US fighter jet shot down over Iran: As it happened
Live updates: US fighter aircraft downed over Iran
Middle East
US warplane downed over Iran; one crew member missing
A US fighter jet has been brought down over Iran, thrusting Washington into a dangerous new phase of the nearly five-week-old war, with search teams recovering one of the two crew members who ejected, a US official told Reuters. It is the first known incident of its kind since the conflict began.
Requests for comment to the Pentagon and US Central Command went unanswered.
The possibility that a US aviator is still alive and evading capture inside Iran sharply raises the pressure on the White House in a war that opinion polls…
US and Iran search for American pilot after warplane is downed
Two US warplanes have been brought down over Iran and the Gulf, according to Iranian and US officials, in a dramatic setback that left two pilots rescued and a third still missing as Tehran’s forces scour the area.
The losses underscore the dangers still confronting US and Israeli aircraft operating over Iran, despite repeated claims by US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that allied forces had established complete control of the skies.
The first aircraft, a two-seat US F-15E fighter jet, was shot…
Mogadishu swears in 390 council members after first one-person, one-vote election
Friday April 3, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Thursday crossed a long-awaited threshold toward universal suffrage, with 390 newly elected members of the Banadir Regional Council sworn in at the Banadir Regional Court in Mogadishu. The ceremony marked the capital’s first one-person, one-vote local election in more than half a century.
The council members were chosen in December 2025 from Mogadishu’s 16 districts and represent 20 political parties, reflecting a notable break from Somalia’s traditional clan-based political…
Mangione federal trial in CEO murder case delayed until January
Luigi Mangione’s federal trial in the killing of healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson has been pushed back again, with court filings showing proceedings are now set for January 2027.
The December 2024 shooting outside a New York City hotel, caught on security cameras, stunned the country and cast a harsh spotlight on simmering public anger over the United States’ private healthcare system.
Mr Mangione, 27, is fighting charges in both federal and New York state court.
On Wednesday, both cases were delayed.
The federal…
Former Somali PM criticizes appointment of interim Southwest state leader
Friday April 3, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has sharply condemned the federal government’s decision to name an interim leader for Southwest State, calling it unconstitutional and a direct affront to Somalia’s federal order.
In a statement, Sharmarke challenged what he described as the effective reduction of a federal member state into an entity subordinate to the central government. He argued that no legal authority exists for replacing an elected state administration…
US vows to target more Iranian infrastructure sites
President Donald Trump sharply escalated his rhetoric on Iran, declaring the US “hasn't even started destroying what's left in Iran” as governments around the world scrambled to restore crucial energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Nearly five weeks after the conflict erupted with a joint US-Israeli aerial assault, the war in Iran is still sending shockwaves across the region and through global financial markets, intensifying pressure on Mr Trump to secure a rapid end to the fighting.
In recent days, Mr Trump has…
More than 100 US legal experts condemn Iran strikes as possible war crimes
Friday April 3, 2026
A picture released by the Iranian government's foreign media department shows graves being prepared for victims, mostly children, of a United States attack on a girls' primary school in Minab, Iran
More than 100 international law scholars based in the United States have issued a sharp open letter condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying the attacks violate the United Nations Charter and could amount to “war crimes”.
Published on Thursday, the letter says the conduct of US forces and remarks by…
AUSSOM–SNAF Forces Capture Senior Al-Shabaab Commander in Joint Operation
Mogadishu, 2 April 2026 – In a joint operation that dealt a significant blow to Al-Shabaab’s leadership, African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) troops alongside Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) captured a senior militant commander in Lower Shabelle.
The suspect, identified as Salaad Cusmaan Macalin, also known as "Sahm,” was apprehended on Thursday on the north-western outskirts of Mubarak.
Salaad, aged 40, serves as a battalion commander within Al-Shabaab. He is originally from Burhakaba,…
Family says man detained in Iran may face execution
Fears are mounting for a 30-year-old man held in Iran after his family said the case against him could end in execution, despite what they describe as glaring contradictions in the allegations.
Peyvand Naimi has remained in custody since early January, when he was arrested during anti-government protests.
In an interview with RTÉ's News at One, his Dublin-based cousin, Sama Sabet, said he has endured torture, mock executions and sustained pressure to admit to crimes he denies.
"On 8 January 2026...he was arrested by the…