The district governor of Qoryoley has told the Somalia National News Agency that at least 22 people, most of which being children, were killed in the Lower Shabelle village of Murale on Friday after "old bomb remnants" exploded. https://twitter.com/DalsanTv/status/1667254037471809558?s=20 Qoryoley resident Ibrahim Hassan told AFP that the detonation occurred at a playground while children were playing with the unexploded ordinance (UXO). While the origin and age of the UXO remains unknown, the region has been a longstanding hot spot of Islamic militancy, namely from al-Shabaab. Qoryoley and its surrounding areas were briefly under control of al-Shabaab in 2014 and the area has seen frequent militant attacks since, so the presence of UXO is not surprising.

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the ongoing attack against the Palm Beach Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, which is popular amongst local officials and celebrities. Initial reports suggests that suicide bombers detonated at the hotel before it was stormed by gunmen. There are also reports of hostages and casualties, but an exact number remains unknown at this time. Local security forces are on scene and engaging militants, who have claimed control of the hotel. https://twitter.com/Mohamed_Gabobe/status/1667265039890370594?s=20  

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has announced that special forces operators have stormed the Turkish Ro-Ro cargo vessel "Galata Seaways," which was attacked by a group of stowaways in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel was heading from Topcular, Turkey, to Sete, France, when a group of about a 15 stowaways, some of which were armed with bladed weapons, attempted to hijack the vessel after being discovered by the crew. The stowaways were not able to access the bridge and the captain of the Galata Seaways sent out a distress signal as he directed the vessel towards Naples, Italy. The Galata Seaways was intercepted by the Italian Guardia di Finanza patrol boat "Sanna" and Coast Guard vessel "Bruno Gregoretti." Crosetto said that operators were inserted onto the...

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (commonly referred to as TEPCO) commenced the discharge of radioactive seawater on Monday afternoon. This was done via a specially constructed underwater conduit designed to let out seawater contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident into the ocean, as reported by Japan's national broadcasting organization, NHK, on Tuesday. TEPCO stated that about 6,000 tons of seawater would have been funneled by Tuesday midday into the tunnel. China Daily reported that this operation was executed discreetly on Monday in response to Japan's individual decision to discharge the radioactive seawater. The total tonnage of water equates to 1.3 million metric tons. Although this water has been treated, it is still radioactive and is being released into the sea. This decision kindled protests...

Chris Licht, the CNN CEO, announced on Wednesday that he would be resigning. Licht has been working for the company for 13 months as the CEO promising to turn around the networks popularity and win the minds of people “who follow Fox”. Last week The Atlantic's published a not-so-great feature of Licht saying that his leadership has become ineffective while internal employees at CNN aren’t fond of him. The day before The Atlantic's article was published last week, CNN selected David Leavy, a longtime associate of CEO David Zaslav, as its new COO. What comes next: According to Puck, CNN senior vice president for talent and programming development Amy Entelis will likely take over as acting CEO. This is developing and waiting on more information from CNN and...

Reports emerged on Tuesday of a shooter near Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), situated in Richmond. At least 7 injuries have been confirmed thus far. Despite the initial chaos, authorities have confirmed there is no continued risk to the local populace. An urgent notification was sent out by VCU advising its students about the police presence prompted by a shooting close to Monroe Park, a historical city landmark around the university grounds. The University advised all individuals to steer clear of the area surrounding the park. https://twitter.com/RichmondPolice/status/1666211917763862542 A subsequent update confirmed that both Richmond and VCU Police Departments had responded to the incident and declared that the situation was no longer a threat. It was announced that the Richmond Police would be overseeing the investigation. The incident...

The Islamic State- Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the city of Faizabad that killed Badakhshan deputy governor Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi and his driver. Several other people were wounded by the blast, which was carried out by a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) that rammed into Ahmadi's car and detonated. The attack comes months after an ISKP bombing killed Badakhshan provincial police chief Abdulhaq Abu Omar, along with two other Taliban fighters, in Faizabad on December 26, 2022.

Ukrainian authorities have begun evacuation efforts for civilians in settlements along the right bank of the Dnipro River following the bursting of the Nova Kakhovka dam, which has resulted in rising water levels and flooding down river in Kherson. The cause of the burst remains unknown at this time, but Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of blowing it up.

Flooding has been reported in Ponyativka, which sits along the right bank of the Dnipro River, following the bursting of the Nova Kakhovka dam up river. An exact cause of the burst remains unknown, but both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of blowing it up. https://twitter.com/Teoyaomiquu/status/1665925036824248321?s=20 I believe I have geolocated the footage to 46.74197° N, 32.90107° E, which is some 35km away from the dam. Imagery of the area shows that there is a significant rise in water levels. The dam burst a couple of hours ago, the the waters are expected to continuously rise over the coming hours.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has announced that South Korea's alliance with the United States has been upgraded to a "nuclear-based alliance." The statement, which was made during a Memorial Day speech at the Seoul National Cemetery, was in reference to the United States' commitment to defend South Korea. Yoon stated that "President Biden and I jointly announced the Washington Declaration in April, which dramatically strengthens the extended deterrence execution of U.S. nuclear assets... The South Korea-U.S. alliance has now been upgraded to a nuclear-based alliance." "Our government and military will defend our people's lives and safety by building an ironclad security posture based on a stronger-than-ever South Korea-U.S. alliance," which comes amid increased North Korean ballistic missile testing and nuclear posturing.

Ukraine's Operational Command South has accused Russian forces of mining the Nova Kakhova, which burst this morning, allowing the Kakhovka Reservoir to empty into the Dnipro River and raising fears of catastrophic regional flooding in Kherson. Russia's military has accused Ukraine of destroying the dam during an attack. Despite the accusations, the exact reason behind the dam's destruction and who was behind it remains unclear at this time. The loss of the dam has severe consequences, such as the potential flooding and destruction of regions down river, ecological damage, risk to the cooling mechanisms at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, as well as impacts on water and power supplies.

There are incoming reports that the Nova Kakhovka has burst and is currently flooding areas downstream the Dnipro River in Kherson. So far there is no official confirmation as to what caused the dam to burst, although Russian sources are claiming it was blown up by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine has not commented on the manner. https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1665905176140554243?s=20

Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent guilty of selling classified materials to the Soviet Union and later Russia throughout the 1980s and 1990s, was found dead in his cell at the the federal penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, on Monday. So far authorities have not commented on a cause of death.

President Joe Biden endorsed a law on the weekend that averted a potential federal government debt default, raising the nation's borrowing cap just two days ahead of the impending deadline. The signing of the legislation, which took place privately within the White House premises, was publicly disclosed via an email. In his statement, President Biden expressed gratitude to the leaders of Congress for their collaborative efforts. The U.S. Treasury Department had previously cautioned that the country was on the brink of depleting funds necessary to settle all financial obligations by the upcoming Monday. The situation posed a risk of sending severe economic shocks not just domestically, but also on an international scale. The Republicans' refusal to increase the borrowing limit without an accompanying reduction in...

Following years of assessments and discussions, the Space Force declared on Wednesday that a key command center will be established at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida. The central command for the Space Training and Readiness Command, also known as STARCOM, is expected to initially transfer hundreds of staff to the Space Coast for the creation of training modules for Space Force members. The Patrick facility will also house Space Delta 10, tasked with handling doctrine, tactics, and wargaming. The other two STARCOM divisions were chosen to be based in Colorado and New Mexico. This command, one of three that were established in December 2019 under the branch, is tasked with educating, training, and nurturing space professionals. Alongside this, it is also in charge...