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BOSASO, Somalia — A roadside explosion struck a mine-sweeping vehicle on the new road linking Bosaso and Dhaadaar on Sunday morning, killing at least three members of Puntland State’s security forces and wounding more than five others, officials said. The blast occurred as security units were conducting a clearance operation along the route, according to security sources. The vehicle was working to detect and neutralize suspected explosives when the device detonated. Those killed include Jama Mohamed Caduur, known as…

Somalia’s child-protection reckoning after a teenager’s killing — and a rare death sentence The killing of 14-year-old orphan Saabirin Saylaan in Galkayo has jolted Somalia into a painful examination of how the state, communities and families protect — and fail — their children. A court in Puntland State convicted caregiver Hodan Mohamud Diiriye, 34, of murder and sentenced her to death, an exceptional punishment in a child-abuse case that underscores both the scale of public outrage and the fragility of Somalia’s protective…

Liverpool 2-1 Wolves: Wirtz breaks duck as Slot’s side hold off late surge after Jota tribute ANFIELD — Florian Wirtz finally opened his Liverpool account and Ryan Gravenberch struck the opener before a nervy finish, as Liverpool edged Wolves 2-1 in a match framed by a moving tribute to the late Diogo Jota and a bleak milestone for the visitors’ winless season. Wolves, competitive throughout and adventurous after the break, fell to a record that underlines the scale of their struggle. Their 18th match without a win from the…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), working with the National Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission of Somalia (NIEBC), has trained 102 journalists in professional election coverage, safety and countering disinformation ahead of the Banadir Regional Council elections set to start Thursday in Mogadishu. The two-day program brought together reporters, editors and media practitioners from 27 accredited outlets across the capital, spanning private and state-owned media. Organizers said the…

Kenyan man gets life for al-Shabaab plot to crash hijacked airliner into Atlanta’s tallest building A federal judge on Monday sentenced Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 34, to two consecutive life terms plus a lifetime of supervised release for plotting a 9/11-style attack on Atlanta’s 55-story Bank of America Plaza on behalf of the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab. A Manhattan jury found Abdullah guilty in 2024 on six counts tied to the thwarted plot, which prosecutors said was designed to mirror the tactics of the Sept. 11,…

Thousands march along Lake Street to protest DHS ‘Operation Metro Surge’ in Minneapolis Arrests top 400 as enforcement enters third week; organizers say fear is emptying stores and streets MINNEAPOLIS — In bitter cold Saturday morning, thousands of people marched more than a mile down the Lake Street corridor to protest stepped-up immigration enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security as its Operation Metro Surge moves into a third week. The event — organized by COPAL, Unidos and local union groups — drew families,…

Somalia, Egypt deepen ties in Cairo talks, eye embassy move to Mogadishu and stronger security coordination CAIRO — Somalia and Egypt pledged to advance a broader strategic partnership after their foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, focusing on economic cooperation, security coordination and regional stability. Somali Foreign Affairs Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali and Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdel Atty discussed plans to…

Somalia’s latest political confrontation is more than a quarrel over election dates. It is a stress test of the country’s post-debt-relief political order—and, by extension, of the international state-building model that has underwritten Mogadishu’s progress for more than a decade. At the center is the National Consultation Conference, an opposition-aligned gathering that closed this week in Kismayo with a stark indictment of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government. Its communiqué accuses the presidency of…

KISMAYO, Somalia — A senior Puntland State official urged President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to embrace the outcomes of the Somali Future Council conference that concluded in Kismayo on Saturday, as the newly formed opposition alliance set a Jan. 20, 2026, deadline for inclusive talks on Somalia’s elections. Abdifatah Mohamed Abdinur, the state minister for the Puntland State presidency, called on the president to place national interests above personal considerations and warned against actions that could deepen political…

Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ bound for Venezuela, escalating standoff with Maduro WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered what he called a “total and complete blockade” of all “sanctioned oil tankers” going into and out of Venezuela, a sweeping move that intensifies U.S. pressure on Nicolás Maduro and raises fresh legal and military questions about enforcement in the Caribbean. The announcement, delivered in a late-night social media post, came days after U.S. forces seized an oil tanker…