nationwide

Somalia’s Parliament Passes Medicine Bill to Tackle Counterfeit Drugs; Lawmakers Weigh Tobacco Control Pact MOGADISHU — Somalia’s lower house of parliament on Saturday approved the Medicine Bill, a landmark piece of health legislation aimed at tightening oversight of pharmaceuticals after years of weak regulation and widespread concerns over counterfeit and substandard drugs. The House of the People passed the bill during the 25th meeting of its seventh session, with 141 lawmakers voting in favor, one abstention and no…

Somali cities erupt in protests after Israel recognizes North Western State of Somalia MOGADISHU — Large-scale demonstrations swept across Somalia on Tuesday after Israel announced it would recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, a move widely condemned by Somalis as a threat to the country’s unity and territorial integrity. Protesters gathered in the capital and regional hubs, chanting against what they called a bid to divide the nation and pledging to defend Somalia’s sovereignty. Rallies were…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Large-scale protests erupted across Somalia on Tuesday after Israel announced it would recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, a move widely denounced as a threat to Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity. Demonstrations drew crowds in cities and towns spanning multiple regions, with local officials and witnesses reporting peaceful gatherings that brought together religious scholars, intellectuals, women and youth. Protesters chanted against any attempt to divide the country…

Low turnout marks junta-run election in Myanmar as critics call vote not credible Voters in Myanmar appeared to cast ballots in low numbers in the first phase of a military-organized general election, the country’s first since the 2021 coup toppled the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The ruling junta, which crushed nationwide pro-democracy protests after seizing power and now faces an entrenched armed rebellion, says the three-stage vote is a path to stability and a restored civilian-led system. But the…

The Malawian government is facing growing pressure to explain its silence over the cost and justification of Vice President Jane Ansah’s private trip to the United Kingdom, a controversy that has intensified as citizens are braced for austerity and deep cuts in public spending. Leaked documents circulating in local media allege that as many as 15 people would accompany Ansah and that the trip could cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The documents have not been independently verified. Ansah’s office confirmed the…

Australia will launch a sweeping national gun buyback in response to the Bondi Beach mass shooting, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, as hundreds of residents returned to the surf Saturday to honor the victims with a solemn ocean gathering. Albanese vowed to “get guns off our streets” and to tighten firearms laws that allowed the suspected gunman, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, to legally own six high-powered rifles. The prime minister said it would be the largest buyback since 1996, when Australia overhauled gun laws after…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used a rare prime-time address from the White House to promise an economic boom and blame Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for stubbornly high prices, even as fresh polling shows voters increasingly sour on his handling of the economy at the close of his first year back in power. “Eleven months ago I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” said Trump, 79, casting his stewardship as a course correction from the Biden era. He insisted that gas and grocery prices that have strained household…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities on Monday released surveillance footage and appealed for the public’s help identifying a masked suspect in the Brown University shooting that killed two students and wounded eight others, as the manhunt entered another day and a shaken campus remained on edge. Investigators said they have not identified the gunman who opened fire with a 9mm handgun inside a classroom in Brown’s engineering and physics building on Saturday, then slipped away as police converged on the scene. The victims were…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Ministry of Education says it is close to completing a long-promised plan to recruit 10,000 teachers nationwide, a push officials say will strengthen the curriculum, expand access to schooling in underserved areas and widen training for both new and current educators. Education Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulqadir announced the update Sunday, framing the initiative as the backbone of wider reforms to raise quality and bring consistency to the country’s fragmented school system. “We are finalizing…

Australia bans social media for under-16s, ordering platforms to block access or face multimillion-dollar fines, in a first-of-its-kind move the government says will help families “take back control.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the landmark law, calling it a decisive step against the influence of powerful technology companies and an overdue safeguard for children. “This is Australia showing enough is enough,” he said, describing the measure as “one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has…