by STEPHEN ASTARIKOWednesday May 6, 2026 Muslim Religious leaders drawn from SUPKEM during the meeting. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO Religious leaders in Northeastern are sounding the alarm over what they describe as a “silent epidemic” of HIV and AIDS, calling for immediate, coordinated action to confront a health challenge they say is spreading under the weight of stigma and denial. The warning came during a high-level meeting in Garissa convened by the National Syndemic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) in collaboration with the…

Wednesday May 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali opposition leaders are preparing a mass rally in Mogadishu on May 10, calling on residents to take to the streets in protest against what they say is the forced displacement of people from the capital and to demand that families be allowed to return to their homes. Former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, speaking in Mogadishu on Wednesday, said the suffering of residents — especially those uprooted from their neighborhoods — must not be dismissed. “The people of Mogadishu…

By Mahad CamalTuesday May 5, 2026 Jurist and DirectorBackground in Conflict Studies Somalia’s political reality can be read most clearly when one looks not at slogans, but at how power is actually exercised. That is the lens used here, drawing on remarks made by four Somali traditional leaders during their April 27 meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Villa Somalia. Rather than treating those comments as routine expressions of support or criticism, they offer a useful window into the country’s institutional…

By Pranav Baskar and Matthew Mpoke BiggMonday May 4, 2026 A brazen seizure off Yemen has renewed fears that Somali pirates are regaining their footing — and raised fresh suspicions that they may be operating alongside Iran-backed Houthi rebels amid upheaval across the Middle East. Maritime police forces from the Puntland State region of Somalia patrolling the Gulf of Aden last year.Credit...Feisal Omar/Reuters Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker off Yemen’s coast on Saturday and steered it into Somali waters, authorities…

By Khadar M LeyliMonday May 4, 2026 Symbiotic Antagonists  A familiar political pattern is unfolding around Somali Regional State President Mustafa Omer: longtime rivals are setting aside their own enmities for one purpose only — to attack him. What brings together this uneasy alliance is not a common blueprint for Ethiopia or for the Somali Region, but a shared determination to tarnish a leader they regard as an obstacle to their ambitions.  This coalition of symbiotic antagonists — TPLF loyalists still bitter over their…

By  JAMES ROBSONMonday May 4, 2026 Manchester United is back among Europe’s elite. Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool ensured United’s return to the Champions League after a two-year wait, sealing the club’s place in next season’s top-tier continental competition in dramatic fashion. Kobbie Mainoo delivered the decisive blow in a tense Premier League showdown at Old Trafford, firing first time from the edge of the area after defending champion Liverpool had clawed its way back from two goals down. The result also brought…

Monday May 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has said that former North Western State of Somalia President Muse Bihi Abdi was prepared, in principle, to discuss Somali unity during mediation efforts in 2020 led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Speaking in an interview last week, Farmaajo described Abiy Ahmed as deeply involved in trying to bring Somali political figures together, even as Ethiopia’s role in Somali affairs continued to draw suspicion and criticism across the…

by STEPHEN ASTARIKOSunday May 3, 2026 Residents of Mwingi barricade the Busy Nairobi-Garissa road in Mwingi town./STEPHEN ASTARIKO Leaders from Garissa are urging restraint as insecurity continues to stir fear and deepen friction between communities in Garissa and Kitui counties. The unrest has already begun to choke trade, disrupt travel and strain livelihoods across the region. On Monday, bus operators suspended services on the Garissa–Mwingi–Nairobi route after a string of attacks and rising tension between pastoralists…

Saturday May 2, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s labour movement marked International Labour Day in Mogadishu on Saturday with a gathering of more than 1,000 people, turning the occasion into a public display of worker solidarity and shared purpose. The commemoration was hosted by the Federation of Somali Trade Unions, with backing from the International Labour Organization, and formed part of the National Conference on Employment-Intensive Investment and Decent Work. Senior government officials, labour representatives, and…

By: OMAR M ELMI, EconomistSaturday May 2, 2026 North Western State of Somalia sits on one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors, along Somalia’s Gulf of Aden coast where the Bab el-Mandeb strait opens into the Red Sea. | Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images As tensions mount across the Red Sea, North Western State of Somalia is nearing a turning point that could reshape not only its diplomatic ambitions but also its security outlook. For more than 30 years, the self-declared republic has pressed for international…