President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order to deploy U.S. troops to Somalia amid heightened concerns about the country's Islamic extremist rebels, known asal-Shabab. The move is a reversal of President Donald Trump's late-term decision to remove nearly all 700 Special Operator forces that had been operating there. Biden's decision, confirmed by a senior administration official, comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requested the deployment “to reestablish a persistent U.S. military presence in Somalia to enable a more effective fight against al-Shabaab, which has increased in strengt

Elisabeth Borne was appointed France's new prime minister on Monday to become the second woman to hold the post in the country. Borne, 61, succeeds Jean Castex, whose resignation was expected after President Emmanuel Macron’s reelection last month. Macron and Borne are expected to appoint the full government in the coming days. Borne is the second woman to hold the position after Edith Cresson, who was prime minister in 1991-1992 under Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. She has served as Labor Minister in Macron’s previous government since 2020. Before that, she was transport ministe

The United Arab Emirates' long-ailing ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan, died Friday, the government's state-run news agency announced in a brief statement. He was 73. The UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced a 40-day period of mourning and a three-day suspension of work in all ministries and the private sector beginning Friday, including flags to be flown at half-staff. He had long seized having involvement in day-to-day affairs, with his brother, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, seen as the de-factor ruler. There was no immediate announcement about the succe

HONG KONG - Reports say Canadian singer and activist Denise Ho is one of at least four people who have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China's national security. The U.K.-based human rights group Hong Kong Watch says Ho was detained by Hong Kong's National Security Police along with Cardinal Joseph Zen, lawyer Margaret Ng and scholar Hui Po-keung. The group says the arrests are apparently related to their rolesas trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal aid to people who took part in 2019 pro-democracy protests that

Christie's auction house says an egg-sized white diamond known as ``The Rock'' has sold for the equivalent of 28.2-million dollars Canadian. The 228-carat pear-shaped stone is billed as the largest of its kind to go up for auction. The 228-carat pear-shaped stone, with its platinum pendant mounting, has a gross weight 61.3 grams (2.2 ounces) and dimensions of 5.4 centimeters by 3.1 centimeters (2.1 inches by 1.2 inches), making it about the size of a medium hen's egg. Also sold was the ``Red Cross'' diamond, a more than 205-carat fancy yellow stone, which fetched nearly 18.5-million dollars.

Elon Musk said he will reverse Twitter’s permanent ban of former President Donald Trump if the Tesla CEO follows through with his plan to buy the social media company. Musk, speaking virtually at a Future of the Car summit hosted by the Financial Times, said Twitter’s Trump ban was a “morally bad decision” and “foolish in the extreme.” He said permanent bans of Twitter accounts should be rare and reserved for accounts that are scams or automated bots. Twitter banned Trump's account in January 2021 for “incitement of violence” following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capito

Sri Lanka tri forces have been ordered to shoot all those who plunder public property or cause personal harm, local media reported on Tuesday as large-scale protests continue to take place across the island nation. The comes nationwide protests against the government have intensified over the past few days resulting in an increase in incidents of clashes with the security forces deployed at protest sites. "The Ministry of Defence has ordered the tri-forces to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others," Army Spokesman told Daily Mirror. Anti-government protesters als

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the president, step down over the country's worst economic crisis in decades. Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he submitted his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The resignation follows attacks by Rajapaksa supporters on peaceful protesters demanding that the brothers leave office. There was no immediate comment from the president, who has so far refused to resign. A severe foreign currency shortage has resulted in acute shortages of imported essentials such as fuel,

Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House says. It's a sharp new reminder of the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to revert to pre-pandemic normalcy. Neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a ``close contact'' of Harris in recent days. The White House said Tuesday that Harris tested positive on both rapid and a PCR tests, and said she ``has exhibited no symptoms.'' Harris will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and would only return to the White House o