Sunday May 17, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday mounted a forceful defense of Somalia’s push for one-person, one-vote elections, arguing that the country’s indirect voting system has too often fueled violence, arrests and political uncertainty. Addressing the public in Mogadishu, Mohamud said Somalia needs to leave behind a model in which political representatives are chosen through clan-based, indirect arrangements. He said direct voting would allow citizens to select their leaders without…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State President Siciid Cabdullahi Deni on Friday delivered a blistering rebuke of what he called the “term-ended Somali president” Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of pushing Somalia “in the wrong direction” and endangering the country’s federal system and unity. Addressing reporters in Mogadishu, Deni said he had been waiting for May 15, 2026, and argued that the country’s political standoff had now reached a stage where urgent action was needed to avert institutional breakdown and the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 16 — Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni departed Mogadishu on Saturday after three days of political talks failed to produce an agreement among Somalia’s leading stakeholders. Deni had joined opposition figures in negotiations with the federal government from May 13 to 15, in an effort to bridge deep divisions over the country’s electoral and political framework. Despite bringing together representatives from both the federal side and the opposition, the discussions ended without a deal,…

By: Abdirahman Jeylani Mohamed Saturday May 16, 2026 Somalia has reached a fraught political milestone. On 15 May 2026, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s constitutional mandate formally expired, landing the country in one of its most precarious moments in recent memory. The date carries heavy symbolism. It coincides with Somali Youth Day, a commemoration of the generation behind the Somali Youth League (SYL), which once imagined a united, democratic and sovereign Somali republic built on civic nationalism rather than…

From the stage of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, President Paul Kagame delivered a sharp critique of global sanctions, saying they are wielded unevenly and weaponized against weaker states. He argued that the way sanctions are imposed reflects raw power rather than justice, advantaging countries with greater strategic or economic clout. During a session moderated by CNN anchor and correspondent Eleni Giokos, African leaders were pressed on how they are navigating escalating geopolitical strains — from disputed mineral…

What began as a solemn tribute to Malawi’s founding leader, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, quickly unraveled on Kamuzu Day when police deployed tear gas to break up Malawi Congress Party supporters escorting former president Lazarus Chakwera to the Kamuzu Mausoleum in Lilongwe. The confrontation underscored sharpening political frictions around the holiday. The MCP had shunned the official State ceremony, arguing Chakwera was sidelined from the national event due to what authorities labeled “protocol complications.” Government…

Wednesday May 13, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held talks Tuesday with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji in Kampala, a meeting that centered on bilateral ties and other matters of shared concern. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the discussions covered cooperation between Somalia and Saudi Arabia and explored ways to deepen relations between the two countries. El-Khereiji was in Uganda to represent Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the inauguration of…

JERUSALEM, May 13 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates and met Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the war with Iran, Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday, confirming for the first time that the two leaders had met. The Prime Minister's Office said the encounter produced a "historic breakthrough" in ties between Israel and the UAE. A source familiar with the matter said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, widely known as MBZ, met in Al-Ain,…

Somalia’s President, Opposition Leaders Head for Crucial Talks in Mogadishu’s Halane Compound MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s political deadlock is set to move behind the walls of Mogadishu’s fortified Halane compound, where President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and opposition leaders are expected to meet in high-level talks aimed at easing a widening dispute over delayed elections and constitutional revisions. The discussions, anticipated in the coming days, will bring together officials from the federal government and members of…

Tuesday May 12, 2026 Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni at the swearing-in ceremony in Kampala. / others Uganda’s long-serving leader Yoweri Museveni was inaugurated for another term on Tuesday in the capital, Kampala, at a ceremony drawing regional heads of state, diplomats and senior officials from around Africa. Museveni won a seventh term after the January 15 presidential election, taking 71 percent of the vote. His main challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, finished with 24 percent. Speaking to…