World
How did a UN helicopter fall into al-Shabab’s hands in Somalia?
EXPLAINER
Despite a government offensive against the armed group, al-Shabab shows its capacity for high-level attacks.
On Wednesday, armed group al-Shabab captured a United Nations-contracted helicopter in Somalia, killing one person and kidnapping several other passengers and crew members on board. The helicopter was on a medical evacuation mission from Beledweyne city in central Somalia and was heading to Wisil town approximately 500km (310 miles) away, but had been forced to land midway through the journey after an apparent accident, when al-Shabab attacked.
This latest attack is one of al-Shabab’s more daring assaults in recent months and comes amid an intensifying offensive against the group by the Somali military, launched in 2022. In its early stages, the military campaign saw some gains but suffered setbacks last year when al-Shabab recovered territory it had lost.
The UN World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian operator in Somalia, said it had suspended all its flights in the area as a result of the attack.
Details are still unclear, but here’s what we know so far about the assault and kidnapping:
Who was in the helicopter?
A United Nations memo seen by the AFP News agency confirmed that the kidnapped workers on board the helicopter were third-party contractors of the UN, and that two of them were Somali men. There were also people from African and European countries, but it’s not clear what the exact nationalities of these passengers are. Some reports say there were eight passengers, others say there were nine in total.
One person was killed in the attack, according to several reports. The location of two other passengers is unknown and it’s possible they may have escaped in the attack. The precise number of kidnapped persons currently in the hands of the armed group is not clear.
Why was the helicopter there?
The helicopter was on a medical evacuation mission. At least some of its passengers were military personnel and it was also carrying medical supplies onboard. The aircraft had taken off in Beledweyne city in central Somalia and was heading east to Wisil town. But it crash-landed near Hindhere village after an object struck its main rotor blade. The crash site was within al-Shabab territory and bordering the Galguduud region on the front line of the government offensive. It is not clear what the object was or whether it had been deliberately launched by al-Shabab fighters.
The Washington Post reported that al-Shabab fighters set fire to the vehicle after they seized the passengers.
What is al-Shabab?
Al-Shabab is an armed group that has operated in Somalia since 2006 and wishes to create a state that adheres to its strict interpretation of Islam in Somalia. The group, which commands thousands of fighters, has targeted civilians and military outposts in deadly and often gruesome attacks, launching assaults into neighbouring Kenya on some occasions.
It currently controls large swaths of territory in southern and central Somalia, where many regard its civil and legal institutions as being more stable than those of the state. To generate revenue, al-Shabab taxes civilians in its area of control, raking in about $100m monthly according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS).
Al-Shabab had a strong presence in the country’s capital city for a time in the late 2000s, but African Union (AU) troops helped to push the group out of Mogadishu in 2011. Since the mid-2010s, the Somali military, supported by AU troops and US bombing, has tried to seize back control from its strongholds. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected in May 2022, promised to crack down harder on al-Shabab and his government has warned the armed group to hand in their guns or face military assaults.
But al-Shabab fighters have continued to launch daring and deadly offensives. The group was linked to 6,225 deaths in 2022 alone, according to ACSS, representing a 120 percent increase in its attacks since 2019. Some of al-Shabab’s most recent assaults include car bombings in Mogadishu in October 2022, which killed about 120 people. In November of the same year, al-Shabab fighters seized a popular hotel close to the presidential villa and maintained possession of it for more than a day. Nine people were killed in that attack.
Although al-Shabab has not formally taken responsibility for Wednesday’s UN helicopter attack, it has in the past kidnapped aid workers, some of whom are still missing.
What happens next?
There aren’t many details about a potential rescue mission.
Somali officials told Reuters on Thursday that the government is working to free the kidnapped workers but added that the area where they were taken would be difficult to access.
“The government has been undertaking efforts to rescue the crew since yesterday when the accident happened, and efforts still go on,” Information Minister Daud Aweis, said without providing more details of the rescue mission.
Military officials speaking to Reuters, painted a more dire picture however, saying that a land operation to rescue the hostages was not feasible because the area is fully under the armed group’s control and the local population supported al-Shabab.
“I do not know if there will be commandos on planes with the help of foreigners,” one Major said. “That may be the only possible way to rescue them, but so far it has not happened.”
It has been an interesting year and a half for the relationship between Canada and the United States, two countries marking birthdays this week. Canada turned 159 on Wednesday, and America is 250 on Saturday. It got us thinking about how much Americans really know about Canada.
Take our quiz and find out. To our American friends, because it’s your birthday we made it a little bit about you. And if you find it difficult, we’re sorry. Let’s start with an easy one.
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Keiko Fujimori, the conservative politician and daughter of the former president, was declared the winner Friday of Peru’s presidential runoff election.
Fujimori, 51, will take office later this month as Peru’s ninth president in 10 years. This was her fourth bid for the position following years of political instability in the country.
Fujimori thanked her supporters in a post on X announcing the conclusion of the election.
STATE DEPARTMENT CONGRATULATES KEIKO FUJIMORI AS PERU’S PRESIDENT-ELECT FOLLOWING RAZOR-THIN VOTE COUNT
Peru’s conservative Keiko Fujimori addresses the media at her party’s Popular Force headquarters. On Friday, she was declared the winner in the country’s presidential runoff. (Reuters)
“I receive with profound gratitude the trust that millions of Peruvians have placed in me. A new stage begins. We assume it with responsibility, humility, and a deep sense of duty,” she wrote. “Each day of this transition process is an opportunity to listen, engage in dialogue, and arrive prepared at the start of the new government. Through these accounts, we will share the progress of this stage and the work we have been carrying out. I invite you to join us.”
The Plenary of the National Elections Jury on Friday proclaimed Keiko Fujimori the winner of the presidential runoff after the June 7 election in Lima, Peru. (Reuters)
Peru’s top election authority certified the results Friday. Fujimori received 9,223,000 votes, or 50.14% of the total, while nationalist Congressman Roberto Sánchez earned over 9,173,000 votes, or 49.87%, The Associated Press reported.
Fujimori made it to the runoff after defeating 33 other candidates in April.
TRUMP ADMIN BACKS BOLIVIA STATE OF EMERGENCY AS LEFTIST EX-LEADER’S LOYALISTS FRACTURE NATION
Supporters of Keiko Fujimori of the Fuerza Popular party shout slogans outside the Lima Convention Center ahead of her debate with Roberto Sánchez in Lima May 31, 2026. (Connie France/AFP via Getty Images)
Her election came amid concerns from voters about surging crime, especially extortion by violent organized crime gangs. Fujimori has pledged to act tough on crime with an “iron fist.”
She is the daughter of the late Alberto Fujimori, the former president whose government in the 1990s defeated the Shining Path extremist rebel group but also took an authoritarian turn.
He was convicted in 2009 of human rights abuses in the fight against the rebels and, later on, corruption charges. His legacy within Peru remains deeply divisive.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori waves at his home in Santiago after leaving the academy for the training of corrections officers in Santiago, Chile, May 18, 2006. (AP Photo/Claudio Santana, File)
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On Tuesday, the State Department congratulated the younger Fujimori.
“The Trump administration looks forward to deepening collaboration with the Fujimori administration to advance security cooperation and to strengthen bilateral cooperation on investment and trade in our region,” the statement read.
Dozens of diamonds spell out two giant letter “T” next to the Stars and Stripes and “1776” and “2026.”
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Dozens more frame the numbers 45 and 47 in the shape of Superman’s logo.
A diamond-winged eagle carries a ruby shield and clutches an olive branch of emeralds, below a radiant “250” and atop the phrase “250 YEARS USA” etched in 18-karat gold.
All told, 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies encrust the watch-sized gold ring presented this week to Bill White, the US ambassador to Belgium, to give to President Donald Trump.
“A very special thank you to my friends from Antwerp for the magnificent Freedom 250 ring,” Trump said in a prerecorded video message during an event marking America’s 250th birthday in Brussels.
Isidore Mörsel, president of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) gifted the ring on behalf of the centuries-old diamond community in the Belgian port city, a central hub in the worldwide trade of the precious stones that found itself struggling last year under the weight of Trump’s sweeping trade war.
“May this ring serve as a lasting reminder that true partnership like the finest natural diamonds are formed under pressure, endure the test of time, and shine brightest when built on trust,” Mörsel said.
The ring’s interior is engraved with the phrase “Crafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.”
In dollar terms, the ring’s value pales beside gifts like the $400 million (€349 million) plane donated by Qatar that Trump ordered converted into a new Air Force One.
But it’s a glitzy window into the role that ostentatious, and almost always gilded, gifts are playing by those seeking to curry favour with the US president.
A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said Thursday that the ring has not been presented to Trump yet.
Latest break with White House custom
The gift comes months after Belgium’s diamond industry won the removal of US tariffs on diamond imports.
In September, AWDC said it had “succeeded in securing a zero percent import tariff” on Antwerp’s annual export of more than $2 billion (€1.7 billion) of polished diamonds to the US.
A spokesperson for the group said on Thursday that the AWDC provided “input” to the European Commission as it negotiated with Trump on a broad deal on tariffs in 2025, but did not itself lobby the administration.
US presidents have considerable discretion to accept gifts from domestic and foreign sources and may determine themselves whether a gift was meant for them personally or the nation.
The exception is those from foreign governments, which are prohibited by the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution without congressional assent, though presidents could use personal funds to reimburse the Treasury for the full value of an official gift if they wish to retain them.
Personal gifts are also supposed to be registered on the president’s annual financial disclosure.
Trump’s 2025 disclosure, released this week, revealed a $250,000 (€218,000) gift of a sculpture depicting his triumphal gesture after surviving a 2024 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and tickets to 10 sporting events, including 10 to the upcoming World Cup final in New Jersey from FIFA’s Gianni Infantino, valued at a collective $15,000 (€13,000).
Four US ethics experts told the Associated Press news agency that Trump has broken with decades-old custom in the White House to avoid accepting such gifts.
Ring’s value estimated at $25,000-35,000
To forge the ring, the AWDC turned to David Gotlib, an Antwerp-based high-end jeweller whose cufflinks can sell for more than €15,000.
Neither AWDC nor Gotlib would provide a valuation of the ring, but two independent jewellers told AP they estimated the value between $25,000-35,000 (€21,000-30,000).
After the ring was presented on a star-spangled stage in Brussels, musician Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, sang the US national anthem to more than 8,000 people drinking Budweiser and bourbon from Tennessee and Kentucky.
White said he raised more than $5.5 million (€4.8 million) for the 250th anniversary event from corporate sponsors like defence industry titans Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, tech firms like Intel, Google and Meta, as well as the European chocolate companies Leonidas and Ferrero. AWDC said it contributed funds, too.
“The media was asking, ‘Why does it have to be so big?’” White said of the event. “Because we are the United States of America!”
Meanwhile, the fate of the ring is not clear.
On Wednesday, White posted a photo online of himself wearing the ring and giving a thumbs-up. The post has since been deleted.
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