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Kosovo heads for another early election in a prolonged political crisis

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Kosovo is heading for its third parliamentary election in over a year after lawmakers repeatedly failed to elect a new president, pushing the young Balkan nation into renewed political uncertainty. Parliament, which is tasked with choosing the president, on Tuesday faced a midnight deadline to choose a successor to Vjosa Osmani, whose term expired earlier this month. When it failed to do so, the legislature was automatically dissolved. The early election must be held within the next 45 days, but a date was not immediately announced. Political analyst Ilir Deda predicted that the election is likely to be held in June. The vote, Deda added, will test “whether people are willing to hold politicians accountable.” The small Balkan country of 2 million people has faced political turmoil since an election in February 2025 ended inconclusively. A new government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti was formed after an early vote on Dec. 28 but another crisis emerged over who should succeed Osmani...
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Mali leader says situation under control in first speech since attacks

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Mali’s military leader on Tuesday insisted the situation in his country was “under control” as he made his first public address since unprecedented large-scale attacks at the weekend destabilised his ruling junta. Jihadists and Tuareg separatists are still positioned in the vast Sahelian country’s north, three days after launching a stunning wave of attacks, in what junta chief Assimi Goita acknowledged was a situation “of extreme gravity”. Goita had made no public appearance or statement for three days, fuelling doubts about his ability to cling to power, but on Tuesday evening — hours after jihadists threatened to blockade the capital Bamako — he made a speech to the nation on state TV. “As I am speaking to you, security arrangements have been reinforced. The situation is under control and clearing operations, search efforts, intelligence gathering and security measures are continuing,” he said. He urged the population to “stand up against division and national fracture”, saying ...
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Gunmen kill 29 in attack in Nigeria’s Adamawa state

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By Ahmed Kingimi Reuters Gunmen killed at least 29 people in ​an attack on a community ‌in Nigeria’s Adamawa state, the state governor said on Monday. The attackers invaded the community late on Sunday ‌and ​carried out sporadic ⁠shootings for several hours, ⁠killing residents and destroying property, according to local officials and community leaders. Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri ​confirmed the death toll during a visit to Guyaku ⁠community in Gombi ⁠local government area, where ​he condoled with bereaved families and ​described the incident as tragic ‌and unacceptable. He said the state government was working with security agencies to prevent further attacks ⁠and restore normalcy. The motive behind the attack is unknown. However, Adamawa, in northeastern ⁠Nigeria, ‌has in recent years ⁠suffered repeated attacks by ​Boko ‌Haram insurgents including armed ​groups and ⁠criminal gangs, contributing to rising insecurity across rural communities in the region. from The Times Of Ea...
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Mali defence minister killed, fresh fighting between army and rebels

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Mali’s defence minister died after an attack on his house, his family said Sunday, as the army fought a second day of battles with jihadist fighters and separatist rebels near the capital Bamako and other cities, putting the Sahel nation’s ruling junta under severe pressure. Defence Minister Sadio Camara, his second wife and two of his grandchildren died after a car bomb attack on his home in the junta stronghold of Kati, outside Bamako, his family and an official said. Saturday’s shock attacks, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted several areas in the vast arid country. Fighting resumed Sunday in several areas, including Kati, Kidal, Gao and Severe. Tuareg rebels meanwhile announced an agreement allowing Russian forces backing Mali’s army to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was “totally” under their control. “An accord has been reached p...
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Suspect in custody after shots fired at White House correspondents’ dinner

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BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN AP US President Donald Trump has been rushed out of the White House correspondents’ dinner at a hotel in Washington, DC, after a gunman fired shots and tried to breach security.   A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the  White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner  attended by  President Donald Trump  on Saturday night, charging toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired. The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. The armed man, who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody and was expected in court Monday. Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive. “When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjure...
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Ukraine, Russia swap 193 prisoners of war

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Russia and Ukraine on Friday swapped 193 captured soldiers each, the second exchange this month in one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv. The two countries have exchanged thousands of POWs throughout the four-year war — with the swaps often the only result of otherwise stalled talks on ending the conflict. “193 Ukrainian warriors are returning home as part of a prisoner exchange,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. “We remember each and every one and continue working every day to bring our people home from Russian captivity.” AFP journalists at the scene of the swap in northern Ukraine saw dozens of exchanged Ukrainians pour off buses looking pale but relieved after long stints in Russian detention. They wrapped themselves in blue and yellow flags, embraced each other, or cried on the phone to loved ones. One of the servicemen, who identified himself to AFP only as Vadym, said that after three-and-a-half years in Russian detention h...
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More than 500 people killed in Tanzania election violence, inquiry finds

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Tanzania’s electoral violence last year left at least 518 dead, a government-appointed commission said Thursday, giving a figure far below opposition estimates and failing to say who was responsible. While President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared to have won 98 percent of the vote in the October 29 election — in which key opposition figures were barred from running — the polls triggered days of protests around the country that were brutally suppressed by security forces. Opposition and religious groups say thousands were killed by security forces, while Western diplomats have given estimates between 1,000 and 2,000. Hassan sought to depict the protests as pre-planned and implied they were orchestrated by foreigners. “The commission has told us that all the violence was planned, coordinated, financed and executed by people with training and equipment for committing crimes and destruction,” she said after the report was presented. She argued that Africa’s internal wars were usuall...
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