Somalia, Iran, Gaza
Today's three stories you should know
Somalia
The number of people experiencing extreme hunger in Somalia has doubled over the last year to 6.5 million, according to the world’s leading global hunger monitor. That figure refers to people classified as in a "crisis or worse" situation, the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said. More than two million are in the "emergency" category, which is one step away from the "catastrophic" level equal to famine. The U.N. food agency said last week that it would have to stop aid to Somalia by April if it could not secure new funding. Cuts to aid funding and competing crises have hampered the ability of U.N. agencies and humanitarian groups to address rising levels of hunger.
More from Africa News here.
Iran
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has posted instructions in Farsi on social media for Iranians who wish to contact it securely, as President Donald Trump continues to threaten military strikes. The messages were posted to X, Instagram and YouTube and, according to a translation, said: “Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency hears you and wants to help. Here are some tips on how to make a secure virtual call with us.” The spy agency has previously published similar messages in Russian, Mandarin and Korean. Trump threatened Iran in January using a violent crackdown on anti-government protests as a pretext but has since pivoted to the country’s nuclear program as justification.
More from AP here.
Gaza
Israel was the world’s most prolific killer of journalists and media workers last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its annual report. It was the second straight year that press killings set a record and the second straight year that Israel was responsible for two-thirds of them. Israel killed 86 journalists in 2025, according to CPJ’s tally, mostly in Gaza but also 31 in an attack on a Houthi media center in Yemen. A total of 129 media workers were killed in 2025, the watchdog said, the highest since it began keeping records in 1992.
More from Reuters here.