minister

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s defense minister accused Israel of planning to forcibly relocate Palestinians to North Western State of Somalia and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse Israel’s surprise recognition of the breakaway region, escalating a diplomatic standoff that has rippled across the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. In an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast Saturday, Defense Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi called Israel’s move a “serious violation” of international law and a “direct attack” on…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has postponed a planned visit to Somalia that would have marked the first trip by a Chinese foreign minister to the country since the 1980s, Somali officials said Friday. Instead, Wang arrived in Tanzania for a two-day working stop on his annual New Year’s tour of Africa. Somalia had billed the visit as a significant diplomatic moment as Mogadishu navigates fresh pressures at home and abroad. Earlier this week, Israel became the first country to formally recognize the…

Irish officials have condemned X’s decision to put some of its Grok AI image-editing tools behind a paywall, calling the move “window dressing” that fails to address the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes, including images of children, on the platform. Niamh Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for AI, said X had informed her it would meet with her in the coming weeks after she requested talks earlier this week. But she said restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers does nothing to stop…

Ireland’s minister for AI has condemned X’s decision to put parts of its Grok AI image tool behind a paywall, calling the move “window dressing” that fails to address the spread of abusive and illegal deepfakes. X said this week it has limited Grok’s image generation and editing features to paying subscribers. Users asking Grok to alter photos now receive a prompt stating those functions are “currently limited to paying subscribers,” with links to subscribe. The platform’s AI also told one user the change was “effective…

Former Ghana Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta Detained in U.S. Amid Corruption Allegations U.S. immigration authorities have detained Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana's former Finance Minister, who is currently wanted in his home country on corruption allegations. According to his legal team, the former official has been in the United States since January 2024 to receive treatment for prostate cancer. Ofori-Atta was declared a fugitive by Ghanaian authorities shortly before being formally charged in November 2025. In December,…

Somalia probes alleged illegal use of airspace for flights linked to Yemeni leader, Israeli foreign minister MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government says it has opened an investigation into reports that the country’s airspace was used unlawfully by a flight carrying South Yemen leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who is said to be traveling on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. In a statement, the immigration agency said that if the allegations are confirmed, the incident would amount to a serious violation of Somali law…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Somalia as part of a Jan. 7-12 African tour that also includes Ethiopia, Tanzania and Lesotho, Beijing said Wednesday, underscoring the Horn of Africa’s growing diplomatic weight amid tensions over North Western State of Somalia. Wang, who also serves on the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, is slated to attend the launch of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. The…

HARGEISA, North Western State of Somalia — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar arrived in Hargeisa on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after Israel announced it had recognized North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, in a visit that immediately sharpened diplomatic tensions across the Horn of Africa. Saar is expected to meet North Western State of Somalia President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and hold a joint news conference later in the day, according to a North Western State of Somalia diplomatic source cited…

BEIJING — Taoiseach Micheál Martin is set to hold in-depth talks on trade with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a five-day visit to China, pressing for progress on Irish beef exports and relief from tariffs on dairy products as EU-China trade tensions simmer. The meeting with Li follows Martin’s summit with President Xi Jinping, where the Irish leader raised sector-specific barriers facing Irish agri-food exporters and broader questions about how Europe and China manage an increasingly fraught economic relationship. “I…

Ireland’s prime minister, or Taoiseach, Micheál Martin said his government never accepted “the legitimacy of the Maduro regime” in Venezuela but has sought a peaceful, democratic transition — remarks that came as deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was set to appear in a U.S. court following his weekend capture by U.S. forces. Maduro was detained during a military raid Saturday in Caracas that has plunged the country into uncertainty. U.S. officials have not publicly detailed the legal proceedings ahead, but…