolding in Lebanon’s capital, where hotels can house travelers, aid workers and residents alongside commercial tenants. With the conflict now five days…

CUBA CHARGES SIX WITH TERRORISM AFTER COAST GUARD SHOOTOUT NEAR HAVANA Cuban prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against six crew members of a U.S.-flagged speedboat intercepted by the island’s coast guard after a deadly shootout on Feb. 25 near the country’s northern shoreline, authorities said. The attorney general’s office said the defendants — described as U.S.-based Cuban nationals — are accused of loading the vessel with weapons and heading toward Cuba with the alleged aim of destabilizing the government in…

Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses over Kuwait early Monday amid intense regional fighting with Iran, U.S. Central Command said. All six crew members ejected, were recovered and are in stable condition, according to Centcom. The incident unfolded during “active combat” that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, Centcom said in a statement. Kuwait has acknowledged the shootdown as an apparent friendly-fire mistake and launched an…

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday stood by her characterization of two U.S. citizens shot dead by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis as “domestic terrorism,” refusing to retract the remarks during a combative Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that underscored the political and operational stakes of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, repeatedly pressed Noem to walk back her statements about Renee Good and Alex Pretti — as well as a…