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TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan security forces have rescued more than 200 migrants from a clandestine underground prison in the southeastern town of Kufra, exposing what authorities described as brutal and degrading detention conditions along one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. Officials said the detainees — including women and children from sub-Saharan Africa, primarily Somalia and Eritrea — were found in multiple cells nearly three meters below ground. Some had been held for up to two years. The suspected trafficker…

Libya rescues more than 200 migrants from underground prison in Kufra as abuse allegations mount TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan security forces have rescued more than 200 migrants from a clandestine underground detention site in the southeastern town of Kufra, where authorities say victims were held in brutal, degrading conditions for months and, in some cases, years. Security officials said the migrants were discovered in an improvised prison nearly three meters (about 10 feet) below ground, allegedly run by a Libyan trafficker.…

Somali, AU and Ugandan troops kill 30-plus al-Shabab fighters in Lower Shabelle operation MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali government forces, backed by the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia and Uganda’s military, killed more than 30 al-Shabab militants during a joint operation in the Lower Shabelle region, authorities said Thursday. The fighting erupted near the Bulunagaad Forward Operating Base when militants attacked Somali National Army units and AUSSOM troops conducting pursuit operations in the area,…

Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia is not mere diplomatic theater. Announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the move inserts the Middle East’s most combustible politics into the Horn of Africa and raises the stakes along the Red Sea—one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors. For Somalia, which maintains a One Somalia policy with near-universal international backing, the gambit threatens national unity. For North Western State of Somalia, it offers symbolism without sovereignty at a…

WASHINGTON — The FBI has surged agents and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle “large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs,” director Kash Patel said Sunday, citing a pandemic-era case that authorities now view as only “the tip of a very large iceberg.” Patel said the bureau’s expanded deployment follows a multiyear probe that uncovered a $250 million scheme that siphoned federal food aid intended for children during the Covid-19 emergency. That investigation, which focused on operations in…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday it has uncovered more than a million additional documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, delaying a congressionally mandated release of records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act as officials review the material for legally required redactions. In a social media post, the department said the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI informed Justice officials of the trove, prompting DOJ lawyers to “work around the clock”…

US to bring seized tanker to American port, vows to take its oil; Venezuela decries ‘piracy’ as Russia signals support The United States will bring an oil tanker seized off Venezuela to a US port and intends to confiscate the crude aboard, the White House said Thursday, signaling Washington could target additional sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters the operation, carried out by the US military a day earlier, is part of a broader effort to disrupt illicit energy flows…

Thursday, December 11, 2025 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has launched an emergency diphtheria vaccination drive in the Banadir region as an expanding outbreak kills at least 50 people in recent weeks and infects more than 1,000 children, officials said. The five-day campaign begins Monday, Dec. 15, and will deploy teams to neighborhoods, health centers and schools in Mogadishu and surrounding districts. The ministry urged parents to ensure children are vaccinated, calling diphtheria “a…

Despite scientific and technological advances over the past century, more than 40 million people worldwide continue to be victims of modern-day slavery, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported, showing that countries made little or no progress in stopping forced labor. "Modern slavery is used as an umbrella term covering methods such as forced labor, indebtedness, forced marriage and human trafficking. It mainly refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave due to…