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Uganda begins withdrawing troops from Somalia after two decades of fighting al-Shabab

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By AFP | Posted by TOE Uganda said Monday that it had begun withdrawing troops from Somalia after almost two decades in the country, removing a vital element in the fight against extremist insurgents. Uganda was the first country to sign up for the African Union’s military mission in Somalia in March 2007 and currently has around 6,500-8,500 troops in key roles, including protecting the capital, Mogadishu. Successive African Union missions have fought the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab militant group, with the help of Western forces, but the group still controls large swathes of central Somalia. Just last week, Al-Shabab claimed to have carried out one of the deadliest attacks on government forces in years, saying it killed hundreds of elite soldiers in the Lower Shabelle region. The government has refused to give a toll. Frustrated with the lack of progress and the endless political chaos in the country, the United States announced this year that it would stop fund...
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Water, jobs and crime among key issues for South African voters

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By Nilutpal Timsina Reuters | Posted by TOE South Africans vote in municipal elections on November 4, with basic services, unemployment and crime topping the agenda in the country’s biggest cities. In Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban, concerns range ​from unreliable water and electricity supplies to joblessness, public safety and a lack of affordable housing. WATER, ELECTRICITY AND SERVICE DELIVERY Water shortages and unreliable electricity supplies have become symbols of municipal failures that have angered voters and eroded support for the ruling African National Congress. About a ​third of Johannesburg’s water supply is lost, with ageing infrastructure, burst pipes, leaks and illegal connections among ​the main causes, according to the annual report of the city’s water agency. Tshwane, which ⁠includes the administrative capital Pretoria, faces similar challenges from ageing water and electricity networks and maintenance backlogs...
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Somali pirates seize Iranian fishing vessel, raising fears of attacks on cargo ships

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BY OMAR FARUK AP | POSTED BY TOE Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people, the Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean said, warning that the ship was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could become a floating base for further attacks. The Azini was hijacked Thursday between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia, a maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said Sunday. The officer told The Associated Press that 12 pirates seized the vessel, which was carrying 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media. The crew’s safety was unknown, the center said in an alert dated Saturday. In an updated warning, it said that pirates could use the vessel as a “mother ship” to support attacks on commercial vessels. The European Union’s naval Operation Atalanta wa...
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Europe-wide protests: Germans join wave of ‘Gen Z’ demonstrations

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By Sam Reeves AFP | Posted by TOE German police fired water cannon to disperse firework-hurling protesters Saturday and were also pelted with other projectiles, as tensions rose at the end of massive youth-led protests. In Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and dozens of other cities, demonstrators turned out for the protests organised by the group “GenZ regelt!” (GenZ has got this), the latest by disillusioned youth in Europe. Thousands of police were deployed across the country and, after mostly peaceful demonstrations, tensions rose in the evening in some places. In the western city of Cologne, where one of the biggest demonstrations took place, police fired water cannon to disperse a crowd after saying protesters had targeted officers with fireworks. “We will not tolerate violence against emergency workers,” said a police statement. Earlier, a march through the city was halted after demonstrators started setting off fireworks. A march was als...
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Civilians from Russian-occupied Oleshky arrive in Belarus on their way to Ukraine

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BY DEREK GATOPOULOS, Associated Press | Posted by TOE Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky in Ukraine arrived in Belarus on Saturday on their way back to Ukraine, part of a major rescue operation carried out under the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4½ years ago. The ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, which the White House says was brokered with help from U.S. first lady Melania Trump, began at 3 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to continue through Sunday evening. It was a rare joint Russia-Ukraine humanitarian effort, a brief respite in the grim war. Civilians from Oleshky, on the Dnipro River, began the long journey out of the war-ravaged region in bus convoys on Friday. The estimated 2,000 remaining residents were offered the choice of traveling to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said those who chose to travel fr...
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Hackers Steal Record $6.3 Billion from Binance in Just 20 Minutes in World’s Biggest Crypto Heist

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By Ankur Banerjee, Rocky Swift and Summer Zhen Reuters | Posted by TOE Hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, in a record theft that analysts pinned on North Korea and said could shake faith in digital assets. Cryptocurrency prices fell on the news, while Binance halted withdrawals and said it would cover the losses. About half the ‌stolen assets were quickly frozen by stablecoin issuers such as Tether, Circle and the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial. The bulk of the heist unfolded in around 20 minutes beginning late on Thursday ‌and bore similarities to previous large attacks blamed on North Korea, according to US blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis. TRM said the attackers were able to order wallets that Binance uses to empty into hacker-controlled wallets, mirroring a 2025 heist at ​crypto exchange Bybit, which the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had attributed to Pyongyang. “TRM att...
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Ship burns as Iran claims 3 tankers hit mines in Strait of Hormuz

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BY Associated Press | POSTED BY TOE Iran says three tankers struck mines and exploded while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized route. Israelis are awaiting final election results as allegations of foreign interference have emerged. And in Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi rebels said a Saudi strike killed 12 people, and another hit a paint factory and could release toxins into the water and soil near the besieged city of Taiz . Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Read our full coverage here . Iran says 3 oil tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz Iran said three oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines over the past 24 hours while attempting to transit an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the state broadcaster, which cited the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report did not identify the tankers or provide details about casualties. The Associated Press could not immedia...
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