WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. military launched a "powerful and deadly" strike against the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Nigeria.
"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!" Trump said on Truth Social. (U.S.-Nigeria-IS strike)
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MOGADISHU -- More than 500,000 voters in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country's first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026.
Somalia's National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) said some 1,604 candidates from 20 political parties are running for 390 posts in district councils in Mogadishu, in a vote viewed as crucial to dismantling the country's long-standing clan-based political system.
The vote marks the first direct election held in Mogadishu in decades. According to the electoral body, 523 polling stations across 16 districts opened at 6:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) and are due to close at 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT), with results expected on Friday. (Somalia-Elections)
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ALGIERS -- Algeria's parliament has unanimously approved a law declaring France's colonization of the country from 1830 to 1962 a crime and demanding an official apology and reparations, according to the Algerian state news agency, APS.
The 27-article law, passed on Wednesday, establishes the French state's legal responsibility for its colonial past. It outlines mechanisms to seek formal recognition and apologies for colonial-era crimes as a prerequisite for historical reconciliation. The legislation lists offenses including nuclear testing, extrajudicial killings, torture, and the "systematic plundering of resources," while affirming Algeria's right to "full and fair compensation" for all material and moral damages. (Algeria-France-Colonization)
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PYONGYANG -- Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), guided the building of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.
Kim stressed the significance of building a strategic nuclear attack submarine, and "clarified the steadfast will and the strategic and tactical policy to steadily push forward with the nuclear weaponization of the navy," said the report. (DPRK-Submarine)
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WASHINGTON -- The White House has ordered the U.S. military to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a U.S. official.
"While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking," the official said. (U.S.-Venezuela-Oil quarantine) Enditem
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