access

X’s Grok AI “nudification” feature has set off a global backlash and a political firestorm in Ireland, exposing the limits of platform self-regulation and the gray areas where fast-moving AI collides with slower-moving law. A Christmas Eve update that let Grok digitally remove clothing from images—affecting adults and children—promptly spawned requests to undress celebrities and place politicians in bikinis. The most alarming consequence, critics say, was the tool’s ability to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). As…

Wednesday January 14, 2026 MOGADISHU — Somalia’s first direct local council elections in Mogadishu in nearly 60 years were peaceful and orderly, but they unfolded amid a surge of misinformation and political bias, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). The Election Observation and Media Monitoring Report reviewed the Banadir local council vote held Dec. 25, 2025, drawing on structured monitoring from Nov. 1 to Dec. 30. NUSOJ called the exercise a historic milestone,…

MINNEAPOLIS — Three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, were blocked from entering a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center near Minneapolis on Saturday morning, escalating tensions in the Twin Cities after the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent earlier in the week. The lawmakers — Omar, Rep. Angie Craig and Rep. Kelly Morrison — said they were briefly admitted to the facility inside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building before officials rescinded access and…

Foreign Press Association condemns Israel’s move to keep Gaza media ban in Supreme Court filing An international media association criticized the Israeli government for maintaining its ban on unrestricted media access to Gaza, calling the move “disappointing” after authorities told the Supreme Court in a late Sunday submission that the restriction should remain in place. The government’s filing said continued exclusion of foreign journalists from independently entering the Gaza Strip is necessary. “This is for security…

Israel urges Supreme Court to keep Gaza media ban, citing security risks Israeli authorities have asked the country’s Supreme Court to keep a ban on independent international media access to Gaza in place, arguing that unescorted reporting would pose unacceptable security risks, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor and obtained by AFP. The prohibition has stood since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023. In that time, Israel has permitted only a limited number of foreign reporters to enter…

Rome to charge €2 for close access to Trevi Fountain starting Feb. 1 ROME — Tourists hoping to step down to the edge of Rome’s Trevi Fountain will have to pay €2 from Feb. 1 under a new policy to manage crowds and raise funds from one of Italy’s most visited landmarks, the city’s mayor said. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri announced the change and said the payment system is projected to bring in about €6.5 million a year. He argued the small fee will help tame congestion around the monument without shutting off views or penalizing…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s passport has climbed to 100th place on the 2025 Henley Passport Index, giving Somali travelers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 33 destinations, according to data released by Henley & Partners in October 2025. While labeled “2025,” the latest Henley ranking reflects travel-access conditions measured during 2024, a methodological detail that underscores how passport power often lags behind diplomatic change by a year. Even so, the new standing marks one of Somalia’s strongest positions in more…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia has renewed its push for sea access, calling it a national necessity tied to regional cooperation, economic growth and stability in the Horn of Africa, according to a new government-backed report presented in the capital. The document, unveiled by senior officials and allied experts, argues that Ethiopia’s campaign to secure a seaport rests on international law, historical justice and principles of cooperative engagement with neighbors. Framing the issue as an urgent matter of state policy,…

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has moved to clarify comments that appeared to assert Uganda’s entitlement to access the Indian Ocean, saying his remarks were about the need for a deeper political federation within the East African Community to ensure shared security and trade. Speaking to Uganda’s national broadcaster on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, Museveni said his earlier comments were anchored in the long-discussed push to elevate the EAC beyond a customs union and common market toward a political…

East Africa’s integration at a crossroads as landlocked states push for ocean access NAIROBI — Tensions over access to the sea are testing the fragile architecture of East African integration, exposing a fault line between landlocked ambitions and coastal sovereignty that could reshape politics, security and commerce across the region. Recent months have seen a flurry of diplomatic rivalries and public statements — from Ethiopia’s short‑lived overture to North Western State of Somalia to Uganda’s president declaring a…