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Somali President Accuses Iran of Implementing ‘Subversive Agenda’ Through Humanitarian Efforts

A photo distributed by the extremist Al-Shabaab movement on Tuesday.
A photo distributed by the extremist Al-Shabaab movement on Tuesday.
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Somali President Accuses Iran of Implementing ‘Subversive Agenda’ Through Humanitarian Efforts

A photo distributed by the extremist Al-Shabaab movement on Tuesday.
A photo distributed by the extremist Al-Shabaab movement on Tuesday.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud accused Iran of interfering in his country, at a time when the US military announced that it had killed two members of the extremist Al-Shabaab movement, in an airstrike on a remote area near Haratiri, 396 km northeast of Mogadishu.

Somali media quoted Sheikh Mahmoud as telling the Somali Scholars Conference on Tuesday that the country’s intelligence service monitored Iranian moves to spread Shiite ideologies during his first presidential term that ended in 2017.

The Somali president added that Iran was implementing a “subversive agenda” through relief efforts, pointing to the involvement of Iranian diplomats and officials of humanitarian organizations in the case.

Referring to “compelling evidence”, Sheikh Mahmoud said that he decided at the time to prohibit any Iranian presence in the country, by closing the Iranian embassy, and banning the activities of the Iranian Red Crescent and the Khomeini Charitable Foundation.

Meanwhile, at least one person was killed when a car exploded at the Sinai intersection in Mogadishu, on Tuesday morning. Several mortar shells fell near the headquarters of the Somali Presidency and the Ministry of Information.

According to local sources, one of the shells hit a primary school near the headquarters of Hamarween district in Mogadishu, injuring three people. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Also on Tuesday, the United States reported conducting a new airstrike against Al-Shabaab in Somalia, killing two militants.

In a statement, the US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) said it carried out a “collective self-defense” strike against al-Shabaab following a request from the Somalian government.

The strike was in support of Somali National Army engagements against Al-Shabaab, AFRICOM said.

“At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, US Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike on Jan. 23, 2023. The strike occurred in a remote area near Xaradheere, Somalia, approximately 396 km northeast of Mogadishu where Somali forces were conducting operations,” the statement read.

It added: “The initial assessment is the strike killed two al-Shabaab terrorists. Given the remote location of the operation, the initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed.”

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World

UK Publishes Legislation for Tougher Sanctions on Iran

People walk along a market street in Tehran on September 7, 2026. (AFP)
People walk along a market street in Tehran on September 7, 2026. (AFP)
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UK Publishes Legislation for Tougher Sanctions on Iran

People walk along a market street in Tehran on September 7, 2026. (AFP)
People walk along a market street in Tehran on September 7, 2026. (AFP)

Britain on Tuesday published legislation to introduce tougher sanctions on Iran, expanding trade restrictions and powers to target ships ‌as part ‌of what it described ‌as ⁠wider effort to ⁠curb Tehran's nuclear program and other hostile activities.

The government said the measures would restrict Iran's access to the British financial ⁠system, expand trade ‌bans to additional ‌goods, technology and services, ‌and prohibit Iranian aircraft from ‌landing in Britain unless exemptions apply.

Stephen Doughty, a foreign office minister, said in ‌a written statement that the legislation "doubles down on our action ⁠to ⁠constrain Iran's nuclear ambitions" and would help ensure Iran was never able to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Iran's embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

World

Nicaragua Maintains German Arms Exports to Israel Violate International Law

Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, agent for Nicaragua, listens during public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Germany in the case brought by Nicaragua, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP)
Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, agent for Nicaragua, listens during public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Germany in the case brought by Nicaragua, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP)
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Nicaragua Maintains German Arms Exports to Israel Violate International Law

Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, agent for Nicaragua, listens during public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Germany in the case brought by Nicaragua, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP)
Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, agent for Nicaragua, listens during public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Germany in the case brought by Nicaragua, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP)

Nicaragua told the International ‌Court of Justice on Tuesday that Germany's arms exports to Israel violates the 1948 Genocide Convention and humanitarian law and urged the court to allow its case against Berlin to continue.

Germany suspended weapons exports to Israel for a few months in 2025, but they have since resumed. It is Israel's second biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust.

A US-backed ceasefire since October 2025 halted large-scale fighting that had devastated Gaza ‌but has not ‌ended Israeli strikes.

Speaking on behalf of Nicaragua, Ambassador ‌Carlos ⁠Jose Arguello Gomez said ⁠Berlin should have been aware there was a "serious risk that acts that could amount to genocide were being committed by Israel" and should have used all reasonable measures to prevent genocide according to the Genocide Convention.

Nicaragua and Germany are both signatories of the Genocide Convention which includes an obligation on states to act ⁠to prevent possible genocide - but it is unusual ‌for the court to hear cases where ‌neither party is directly involved in the conflict at the heart ‌of it.

Israel rejects genocide allegations as politically motivated and ‌says its military campaign has targeted the Hamas group, whose attack on Israel triggered the war in October 2023.

On Monday, Germany asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to throw out ‌the case because they argued the court lacked jurisdiction on various procedural grounds.

Nicaragua on Tuesday dismissed ⁠Berlin's arguments ⁠that it was unclear that a dispute existed when the case was filed, pointing to communication with the foreign ministry and press statements.

Nicaragua's case builds on the one South Africa brought against Israel for alleged genocide. In an interim ruling in 2024, the ICJ said it was plausible Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the Genocide Convention during its assault on Gaza. However, that case is not expected to be heard in full until late 2029.

A ruling on Germany's objection to jurisdiction is expected later this year. Even if the case can continue, it is expected to take years before a final ruling on the merits.

World

Nepal Flood Death Toll Rises as Rescuers Scour Tunnels

A man looks at the remains in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 7, 2026. (AFP)
A man looks at the remains in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Nepal Flood Death Toll Rises as Rescuers Scour Tunnels

A man looks at the remains in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 7, 2026. (AFP)
A man looks at the remains in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 7, 2026. (AFP)

The death toll from Nepal's devastating flood rose on Tuesday to 1,357, with 5,326 people still missing, the country's disaster authority said nearly two weeks after the August 26 disaster.

In China, 43 people were confirmed dead and 519 missing, according to state media, bringing the overall toll to 1,400 dead and 5,845 missing.

Rescue work continued in Nepal for a 14th day after the devastating glacial and mountain collapse near the China-Nepal border swept away roads, bridges and homes.

Nepali rescuers are focusing on three hydropower projects where they believe workers could still be trapped, the disaster agency said.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three from deep inside tunnels -- two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday -- has raised hopes that others could still be alive.

"Our search and rescue operation is ongoing," Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of the country's disaster authority, told AFP.

"We are hoping that there might still be survivors in at least three projects, and we are pushing our operations there."

Foreign experts, including from China, India and South Korea, are aiding Nepali teams.

"We have also received reports that there are stranded people higher on the hill," Uprety added.

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves after collecting DNA samples for future identification, according to police.

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is accelerating glacial melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that has contributed little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, has said reconstruction could cost billions of dollars.

David Fisher, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said reaching communities isolated by the floods was a daunting task because of "narrow and dangerous" access routes.

"Every delay means families wait longer for the support they urgently need," he said in a statement.