Thursday May 14, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders left the table Wednesday without a deal after hours of hard-fought talks over the country’s contested electoral roadmap, according to sources familiar with the meeting. The negotiations took place within the tightly secured compound of Aden Abdulle Osman International Airport in Mogadishu, at a venue operated by the National Intelligence and Security Agency. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama…

Monday April 13, 2026 A ship at the Strait of Hormuz Oil markets surged back above $100 a barrel on Monday as trading resumed in Asia, after US-Iran talks collapsed without a fresh agreement and President Donald Trump said he would blockade Iranian ports. Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 7.3% to $102.30 (£76.32), while US West Texas Intermediate rose 8.7% to $104.94. The breakdown in weekend negotiations has deepened fears that the worldwide energy crunch could worsen. Crude had fallen sharply below $100 last…

With diplomacy faltering and the risk of a wider confrontation rising again, the US military said it will impose a blockade on all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal waters after weekend talks collapsed without a deal to end the war with Iran, putting a fragile two-week ceasefire in jeopardy. The talks in Islamabad, held from Saturday into early yesterday, marked the first direct meeting between the US and Iran in more than a decade and the highest-level engagement since Iran's 1979 Islamic…

After 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, the US and Iran have steered clear of the worst possible outcome: a complete collapse of peace negotiations. Only by the narrowest of margins, though. The two delegations were so divided that they walked out of the five-star Serena Hotel without even locking in another meeting — a modest benchmark that even hardened sceptics had assumed was within reach. Although Iran had all but signalled it might stay away, and the opening of the talks slipped behind schedule, there was early cause for…

A tense Middle East standoff deepened as US President Donald Trump said American military forces would stay in the region until a peace agreement with Iran is secured, while warning that any failure to comply could trigger a dramatic widening of the conflict. The prospect of further turmoil pushed oil prices higher as markets fretted over supply risks and continuing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post, Mr Trump said US ships, aircraft and personnel — backed by extra ammunition and weapons — would…

Irish members of the European Parliament from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael say they will oppose the EU–Mercosur trade agreement in any European Parliament vote, signaling fresh headwinds for a pact that has stalled for years over environmental and agricultural concerns. The coordinated stance by MEPs from Ireland’s two dominant centrist parties underscores persistent resistance to the agreement, which would lower tariffs and open markets between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and…