A decades-old confrontation between Washington and Havana took a dramatic new turn after former Cuban president Raúl Castro was charged in the United States with murder, sharply intensifying pressure on the island’s communist leadership. The indictment was filed on 23 April in federal court in Miami, Florida. According to the court documents, the 94-year-old faces one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Five other individuals are also listed as defendants…

Rwandan opposition figure Victoire Ingabire is back in court for a second trial, this time accused of inciting public unrest and joining a criminal organization. She appears alongside nine co-defendants, most of whom are fellow members of her party, Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi). Ingabire was freed in September 2018 by a presidential pardon from President Paul Kagame after serving 8 years of a 15-year sentence.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 17 – Former Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has launched a sharp attack on Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of trampling on the constitution after comments that suggested his mandate would run until May 15, 2027. Sharif warned that Somalia was drifting into a perilous political moment and urged leaders to reach a broad agreement on how elections should be held, instead of what he described as efforts to prolong the government’s time in office. “It is unfortunate that someone who has twice…

The war’s reach hit Hamas’ leadership circle again when an Israeli airstrike killed the son of the group’s chief negotiator in US-mediated talks on Gaza’s future, a senior Hamas official said, as Hamas leaders gathered in Cairo to try to shore up their fragile truce with Israel. Azzam Al-Hayya, the son of Khalil Al-Hayya, died of wounds sustained in an Israeli strike overnight, according to health officials and Hamas officials. He was the fourth son of Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief to be killed in Israeli attacks. The Israeli…

Mali's military leader, Assimi Goïta, has stepped into the role of defense minister following the death of Sadio Camara, who was killed in a suspected suicide bombing amidst a spate of coordinated assaults. Goïta is poised to take over the defense portfolio in the wake of this tragic event. The nation is grappling with a severe security crisis, more than a week after a coalition of jihadists and separatist insurgents launched extensive attacks across the country. This operation, spearheaded by the Azawad Liberation Front…

MOGADISHU — Former Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has said that ex-North Western State of Somalia leader Muse Bihi Abdi agreed in principle to talks on reunification with Somalia after mediation by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2020. According to Farmaajo, Abiy was pushing for Somali unity at a time when Ethiopia has long been viewed as a player in the region’s divisions, and he suggested the latest moves pointed toward a more conciliatory phase in relations. Farmaajo said the process took shape during a…

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered an unusually sharp rebuke of Washington this week, accusing America of entering the war with Iran without a clear plan for how to finish it. The US, he said bluntly, appeared to have no strategy for the conflict. "The problem with conflicts like this is always you don't just have to get in," he said during a meeting with German students, "you have to get out again". "We saw that very painfully in Afghanistan for 20 years - we saw it in Iraq," he added. The remarks quickly set off a…

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, declared that Tehran will defend its "nuclear and missile capabilities" as core national assets, striking a combative note as Washington presses for a broader agreement to shore up a fragile ceasefire. The intervention comes as US President Donald Trump pushes for an expanded deal aimed at reinforcing the uneasy truce that followed the war. Since assuming power after his father was killed at the outset of the conflict, Mr Khamenei has consistently projected defiance, and his…

ABU DHABI — Kenyan President William Ruto and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, using the high-level talks to reinforce bilateral ties and confront shared concerns over regional security, including a forceful condemnation of recent attacks on Emirati infrastructure. The two leaders centered their discussions on widening cooperation through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with attention on investment, renewable energy, technology, and infrastructure. Both…

TEHRAN, April 22 — Iran’s political center is shrouded in uncertainty after more than six weeks without a public appearance or recorded message from Mojtaba Khamenei, the man named as the country’s supreme leader amid a tense ceasefire countdown with the United States. The 56-year-old cleric was presented as the successor to his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the elder leader died in late February. Yet since the announcement, he has remained out of sight, while state media have filled the vacuum with written remarks…