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At least 50 killed, women and children abducted in overnight attack on Zamfara village, authorities say ABUJA, Nigeria — Gunmen killed at least 50 people and abducted an unknown number of residents, including women and children, during an overnight attack on a village in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara State, authorities and residents said Friday. The assault began late Thursday and continued into Friday morning in Tungan Dutse village in the Bukkuyum area, where armed men on motorcycles set homes ablaze and seized residents…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government on Monday condemned deadly attacks in Nigeria’s Zamfara state that killed more than 50 civilians and led to the abduction of women and children, expressing solidarity with Abuja and urging the “immediate and unconditional” release of all captives. More than 50 civilians were killed in Tungan Dutse, Bukkuyum area of Zamfara state, according to local authorities and residents. Armed men on motorcycles reportedly torched homes and abducted women and children. Somalia called for the…

TRIPOLI/ATHENS — At least eight people died in two separate Mediterranean crossings this weekend, as five bodies washed ashore near Libya’s capital and Greek authorities recovered three more off the island of Crete while rescuing dozens. Residents in the coastal town of Qasr al-Akhyar, east of Tripoli, found five bodies Saturday and alerted police, according to Hassan al-Ghawil, head of investigations at the local station. He told Reuters the dead were “dark-skinned people,” including two women, and said bystanders reported…

The Bab al-Mandab Strait is fast becoming the world’s most consequential test case for managing great-power rivalry on a narrow, fragile stage. As consensus-based multilateralism stalls and selective enforcement of international law undercuts confidence in global rules, the Red Sea corridor has turned into a live experiment in how to handle competition in an increasingly multipolar world—without breaking the arteries of trade that connect Europe, Asia and Africa. This is not an abstract debate. An estimated 10–15 percent of…

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…

Somalia to recruit 10,000 teachers, shift salaries to domestic revenue in education overhaul MOGADISHU — Somalia will hire 10,000 teachers over the next 45 months and pay their salaries entirely from domestic revenue, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre announced Friday, framing the move as a cornerstone of state-building and economic independence. “For the first time in Somalia’s history, teachers’ salaries will be paid entirely from domestic revenue rather than external support,” Barre wrote on X. “This is not just politics,…

WFP warns Somalia food aid could halt by April without new funds, putting millions at risk The U.N. World Food Program warned Friday that its life-saving food and nutrition assistance in Somalia could grind to a halt as early as April unless fresh funding arrives, threatening to push millions deeper into hunger after years of failed rains and conflict. The agency said an estimated 4.4 million people in Somalia face crisis-level food insecurity, with nearly 1 million already enduring severe hunger. A sharp drop in…

MOGADISHU — The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTAMS) on Thursday welcomed the formal launch of talks between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somali Future Council, calling the dialogue a crucial step toward easing the country’s political impasse ahead of looming constitutional deadlines. The meeting, chaired by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the Presidential Palace, brought together senior government officials and opposition-aligned leaders amid heightened tensions and with less…

NEW YORK — Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has agreed to pay as much as $35 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging two of the late financier’s closest advisers aided and abetted his sex trafficking of young women and teenage girls, according to a court filing Thursday in Manhattan federal court. The proposed agreement, disclosed by Boies Schiller Flexner, a law firm representing Epstein victims, would resolve a 2024 lawsuit against Epstein’s former personal lawyer, Darren Indyke, and former accountant, Richard Kahn. Both…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Counter Terrorism Policing Unit said Wednesday it foiled a planned terrorist attack in Nairobi and seized a cache of weapons and explosives allegedly linked to suspected al-Shabab operatives. In a statement dated Feb. 18, the unit said the operation capped months of surveillance in which investigators tracked suspects’ movements, communications and logistics. Acting on intelligence, officers executed coordinated raids that led to the recovery of firearms, explosive devices and ammunition believed to…