as

Somalia says it maintains direct contacts with North Western State of Somalia, seeks political solution amid rising Horn of Africa stakes MOGADISHU — Somalia’s government is engaging in direct and regular contact with authorities in North Western State of Somalia and pursuing a negotiated political settlement, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Omar Balcad said in an interview published Saturday. Speaking to Doha News, Balcad reaffirmed the federal government’s position that North Western State of Somalia remains part…

Democrats condemn Trump’s remarks about Somali Americans as ‘xenophobic,’ warn rhetoric aids extremists Senior Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump’s strongly derogatory comments about Somali Americans and Somalia, calling the remarks “xenophobic and unacceptable” and warning they could endanger U.S. interests. In a joint statement, Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, Rep. Sara Jacobs, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Sen. Cory Booker said Trump’s rhetoric targeted Somali Americans, including immigrants and refugees,…

MOGADISHU — The main market in Mogadishu’s Hamarweyne district remained closed for a third straight day Monday as traders protested what they say are excessive and unlawful tax demands imposed by Somalia’s Federal Government. Shopkeepers told local media the Ministry of Finance’s revenue department recently introduced additional fees that far exceed the legally mandated taxes they already pay each year. Several business owners said the new charges run into the hundreds of dollars — sums they say they cannot afford in the…

Libya's rival sides launched a UN-mediated exchange of prisoners, UN and Libyan officials said on Saturday, as part of a preliminary ceasefire agreement between the fighting Libyan groups. The exchange of the first batch of prisoners, overseen by a joint military committee, took place on Friday in the southwestern village of al-Shwayrif, according to the UN support mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Libya is divided between a UN-backed National Accounts Government (GNA) in the capital Tripoli and rival…

Ethiopia will hold a parliamentary election on June 5, 2021, the National Electoral Commission said on Friday, after the votes scheduled for 2020 were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The aborted election was a factor that led to tensions between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the opposite northern Tigray region, which eventually saw him send federal troops there in a military offensive in November that left thousands dead and created tens of thousands of refugees. The election in Ethiopia, Africa's second most…

The Libyan authorities rejects any try to put the Tripoli invaders and defenders on equal phrases, Libyan Protection Minister Salahaddin Namroush mentioned on Wednesday as variations and disagreements plague the UN-led political course of aimed toward ending the chaos within the oil-rich North African nation. "We assist each dialogue aimed toward lasting peace in Libya and for its folks to get pleasure from safety and security, however on the identical time we reject any try and make the aggressors and…

US President Donald Trump, who apparently by no means realized the seriousness of the presidency's obligations throughout his four-year time period, takes his final breath earlier than handing over the keys to the White Home to President-elect Joe Biden. With lower than a month left in workplace, Trump is in a rush to satisfy his one-sided plan for the Center East with numerous diplomatic stimuli to convey Israel and the Arab states collectively. Shortly after the White Home introduced an settlement,…

The civil warfare between the Ethiopian authorities and the Tigray forces has despatched 25,000 terrified and ravenous Ethiopian refugees fleeing to Sudan, amid issues over an rising humanitarian disaster. Among the many hundreds of individuals fleeing the five-week-old battle in Ethiopia's Tigray area are dozens of males, ladies and youngsters from Eritrea, one of many world's most authoritarian states. They already lived as refugees in Tigray, which had lengthy been a secure haven for them throughout…

Greater than 17 million persons are eligible to vote in Ghana's presidential and parliamentary elections on Monday with the competition for the perfect job anticipated to be a detailed battle between incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo and longtime opponent John Mahama. Nestled alongside the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana - lengthy a beacon for democracy and stability in West Africa - has ensured peaceable transfers of energy on seven events since returning to democracy nearly 30 years in the past. The 2 main events have…

Libya's ceasefire has been held since it was reached in October, and rival parties continue talks at the negotiating table, but the road to a permanent political solution that will end the nearly decade-long civil war and bring peace to the country still hangs in the balance due to deep divisions over a transition leader. The UN has "succeeded in accelerating the pace of inter-Libyan negotiations by exerting pressure on all parties, as much at the military level as the political level," Miloud el-Hajj,…