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Editorial | Insights into power, policy, and governance across the Horn.
#AxadleTimes #HornOfAfricaPolitics #Somalia #Ethiopia

U.S. Ambassador’s Recall From Somalia Must Catalyze Stronger U.S. Political Engagement

Editorial | The recall of the U.S. ambassador to Somalia must trigger tougher, accountable engagement Washington’s recall of its ambassador to Somalia comes at a fraught juncture in Mogadishu—a familiar endgame in which the federal mandate under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud nears expiration while no shared political or electoral framework is in place. That convergence is not coincidence; it is the pattern that has defined Somalia’s transition for years. The moment demands U.S. political leadership that matches the scale…

What Drove Axadle to Honor Puntland State’s President as Person of the Year

Why Axadle named Puntland State’s president Person of the Year: Wartime leadership against ISIS Sometimes leadership becomes legible only when the stakes are existential. Axadle’s decision to name Puntland State State of Somalia President Said Abdullahi Deni “Person of the Year” rests on such a moment: a months-long military campaign against the Islamic State’s Somali branch that tested Puntland State’s security institutions, its economic lifelines and public confidence in government. The outlet’s choice is not about party…

Raid by U.S.-trained Somali forces kills dozens of civilians

You are an elite, award-winning international journalist and a meticulous senior editor. Your job is to transform raw source material into a publish-ready article that meets the highest AP-standard editorial and technical requirements. PHASE 1 — ANALYSIS AND FORMAT DECISION Read the source text thoroughly. Identify the core themes, dominant purpose, crucial facts, data points, and human or structural angles. Based solely on this analysis, select exactly one article format from the list below. Always choose Football…

16 Days of Activism ends with NUSOJ human rights forum advancing gender justice

NUSOJ caps 16 Days of Activism with human rights colloquium, deepening gender justice push in Somalia’s media The National Union of Somali Journalists has closed an intensive 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence with a human rights colloquium in Mogadishu, framing a clear agenda: empower women journalists, reshape newsroom culture, and elevate ethical coverage of gender-based violence across Somalia. Backed by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the union’s November 25–December 10 effort combined…

U.S. Military Launches Unprecedented Wave of Airstrikes in Somalia

You are an elite, award-winning international journalist and a meticulous senior editor. Your job is to transform raw source material into a publish-ready article that meets the highest AP-standard editorial and technical requirements. PHASE 1 — ANALYSIS AND FORMAT DECISION Read the source text thoroughly. Identify the core themes, dominant purpose, crucial facts, data points, and human or structural angles. Based solely on this analysis, select exactly one article format from the list below. Always choose Football…

Luanda AU–EU Summit: Somalia’s Perspective and a New Africa–Europe Deal

LUANDA, Angola — The AU–EU summit in Luanda on Nov. 24–25 marked 25 years of a formal partnership, and it delivered the familiar choreography: a joint declaration, carefully worded communiqués, promises to deepen cooperation on trade, climate, migration and security. For Somalia — confronting a stubborn insurgency, maritime insecurity and a pressing need for jobs — the measure of success is not rhetoric but whether Africa and Europe can strike a new, more equal bargain that translates summit language into action. The…

Energy, the Critical Gap Stalling Somalia’s Economic Growth

Somalia’s growth is hitting an avoidable ceiling: the price and reliability of electricity. The country’s telecom sector—quietly swapping diesel generators for sunlight—offers a clear, local blueprint for how to lower costs, cut emissions and power a modern economy. If energy is the missing link, renewables are the bridge.

Somalia’s National Identification Authority Faces Constitutional, Operational, and Legitimacy Hurdles

Somalia’s push to operationalize a National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has ignited a debate that reaches far beyond technical administration. At stake are core questions about the Provisional Constitution, the balance of power between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the Federal Member States (FMS), and the real-world consequences of layering a new federal ID on top of existing systems, including the country’s internationally recognized biometric passport. The outcome will shape citizen…

COP30 Highlights Journalism’s Key Role Protecting Information Integrity for Climate Action

A new front in the climate battle: defending truth at COP30 Belem’s humid air this week carried more than the tang of the Amazon. At the UN Pavilion during COP30, delegates and activists gathered to talk emissions, finance and loss and damage — but one of the loudest pleas came from an unexpected corner: the newsroom. Omar Faruk Osman, secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists, used a high-level UNESCO panel to argue that the integrity of information is now a frontline issue for climate action. The…

Somalia at Risk: Demagogues and Their Threat to National Unity

Editorial Verdict: Somalia at a Crossroads — Demagoguery, Patronage and the Fraying of Federalism Three and a half years into a four‑year term, critics of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud argue that the promise of a renewed Somalia — one that could finally suppress Al‑Shabaab, rebuild institutions and knit together fractious clans — has been replaced by a politics of personalization. What began as hopeful restoration has, they say, slid toward centralisation, clientelism and the politicisation of security and aid. The…