faces

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government says al-Shabab is facing mounting financial strain after a string of operations that killed senior operatives overseeing the group’s revenue networks and a sustained push to dismantle its funding channels. State news agency SONNA reported Saturday, citing intelligence sources, that the al-Qaida-linked group is struggling to reconstitute income streams amid a coordinated financial offensive aimed at its economic backbone. Independent verification of the internal figures was…

SYDNEY — Accused Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram made his first public court appearance via video link, facing terrorism and 15 murder charges tied to December’s mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration — Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades. Akram, appearing from prison for about five minutes, spoke only once — responding “yeah” when asked whether he had heard a discussion on extending suppression orders, according to the court and local media reports. The brief hearing focused largely on procedural…

Accused Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram appeared via video link in a Sydney court in his first public hearing since a December attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration that authorities have called Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades. Akram is charged with terrorism and 15 counts of murder in connection with the rampage. The brief hearing focused largely on procedural matters, including the continued suppression of some victims’ identities, according to local media reports. Akram, who wore a green jumper,…

Keir Starmer’s defense of his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington — that he did not grasp the depth of Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — does not withstand the weight of what was already widely known. The scandal now engulfing Downing Street is not a bolt from the blue; it is the foreseeable consequence of elevating a man whose entanglements, instincts and methods were part of the public record. And it has exposed the operating system of this government more starkly than…

Hundreds told to evacuate as out-of-control bushfire threatens Victoria’s Otways amid record heat MELBOURNE, Australia — Authorities ordered hundreds of people to evacuate rural communities in southeast Australia as an out-of-control bushfire threatened towns in Victoria’s Otways region during a punishing heatwave that pushed temperatures toward state records. Emergency warnings expanded to additional rural districts as fire conditions deteriorated. “Due to extreme weather today, the fire is predicted to rapidly expand and…

Former Nigerian Minister Accused of High-Stakes Bribery Former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is currently on trial in London, facing serious allegations of accepting bribes in the form of luxury goods, high-end properties, and the use of a private jet from individuals vying for lucrative oil and gas contracts. Alison-Madueke is confronting five bribery charges alongside one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, all of which she vehemently denies. During the proceedings at Southwark Crown Court,…

Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, is due to appear in a Los Angeles court later today and could enter a plea to two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents. Prosecutors say 79-year-old Rob Reiner — the filmmaker behind hits including “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men” — and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead at their home in the upmarket Brentwood area of Los Angeles. The case has sent shockwaves through Hollywood just days…

Rob Reiner’s son due in Los Angeles court in parents’ stabbing deaths The son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner is due to appear in a Los Angeles court later today, where he could enter a plea in the stabbing deaths of his parents, a case that has sent shockwaves through the film industry just days before Christmas. Nick Reiner, 32, faces two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killings of his father, the 79-year-old filmmaker behind hits including “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men,” and his mother,…

UNITED NATIONS — A stark divide over sovereignty and the use of force split the U.N. Security Council during an emergency session as the United States defended the capture and prosecution of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, even as critics warned the move tramples international law and sets a perilous precedent. Diplomats arrived stone-faced for the hastily convened meeting in New York. None stopped to speak with reporters except U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz, who said, “It’s good to see justice,” shortly before Maduro and his…

Maduro brought to New York federal court for arraignment NEW YORK — Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was brought to federal court in Manhattan for arraignment, a dramatic turn in a yearslong U.S. criminal case that has accused him of helping steer a state-backed cocaine trafficking enterprise. Details of the proceeding, including the specific charges to be read in court and any initial decisions on detention or bail, were not immediately available. An arraignment typically marks a defendant’s first appearance before a judge,…