CPJ: Israel responsible for two-thirds of record 2025 journalist killings

Record 129 journalists killed in 2025, CPJ says, with two-thirds linked to Israel A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, marking a second straight annual high and the deadliest year since the watchdog began tracking deaths more than three decades ago. “Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement. “We are all at risk when journalists are…

Iran rejects U.S. missile program accusations, calling them blatant lies

Iran on Tuesday dismissed as “big lies” U.S. claims that Tehran is advancing a missile program capable of striking the United States, pushing back hours after President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to accuse the Islamic Republic of pursuing “sinister nuclear ambitions.” The volley of accusations and denials comes on the eve of a new round of diplomacy. After two Oman-mediated sessions, U.S. and Iranian officials are due to meet for a third round of talks Wednesday in Geneva aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear…

Cuban authorities report four shot dead, six injured on Florida-registered speedboat

Cuban authorities said Monday that four people were killed and six wounded aboard a Florida-registered speedboat after it entered Cuban waters and opened fire on a Cuban patrol vessel, an incident likely to sharpen already-fraught U.S.-Cuba tensions. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the wounded from the speedboat were evacuated for medical care, and the commander of the Cuban patrol was also injured. The ministry said the clash remained under investigation to determine precisely what happened. None of the dead or wounded on the…

FAI says it has no option but to play Israel matches

Republic of Ireland will play their UEFA Nations League games against Israel as scheduled, with the Football Association of Ireland confirming the 4 October home tie will go ahead in Dublin despite mounting calls for a boycott and pressure to move the match to a neutral venue. FAI chief executive David Courell said the governing body had “no choice” but to fulfil the fixtures after consulting with government officials and An Garda Síochána, who advised they can deliver a safe event in the capital. “While our Federation and…

Somali refugees in Yemen’s Aden face deepening poverty and instability

‘Yemen’s Mogadishu’: In Aden’s al-Basateen, Somali refugees face dwindling aid and a future on hold At first light on the fringes of Aden, the paved roads of Yemen’s interim capital give way to narrow ribbons of sand. Here, in al-Basateen, men gather at the mouths of alleyways, watching for a pickup truck or a wave from a foreman—any sign of a day’s work. The district is known by many names, including “Yemen’s Mogadishu,” a nod to the Somali families who began arriving in the 1990s when war pushed them across the Gulf of…

Zelensky: Druzhba pipeline repairs progressing slowly, won’t be quick

Zelensky says Druzhba oil pipeline repairs cannot be rushed as Hungary escalates dispute Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said repairs to the Druzhba pipeline that carries Russian oil to Eastern Europe “are not that fast,” pushing back on European Union pressure and Hungarian protests as a supply outage to Hungary and Slovakia entered a fourth week. Shipments of Russian crude to both countries have been halted since Jan. 27, when Kyiv says a Russian strike hit pipeline equipment in western Ukraine. Slovakia and Hungary…

UN: Drought Risks Severe Hunger for 6.5 Million People in Somalia

Somalia hunger crisis deepens as 6.5 million face severe food insecurity, UN and government warn Nearly 6.5 million people in Somalia are facing severe hunger as intensifying drought, conflict and global aid cuts accelerate a mounting humanitarian crisis, the federal government and U.N. agencies said Tuesday, citing new food security data. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis projects that 6.5 million people will face crisis or worse levels of food insecurity by the end of March.…

Zimbabwe Government Withdraws from $367 Million U.S.-Funded Health Deal

HARARE — A group of public health physicians urged Harare and Washington on Thursday to resume negotiations after the collapse of a proposed $367 million bilateral health agreement that health experts say would have strengthened Zimbabwe's fragile health system. The proposed package, officials and health specialists said, was aimed at bolstering priority programs including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, tuberculosis control, malaria response, maternal and child health services and disease outbreak preparedness. Its…

Mapping Somalia’s Political Compass: The Ideologies Shaping Its Future

Analysis: Somalia’s 2026/2027 elections put eight political traditions to the test Somalia is approaching a defining electoral cycle in 2026/2027, when votes for several federal member states and the federal government will converge to shape the country’s political trajectory. Beyond the usual personalities and shifting alliances, the contests will surface a deeper struggle among eight identifiable political traditions. Understanding those traditions—and how they align or collide across two core axes of Somali politics—is…

South Africa’s 2026 Budget Tackles Municipal Dysfunction with Targeted Reforms

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana warned in his 2026 Budget speech that poorly run municipalities face the prospect of having national funds reduced if they fail to "clean up their act," signalling a shift by the national government from "oversight" to "active structural intervention" to stabilise local government finances. Godongwana told Parliament the move is aimed at improving the financial health of municipalities, many of which have long struggled with rising debt, weak revenue collection, and uneven service delivery.…