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Xi’s military purge narrows China’s command — and raises the risk of miscalculation China’s sweeping purge of senior generals has shrunk the country’s top command to a bare minimum, concentrating power around Xi Jinping just as Western leaders intensify outreach to Beijing. The shake-up, which removed Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Joint Staff chief Gen. Liu Zhenli for “violations of discipline and law,” has alarmed analysts who see both short-term caution and longer-term volatility in the world’s…

LISBON — Portugal braced for another bout of heavy rain and gale-force winds as nearly 200,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity days after Storm Kristin swept the country, killing five people, officials said. The national weather agency, IPMA, placed all of mainland Portugal on alert through Monday for persistent downpours accompanied by gusts up to 100 km/h. With rivers already swollen and soils saturated, authorities warned that the new system could bring flash flooding in urban areas, as well as…

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he held “productive and constructive” talks Friday in Florida with Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a meeting that comes on the eve of a new round of Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi backed by Washington. “Today in Florida, the Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings as part of the U.S. mediation effort toward advancing a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict,” Witkoff posted on X, adding, “We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is…

Somalia's NISA Targets Militant Leadership in Strategic Operation This article explores a recent operation conducted by Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), aimed at dismantling the leadership of militant groups in the Middle Shabelle region. The operation, pivotal in the national fight against terrorism, highlights NISA's commitment to protecting civilians and fortifying national security. The operation focused on key militant leaders planning attacks. Conducted in the village of Maha-Said,…

The U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after a budget deadline passed without House action on a 2026 spending plan, but disruption is expected to be limited with the chamber set to return Monday to take up a Senate-backed deal. The lapse follows a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic fury over two recent fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate leaders responded by splitting off DHS…

Landslides at M23-held Rubaya coltan mine in eastern DRC bury miners; fatalities feared A series of landslides struck the militia-controlled Rubaya mining zone in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, burying people alive and killing several, according to accounts provided to AFP by the provincial governor and witnesses. The death toll remained unclear Friday, and independent verification of casualties was not immediately possible. The collapses followed heavy rains, with one landslide reported Wednesday…

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel carried out its heaviest airstrikes in Gaza in weeks, killing at least 26 people in multiple locations despite a fragile ceasefire, according to local health authorities. The attacks hit a Hamas-run police station in Gaza City, an apartment in a residential building and a tent encampment sheltering displaced families in the southern city of Khan Younis. Medics and police officials said Israeli warplanes targeted the Sheikh Radwan police station in western Gaza City, killing 10 officers and…

Mass power outages swept across Ukraine on Saturday after a “technical malfunction” knocked out high-voltage lines linking Moldova and Romania with Ukraine, disrupting water supplies in Kyiv and forcing a complete shutdown of the capital’s metro, officials said. “Today at 10:42 am (0842 GMT), a technical malfunction occurred, causing a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750-kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine,” Ukraine’s energy minister Denys…

Iran accuses U.S., Israel and Europe of exploiting unrest as casualty claims mount Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States, Israel and European leaders of exploiting the country’s economic crisis to incite nationwide protests, as Iranian authorities and rights groups issued sharply conflicting death tolls from the two-week upheaval. In a live state television address, Pezeshkian said foreign actors “provoked, created division, and supplied resources,” drawing “some innocent people into this movement”…

France tightens safety limit for cereulide toxin in infant formula after global recalls France has lowered the safety threshold for cereulide toxin in infant formula, moving to fortify consumer protections after contamination in a widely used ingredient triggered recalls by major brands across dozens of countries. The agriculture ministry said the new limit is set at 0.014 micrograms of cereulide per kilogram of body mass, reduced from 0.03 micrograms per kilogram. The change follows a European Union meeting on Jan. 28 and…