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 Somalia’s national army ​took control of the biggest city in South West state ‌on Monday, prompting the regional leader to resign two weeks after his administration said  it was severing ties  with the federal government. The strategic city of Baidoa, ​the administrative capital of South West state, is home to ​international peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies in an area affected by ⁠drought, conflict and displacement. “Federal forces have taken over Baidoa, … it is ​now calm … but it looks like a ghost town,” local elder ​Adan Hussein told Reuters. A shopkeeper in Baidoa, Hussein Abdullahi, said federal troops were in control of his part of the city, which is about 245 km (150 miles) ​northwest of the capital Mogadishu. South West state president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ​Laftagareen wrote in a statement on Facebook that he had resigned, days after ‌being ⁠re-elected for another five-year term. Many residents have fled Baidoa over the past week and some aid agenc...

By Laurent THOMET AFP US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Moscow could send oil to Cuba despite Washington’s de facto fuel blockade, as a Russian tanker was expected to deliver some much-needed crude to the crisis-hit island. While the shipment would give the country some relief, Trump renewed his threats against the communist government, predicting that it would fail “within a short period of time.” The Anatoly Kolodkin, which is carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, was off northeast Cuba on Sunday evening and is expected to dock in the western port of Matanzas by Tuesday, according to shipping tracker MarineTraffic. It would be the first shipment of oil to the island since January, bringing some temporary relief to the country of 9.6 million people that has endured a deepening energy and economic crisis. “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with that, whether it’s Russia or not,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from ...

BY SAMY MAGDY, AAMER MADHANI and JON GAMBRELL AP Iranian-backed  Houthi rebels  entered the  monthlong war in the Middle East  on Saturday, claiming two missile launches at Israel. About 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region. And  Pakistan’s government  said regional powers plan to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting. The war  has threatened  global supplies  of oil and natural gas, sparked  fertilizer shortages  and disrupted air travel. Iran’s grip on the strategic  Strait of Hormuz  has shaken markets and prices. The United States and Israel continue to strike Iran, whose retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states. More than 3,000 people have been killed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  visited Gulf nations Saturday  as his country offers defense help with drones. The Houthis’ entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the ...

Weeks of heavy rains and flooding have ​now killed 108 ‌people in Kenya, the National Police Service said on Saturday in an ‌updated ​death ⁠toll. Flash floods, which ⁠began on the evening of March 6, have caused widespread destruction ​in the East African nation, sweeping ⁠away dozens ⁠of vehicles, disrupting ​air travel, and damaging ​power infrastructure. Over 2,700 families ‌have been displaced across the country, authorities said on Friday. While ⁠the intensity of rainfall has eased in some areas, ⁠police ‌cautioned that ⁠the risk of ​flooding ‌persists due to ​overflowing drainage ⁠systems and waterlogged ground. SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGECIES from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/XiA3hYz

By Steve Holland and Gram Slattery Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said “Cuba is next” during ‌a speech at an investment forum in Miami during ‌which he touted the successes of U.S. military action in Venezuela and Iran. While ​the president did not specify what precisely he plans to do with the island nation, he has frequently said he believes the government in Havana, facing a severe economic crisis, is on the ‌verge of collapse. His administration ⁠has opened up negotiations with elements of Cuba’s leadership in recent weeks, while Trump himself has hinted ⁠that kinetic action could be possible. “I built this great military. I said, ‘You’ll never have to use it.’ But sometimes you have to use ​it. ​And Cuba is next by the ​way,” Trump told the ‌conference on Friday. “But pretend I didn’t say that. Pretend I didn’t.” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has acknowledged that the country is in talks with the U.S. in a bid to avert potential military confrontation. Cub...

The Philippines and France have signed a visiting forces agreement that would allow them to conduct joint military training in each other’s territory, as Manila expands defense ties amid rising tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Catherine Vautrin signed the agreement on March 26 during a meeting in Paris, where they discussed regional security challenges and reaffirmed support for rules-based international order. The two also called for “the peaceful resolution of disputes” and the need to strengthen supply chain resilience in times of crisis. “The agreement will greatly bolster bilateral cooperation and offer an adequate level of legal protection to the joint activities between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the French Armed Forces,” the Philippine defense department said in a statement. Aside from France, the Philippines also has the visiting forces agreements w...