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MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia opened its Third National Cybersecurity Forum on Monday, bringing together government, industry and academia in Mogadishu to strengthen digital defenses and coordinate responses to rising cyber risks targeting the country’s essential services and Digital Public Infrastructure. The two-day meeting, themed “Promoting Digital Security in Somalia,” is jointly organized by the National Communications Authority (NCA) and Mogadishu University. Senior government officials, policymakers, cybersecurity…

KISMAYO, Somalia — A high-stakes conference of the Somali Future Council opened Thursday in Kismayo, drawing more than 700 delegates and senior political figures to chart a path toward a consensus-based election model as Somalia nears pivotal votes. The gathering, hosted in the interim capital of Jubaland under heightened security, convenes amid plans to hold one person, one vote local council elections in Mogadishu’s Benadir region on Dec. 25. Organizers and participants say their goal is to avoid political conflict by…

David Cameron reveals prostate cancer diagnosis and urges targeted screening Former British prime minister David Cameron said he was successfully treated for prostate cancer and used his platform this week to press for a targeted screening programme for the disease, the most common cancer in men in the U.K. Cameron told The Times he was prompted by his wife, Samantha, to get tested after the couple heard Soho House founder Nick Jones speak about his own cancer experience on the radio. Cameron said the sequence of…

Somalia’s new passport push is about far more than a booklet Somalia’s decision to tender a “third-generation” e-passport sounds technocratic on the surface — a procurement notice, new materials, a better chip. But in a country where mobility is survival, identity is politics, and trust has been fragile for decades, the stakes are far higher than a redesign. The Immigration and Citizenship Agency (ICA) has put out a global call for bids to produce a polycarbonate, biometric passport aligned with International Civil Aviation…

Ethiopia opens first phase of Ogaden LNG project, pivoting from exports to power its own growth CALUB, Somali Region — Under a rinsed-blue sky and a brisk Ogaden wind, Ethiopia on Thursday inaugurated the first phase of its long-delayed liquefied natural gas project, a move that signals a decisive turn inward: from chasing export windfalls to fueling its own power grid, factories, and farms. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stood before an array of valves and silvered pipes at the Calub gas field and called the Ogaden LNG project…

Milan Mourns a Quiet Revolutionary: Giorgio Armani’s Coffin Lies in State Under a gray Milan sky, a steady line formed outside the Armani Theatre on Saturday as hundreds came to pay respects to Giorgio Armani, the man who reimagined elegance for the late 20th century and made Milan a global fashion capital. His coffin, draped simply, was placed on display for two days of public viewing ahead of a private funeral Monday for the Italian designer who died at 91. A private man, public figure Armani’s death was announced with…

As fighting continues between government forces and Tigrayan rebels, it is a new concern for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed: a new front was opened last weekend between Afars and Issas. It is a strategic and controversial sector between the Afar and Somali regions. Somali authorities accuse Afar militia members of committing a massacre in a city and reviving an already protracted conflict between these two neighboring peoples in the northeast. The battlefield is a long corridor that crosses the Afar region from south to…

Kenya opens airspace for planes to Somalia weeks after shutdown NAIROBI, Kenya - After several weeks of closure, Kenya has finally opened up airspace for planes bound for Somalia, which could help cut expenses for many passengers who use the often busy route most of the time. For weeks, passengers flying from Nairobi to Mogadishu and back, used Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a connecting route,…

This Wednesday, Rwanda marked the 27th anniversary of the Tutsi genocide on April 7, 1994. On Thursday, France will open its archives. The documents will be made available to the public from Thursday 8 April by the National Archives. They provide a better understanding of the position of the French authorities at the time, which until a few days ago was an explosive subject between Paris and Kigali.…

The United States on Thursday announced the opening of a "virtual" diplomatic mission in Western Sahara. In early December, Donald Trump announced that the United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over this disputed territory. In return for the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel, Donald Trump on December…