EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 27/04/2026

 

Shots fired as gunman charges toward ballroom at White House correspondents’ dinner. Trump unharmed

By Seung Min Kim, WASHINGTON United States 

A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday night, charging toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired.

U.S. Secret Service agents surround President Donald Trump before he was taken from the stage after a shooting incident outside the ballroom during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.

The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. 

The armed man, who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody and was expected in court Monday. 

Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive.

“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

The shooting unfolded just outside the vast subterranean ballroom holding thousands of dinner guests, disrupting minutes after it began an annual event meant to honor journalism and the First Amendment that was being especially scrutinized this year because it was the first time since Trump became president that he had attended. 

Trump told reporters later that he hoped the event would be rescheduled within 30 days, though the fact that an armed man was able to rush toward the ballroom raised instant questions about security precautions at an event attended each year by senior government officials.

Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. 

One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.

The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

He is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon

Coordinated attacks rock Mali, injure 16 across multiple Cities

BAMAKO, Mali

It was one of the largest coordinated attacks in Mali in recent years, as armed groups launched assaults across the capital, Bamako, and several other key locations. Government officials confirmed that at least 16 people were injured in the attacks, which targeted both civilian and military sites.

Malian government spokesperson Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said the violence unfolded on the morning of April 25, 2026, describing it as a “complex and coordinated” operation. 

The attacks struck multiple garrison towns, including Kati, Sévaré, Gao, and Kidal. According to officials, the injured, both civilians and military personnel, are receiving treatment, while property damage has been described as limited.

Authorities have not released a death toll. However, the al-Qaida-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attacks, including strikes on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities.

The group said the operation was carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist movement. 

Mali has long faced instability driven by Islamist insurgencies linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, as well as separatist rebellions in the north.

In 2024, a similar attack claimed by an al-Qaida-affiliated group targeted Bamako’s airport and a military training camp, killing scores of people.

Oil prices fall on hopes of fresh Iran peace talks

NEW YORK, United States 

Oil prices fell on Friday after it appeared a second round of Middle East talks was back on, bolstering prospects for an end to a war that has crippled energy shipments from the Gulf.

Equities traded mixed, however, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising in New York thanks to a surge in stocks of chip manufacturing firms like Intel, which saw its shares rocket 25 percent higher after it smashed quarterly earnings expectations.

Oil prices had been climbing earlier as investors worried about a lack of progress in ending the Middle East crisis, with Tehran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the US maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.

But they dropped on reports Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was to arrive in Islamabad on Friday night.

Brent crude, the international benchmark contract, fell back below $100 a barrel.

"Investors are anchoring themselves to this good news and seem to be happy to buy risky assets, as it suggests a de-escalation of the situation ahead of the weekend," said Kathleen Brooks, head of research at trading platform XTB.

The Pakistan capital has been gearing up for an anticipated second round of talks between the United States and Iran, but it was not clear whether Araghchi and the delegation accompanying him would meet any US officials.

Sentiment was also boosted by Israel and Lebanon agreeing to extend their ceasefire for three weeks.

Wall Street's three main indices climbed as trading got underway in New York, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising 0.7 percent.

Global stock markets have recently managed to recover the heavy losses they suffered at the start of the war, with first-quarter earnings in many cases beating estimates and helping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set fresh records.

Chipmakers in particular continue to outperform thanks to continued optimism about growth in the artificial intelligence sector.

"There has been a record 17-day rally in semiconductor stocks, which is a record," said Brooks.

The jump in Intel shares came after the chipmaker, which was late to the AI game, forecast rising revenue on continued strong demand for its chips used in data centres.

Shares in Meta dipped while those in Microsoft rose after the companies announced layoffs as they pour massive sums into AI.

Meta plans to cut a tenth of its workforce, or 8,000 people, and Microsoft will offer buyouts to 8,750 employees in the United States, or seven percent of its US workforce.

"It is worth noting that these job cuts have more to do with overhiring during Covid rather than an AI revolution," Brooks said.

"The cost reductions from these job cuts is a drop in the ocean compared to what Meta and Microsoft are spending in AI investment, and the market may not be too impressed with this news for long," she added.

Investors were also looking to position themselves ahead of next week's slew of earnings from US tech titans Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple.

European stocks were mostly lower in afternoon trading.

Frankfurt's DAX managed to hold steady despite data showing that German business morale had fallen to the lowest level since the Covid pandemic.

"The German economy is being hit hard by the Iran crisis," said Ifo president Clemens Fuest. "Companies are considerably more pessimistic about the coming months."

Appeals court rules that Trump’s asylum ban at the border is illegal

WASHINGTON, United States 

An appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending asylum access at the southern border of the U.S., a key pillar of the Republican president’s plan to crack down on migration.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that immigration laws give people the right to apply for asylum at the border, and the president can’t circumvent that.

The court opinion stems from action taken by Trump on Inauguration Day 2025, when he declared that the situation at the southern border constituted an invasion of America and that he was “suspending the physical entry” of migrants and their ability to seek asylum until he decides it is over.

The panel concluded that the Immigration and Nationality Act doesn’t authorize the president to remove the plaintiffs under “procedures of his own making,” allow him to suspend plaintiffs’ right to apply for asylum or curtail procedures for adjudicating their anti-torture claims.

“The power by proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of specified foreign individuals into the United States does not contain implicit authority to override the INA’s mandatory process to summarily remove foreign individuals,” wrote Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden.

“We conclude that the INA’s text, structure, and history make clear that in supplying power to suspend entry by Presidential proclamation, Congress did not intend to grant the Executive the expansive removal authority it asserts,” the opinion said.

The administration can ask the full appeals court to reconsider the ruling or go to the Supreme Court.

The order doesn’t formally take effect until after the court considers any request to reconsider.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking on Fox News, said she had not seen the ruling but called it “unsurprising,” blaming politically-motivated judges.

“They are not acting as true litigators of the law. They are looking at these cases from a political lens,” she said.

Leavitt said Trump was taking actions that are “completely within his powers as commander in chief.”

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the Department of Justice would seek further review of the decision. “We are sure we will be vindicated,” she wrote in an emailed statement.

The Department of Homeland Security said it strongly disagreed with the ruling.

“President Trump’s top priority remains the screening and vetting of all aliens seeking to come, live, or work in the United States,” DHS said in a statement.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 25/04/2026

 

Nigeria sets up court martial over alleged 2025 coup plot

ABUJA, Nigeria 

Nigeria has inaugurated a military court to try officers accused of involvement in a failed coup attempt, the country's Defence Headquarters said on Friday.

The move marks a significant step in the government’s response to a plot that authorities say could have ended decades of democratic rule.

The Defence Headquarters "inaugurated a General Court Martial to try 36 serving military personnel over alleged mutiny, aimed at overthrowing the government of the day," spokesman Major General Samaila Uba said in a statement.

The statement did not specify a timeline for the trials, but said that "proceedings of the court will be conducted with the highest standards of fairness."

Judges were sworn in on Friday, the Defence Headquarters said. Proceedings are being conducted behind closed doors.

State media reported that more than 30 accused officers were transported to a military facility in Abuja on Friday morning.

The identities of those facing trial have not yet been disclosed.

Authorities initially denied any knowledge of a coup attempt late last year.

However, in January, the military announced it had thwarted a plot to overthrow the government and would prosecute those involved.

If successful, the coup would have ended a 25-year stretch of democratic governance in Africa’s most populous nation.

In a related case, six civilians appeared before the Federal High Court earlier this week, pleading not guilty to charges linked to the alleged conspiracy.

Among them is retired major general Mohammed Ibrahim Gana.

Prosecutors allege the group conspired to wage war against the state and intimidate the president, Bola Tinubu.

They are also accused of failing to alert authorities about plans by Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma'aji, identified in local media as the plot’s mastermind.

Nigeria has a long history of military takeovers, having spent much of the post-independence period under army rule after gaining independence from United Kingdom in 1960.

Civilian governance was restored in 1999 and has continued since.

Following the initial denial of the coup plot, President Tinubu moved to reshuffle the country’s top military leadership, a decision widely seen as part of efforts to stabilise the armed forces.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 24/04/2026