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Puntland State backs federal-led local council elections, warns against interference MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State’s Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation on Tuesday said local council elections in Somalia’s northeastern state will proceed under the leadership of the Federal Electoral and Boundaries Commission, signaling a renewed push for direct polls despite fraught federal–state relations. In a statement, the ministry said it fully supports implementation of the vote in line with Articles 104 and…

Families in the remote Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, are mourning eight people killed in a mass shooting Tuesday that tore through a home and a secondary school, claiming the lives of five children and a teacher. Police identified the shooter as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who later died by suicide. Among the victims was 12-year-old Kylie Smith, remembered by her family as “a beautiful soul.” Kylie was killed alongside four other children and a teacher at the town’s secondary school, authorities…

Zimbabwe’s cabinet has approved draft legislation that would reshape the presidency and could allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule until 2030, senior officials said Tuesday. The proposals would shift the election of presidents from a direct popular vote to selection by members of parliament and lengthen presidential terms from five to seven years. Under the draft, presidents could serve a maximum of two seven‑year terms. Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the government plans public consultations before…

MUSCAT, Oman — Iran and the United States are set to open high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday aimed at defusing a renewed nuclear standoff, but a deep dispute over the agenda — especially Iran’s missile program — is already clouding prospects for progress and raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict. While both sides have signaled readiness to return to diplomacy, Washington wants any understanding to address far more than uranium enrichment. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the talks should encompass Iran’s…

Ukraine, Russia open Abu Dhabi talks as strikes batter energy grid ABU DHABI — Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States were set to gather in the Emirati capital on Tuesday, seeking to advance talks on how to end the four-year war as a wave of Russian missile and drone attacks pounded Ukraine’s energy grid in subfreezing temperatures. The meeting, scheduled to run through Wednesday after a postponement last weekend over what the Kremlin called scheduling issues, comes amid grim omens for diplomacy. Europe’s…

Tottenham’s stirring fightback — lit by a scorpion-kick equalizer from Dominik Solanke — dented Manchester City’s chase and handed Arsenal clear daylight in the Premier League title race on Sunday. Solanke scored twice in the second half to rescue a 2-2 draw for Spurs after City had cruised to a 2-0 halftime lead. The point leaves Arsenal six clear at the top with 14 games left, a cushion that widened as Aston Villa lost at home to 10-man Brentford. It was a wild, consequential day across the league, shaped by late drama,…

Zelensky announces Feb. 4–5 Abu Dhabi talks with U.S., Russian envoys as strikes hit Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday’s two-day talks among U.S., Russian and Ukrainian envoys will open in Abu Dhabi, describing the latest bid to halt the Ukraine war as Russian strikes again hit civilians and critical infrastructure. “The dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set — February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested…

MEITAR, Israel — Israel on Wednesday prepared to bury Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage recovered from Gaza, in a funeral that officials and mourners cast as both an intimate farewell and a national moment of closure. Gvili, 24, an off-duty police officer from the elite Yassam unit, was killed while fighting militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel. His body was taken back into Gaza by the Islamic Jihad militant group, Israeli officials say. He was among about 250 people abducted during the…

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris will meet senior European commissioners as Brussels braces for a new round of EU‑US trade tensions, triggered by President Donald Trump’s escalating pursuit of Greenland and fresh tariff threats. Over the weekend, Trump threatened tariffs on six EU countries as well as Norway and the United Kingdom, saying they had opposed his ambitions to take over Greenland. The EU trades as a bloc, and any additional U.S. duties would likely be applied to all member states — including Ireland…

Somali Future Council urges Hassan Sheikh to convene election talks within a month, warns of crisis GAROWE, Somalia — The Somali Future Council on Monday renewed its call for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to convene all political stakeholders within a month to agree on a clear and timely electoral framework, warning that further delay risks a constitutional and security crisis as the country nears another transfer of power. In a statement issued after a meeting of the Future Council’s Technical Committee in Garowe, members…