seize

Wednesday April 8, 2026 Kylian Mbappe (bottom) scored in the second half to give Real Madrid a lifeline in the Champions League battle with Bayern Munich © Thomas COEX / AFP Bayern Munich left the Santiago Bernabeu with a precious 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday, a result that moves the German giants a big step closer to the Champions League semifinals. Luis Diaz and Harry Kane struck for Bayern, while Kylian Mbappe answered for Madrid in a match that produced chances at both ends — though Bayern, the record…

Wednesday April 1, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Air traffic to Somalia’s Southwest State resumed on Tuesday, ending a suspension that had lasted nearly two weeks, just one day after federal forces took complete control of Baidoa, the region’s administrative hub. The return of commercial flights offers a tentative sign of calm after days of heavy fighting that forced Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen to step down and set off a fresh political transition in the region. Somalia’s Speaker of the House of the…

Tuesday March 31, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's prime minister has rejected calls for indirect voting in South West State after federal forces secured Baidoa, arguing that the transition should move toward national reform rather than return to the older indirect election model. The dispute over Baidoa is also being read as a test of Somalia's federal arrangement, with critics warning that unilateral intervention could reshape the balance between Mogadishu and the regions. “Baidoa is under the control of the…

Monday March 30, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Federal government forces, reinforced by armed groups linked to opposition factions in Southwest State, moved into Baidoa on Monday after intense clashes with the Southwest regional administration. Witnesses said gunfire broke out heavily on the town’s outskirts earlier in the day as the rival sides fought for control of strategic points in the interim administrative capital. The death toll was not immediately known, and neither side had issued official casualty figures. Footage…

Monday March 30, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen stepped down Monday, just hours after federal government troops and armed groups aligned with regional opposition leaders entered Baidoa following fierce fighting that killed at least two people and injured 25 others. “Effective today, March 30, 2026, I, Mr. Abdicasiis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, resign as President of the Southwest State,” Laftagareen said in a post on his official Facebook page, offering no explanation for…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Counter Terrorism Policing Unit said Wednesday it foiled a planned terrorist attack in Nairobi and seized a cache of weapons and explosives allegedly linked to suspected al-Shabab operatives. In a statement dated Feb. 18, the unit said the operation capped months of surveillance in which investigators tracked suspects’ movements, communications and logistics. Acting on intelligence, officers executed coordinated raids that led to the recovery of firearms, explosive devices and ammunition believed to…

Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its captain off southern Japan in an incident that risks further straining already frayed ties between Asia’s two largest economies. Japan’s Fisheries Agency said an inspector had ordered the vessel to stop for a routine check, but “the vessel failed to comply and fled.” The agency added: “Consequently, the vessel’s captain was arrested on the same day.” It was the first seizure of a Chinese fishing boat by Japan’s fisheries authorities since 2022. The episode comes three…

U.S. forces have seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic for alleged sanctions violations tied to Venezuelan crude, capping a multiweek pursuit that unfolded under the eye of nearby Russian naval assets but ended without confrontation, U.S. officials said. U.S. European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said the operation was conducted jointly with the Department of Homeland Security. The tanker evaded an earlier boarding attempt near Venezuela and was intercepted as it moved north in…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese fishing vessel off Puntland State on New Year’s Day, seizing the Liao Dong Yu 578 near the coastal town of Bandarbeyla in what authorities say appears to be a ransom-driven attack. The European Union Naval Force, which monitors shipping in the region, confirmed the incident as Puntland State security forces launched an operation to track the ship and secure the crew’s release. The crew’s number and condition were not immediately known, and local officials provided no…

South West regional security forces say they have seized 10 landmines allegedly bound for Mogadishu, thwarting what authorities described as an Al-Shabaab plot to hit the capital ahead of local council elections. Lieutenant Colonel Abdirahman Mohamed Munye, commander of the October 14 Brigade, said Wednesday that his unit intercepted the explosives in the area known as Number 50 after receiving actionable intelligence. “Thank God, we were able to thwart the Khawarij’s plot to harm civilians. Our forces intercepted 10…