Somalia Security & Tech: Somalia has urged Meta to change WhatsApp’s planned username feature, warning that hiding phone numbers behind usernames could make it harder to trace al-Shabaab and financial fraud—an issue tied to Somalia’s heavy reliance on mobile money and phone-number-based investigations. Maritime Safety: Somali pirates are reportedly back, using a hijacked “mothership” cargo vessel to launch raids off the Horn, with Iranian fishing boats among recent captures and ransom demands reported near Puntland. Regional Defense Cooperation: Ethiopia’s Field Marshal Birhanu Jula met AFRICOM’s General Dagvin Anderson to deepen U.S.-Ethiopia defense ties, including joint work to counter terrorism threats linked to Somalia’s al-Shabaab and ISIS. Climate & Livelihoods: Extreme heat is worsening across the Horn, with research warning Somalia faces rising heat deaths where cooling power is limited; separate reports also describe camel injuries and calf losses in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia as drought and heat shrink grazing. Digital Economy (Somalia): A look at Somalia’s fintech path highlights how mobile money became the country’s core financial system after weak banking infrastructure, shaping commerce and entrepreneurship. Energy & Heat Risk: A study flags that countries lacking electricity for air conditioning could see major death increases from extreme heat by 2050, with Somalia included among the hardest-hit.