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Of that total, more than 560 died in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan, 25 in Ukraine and 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the…
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Of that total, more than 560 died in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in…
Djibouti’s leader Ismail Omar Guelleh is expected to win a presidential election Friday, extending his 27-year rule of the tiny, highly strategic Horn of Africa nation.Guelleh, 78, known as “IOG”, is one of Africa’s longest serving leaders and has ruled the nation of around 1mn people since 1999.He has turned the arid former French colony into an international military and maritime hub for both the United States and China.With the opposition divided and largely silenced, Guelleh faces a single, low-profile opponent.He has campaigned across the country dressed in green, with a matching jersey and cap.”There’s not much at stake. It’s just a token competition,” said Sonia le Gouriellec, a Horn of Africa expert at Lille Catholic University.In a volatile region, Guelleh casts himself as the guarantor of stability in a nation nestled between old foes Ethiopia and Eritrea.To its south lies Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic with a deep-water port and airfield whose unilateral independence from Somalia is recognised only by Israel.Last year, Djibouti struck a partnership with the Saudi Arabia to run its port at Tadjourah.The country’s stability has drawn foreign military powers to establish bases there.France’s biggest military base in Africa, counting some 1,500 soldiers, is in Djibouti, while China, Japan and Italy have troops in the country too.Djibouti is also home to the only permanent US military base in Africa, with some 4,000 troops supporting “anti-terrorist” operations on the continent, notably in Somalia.Djibouti has a unique location between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.It is situated at the mouth of the key Bab al-Mandab strait, a narrow waterway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.Without agriculture to rely on, Djibouti depends on its ports for 70% of gross domestic product, with Ethiopia its main maritime outlet.Now, with the Middle East engulfed in the war pitting the United States and Israel against Iran, shipping in the Bab al-Mandab strait is under threat, possibly from Iran’s allies, the Houthi fighters in Yemen.But the presence in Djibouti of military from China, another ally of Iran’s, “protects the country from attacks by the Houthis” for now, said Le Gouriellec, the Horn of Africa expert.Just over 256,000 people are eligible to choose in Friday’s election between Guelleh and Mohamed Farah Samatar, a former member of the ruling party and head of the Unified Democratic Centre (CDU), which has no seats in parliament.Omar Ali Ewado, head of the Djibouti League of Human Rights (LDDH), has called the vote a “masquerade” and said it is a “foregone conclusion”.”The person who will challenge President Guelleh is a member of a small party subservient to those in power,” he said.Djibouti is accused by human rights organisations of repressing dissenting voices. It ranks 168th out of 180 in the 2025 press freedom index by Reporters Without Borders.The head of state is also accused of favouring his ethnic group over the minorities, who complain of being marginalised.Guelleh won re-election in 2021 with 97% of the vote, in a ballot largely boycotted by the opposition.That was meant to be his final term but parliament voted to remove the 75-year age limit for presidential candidates.Asked whether Guelleh, who has difficulty walking, will see out his sixth mandate, Le Gouriellec said it depended on his health.”Those around him, especially his wife, his stepson and his daughter, are in the front row and are already influential,” she said. Related Story Source link
In a proud moment for MES Indian School, Eisa Muhammed Shanavas (VI-A) delivered an exceptional performance at the prestigious AP Aslam Holy Qur’an International Award 2025, held recently at Malappuram, Kerala.The competition brought together nearly 200 talented participants from across the GCC and India, offering a platform to celebrate excellence in Qur’anic recitation and memorisation.Among this diverse group of contestants, Shanavas secured the 6th position, a remarkable achievement that reflects his dedication to reciting the Holy Qur’an.In recognition of his accomplishment, he was honoured with a memento and a cash prize during the award ceremony. Shanavas’ success stands as a source of immense pride for the school, his family, and the broader community. The school commended his commitment and encouraged students to pursue excellence in both spiritual and academic domains, upholding the values of discipline, devotion, and integrity. Source link
Seized vessel Fitburg rests in harbour in Kirkkonummi, Finland. – Reuters A vessel seized in Finland suspected of damaging a telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn was transporting Russian steel targeted by European Union sanctions, Finnish Customs said Thursday. On Wednesday Finnish police detained the Fitburg, a 132m-long cargo ship en route from St Petersburg, Russia, to Haifa, Israel, and its 14 crew members following suspicion the ship’s anchor had damaged the subsea telecoms cable in the Gulf of Finland. “Preliminary information indicated that the cargo consisted of steel products originating in Russia, which are subject to extensive sanctions imposed on Russia,” Finnish Customs said in a statement. The agency therefore carried out an inspection of the ship’s cargo late on Wednesday. “According to the assessment of experts at Finnish Customs, the structural steel in question falls under the EU’s sectoral sanctions,” it said. “Import of such sanctioned goods into the EU is prohibited under EU sanctions regulations.” Finnish Customs said it was still investigating “the applicability of EU sanctions legislation to this case”. The steel remained impounded pending clarification, it said, and Finnish Customs has opened a preliminary inquiry “with a view to launching a pre-trial investigation into a potential sanctions violation”. Finnish police said on Wednesday that they were investigating the damaged cable incident as “aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications”. The Fitburg (pictured) is flagged from St Vincent and Grenadines, and its 14 crew members – from Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan – were detained by Finnish police. Two of the crew members were placed under arrest Thursday and two others were placed under a travel ban, police said, refusing to disclose their nationalities or roles in the crew. Energy and communications infrastructure, including underwater cables and pipelines, have been damaged in the Baltic Sea in recent years. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many experts and political leaders have viewed the suspected cable sabotage as part of a “hybrid war” carried out by Russia against Western countries. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that Europe “remains vigilant” as its critical infrastructure was “at high risk of sabotage”. “The EU will continue to fortify its critical infrastructure, including by investing in new cables, strengthening surveillance, ensuring more repair capacity, and moving against Moscow’s shadow fleet, which also acts as a launchpad for hybrid attacks,” she wrote on X. The cable damaged on Wednesday is owned by Finnish telecoms group Elisa and located in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone. Related Story Source link
Dozens of settlers stormed the courtyards of Al Aqsa Mosque on Thursday under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.Sources in Jerusalem said that groups of settlers stormed Al Aqsa Mosque in the morning through the Mughrabi Gate, under the protection of the occupation police, carrying out provocative tours in the mosque's courtyards, during which they performed public Talmudic rituals.Settler groups continue their daily incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque, except on Fridays and Saturdays, in two periods, morning and evening, as part of ongoing attempts to impose a temporal and spatial division of the mosque.2025 ended in Jerusalem with a widespread escalation in Israeli occupation violations that affected both people and places, with December being one of the most dangerous months, especially in terms of demolition operations and attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalemites. Source link
Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka reacts after a point against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro during their singles match on day…
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