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Iran vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, escalating tensions in a waterway that is a critical artery for global energy and trade and intensifying uncertainty across the Middle East. The threat to close the chokepoint raises the stakes around one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors. The narrow passage, which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, funnels a significant share of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas. Any disruption can ripple quickly through shipping…

Somali Political Leaders Hold Closed-Door Talks in Kismayo KISMAYO, Somalia — Senior Somali political figures held closed-door meetings Friday at the Jubaland presidential palace in the southern city of Kismayo, in what participants described as a pivotal bid to shape the country’s political path and the 2026 elections. Officials briefed on the discussions said the talks centered on finalizing the structure and mandate of a proposed body called the Future Council of Somalia, which backers say is intended to guide the…

MOGADISHU — The main market in Mogadishu’s Hamarweyne district remained closed for a third straight day Monday as traders protested what they say are excessive and unlawful tax demands imposed by Somalia’s Federal Government. Shopkeepers told local media the Ministry of Finance’s revenue department recently introduced additional fees that far exceed the legally mandated taxes they already pay each year. Several business owners said the new charges run into the hundreds of dollars — sums they say they cannot afford in the…

Valencia on edge as new storms revive memory of last year’s deadly floods Valencia’s empty schoolyards and shuttered libraries felt, on a wet dawn this week, like a city holding its breath. After hours of heavy overnight rain, Spain’s national weather agency AEMET issued red alerts across the eastern Mediterranean coast — warning of “a very complicated situation” and “extraordinary danger” in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón, and parts of Tarragona in Catalonia. Towns that still bear the scars of October 2024’s…

Closed in July last year for health reasons, the land border between Tunisia and Libya remains so despite the information announcing that it is imminent again. Open this Thursday, 19 August only on the Libyan side, last week was the subject of a telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of the two countries. Tunisia fears for its security and seems to be informed of a possible infiltration of…

In Porto Novo yesterday, Benine's opponent Reckia Madougou was heard for the first time by Criet, who has been suing her since March 5, 2021 for "criminal association and terrorism". Candidate for the Democratic Party whose action was annulled by the Electoral Commission, officially due to lack of sponsorship, she was heard on the merits and on her possible interference in the case where the Special…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Outgoing Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo convened a closed-door meeting with foreign diplomats on Saturday at the Afisyonie tent at Mogadishu airport. Sources close to Villa Somalia said Farmajo went to the venue early in the morning to hold talks with international partners five days after Parliament in the lower house extended its mandate by two years, a move the Senate rejected as unconstitutional. Axadlesources revealed that the foreign diplomats are making a final effort to convince…

Somalia's parliamentary roads in Mogadishu closed, heavy security views MOGADISHU, Somalia - Heavy presence of security forces has been seen along all roads leading to the parliament in Mogadishu, just ahead of the stormy session, which is expected to start already now after Monday’s postponement. Last Saturday, MPs from both sides of the political divide shouted at each other in…

Nearly 25,000 voters were called to vote this Sunday in Cameroon to elect regional advisers. A total of 90 council members will be elected in each of the regions. Polling stations have been officially closed since 6 pm local time. With our special correspondent in Yaoundé, Jeanne RichardThe vote took place peacefully.In the…

The French-Ivorian director Philippe Lacôte has chosen MACA, the Abidjan Jail (the biggest jail in West Africa), as the primary character in his newest characteristic movie "La Nuit des rois", which might be launched in Abidjan's theaters on December 4. Notorious criminals or sad harmless individuals, the artistically gifted prisoners carry out an expiatory dance that bears the struggling of the modern historical past of the Ivory Coast. The movie was chosen by Ivorian cultural our bodies to signify the nation on the 2021…