Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who became the face of the city’s response to the September 11 attacks, remained in critical condition as he recovered from pneumonia, according to a spokesman. Giuliani, 81, a one-time close ally of US President Donald Trump, has been removed from a mechanical ventilator and is now breathing on his own, spokesman Ted Goodman said on X. Goodman did not say where the former mayor — once dubbed “America’s mayor” after the September 11 attacks — is being treated or when he was admitted…

Somalia braces for a decisive political test as May 10 approaches, with the country’s leadership, opposition and international partners all watching a meeting that could shape the next phase of its transition. MOGADISHU — As the four-year term of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud nears its end, the spotlight has shifted to May 10, a date many now view as critical to the country’s political future. Mohamud has officially invited members of a national consultative forum to a high-level meeting set for that day. The…

Fuel shortages have pushed the country to a perilous brink, the government warned, saying the nation is now "dangerously exposed" as the crisis hobbles transportation, commerce, and daily routines. In a statement, government spokesperson Shadric Namalomba linked the worsening situation to the conflict in the Middle East and a severe shortage of foreign exchange. Namalomba said international fuel suppliers are demanding cash upfront, a shift that has further tightened the country’s ability to bring in fuel. He added that…

By Ali Mohamed AliWednesday April 1, 2026 Illustrative photo  Somalia’s push to open its offshore waters to Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) could come at a steep environmental cost unless the country insists on a rigorous Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) carried out by an independent, technically qualified firm. Context: Planned Drilling by TPAO Somalia has already awarded TPAO exclusive rights to multiple offshore and onshore oil and gas blocks after the company completed extensive 2D and 3D seismic…

Djibouti’s Red Sea dilemma: How the Middle East war could reroute trade and test a strategic hub PARIS — Tuesday, March 10, 2026 — The war in the Middle East is no longer just a battlefield story. It is a shock rippling through global trade routes and energy markets, with outsized consequences for small, strategic economies. At the mouth of the Red Sea, Djibouti’s position at Bab el-Mandeb has long been an asset. In a protracted crisis, it could become a vulnerability. This is a classic exposure problem. Djibouti has built a…

Ian Huntley, the convicted killer of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, has been left blind and is not expected to regain consciousness after a violent attack inside a British maximum-security prison, according to The Sun. The tabloid reported that the 52-year-old suffered severe brain trauma after being struck repeatedly over the head with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham on Feb. 26. Huntley has been on life support in hospital since the attack, The Sun said, citing unnamed sources. Durham…

Synthetic Drug Crisis in West Africa: A Public Health Emergency A new report warns that the proliferation of synthetic drugs across West Africa presents the most "urgent and complex" public health and security challenges facing the region. Published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the report says the burden of consumption—and its devastating consequences—falls disproportionately on young people. "The crisis has grown so severe that since 2024, two countries have declared states of…

A new scramble for Africa is underway — not with warships or colonial flags, but with battery supply chains, green-transition targets and high-level trade delegations. Governments and corporations are hunting lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese, platinum-group metals and rare earth elements that power electric vehicles, wind turbines and digital infrastructure. The race promises opportunity for African states; it also risks renewing old patterns of extraction without local benefit or environmental safeguards. The global…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s lower house of parliament on Saturday approved a sweeping Cybersecurity Law designed to protect the country’s digital infrastructure, safeguard information systems and strengthen defenses against cyber threats amid rapid growth in online services. The legislation creates a national framework for preventing, reporting and responding to cyber incidents. It assigns policy leadership to the Ministry of Communications and Technology, gives the National Communications Authority a technical oversight role, and…

Ireland’s EU Commissioner Michael McGrath warned that Europe’s ties with the United States have reached a “pivotal and dangerous” moment, saying the European Union would deliver a “robust” response if the Trump administration proceeds with tariffs against countries that opposed the U.S. president’s ambitions to seize Greenland. Speaking to RTÉ News in Davos, McGrath said “we are at a moment of danger in the overall transatlantic relationship,” and cautioned that undermining the international rules-based order would leave the…