Monday May 11, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s dominant opposition alliance said Monday it will return to the streets of Mogadishu on May 16, pressing ahead with an anti-government protest after accusing federal authorities of blocking an earlier rally and using security forces to stifle dissent. The Somali Salvation Forum said it would carry on what it described as a “peaceful struggle” over forced displacement, land seizures and what it called the misuse of power by the federal government. In a statement, the forum said…

Monday May 11, 2026 Leandro Trossard struck late to lift Arsenal past West Ham United 1-0 on Sunday, a result that restored the Gunners’ five-point cushion over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and left West Ham staring at relegation to the second tier. With the match finely balanced and neither side able to seize control, Trossard linked up with Declan Rice before seeing his 15-meter effort take a decisive deflection into the goal with only seven minutes remaining. There was late drama when West Ham striker…

Monday May 11, 2026 Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kenya on Sunday, launching a visit that sets the stage for the Africa Forward Summit and for France’s latest attempt to redefine its role on the continent. In Nairobi, the French president will press a message of partnership over influence, even as Paris continues to reckon with the fallout from its military retreat across West Africa and a broader reassessment of its post-colonial ties. The French president’s trip to Kenya began on Sunday, ahead of the Africa Forward Summit,…

Monday May 11, 2026 Jigjiga (AX) — A long-awaited solution to Qabridaharre’s water problems took a major step forward on Sunday, when Ethiopia’s Somali Regional Government broke ground on a 407 million birr water purification plant aimed at easing chronic shortages and improving water quality in the town. Somali Regional State President Mustafa Muhumed Omar and Water Affairs Minister Ahmed Miraad Layli led the foundation-laying ceremony, joined by local and district officials. The plant is slated to supply clean, treated…

Monday May 11, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on Sunday said government forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in Mogadishu’s Dayniile district, alleging that one person was killed and several others were injured. Speaking to reporters, Khaire said residents had assembled in Dayniile to voice anger over forced evictions and displacement when security personnel fired on the crowd. He expressed sympathy to the family of the person he said died and wished those wounded a swift…

Grace Eliza GoodwinMonday May 11, 2026 The search for two missing US soldiers off Morocco’s coast has taken a solemn turn: the Army says the body of one of them has now been found and identified as First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. The remains of one of the two service members who disappeared last week during a training exercise in Morocco were recovered, the US Army said. The Army identified the soldier as 27-year-old 1st Lt Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, a platoon leader and air defence artillery officer from Richmond,…

MOGADISHU, May 10, 2026 — Somalia’s long-running constitutional reform process has entered a new phase after the federal parliament approved a series of amendments to the Provisional Constitution and the president signed the revised text into law. The changes are aimed at locking in rules for governance and elections, but they also deepen political tensions ahead of the next electoral cycle. What Happened Somalia has been operating under a Provisional Constitution since 2012. Reform has been debated for more than a…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday cast doubt on the opposition’s decision to organize a planned protest in Mogadishu on the same day direct local elections were underway in SouthWest state and talks were scheduled in the capital. Speaking on the country’s political and security climate, Hassan Sheikh congratulated South West State residents for what he described as their calm participation in Sunday morning’s “one person, one vote” polls across several districts. He described the vote as…

Sarah JohnsonSunday May 10, 2026 The journalists said they were arrested and assaulted by counter-terrorism police in Mogadishu on Friday. Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images A Somali journalist who reported on a woman’s claim that she was being tortured in prison was detained by authorities and beaten with pistols, along with two other reporters, in what media groups say is the latest sign of an escalating crackdown on press freedom. Mohamed Bulbul was arrested on Friday evening in a restaurant in central Mogadishu…

Sunday May 10, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Southwest State opened a new chapter in its political history on Sunday as voters went to the polls for direct elections to choose members of the regional House of Representatives and district councils, a significant break from the country’s entrenched indirect voting system. The ballot was being conducted in 13 districts across Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said 376,212 voters had registered to take part,…