“The epicentre of global terrorism is in Africa. ISIS leadership right now is African, whether it’s in Somalia, Nigeria, Mali or Niger,” Anderson said. He added that, “Al-Qaeda’s economic engine is also in Africa right now, especially in the Sahel, where they generate millions of dollars through extortion, kidnappings for ransom and other illicit activities.”

“They are learning organisations. They have evolved and adapted over time, and they’ve learned how to operate quietly because they understand what happens when they become too visible. Both ISIS and Al-Qaeda have migrated toward Africa,” he added.

The AFRICOM commander pointed to countries including Somalia, Nigeria, Mali and Niger as areas where extremist organisations have strengthened their presence and operational capacity.

According to him, Al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel have “more than tripled in size” over the last five years, with extremist groups increasingly generating revenue through extortion, kidnappings for ransom and illicit activities.

He also warned that some groups are evolving into quasi-state actors capable of controlling territory, disrupting national economies and threatening capital cities.

Referring to recent attacks in Mali claimed by Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), Anderson expressed concern over public threats against the capital, Bamako.

“JNIM recently made a public statement saying they were going to attack and seize Bamako and warned civilians not to resist. That should give people some chills because that’s exactly the kind of messaging ISIS used before it entered Mosul,” he said.

“If a terrorist organisation can threaten a national capital, it changes the game. It gives them legitimacy, access to resources and makes them more attractive to extremists from around the world,” he added.

Anderson argued that the withdrawal of Western military forces from parts of West Africa has created what he described as an “intelligence black hole,” limiting the ability of the United States and its allies to fully monitor developments in the region.

Despite his warnings, he stressed that the people of Africa should not be blamed for the rise of extremist groups.

“This is not to disparage Africa because the people of Africa, for the most part, do not want these terrorists there. West Africans have a long history of moderate and open Islam and produced some of the greatest Islamic scholars in history,” he said.

He linked the growth of extremist recruitment to poverty, unemployment and governance challenges, arguing that many recruits initially join militant groups for economic survival rather than ideology.

He emphasised that the United States should avoid direct long-term military intervention, instead focusing on intelligence sharing, training and support for African partners.

“We need to pay attention to this threat and avoid the mistake of simply walking away or ignoring it. I believe the threat is real, and I have real concern about where this could go,” General Dagvin R. M. Anderson cautioned.

Watch the review of his comments at The Sedona Forum in the attached video.

“At one point, we had around $10 billion, and now we may get six this year. I have to take food from the hungry to give it to the starving. Those are the decisions we are making every single day,” she said.

According to McCain, the funding decline has already forced the agency to lay off thousands of staff members while scaling back food assistance in several parts of the world.

“We laid off 6,000 people, and we still do not have enough money to feed everybody who is urgently hungry right now. It is daily fundraising, daily worry and daily efforts to figure out how to work with what we have,” she added.

WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau argued that food in security should no longer be viewed only as a humanitarian issue but also as a global security concern.

“If you are a starving person, you basically have three choices. You die, you migrate, or you turn to trouble,” he said.

He pointed to regions including the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East , where conflict, displacement and hunger continue to overlap.

Skau also warned that humanitarian organisations are increasingly being forced into difficult ethical dilemmas while trying to deliver aid in conflict zones.

“There are often only bad options. Sometimes governments insist on military escorts to reach starving communities, even when that goes against humanitarian principles. But if we refuse, thousands of people could die,” he said.

Cindy McCain, who has announced plans to step down due to health reasons, expressed frustration over what she described as declining global attention toward food insecurity and humanitarian crises.

“People are literally dying from lack of food, and yet many leaders are doing nothing. I never thought I would say that because I have always believed in the humanity of the world, but we are seeing a real lack of urgency,” she said.

Despite the challenges, both leaders highlighted school feeding programmes as one of the most effective long-term interventions against hunger and poverty.

Watch the attached video for a review of the panel discussion at The Sedona Forum .

Brazil is expected to remain the world’s dominant coffee producer in 2025, widening its lead over global rivals as demand for coffee continues to rise despite climate pressures and supply chain volatility affecting major growing regions.

According to data compiled from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), Colipse Coffee and StatRanker, Brazil is projected to produce around 63 million 60-kg coffee bags in 2025, far ahead of second-place Vietnam at 30.8 million bags.

Brazil is also forecast to export more than 40 million bags, reinforcing its position as the backbone of the global coffee trade. The country accounts for roughly one-third of global coffee production and remains the world’s largest supplier of arabica beans, widely used in premium blends and espresso markets.

Vietnam, the second-largest producer, is expected to export nearly 27.9 million bags, driven largely by robusta coffee production. Robusta beans, which contain higher caffeine levels and are commonly used in instant coffee, have seen growing global demand amid rising Arabica prices.

Colombia ranks third with a projected production of 13.8 million bags, followed by Indonesia and Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, with estimated outputs of 12.45 million and 11.56 million bags, respectively.

In Africa, Uganda continues to strengthen its role in global coffee markets, with production expected to reach nearly 6.9 million bags, according to USDA estimates.

One notable trend in the data is that countries such as India, Honduras and Peru are projected to export more coffee than they produce domestically during the year. Analysts say this can occur due to carryover inventories from previous harvests, re-exports and stockpiled reserves entering international markets.

The global coffee industry has faced mounting pressure in recent years from extreme weather events linked to climate change. Brazil experienced severe drought and frost episodes between 2021 and 2023, while Vietnam and Colombia have also dealt with shifting rainfall patterns affecting crop yields.

The International Coffee Organisation has repeatedly warned that climate instability poses a growing long-term threat to coffee-growing regions, particularly for arabica production, which is highly sensitive to temperature changes.

Despite supply concerns, global coffee consumption continues to rise steadily. The USDA projects growing demand across Asia and emerging markets, while established markets in Europe and North America remain among the world’s largest consumers.

Industry analysts say tightening supplies and weather-related disruptions have contributed to elevated global coffee prices over the past two years, affecting everyone from multinational café chains to independent roasters.

What this really highlights is how a handful of producing nations continue to shape one of the world’s most traded agricultural commodities, even as climate risks increasingly threaten the future of global coffee production.

“We are inviting workers from many countries because we have a very serious shortage in labour force. Japan has traditionally been seen as very strict on immigration. That remains partially true in terms of the non-skilled labour force, but for skilled labour, we are very open and welcoming, he told Ismail Akwei at The Sedona Forum, organised by the McCain Institute in Arizona.

He also expressed Japan’s position in the ongoing U.S. and Israeli operations in Iran , calling for a quick resolution for ships and trade to operate freely and openly. 

“We are concerned about what's happening in the Hormuz right now, and would like to see that the situation is resolved as soon as possible. Japan relies 95% of their oil from the Hormuz. So, you know, we have a lot of stockpile, but we would be concerned if this continues much longer,” he said.

“Japan plays a very key role in the Indo-Pacific, where the late Prime Minister Abe advocated for a free and open Indo-Pacific area. So we want to ensure that ships and trade happen freely and openly in that region, which is a centre of business for not only Asia, but for Africa and other parts of the world,” he added.

Akihisa Shiozaki is the lead author of the LDP’s AI White Paper, which was recently relaunched after the 2023 landmark version, which laid the foundation for Japan’s AI Promotion Act 2025. He told Ismail Akwei that the AI White Paper is a strategy for Japan to adapt to Agentic AI, which uses large language models to achieve complex goals, rather than just generating text. 

“So Agentic AI, we believe, is a totally new form of human-machine collaboration, and the policy must adapt to those kinds of challenges. For example, what if an AI agent does a commercial transaction? Is that valid? If one AI claims that they've been deceived, how do you treat that under civil law? So these are all questions, legal questions and regulatory questions that countries need to start redesigning and shifting from an era where humans were the only players in society,” he explained.

Akihisa Shiozaki was a participant and one of the panellists at the McCain Institute’s signature annual event, the Sedona Forum , which provides a unique opportunity for United States and world leaders to have informal, face-to-face discussions about real solutions to the problems facing the world today. It is held each spring in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona, to bring about positive change in national and world affairs.

Watch the full interview attached to this story.

While the euro is used by 20 of the EU’s 27 member countries, Poland, Romania, Denmark, Sweden, Czechia and Hungary have all chosen, or in some cases delayed, joining the eurozone, despite being part of the bloc’s single market.

The euro was officially introduced in 1999 for electronic transactions and entered circulation in 2002, becoming one of the world’s most traded currencies alongside the U.S. dollar. According to the European Central Bank (ECB), more than 340 million people currently use the euro across Europe.

However, adopting the euro requires countries to meet strict economic conditions known as the Maastricht criteria, including limits on inflation, government debt, budget deficits and exchange rate stability.

Among the six holdouts, Denmark remains the only country with a formal opt-out agreement negotiated during the Maastricht Treaty in the 1990s. The Danish krone is closely pegged to the euro through the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, effectively keeping its value stable against the common currency while preserving national monetary control.

Sweden, meanwhile, has repeatedly delayed adopting the euro after voters rejected the currency in a 2003 referendum. Although Sweden is technically obligated to join eventually, successive governments have avoided entering the exchange rate mechanism required for accession.

In Central and Eastern Europe, countries such as Poland, Hungary and Czechia have cited economic flexibility and monetary independence as key reasons for retaining their national currencies.

Poland’s zloty, for example, has often been viewed domestically as an important buffer against external economic shocks. During periods of inflation or slowing growth, governments and central banks can adjust interest rates and currency policy independently, tools that eurozone members surrender to the European Central Bank.

Hungary’s forint and Czechia’s koruna have similarly allowed policymakers greater control over domestic economic conditions, particularly during periods of volatility linked to energy prices, inflation and global market uncertainty.

Romania continues to target eventual euro adoption but has repeatedly postponed timelines due to inflation and fiscal challenges. The European Commission has previously stated that several non-Euro EU members still do not fully meet convergence requirements.