Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia’s new president, is a former professor and peace campaigner whose first administration was marred by allegations of corruption and infighting. Sworn in after midnight on Sunday following a marathon vote by lawmakers, Mohamud is the first Somali president to win a second term. He has vowed to transform the troubled Horn of Africa … Read more
Iran stated its intention to strengthen ties with the United Arab Emirates after Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected president of the Gulf country following the death of his half-brother. Following the severance of ties between Iran and Gulf Arab heavyweight Saudi Arabia, a key ally of the Emirates, the two countries downgraded … Read more
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has completed the trials for the Asia Cup. The trials were attended by 24 people. The PHF Selection Committee announced 20 players based on performance after receiving the approval of PHF President Brigadier (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar. Goalkeepers Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Defenders Mubashir Ali, Emad Shakeel Butt, Hamad-ud-Din … Read more
Parliamentarians in Somalia gathered on Sunday in a heavily defended airport hangar to elect a new president, a vote necessary to keep international help flowing to the poor country ravaged by three decades of civil conflict. According to observers, previous presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud were the frontrunners in a crowded field of … Read more
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli announced a slew of planned privatisations of state-owned enterprises on Sunday, as Cairo grapples with an economic crisis and inflation of nearly 15%. Following years of accusations that state-owned enterprises were crowding out private investments, the government announced a plan on Sunday to more than double the private sector’s share … Read more
NATO pledged open-ended military assistance to Ukraine on Sunday, as Finland celebrated its “historic” request to join the alliance and Western accusations that Russia had suffered serious losses in its advance east. The commitment came after Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment in favour of a bulwark against Russia, reshaping Europe’s power balance and infuriating … Read more
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s new president, met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Sunday as international leaders descended on the oil-rich Gulf state to pay tribute to his late predecessor. Macron extended his sympathies to the leader called “MBZ” following the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa on Friday after … Read more
During talks in Berlin on the two countries joining NATO, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lauded Finland’s conciliatory approach but reprimanded Sweden for making “provocative” statements. Turkey vowed on Friday to stymie NATO’s enlargement process with the two Nordic nations, which requires the alliance’s members’ unanimous agreement. “The Swedish foreign minister’s statements are unfortunately not … Read more
Nessrin, a Beirut blast survivor, hoped the ink on her finger would be a toe in the door of parliament for new politicians fighting corruption after voting in Lebanon’s elections on Sunday. The Karantina area of the capital, where she voted, was one of the hardest hit by the August 2020 explosion, which killed over … Read more
Police in Somalia has announced a 33-hour curfew on the capital Mogadishu that will keep almost all residents at home during a presidential election by lawmakers on Sunday, in which incumbent leader Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is seeking a second term. Police spokesperson Abdifatah Aden announced at a press conference on Saturday a full curfew in … Read more
Finland sought to allay Moscow’s concerns about its NATO bid on Saturday, as fighting raged in Ukraine’s east, slowing a hoped-for Russian advance. Meanwhile, wives and parents of Ukrainian fighters trapped in the bowels of a besieged steel plant in the country’s south made a desperate plea to China for assistance in securing their release. … Read more
Relatives of Ukrainian soldiers imprisoned in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant urged China’s President Xi Jinping to “save” the encircled troops, saying he was the last world leader to whom Moscow would listen, On Saturday In another desperate appeal to help the soldiers holed up in the underground tunnels of the massive factory that has been … Read more
Hundreds of people protested Saturday in Nigeria’s northwestern city of Sokoto over the arrest of two students in connection with the murder of a Christian student accused of blasphemy, Residents said. The continent’s most populous country is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians, but religious tensions and deadly clashes are common, especially in the north. … Read more
Somali police declared a curfew in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, citing security concerns as they prohibited all public activity except emergency services until Sunday’s long-delayed presidential election. Dozens of candidates are competing for the top job in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, which is fighting an Islamist insurgency and the threat of famine, … Read more
As the region’s leaders met in Washington for the first summit, Vice President Kamala Harris said the US was dedicated to Southeast Asia for the long haul. “Our administration recognizes the vital strategic importance of your region, a role that will only grow with time,” During a working lunch at the State Department, Harris told … Read more
Moscow warned its people against visiting the United Kingdom on Friday, citing London’s “unfriendly” posture as well as lengthy visa processing times for Russians. “In order to avoid financial losses and other possible problems, we recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible, from traveling to the UK and trying to obtain British visas,” the Russian … Read more
The war is far from over, Ukraine’s finance minister claims that the first signs of economic recovery have emerged since Russian forces withdrew from the capital and northern districts. “The war continues but we are not seeing the same level of escalation as we saw in the first two months,” Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko told … Read more
A top White House economic adviser said on Friday that the nationwide shortage of infant formula in the United States could endure for some time. “This isn’t going to go away in a day or a week,” Brian Deese told CNN. Due to a perfect storm of supply challenges worsened by a large recall, US … Read more
Leni Robredo, the Philippines’ presidential runner-up, vowed Friday to focus on “fighting lies,” urging supporters to accept election results showing the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos won by a landslide. Robredo was the final hurdle in the Marcos family’s decades-long ascent back to the pinnacle of power in the country they left impoverished when … Read more
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that French President Emmanuel Macron is attempting “in vain” to have a constructive dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, According to an interview transcript released by Kyiv on Friday, “We must not look for a way out for Russia, and Macron is doing it in vain,” Zelensky stated on Italian … Read more
Brazil’s inflation rate hit a 26-year high in April, according to the government, as spiraling prices defied the central bank’s efforts to control them. According to the IBGE, inflation in the 12 months to April was 12.13 percent, the highest since 2003 and well above the central bank’s target of 3.5 percent. The rate for … Read more
The army was ambushed in the Sinai peninsula early Wednesday, killing five Egyptian soldiers and seven terrorists, the military claimed, the second such fatal jihadist attack in days. Jihadist fighters attacked at early, according to an army spokeswoman. “One officer and four soldiers were killed and two other soldiers were wounded,” the statement read, adding … Read more
Data released Wednesday showed that drug overdoses killed moreover 100,000 people in the United States in 2021, as the Covid-19 outbreak compounded a crisis fueled by fentanyl and fake online medicines. Experts say everyday life disruptions have been particularly harsh on persons with substance use disorders, while officials in Mexico are seizing record volumes of … Read more
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Algerian gas producers on Tuesday, as Europe scrambles to secure alternative energy supplies in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Algeria is a major gas supplier to Europe, accounting for 11% of imports, compared to 47% from Russia. When the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a … Read more
Sri Lanka deployed thousands of troops and police on Tuesday to enforce a curfew after five people were killed in the worst violence in weeks of protests over an unprecedented economic crisis. Nearly 200 people were also injured on Monday when Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, but this did little to quell public outrage. He … Read more
US lawmakers were set to begin debating a nearly $40 billion aid package for Ukraine on Tuesday, as Washington warned Russia was bracing for a protracted conflict with its neighbor. Defense, humanitarian, and economic funding should pass easily, as the two parties have agreed on the details, and it will likely move quickly through Congress. … Read more
According to the judiciary, the daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani faces prosecution for social media comments about the Revolutionary Guards and the Prophet Mohammed. Faezeh Hashemi, 59, has been “summoned by the prosecutor over these two affairs,” according to judiciary spokesman Zabihollah Khodayian, as quoted by the service’s Mizan Online website. Khodayian … Read more
Russian missile attacks hit the port city of Odessa, and Germany’s top ambassador became the highest-ranking official from Berlin to visit Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion On Tuesday. The surprise visit by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Bucha, a village south of Kyiv where Russian troops are accused of war crimes, came amid growing criticism … Read more
