Somalia

Breaking: Firdhiye names 21-member Cabinet in Las Anod, signaling next phase for Somalia’s northeastern administration Las Anod, Somalia — Abdikadir Ahmed Ali, widely known as Firdhiye, has appointed a 21-member Cabinet for the northeastern regional administration centered in Las Anod, according to a decree issued Sunday by his office. The move, months in the making, formalizes a leadership team for the territory that emerged from last year’s fighting and has since sought a stable path under the banner of SSC-Khatumo. The…

When a diploma isn’t the barrier — a passport is Mustaf Moha­­med Takoy had done everything right. He won a full scholarship to study a master’s in Environment and International Development at the University of Copenhagen, bought health insurance, secured an acceptance letter and packed the hope of a better future. Then Denmark’s immigration service told him that his Somali passport was not a valid travel document — and that was that. Mustaf’s story, relayed in a short but stark exchange with Danish authorities, speaks to…

Egypt’s warning over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam rekindles a 21st-century struggle over an ancient river CAIRO — When Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly declared that the Nile is “a matter of existence, not subject to compromise,” he was not indulging in rhetoric. He was speaking for a country whose modern life, agriculture and industry grew up along the river’s narrow ribbon through desert. Yet that river feeds more than one national story. The spokesman’s rebuke this month, aimed squarely at Ethiopia’s…

Somalia’s ID Deadline Tests the Promise of Digital Inclusion In a quiet Saturday statement that ignited a very noisy week on the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia’s National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) said it will stop issuing national ID cards for free after October 31, 2025. The line that got people moving was simple: “The National ID Card Registration Fee Exemption Period ends on October 31. Please take advantage of the opportunity and apply at your nearest NIRA Center!” Within hours, long queues…

Raila Odinga, Kenya’s towering opposition figure, dies in India NAIROBI — Kenyans woke to shock and grief on Wednesday after reports that Raila Odinga, the country’s most prominent opposition leader and a defining figure in modern Kenyan politics, died during a morning walk at a hospital in India. Odinga, 80, was reported to have collapsed at the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Kochi, Kerala, after experiencing breathing difficulties at about 7:45 a.m., a hospital spokesman told news agencies.…

Somalia and Turkey move to seal a labor pact — and raise bigger questions about jobs, skills, and dignity In a quiet room in Doha on Friday, Somali Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Yusuf Mohamed sat down with Turkey’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan, to push forward a bilateral labor cooperation agreement. On paper, it is a technical accord: training programs, civil service capacity-building, and a plan to spur job creation. In practice, it is also a test of whether two close partners…

Somali forces arrest suspect said to be planting landmines in border town Beled Hawo, Somalia — Security forces in Somalia’s Gedo region say they have detained a man accused of attempting to lay two landmines along a busy route in the border district of Beled Hawo, averting what officials believe could have been a deadly attack on civilians and military convoys. The late-night arrest on Tuesday, confirmed by the Somali National Army’s media unit, came during a targeted operation as patrols swept through the district’s main…

Somalia’s first EALA delegation: A cautious leap into East Africa’s political mainstream MOGADISHU — When Somalia’s joint parliament rose from a long morning of debate this week to elect nine lawmakers to the East African Legislative Assembly, it closed a chapter that began soon after the clan-based conflicts of the 1990s and the long, halting restoration of a central state. The vote marked the first time Somali legislators will sit in the EALA chamber in Arusha alongside delegates from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda,…

Somalia’s Seat at East Africa’s Table: Why Mogadishu’s New EALA Delegation Matters A quiet milestone in Mogadishu In a bright room at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud welcomed Somalia’s first full slate of lawmakers to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). The ceremony, following a parliamentary vote that selected nine representatives, was deliberately understated — no brass bands, no triumphal headlines. Yet the significance should not be missed. Less than a year after its…

Somalia’s energy moment: private grit, solar hope and the hard work ahead MOGADISHU — When Somalia’s 4th Success Stories Forum wrapped on a warm October afternoon, the optimism in the room felt brutally practical rather than triumphant. Government ministers applauded Somali-owned electricity firms for keeping lights on in the capital. A telecom giant announced that nearly all of its facilities now run on solar. And business leaders urged deeper investment to wean the country off imported diesel. Those notes of pride,…