Global

UN Warns of Growing Terrorism Threat in the Sahel In a stark warning to the international community, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has highlighted the urgent need for a consolidated global response to the rising tide of terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa. With terrorism accounting for nearly 19% of global attacks and over half of related casualties occurring in this area, Guterres emphasized that the proliferation of terrorist groups is not merely a regional issue but a pressing global concern. A Call for…

G20 in Johannesburg: A test of multilateralism as Africa’s priorities meet fracturing diplomacy The historic 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg (November 22–23) arrives with symbolic weight — the first time the grouping meets on African soil — and with urgent expectations. Under South Africa’s presidency theme, “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability,” hosts have signalled a push to center issues that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries: debt sustainability, climate finance, and rising inequality. Yet the…

Overview: Global emissions climb as 1.5C window narrows The latest Global Carbon Budget warns that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels is poised to reach a fresh peak in 2025, and that the remaining CO2 allowance to keep warming below 1.5C is vanishing fast. Scientists say current levels of emissions make meeting the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious goal effectively out of reach without unprecedented rapid action. Fossil CO2 emissions are projected to be about 1.1% higher in 2025 than in 2024, despite rapid deployment of…

‘Bloodstains from space’: El-Fasher exposes the world’s capacity to watch — and not act When United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk told delegates in Geneva that "bloodstains on the ground in El-Fasher have been photographed from space," he was describing more than a grisly image. He was pointing to a painful paradox of modern conflict: the ability of cameras and satellites to record horrors in near real time, and the chronic inability of the international system to do much about them. Türk’s blunt address to the UN…

In London’s Kensington, British‑Somali graduates turn caps and hopes toward a shared future On a mild Sunday in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, blue-and-white ribbons—echoes of the Somali flag—fluttered outside a packed hall as families streamed in, clutching bouquets and camera phones. Inside, as the names of new graduates were called, ululations rose, and elders lifted their hands in prayer. This was the 5th British‑Somali Global Graduation Ceremony, a community rite of passage that has grown into a showcase…

London ceremony spotlights a rising British‑Somali generation and a new model of diaspora engagement On a crisp autumn evening in Kensington and Chelsea, hundreds of family members, politicians and community leaders gathered to celebrate what felt like more than individual degrees: the growing influence of a British‑Somali community staking its claim in Britain’s civic and professional life. The 5th British‑Somali Global Graduation Ceremony, held on 26 October, brought together graduates from leading UK universities and a…

In Durban, Africa's public health debate turns from aid to agency Durban — Delegates in brightly patterned shirts and surgical scrubs threaded their way through the humid corridors of the conference centre here, trading phone numbers, business cards and the kind of blunt, practical advice that follows crises. This was not a glossy health summit but a working room: ministers, nurses, start‑up founders, community health workers and WHO officials convened for the 4th International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA)…

Climate alarms are sounding — but the world is not answering fast enough When António Guterres warned delegates in Geneva this week that the planet is being pushed “to the brink,” he was not only recounting a litany of scientific milestones — every one of the last ten years the hottest on record, ocean heat breaking records, and ecosystems collapsing — he was issuing a practical plea: invest in the systems that give people time to get out of harm’s way. The United Nations secretary-general framed an urgent, solvable part…

Global Gateway in Somalia: Investment with a Human Face — and Hard Questions MOGADISHU — When the European Union rolled out its Global Gateway initiative in Brussels this month, the message was simple: funnel European capital into connectivity projects across Africa, Asia and beyond, and build ties that can withstand geopolitical shocks. For Somalia, a country still rebuilding after decades of conflict, the program promises not just roads and ports but jobs and a stake in the global economy. The EU delegation in Mogadishu…

Somalia’s new passport push is about far more than a booklet Somalia’s decision to tender a “third-generation” e-passport sounds technocratic on the surface — a procurement notice, new materials, a better chip. But in a country where mobility is survival, identity is politics, and trust has been fragile for decades, the stakes are far higher than a redesign. The Immigration and Citizenship Agency (ICA) has put out a global call for bids to produce a polycarbonate, biometric passport aligned with International Civil Aviation…