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France's President and Cameroon's President Paul Biya take part in a joint press conference at The Presidential Palace in Yaounde, Cameroon on July 26, 2022.
Hard Numbers: Biya says bye-bye to opposition leader’s hopes, Church attacked in DRC, Google admits earthquake alert failure, & More
13: Cameroon’s electoral office Elecam accepted just 13 of the 83 candidates who applied to run for president in elections later this year. Among the omissions was prominent opposition leader Maurice Kamto. The 92-year-old incumbent president, Paul Biya, is running for an eighth seven-year term.
40: An Islamic State affiliate killed over 40 churchgoers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sunday, including at least nine children, amid rising violence in the region. The attack highlights the spread of jihadist extremism beyond Africa’s Sahel, and came on the same day that the DRC signed a peace agreement with Rwanda-backed rebels in its mineral-rich east.
10 million: Google admitted that it failed to sufficiently alert 10 million people who lived near the epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in February 2023. Only 469 people received a “Take Action” warning after the initial quake. Over 55,000 people died as a result of the disaster.
2: England women’s soccer team won their second straight European Championship on Sunday, defeating Spain in a penalty shootout after yet another comeback. This was England head coach Sarina Wiegman’s third consecutive triumph in the tournament: she won the 2017 tournament as coach of the Netherlands squad.
10 or 12? US President Donald Trump is losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he must agree a deal with Ukraine within the next “10 or 12 days,” shortening a deadline of 50 days he had made two weeks ago. Trump has threatened to impose crushing “secondary” tariffs on any countries that trade with Russia.A local Iraqi Kurdish footballer walks with his friends near a sportswear shop in the district of Soran, northeast of Erbil, Iraq, on April 6, 2019.
From football fields to classrooms: How FC Barcelona is reentering the political fray
If there’s a mention of FC Barcelona’s youth soccer system, fans of the Blaugrana will think straight to La Masia, the academy that produced legends of the game like Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol, and – more recently – Lamine Yamal.
What they might not think about is the Kurdish areas of Iraq and Syria. Yet that is exactly the place the famed Catalonian club has decided to set up another six youth soccer schools.
Called the “Hope League,” the aim of this initiative, per the club, is to “promote social cohesion and prevent future violent conflicts and radicalization processes among new generations — with special attention to the sons and daughters of victims of the Islamic State.” Kurdish fighters and the Islamic State fought violently from 2014 to 2019 for control of parts of Iraq, with the former coming out on top.
Despite the victory over IS, Kurdish independence efforts have languished. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey formally disbanded last month after a four-decade struggle to achieve independence. Their Syrian contemporaries, who would have thought the fall of Bashar al-Assad would bring them respite, now face attacks from Turkey.
The Catalonian independence push has also hit a bad run of form, albeit a less violent one. In 2024, seven years after a Spanish court blocked an independence referendum, an anti-independence socialist won the local government election – it was the first time a unionist candidate won in 14 years.
“The so-called ‘Catalan process’ has gone very much down,” says Toni Roldán, a former Spanish congressman from Barcelona who opposes Catalan independence.
What has the Catalan cause got to with Kurdish independence? Certain Barcelona fans see them as one and the same: A group of Barcelona fans once unfurled a banner at a game that read, “Kurdistan is not Iraq, Catalonia is not Spain.”
“[Catalan separatists] always presented themselves as sort of an oppressed region without a state,” says Roldán. “And these they always look at places like Kurdistan as similar to them, because they have their own language, their own history, their own culture, but they don't have their own states.”
So these schools are an effort to get these independence efforts back on their feet? Not exactly. After all, Barcelona’s archrival Real Madrid – a team not exactly renowned for supporting independence movements – is opening their own schools in these Kurdish areas.
Nonetheless, there’s “clearly a political driver” for the Catalonian club’s decision to open these soccer schools, per Roldán. The leader of the schools initiative is former Barcelona right-back Oleguer Presas, who despite his position, is renowned for his left-wing, nationalist sympathies.
The can of worms: There will be some outside of Catalonia who might be upset, namely those in Iraq.
Football is by far the most popular sport in this war-torn nation – it is home to the largest contingent of registered Barcelona fan clubs outside of Spain.
“When there is any kind of championship or game between Barca or Real Madrid with other teams, all the coffee shops are full of youth waiting for the game,” says Raid Michael, the country director for Un Ponte Per in Iraq, one of the organizations behind the Hope League.
Michael claims that Iraqis love for football transcends political and sectarian differences, noting that, “with football, youth especially forget about all these tensions — they support football in the end.”
But the initiative certainly won’t land well in Baghdad. Iraq’s central government has long been sensitive to independence movements in its northern region, where residents have previously voted in favour of secession from the federal government. There, the Iraqi Kurds operate a semi-autonomous government, maintain their own armed forces, and oversee the region’s natural resource exports. Tensions rose again last month, as Iraq’s Oil Ministry criticized energy deals directly brokered between the Kurdistan Regional Government and US energy companies.
Now, one of the largest football clubs in the world is setting up schools in Kurdish areas. What’s Arabic for conceding a goal?
An armored vehicle of Nigerian Security Forces drives by newly built homes, ahead of the community re-opening ceremony which was destroyed by Boko Haram armed militants in 2015, in Ngarannam, Borno State, Nigeria, October 21, 2022.
Jihadist violence surges in Nigeria as terror networks expand
There has been a rise in attacks in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram and a rival group called the Islamic State West Africa Province, spurring concerns that jihadists might be making a strong return in the region. At least 22 people were killed in attacks over the weekend in the northeastern states of Adamawa and Borno, and another 26 died on Monday when a bomb exploded in two vehicles in Borno.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Salafi-jihadi groups are gaining strength in parts of Nigeria beyond their usual strongholds in the northeast. In the north-central and northwestern regions, these groups are linked to Boko Haram, al-Qaida, and Islamic State branches in West Africa.
Why it matters? Jihadist groups in Nigeria are suspected of working to expand al-Qaida and Islamic State operations near the Gulf of Guinea and the Sahel – a major region economically, holding 2.7% of the world’s gas reserves and 4.5% of its oil.
Experts have been warning that weaker international and regional counterterrorism efforts were allowing terrorist groups to grow and increasingly cooperate, spreading instability across an already fragile, and economically critical, region.Puntland Security Forces parade newly trained soldiers and equipment to combat ISIS in Bosasso, Bari Region, Puntland region, Somalia, on Jan. 30, 2025.
US airstrikes target Islamic State stronghold in Somalia
In a post on X, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud thanked Trump for “the unwavering support of the United States in our shared fight against terrorism … Your bold and decisive leadership, Mr. President, in counterterrorism efforts is highly valued and welcomed in Somalia.”
Puntland Security Forces have been carrying out operations against IS since December. While less active than the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Somali officials have reported increased IS activity in recent months, with hundreds of fighters operating in the Cal Miskaad Mountains. IS in Somalia is led by Abdul Qadir Mumin, a Puntland native with ties to the global IS network. Analysts suggest his survival in past US strikes had bolstered his status within the group.Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, speaks to the media in December 2024.
Syria’s leader declared president, constitution scrapped
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was on Wednesday declared president by a group of top military commanders.
The current constitution was suspended, and al-Sharaa was authorized to form a “temporary” legislative council to govern during a transitional period before elections are held.
The duration of this “transitional period” has not been specified. Al-Sharaa, who led the campaign to topple the Assad regime two months ago, has previously suggested that writing a new constitution and holding elections could take between three and four years.
The big question: The move provides some clarity about the power structures that will govern Syria as it seeks to rebuild its economy and society after decades of dictatorship and more than a dozen years of civil war.
But it heightens the focus on al-Sharaa’s intentions. Skeptics have wondered about his commitment to establishing a pluralistic society in a country marked by sectarian and ethnic divisions. His background is, after all, as a jihadist fighter whose organization, the al-Qaida offshoot Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, remains on the US terrorism list.
In recent years, he has styled himself as a statesman, dropping his nom de guerre, swapping fatigues for suits, and calling for good government.
Now his power has been made official. How will he use it?
A member of the National Guard Military Police stands in the area where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 2, 2025.
Deadly attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas open new year
The US opened in the New Year with a pair of deadly attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Early on Jan. 1, 14 people were killed and more than two dozen were injured after a pickup truck ran down a crowd in Bourbon Street. The FBI is treating the incident as a terror attack and has identified the suspect, who was shot dead by police, as Texas Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Before the attack, Jabbar posted on social media saying he had joined Islamic State; investigators found the flag of the terror organization in the truck and now believe that Jabbar acted alone.
Later yesterday morning, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, injuring seven and killing one person inside the vehicle. The Cybertruck was rented in Colorado by Army veteran Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who served on the same base as Jabbar and was the man killed inside the Cybertruck when it exploded. Reports suggest the explosion was deliberate, and while police are investigating whether there was a link between the New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks, the FBI says there is currently “no definitive link.”
A view down Bourbon Street shows a crashed white pickup truck after an apparent attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in New Orleans.
Terrorist targets New Orleans in vehicle attack
New Orleans is in mourning after a man drove a rented pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd early Wednesday, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old realtor and Army veteran from Texas, plowed into revelers and fired on police before being killed. Officials are calling the incident a terrorist attack despite an earlier statement to the contrary, provoking criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, who called the attack ”pure evil” and linked it to rising crime and illegal immigration, even though Jabbar was born in the US. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said there was “no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities.”
Authorities found an Islamic State flag in the attacker’s truck, but it is not clear whether Jabbar was formally connected to an organized terrorist group. FBI Assistant Special Agent Althea Duncan confirmed that Jabbar did not act alone, citing surveillance footage showing other individuals planting explosive devices nearby. A detonator was found in Jabbar’s truck and two pipe bombs were defused. Investigators are piecing together his motives and searching for other suspects.
Security fail? While New Orleans had security barriers in place, they were not functioning because they were being transported to secure the Sugar Bowl, a college football game, which was scheduled for Wednesday. The game between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed until Thursday.
The incident comes just a week after a similar attack by vehicle at a Christmas market in Germany, raising fears that such attacks could further proliferate – as well as fears over law enforcement’s ability to defend against them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lights a candle in memory of the victims of the Crocus City Hall attack, on the day of national mourning in a church at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia March 24, 2024.
Moscow mourns amid international blame game
President Vladimir Putin declared Sunday a national day of mourning for the 137 people killed at the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow on Friday. Several gunmen opened fire at the popular music venue late Friday, injuring another 180 and leaving more than a third of the building on fire. Crews are still sifting through the debris for bodies.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which came just weeks after Washington warned of possible terrorism at large venues in the Moscow area, which Putin notably ridiculed as fearmongering.
What motivated the militants? In a word: Syria. Russia has been helping the Assad regime ramp up its attacks on Islamic State strongholds in recent months, but the battles have been going on for years, with anger festering over Putin’s support for President Bashar al-Assad.
Still, Putin looks east. Despite the Islamic State’s admission, Putin tried to blame Ukraine. He also blamed “international terrorism” but said the perpetrators — 11 have been arrested, including four of the gunmen — were trying to flee to Ukraine after the attack.
Ukraine has repeatedly denied any role in Friday’s tragedy. Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities intensified over the weekend, with drones hitting Kyiv and Lviv, along the Polish border. While no one was injured, Poland reported that Russian cruise missiles had entered its airspace.
"Pointing the finger at Ukraine and sidelining the ISIS-K angle — at least in official statements — serves the Kremlin’s purpose of rationalizing a potential escalation in its military operations against the adversary," says Eurasia Group analyst Tinatin Japaridze, possibly including a new round of conscription, though Putin did not mention mobilization specifically on Saturday.