tensions

Somalia: Lawmakers stopped from leaving Mogadishu airport as political rift widens MOGADISHU, Somalia — Security officers at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport blocked several members of the Federal Parliament from traveling on Saturday, igniting a fresh political storm over freedom of movement and claims of selective enforcement. The MPs — most of them representing the South West State administration — were…

BAIDOA, Somalia — Southwest State’s Ministry of Internal Security has barred designated senior security officers from leaving Baidoa “until further notice,” citing ongoing security operations and the need to uphold general stability across the region. In a directive issued Monday, the ministry said the travel restriction takes effect March 16, 2026, and applies to specified officers based in the regional capital. The order, framed as a measure to “ensure the security and general stability of the areas of the Government,”…

President Donald Trump threatened new strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub unless Tehran halts attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a warning that raised the stakes for global shipping and oil prices amid a war already disrupting energy supplies. Trump coupled the ultimatum with a social media post saying the United States had “totally obliterated” military targets on Kharg, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports and sits about 483 kilometers northwest of the strait. He said U.S. strikes did not hit oil…

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…

Egypt, Turkey step up African security coordination in Cairo talks on Libya, Horn of Africa and Sahel CAIRO — Egypt and Turkey held new diplomatic consultations in Cairo on Wednesday focused on instability in Libya, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, deepening their coordination on regional security and political mediation amid mounting pressures across several African theaters. The meetings, organized by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates, marked the third round of…

Somalia: President Signs New Constitution Amid Growing Political Tensions MOGADISHU, Somalia — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday signed Somalia’s new constitution into law at the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu, sealing a landmark step in the country’s drawn-out effort to formalize its governance — and triggering a fierce political backlash from regional leaders and opposition figures. The ceremony, attended by the speakers of both houses of the Federal Parliament, followed lawmakers’ approval of a package of…

Thanks for the assignment. To produce a publish-ready article to AP standards, I’ll need the raw source material. Please provide: - Full source text (wire copy, field notes, transcripts, official statements, social posts, ministry releases, satellite/flight data snippets, etc.) - Key facts: time of strikes, locations hit (terminals/runways/air defenses), casualties/damage, flight disruptions, claimed perpetrators, weapons used - Attribution: on-the-record quotes, anonymous sourcing (with agreed descriptors), agencies or…

Oil prices steady as U.S., Israeli strikes on Iran snarl Hormuz shipping and force Iraq output cuts Oil prices were steady after sharp swings Wednesday as U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran escalated the conflict and left shipping through the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut for a fifth day, disrupting vital Middle East oil and gas production and trade. Brent crude fell 0.3% to $81.13 a barrel around 4 p.m. GMT, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.4% to $74.30. Both benchmarks had closed Tuesday at recent highs—Brent…

When Donald Trump threatens Iran with “force never been seen before,” the words do more than light up headlines. They signal a strategy of coercive diplomacy that has defined the most fraught chapters of U.S.-Iran relations this century, raising the stakes across a Middle East already primed for miscalculation. Rhetoric at that volume can deter, but it can also lock leaders into escalatory paths, unsettle markets and embolden hard-liners on both sides who thrive on grievance and spectacle. The central question is not whether…

Puntland State accuses Somali president of fueling tensions over election plan AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State on Tuesday accused Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of stoking political tensions after the federal government rejected a proposed timetable for local council elections as “illegal,” escalating a long-running rift over power-sharing and control of the electoral process. In a sharply worded statement, Puntland State’s interior ministry said the schedule issued by Somalia’s federal electoral and boundaries…