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South Africa has detained and moved to deport seven Kenyan nationals it says were working without permits at a facility processing refugee applications from white South Africans, intensifying a diplomatic row with the United States. South African authorities said intelligence reports showed people “had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work” at the centre. The seven Kenyans were arrested, denied work visas and are to be deported with a five-year ban on re-entry, officials said. “They…

Cambodia accuses Thailand of bombing Poipet as ASEAN, China press for ceasefire Cambodia accused Thailand’s military of bombing the border city of Poipet, a major crossing and casino hub, as international pressure mounted on both governments to halt renewed clashes along their frontier. Thai forces “dropped two bombs in the area of Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province” at around 11 a.m. local time, Cambodia’s defense ministry said in a statement. Thailand has not confirmed any strike on Poipet. The fighting, which…

Why Axadle named Puntland State’s president Person of the Year: Wartime leadership against ISIS Sometimes leadership becomes legible only when the stakes are existential. Axadle’s decision to name Puntland State State of Somalia President Said Abdullahi Deni “Person of the Year” rests on such a moment: a months-long military campaign against the Islamic State’s Somali branch that tested Puntland State’s security institutions, its economic lifelines and public confidence in government. The outlet’s choice is not about party…

MOGADISHU — Somalia and the United Nations on Wednesday signed a 2025 Implementation Guide, a strategic “Roadmap” to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, marking a fresh milestone in the country’s effort to prevent grave violations and reinforce accountability across its security sector. The agreement was formalized in Mogadishu by Somalia’s defense minister, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi; the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Somalia, James Swan; and UNICEF Representative Sandra…

South West regional security forces say they have seized 10 landmines allegedly bound for Mogadishu, thwarting what authorities described as an Al-Shabaab plot to hit the capital ahead of local council elections. Lieutenant Colonel Abdirahman Mohamed Munye, commander of the October 14 Brigade, said Wednesday that his unit intercepted the explosives in the area known as Number 50 after receiving actionable intelligence. “Thank God, we were able to thwart the Khawarij’s plot to harm civilians. Our forces intercepted 10…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used a rare prime-time address from the White House to promise an economic boom and blame Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for stubbornly high prices, even as fresh polling shows voters increasingly sour on his handling of the economy at the close of his first year back in power. “Eleven months ago I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” said Trump, 79, casting his stewardship as a course correction from the Biden era. He insisted that gas and grocery prices that have strained household…

Sydney — Hundreds of mourners overflowed a Bondi synagogue Tuesday to remember two rabbis killed in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah festival shootings as kind, curious men devoted to their families, faith and community. Funerals were held for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, who were shot dead during Sunday’s “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration organized by Chabad of Bondi. Rabbi Schlanger’s service took place a few blocks from the beachfront where the attack occurred; Rabbi Levitan, a father of four, was buried…

Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that could dramatically reduce the prison term of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, setting up an expected presidential veto and a fresh clash with Congress. The measure, which changes how sentences are calculated for certain crimes, passed the upper chamber 48-25 after clearing the lower house last week. It now goes to President Lula, who has vowed to reject it, saying Bolsonaro “must…

BELEDWEYNE, Somalia — Somali intelligence forces, backed by international partners, carried out a planned operation in the Tardo area of central Hiiraan region on Tuesday afternoon, killing up to nine Al-Shabaab fighters and destroying an illegal checkpoint, authorities said. In a statement released Wednesday, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said the strike targeted a roadblock allegedly operated by the militant group to extort money from public transport vehicles using the route. “The operation…

Ghislaine Maxwell has asked a U.S. federal judge to throw out her sex trafficking conviction and free her from a 20-year sentence, arguing in a habeas corpus petition that “substantial new evidence” and constitutional violations undermined the fairness of her 2021 trial. Filed in Manhattan federal court, the petition asserts that material that could have led to Maxwell’s acquittal was withheld while false evidence reached the jury, resulting in what her lawyers describe as a “complete miscarriage of justice.” In the filing,…