report

Al‑Shabaab’s War Chest: How a Militant Tax System Fuels a Comeback in Somalia A militant economy hiding in plain sight The hardest thing to see in Somalia’s long war is often the most obvious: the receipts. A new assessment by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point says al‑Shabaab, al‑Qaida’s Somali affiliate, is now the network’s financial powerhouse—pulling in an estimated $100 million to $200 million a year. That money isn’t just paying for bullets. It’s rebuilding a parallel state. The report, The Global State…

Namibia’s children exposed: online life and the quiet rise of digital harm Snapshot of a hidden crisis A new study has lifted the lid on a worrying trend in Namibia: an estimated 20,000 children are exposed to online sexual exploitation and abuse every year, according to research published by the Disrupting Harm project. The study, which maps technology‑facilitated abuse of children, also finds that roughly 80 percent of Namibians aged 12 to 17 use the internet — primarily for schoolwork and social media — creating both…

Gaza City assault exposes the limits of force and the widening diplomatic rupture Israeli tanks and bulldozers have pushed deeper into Gaza City in recent days, flattening apartment blocks and killing dozens of civilians in strikes that have left families digging through rubble for shreds of their lives. Gazan health authorities say at least 31 people were killed when residential buildings were blasted; among them, medics reported, were a pregnant woman and two children. One man, his leg later amputated after he was rushed…

Zimbabwe’s Human Rights Report: A Pattern of Violence, State Complicity and Vulnerable Lives When the Zimbabwe Peace Project released a terse but damning account this week documenting more than 3,000 victims of rights abuses in a single month, it read like a catalogue of a nation trapped between political control and social distress. The group documented at least 121 distinct incidents in August, finding that women and people with disabilities were disproportionately affected. Nearly half of the violations, the report says,…

Sub-Saharan Africa's Struggle Against Child Poverty: A Call to Action In a world that has seen significant strides in reducing extreme child poverty, one region remains starkly excluded from this progress: Sub-Saharan Africa. According to a recent report by the World Bank and UNICEF, this area has not only failed to improve over the past decade, but it has also allowed the specter of poverty to loom larger over its youngest inhabitants. Alarmingly, more than half of the region's children live below the poverty line,…

Zimbabwe's Human Rights Struggles: A Deepening Crisis As Zimbabwe approaches a pivotal moment in its political landscape, a recent report by the U.S. Department of State has cast a stark light on the country’s ongoing struggles with human rights. The grim findings reveal a pattern of severe violations that has yet to see meaningful accountability from President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration, raising urgent questions about the future of democracy in this Southern African nation. Violations Beyond the Headlines The…

Authorities in China have reported a devastating incident in Zhuhai, where a tragic collision resulted in the loss of 35 lives and left 43 individuals injured. This harrowing event took place yesterday evening when a vehicle barreled into pedestrians in the southern city. Initial reports only indicated injuries, and the swift removal of videos documenting the incident from social media left many details under wraps. However, police later clarified, labeling the episode a "serious and vicious attack" that transpired at the…

In the heart of Mogadishu, a troubling situation unfolds in Somalia (AX) as the nation grapples with alarmingly low immunization and treatment rates for pneumonia and diarrhea. These two maladies are the leading killers of children under the age of five. A recent analysis by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health highlights that Somalia is painfully lagging in delivering essential healthcare measures, putting countless young lives at stake. The study titled "Tracking Progress Toward Pneumonia and Diarrhea…

**Tragic Blast in Quetta Shocks Balochistan** Quetta, Pakistan, November 9, 2024. REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed. Purchase Licensing Rights In a shocking incident on Saturday, a devastating explosion ripped through a bustling railway station in Quetta, the vibrant hub of southwestern Pakistan, leaving the community reeling. Reports from local authorities indicate that at least 24 individuals lost their lives, while over 40 more are grappling with injuries, some critically. This act of violence has cast a long shadow over the area,…

Gaza's civil defense authorities reported that a recent Israeli attack claimed the lives of 30 individuals, including 13 children, following strikes on two homes in the northern region of the Palestinian territory. The first airstrike occurred early today in Jabalia, a northern Gaza town, where initial reports indicated "at least 25" fatalities, among them the 13 children. More than 30 individuals sustained injuries, as noted by the civil defense. Since October 6, the Israeli military has unleashed a relentless…