SpaceX sent its towering Starship rocket on a dramatic test run that ended with a controlled, fiery splashdown in the Indian Ocean, giving the company a largely successful outing for the latest version of its giant spacecraft. The mission was not flawless, but the snags did little to dampen the mood. On the company livestream, SpaceX staff erupted in cheers after a flight seen as an important step forward as Elon Musk's company moves toward what could be a record-setting initial public offering. The huge rocket lifted off…

Monday April 20, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) – The United States Africa Command said it launched an airstrike in Puntland State on Friday, hitting Islamic State fighters in rugged terrain roughly 30 miles southeast of the port city of Bosaso in the Bari region. In a statement released Saturday, AFRICOM said the operation was carried out on April 17, underscoring the continued expansion of U.S. air activity in Somalia. The command gave no additional information about the strike, including casualty numbers or damage assessments,…

Monday April 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia is on the verge of its first offshore oil drilling campaign, a move that one senior government official said Sunday carries major economic and geopolitical implications as a Turkish drillship prepares to enter the country’s territorial waters. The vessel, Çağrı Bey, is due to arrive in Somalia on April 10, setting the stage for the country’s inaugural offshore drilling operation and a landmark moment for its energy industry. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Omar said the…

By  SEUNG MIN KIM, MATTHEW LEE and SAMY MAGDYMonday April 6, 2026 A high-risk American rescue operation unfolded deep inside Iranian territory after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down, with one aviator pulled to safety first and a second service member recovered only after hiding for hours in rugged mountains as Tehran urged civilians to help capture him. Behind the scenes, the CIA moved to muddy the waters before the second crew member was located, pushing out false information inside the Islamic Republic that the United…

Pakistan bombed Taliban government forces in Kabul and Kandahar overnight in the first direct strikes on Taliban military sites since the group returned to power in 2021, a sharp rupture between the neighboring Islamic nations that Islamabad’s defense minister described as “open war.” The escalation raises the risk of a broader conflict along the 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) frontier and deepens a crisis already fueled by cross-border militant attacks. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and…

Pakistan said it launched multiple overnight airstrikes against militants inside eastern Afghanistan, prompting condemnation from Kabul after Afghan authorities reported children among the dead and wounded. The cross-border operation was the most extensive since October, when border clashes left more than 70 people dead on both sides and hundreds injured. Islamabad said its military hit seven sites along the frontier targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups “in the aftermath of recent suicide bombing incidents in…

Texas executes Charles Thompson for 1998 double murder, the first U.S. execution this year Texas on Wednesday put to death Charles Thompson, 55, by lethal injection for the 1998 murders of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, marking the first execution in the United States this year and renewing attention to the nation’s use of capital punishment. Thompson was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. Central time at a state prison in Huntsville, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said. He was sentenced to death for killing…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S. Africa Command has intensified airstrikes in Somalia, pushing the annual tally to 109 and signaling a stepped-up campaign against al-Shabaab and ISIS militants in coordination with state forces in Puntland State and Jubaland. AFRICOM said multiple operations between Nov. 26 and Nov. 28 struck ISIS positions in the rugged Calmiskaad mountains of Puntland State, roughly 37 miles from Bosaso, the region’s commercial hub. The mountainous redoubt has long provided militants with cover and access to…

Alabama carries out first nitrogen execution as inmate who long maintained innocence dies Alabama executed Anthony Boyd on Thursday night using nitrogen hypoxia — a little-used method of suffocation — marking a stark moment in the U.S. debate over capital punishment. Boyd, 54, who consistently denied killing 32-year-old Gregory Huguley in 1993, was pronounced dead at 6:33pm Central, the Alabama Department of Corrections said. "He was pronounced dead at 6:33pm Central time," the department announced, closing a case that has…