Brussels - Remember how just a few years ago one of the most pressing issue to world peace and security seemed to be the sundry band of pirates off the coast of Somalia that was wreaking havoc across the Gulf of Aden by pillaging and plundering trade lanes?

The U.S. has negotiated a decade-long lease for a key base in Djibouti that it has long used for "counter-terrorism" operations that include drone strikes in Yemen and Somalia.

Mohammad al-Asad is suing the government of Djibouti for hosting a CIA "black site". Al-Asad, a Yemeni, claims he was arrested at his home in Tanzania on Dec. 27 of 2003, blindfolded and flown to a location he insists was in Djibouti.

Nairobi - Kenya is among 54 nations mentioned to have taken part in CIA operations that involved torture of suspected terrorists in the years subsequent to the 9/11 bombings on the US, Open Society Justice Initiative, a New York-based human rights group, has said.

The Washington Post has a long article detailing the operations at a U.S. base in Djibouti at Camp Lemonnier. Drones from the base fly north to Yemen but also south to Somalia.

France’s reputation for influence-peddling and widespread corruption in Africa is nobody’s secret, but Nicolas Sarkozy's reactions to the current electoral deadlock in the Ivory Coast indicate that France's shadowy African era may be coming to an end.

Aden - In yet another act of piracy on the high seas, a chemical tanker has been hijacked in the Red Sea, according to a communiqué by the EU Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR).

Adelaide - The USA, China and Australia all share one thing in common today -- they have been found to be three of the top-ten most environmentally destructive countries in the world.

The Japanese government is setting up its first foreign military base in Djibouti, a small African state strategically located at the southern end of the Red Sea on the Gulf of Aden. The new military base is set for completion early next year.

Gallup polls conducted during 2009 show that among Arab League countries, the opinion of United States leadership has improved over the last year.

The international aid agency Oxfam has launched a £9.5 million ($15 million) emergency appeal for East Africa as 23 million people in the region find their lives under threat from hunger.

The Somali parliament’s deputy speaker, Osman Elmi Bogore has announced a decision to introduce Sharia, or traditional Islamic law, across Somalia. Members of Parliament passed an opposition bill unanimously, he said.

Five suspected Somali pirates are to appear in a Netherlands court over a foiled attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, say prosecutors in the Rotterdam law court. The five men were flown in with a military transport after capture by Danish patrols.

The planned boycott of the Johanna Russ, a German-owned freighter and other ships with Israeli cargo bound for Durban harbour in South Africa, thus far is an utter failure. The port authority merely replaced the union workers with non-union workers.

South African dockworkers will refuse to off-load the Johanna Russ, a German-owned freighter which may arrive at Durban harbour on Sunday February 8. The local Palestine Solidarity Committee claims it carries 'goods from illegal Israeli settlements'.

US strengthens military ties from Djibouti to Mozambique, and American children are helping by donating school supplies for Ethiopian youths attending the school at their refugee camp in the strategic Horn of Africa enclave of Djibouti.

Google has added multiple sites and services to its various properties for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The company gives the latest updates and information that can be accessed worldwide.

Djibouti is reeling from years of drought and insufficient rain, along with surging fuel and food prices. UN and local government launch appeal for funds.