Suicide Bombing in Somalia Kills One Soldier, Injures 6

Security forces patrol at the scene, after gunmen stormed the Hayat Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on Aug. 21, 2022. (AP)
Security forces patrol at the scene, after gunmen stormed the Hayat Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on Aug. 21, 2022. (AP)
TT

Suicide Bombing in Somalia Kills One Soldier, Injures 6

Security forces patrol at the scene, after gunmen stormed the Hayat Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on Aug. 21, 2022. (AP)
Security forces patrol at the scene, after gunmen stormed the Hayat Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on Aug. 21, 2022. (AP)

At least one soldier was killed and six others injured in Somalia on Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military base in the west of the capital Mogadishu, a soldier and a hospital worker told Reuters.

Somalia's al-Qaeda-allied group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The suicide bomber had disguised himself as a regular soldier and joined others as they filed into a military base early Sunday before he detonated the explosive, Captain Aden Omar, a soldier at the military base told Reuters.

"We lost one soldier and several others were injured. The bomber blew up himself at a check point," he said.

A nurse at Madina Hospital in Mogadishu told Reuters they had received one dead soldier and six others who were wounded.

Al Shabaab claimed it had killed 32 soldiers.

"A suicide bomber killed 32 apostate soldiers and injured over 40 others inside a base in Mogadishu today," Al Andalus radio station which is affiliated with the group said, quoting Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operations spokesperson.

Abu Musab said they had targeted the base because recruitment activity was being conducted there.

The extremist group frequently carries out bombings and gun attacks in Somalia and elsewhere.



2 Buildings Collapse in Central Istanbul after Gas Explosion

A man feeds seagulls on a rainy and windy day, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man feeds seagulls on a rainy and windy day, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
TT

2 Buildings Collapse in Central Istanbul after Gas Explosion

A man feeds seagulls on a rainy and windy day, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man feeds seagulls on a rainy and windy day, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A natural gas explosion in Istanbul’s central Fatih district brought down two buildings on Sunday.

Search and rescue personnel were immediately dispatched to the site of the noon explosion, and determined nine people were caught under the rubble.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said they had recovered seven people, who are undergoing treatment in nearby hospitals. State-run news channel TRT reported an eighth has also been recovered and sent to hospital. Rescue operations are still working to find the last person.

TRT reports that none of the survivors is in critical condition.

One of the collapsed buildings was two stories, the other one.


Japan Could Consider Hormuz Minesweeping if Ceasefire Reached, Minister Says

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi applauds US President Donald Trump during a dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi applauds US President Donald Trump during a dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
TT

Japan Could Consider Hormuz Minesweeping if Ceasefire Reached, Minister Says

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi applauds US President Donald Trump during a dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi applauds US President Donald Trump during a dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, if a ceasefire is reached in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Sunday.

"If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up," Motegi said during a Fuji TV program. "This is purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire were established ‌and naval ‌mines were creating an obstacle, then I ‌think ⁠that would be ⁠something to consider."

Japan's military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Japan to use its Self-Defense Forces overseas if an attack, including on a close security partner, threatens Japan's survival and no other means are available to address it.

Tokyo has no ⁠immediate plans to seek arrangements to allow passage ‌through the Strait of ‌Hormuz for stranded Japanese vessels, Motegi said, adding it was "extremely ‌important" to create conditions that allow all ships to ‌navigate through the narrow waterway, the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil shipments.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Japan's Kyodo news agency on Friday that he had spoken to ‌Motegi about potentially letting Japanese-related vessels pass through the strait.

Japan gets around 90% of its ⁠oil shipments ⁠via the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the war, now in its fourth week. A spike in global oil prices has prompted Japan and other countries to release oil from their reserves.

US President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to "step up" as he presses allies - so far unsuccessfully - to send warships to help open the strait.

Takaichi told reporters after the Washington summit that she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could not provide in the strait under its laws.


UK Minister Says Trump Speaks for Himself on His Deadline for Iran

British Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed looks on, as he speaks to the press, on the first day of Britain's Labor Party's annual conference, in Liverpool, Britain, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble Purchase Licensing Rights
British Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed looks on, as he speaks to the press, on the first day of Britain's Labor Party's annual conference, in Liverpool, Britain, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

UK Minister Says Trump Speaks for Himself on His Deadline for Iran

British Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed looks on, as he speaks to the press, on the first day of Britain's Labor Party's annual conference, in Liverpool, Britain, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble Purchase Licensing Rights
British Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed looks on, as he speaks to the press, on the first day of Britain's Labor Party's annual conference, in Liverpool, Britain, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble Purchase Licensing Rights

British cabinet minister Steve Reed said on Sunday that US President Trump spoke for himself when he threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power ‌plants if Tehran ‌did not ‌fully ⁠reopen the Strait ⁠of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Asked what Britain's position on Trump's deadline was, Housing Secretary ⁠Reed told ‌Sky ‌News: "The US president ‌is perfectly capable of ‌speaking for himself and defending what it is that he's ‌saying."

"We're not going to be dragged ⁠into ⁠the war, but we will protect our own interests in the region. We will work with our allies to de-escalate the situation."