U.S

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A rickshaw operator was shot dead late Sunday in Mogadishu’s Dayniile district by an armed man believed to be a Somali government soldier, relatives and witnesses said, in a killing that has revived public anger over military accountability in the capital. The victim, identified by family as Abdirisaq Abuukar Mohamud, was killed in the Barwaqo area of Dayniile. The assailant was allegedly a member of the Somali National Army, reportedly among troops trained in Eritrea, according to relatives.…

Somali influencer deported from U.S. returns to Mogadishu under threat, stoking migrant fears MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali social media influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers has been deported from the United States after months in immigration detention, returning to Mogadishu amid renewed fears for his safety and mounting anxiety across Somali migrant communities in the American Midwest. Mahad Mohamud, 36, widely known online as “Garyaqaan,” or “The Lawyer,” was removed from the U.S. last month after…

ISIS gunman kills 2 U.S. troops and a U.S. civilian in Syria ambush; attacker dead, CENTCOM says Two U.S. service members and a U.S. civilian were killed and three other service members were wounded when a lone ISIS (Daesh) gunman ambushed a joint operation in Syria on Dec. 13, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday. The assailant was engaged and killed at the scene, according to a CENTCOM statement posted on X. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the civilian killed was a U.S. interpreter. CENTCOM did not…

Turkey starts building Somalia spaceport, a strategic equatorial launch site drawing global scrutiny Turkey has begun constructing a satellite and rocket launch site on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast, a bold step that Ankara says will accelerate its space ambitions and that outside observers say is already drawing intense attention from rival powers. The spaceport — publicly backed by Baykar chairman Selçuk Bayraktar — is being developed under Turkish state authority on a roughly 30-by-30-kilometer coastal tract. Turkish…

MINNEAPOLIS — The takedown happened in seconds: masked federal agents sprinting toward a 20-year-old Somali American as he stepped from a restaurant, forcing him through a doorway and pinning him against a metal gate. “Why are you running?” one demanded in the bystander video, despite footage showing he had stopped. Moments later, as snow gathered on his jacket, an arm slid around his neck and he was shoved into an unmarked gray SUV while neighbors shouted that he is a citizen. The man, who asked to be identified as Mubashir…

Two U.S. service members and an interpreter were killed in central Syria when an alleged Islamic State gunman opened fire on a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol near Palmyra, U.S. Central Command said, marking a deadly escalation as Washington and Damascus deepen military coordination against ISIS remnants. CENTCOM announced the deaths on X, adding that three additional troops were wounded in what it described as “an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman.” The attacker “was engaged and killed,” the command said. Officials said the identities…

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners — including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava — after two days of talks with an envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a U.S. statement. In return, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash, a critical fertilizer ingredient that the former Soviet state produces in large volumes for global markets. The release is the largest announced by Lukashenko since Trump’s administration…

Utah — The man accused of killing right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk made his first in-person appearance in a Utah courtroom, a case that has riveted national attention for its political overtones and possible death-penalty stakes. Tyler Robinson, 22, appeared calm as attorneys for both sides conferred over procedural matters expected to shape what observers say could become one of the most closely watched trials in recent years. Robinson wore a light shirt and tie. A judge had previously ruled he did not have to…

Kenya’s High Court on Thursday temporarily halted a $1.6 billion Kenya–U.S. Health Cooperation Framework, citing privacy concerns over the transfer of Kenyans’ medical and epidemiological data. Justice Bahati Mwamuye issued conservatory orders after the Consumers Federation of Kenya petitioned the court to stop implementation until the state provides safeguards for how sensitive health information would be handled. In an interim ruling, the judge paused any move by the State Law Office, the Senate and other government…

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…