On the front lines of a fast-moving epidemic, health workers say they are racing against time with scarce supplies. "We are trying to fight the disease with the equipment and resources available in order to save our people, who have already suffered from insecurity for a long time and now face a new ordeal," said Chérubin Radjabu, a nurse in the outbreak area. The outbreak is unfolding in conflict-affected areas and against a backdrop of global aid cuts and a fraught political climate in the country—factors that could…

By Abdirahman Roble UlayareWednesday May 20, 2026 Introduction For many informed Somalis, the answer to who has kept Somalia from becoming a fully sovereign state is painfully familiar. The pattern did not begin in the aftermath of the civil war or with the country’s collapse in the early 1990s; it stretches back to colonial rule and the damage left behind when foreign powers departed. In the view of many Somalis, outside actors, regional rivals, and local collaborators have all helped sustain a cycle of instability that…

Malawi has banned "dual practice" for health workers at all public clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and diagnostic centers in a sweeping move intended to stamp out corruption and restore confidence in the state health system, the government announced Monday. The directive bars public-sector health employees from holding concurrent jobs in private medical facilities. It also requires any health worker who owns or has a stake in a private clinic, pharmacy or diagnostic center to divest within 30 days or face dismissal and…

Dancan Chege left Kimende, a small town in Kenya’s Kiambu County, expecting to drive trucks in Russia. Within days, he says, he was wearing a Russian uniform in occupied Ukraine, his civilian clothes burned, and a trainer warning him and other recruits: “This is the Russian military, and once you are in, you either fight or die.” Chege’s account mirrors a growing pattern across Kenya and parts of Africa: fraudulent recruitment funneling young men into the Russia-Ukraine war. Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS)…

Kenya’s spy agency says a trafficking pipeline aided by rogue officials has funneled up to 1,000 Kenyans into Russia’s war in Ukraine, with at least one death and dozens injured or missing, according to a report presented to parliament. The National Intelligence Service report, tabled Wednesday by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, details alleged collusion by airport staff, immigration officers, investigators and labor officials to recruit and move Kenyans into Russia under false pretenses. It says 89…

Analysis: U.S.-backed airpower reshapes Somalia’s fight with al-Shabab — but can gains hold as peacekeepers depart? Somalia’s government says a combination of U.S.-supported airstrikes and newly expanded ground operations has shifted the momentum in its long war with al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. Officials tout battlefield gains, especially the retaking of territory long held by the militants and strikes on leadership nodes and bomb-making networks. The turn comes as African Union peacekeepers draw down and Somali forces assume…

Palestine Action remains a banned organization in the United Kingdom despite its co-founder winning a significant High Court challenge to the government’s decision to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act 2000. Judge Victoria Sharp said Friday that Huda Ammori’s legal challenge succeeded on two of four grounds. But the court kept the proscription in place to allow further arguments and to give the British government time to consider an appeal. Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said she would appeal. “Home secretaries…

Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers will square off in Manhattan on Wednesday over whether a man accused of killing a health insurance executive could face the federal death penalty if convicted. Luigi Mangione, 27, is due in U.S. District Court for a hearing at 11 a.m. Eastern (4 p.m. in Ireland) before Judge Margaret Garnett. Mangione is charged in the December 2024 fatal shooting of United Health CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk, a killing that drew swift condemnation from public officials. Mangione…

Colombia’s Petro, Trump agree to ‘joint action’ against ELN along Venezuela border after first call, minister says BOGOTA — Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump to take “joint action” against the National Liberation Army (ELN) along the Venezuelan border after the two leaders held their first phone call, Colombia’s interior minister said. Interior Minister Armando Benedetti told Blu Radio that Petro and Trump used the conversation to de-escalate tensions and align on confronting…

Somalia graduates new Gorgor Special Forces at TURKSOM as push against al-Shabab builds MOGADISHU — Somalia on Thursday graduated new units of its elite Gorgor Special Forces after completing training at the TURKSOM Military Training Academy, a milestone officials framed as pivotal to intensifying military operations against al-Shabab in the south. Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, speaking at the ceremony, praised Somali National Army (SNA) leadership for sustained efforts to professionalize the force and strengthen…