Abdiwahab Ahmed

The Trump administration has moved to end a series of agreements that had supported transgender students, reversing commitments earlier administrations made with several school districts. The US Education Department said it was scrapping six resolution agreements that, in its view, were reached through what it described as the manipulation of Title IX. Title IX, the federal civil-rights law, prohibits schools from denying benefits or engaging in discrimination in education "on the basis of sex." Since returning to office,…

After sweeping farther from Earth than any human in history, the four astronauts on NASA's first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years have re-established contact and begun the journey home. Mission control in Houston restored communications with the crew after a roughly 40-minute blackout as their spacecraft moved behind the Moon, cutting off signal during the pass behind Earth's natural satellite. "It is so great to hear from Earth again," Mission Specialist Christina Koch said as the astronauts were able to speak once…

Ben Roberts-Smith, once celebrated as Australia's most decorated living soldier, has been arrested and accused of war crimes over the alleged killings of unarmed civilians during deployments to Afghanistan. Police said the 47-year-old former Australian Defence Force member was taken into custody at Sydney Airport. Court records identified the man as Ben Roberts-Smith. Australian Federal Police said he was charged with five counts of war crimes tied to the murder of five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. Each…

Live Israeli military warns people in Iran to steer clear of trains Middle East

Hours before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump, Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks this morning, with Tehran refusing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or sign on to a ceasefire agreement. Iran turned down a US proposal, brokered by Pakistan, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to its effective blockade of the strait, followed by negotiations on a wider peace settlement within 15 to 20 days, according to a source familiar with the plan. Tehran’s reply included ten clauses, among them a demand for an end…

Iran has carried out another execution tied to the nationwide protests in January, deepening fears among rights groups as the number of people they describe as political prisoners put to death continues to rise amid the war against Israel and the United States. Ali Fahim, 23, was executed after being convicted over an attack on a Tehran base used by the Revolutionary Guards' Basij militia during the unrest, according to rights groups that have tracked the case. The judiciary's Mizan Online website called him "one of the…

Flames tore through the Sheskharis oil terminal in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after overnight Ukrainian drone strikes, in what appeared to be one of the most consequential hits on Russia’s energy infrastructure in the more than four-year-old conflict. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine struck facilities at the maritime transhipment complex in Novorossiysk, damaging a mooring point used by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and setting four oil product reservoirs ablaze, according to Russian media. The…

A high-level show of coordination unfolded in Baidoa this week as Somalia’s defence minister pressed home the need for tighter military cooperation in the long-running campaign against insurgents. During the visit, Minister Fiqi met with Brigadier General Teklu Hurisa Janka, the Sector 3 Commander, and received a detailed briefing on the sector’s activities, operational progress, and the cooperation between the Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) and AUSSOM forces in the South West State. Minister Fiqi commended AUSSOM’s…

A major shift in UK welfare policy takes effect as the two-child cap on benefits is formally abolished, a move expected to lift an estimated 450,000 children out of poverty. Introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, the measure limited child tax credit and universal credit payments to the first two children in most households. Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in her November budget that the cap would be removed on 6 April, following months of sustained pressure from Labour backbenchers. The end of the two-child cap comes…

Another blast inside a UN position has underscored just how perilous southern Lebanon has become, with three peacekeepers injured on Friday in what a UN spokesperson called “a difficult week” for troops operating in the heart of UNIFIL’s area. The latest incident came after two separate attacks earlier in the week killed three Indonesian soldiers and wounded three others. Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the violence as a “shocking escalation”. Even as the Blue Helmets insist they will hold their ground, conditions on the…