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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.…

Raila Odinga, Kenya’s tenacious opposition leader and former prime minister, dies at 80 NAIROBI — Raila Odinga, the combative and charismatic politician who embodied Kenya’s long, bruising fight for multiparty democracy and remained the country’s most formidable opposition voice for decades, has died at the age of 80, a person in his office told Reuters on Wednesday. Immediate details were scarce. Indian daily Mathrubhumi reported that Odinga had been receiving treatment in the southern city of Kochi and suffered a cardiac…

French prime minister resigns hours after naming new cabinet, deepening political turmoil What happened France's newly appointed prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, abruptly resigned on Thursday morning just hours after unveiling his cabinet, throwing President Emmanuel Macron's government into fresh and immediate uncertainty. The Élysée confirmed the move in a brief statement: "Mr Sébastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his Government to the President of the Republic, who has accepted it." Lecornu, a close ally…

Japan’s choice of a conservative woman to lead the ruling party reframes familiar dilemmas The Liberal Democratic Party’s selection of Sanae Takaichi as its leader — a 64‑year‑old conservative who could become Japan’s first female prime minister — is less a break with the past than a new turn in an old playbook. Her victory, against younger and more moderate rivals, signals the LDP’s attempt to recapture voters unsettled by inflation, stagnating wages and a rising appetite for parties that promise real change on immigration…

Somalia Courts German Investment as Mogadishu Seeks to Turn Stability Gains into Jobs On a sweltering Monday in Mogadishu, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre sat down with Germany’s ambassador, Sebastian Groth, for a conversation that was part pitch, part signal. Somalia, he said, has “vast investment potential” in fisheries, industry and livestock. Germany, Groth responded, is preparing to send senior officials to explore those opportunities on the ground. It wasn’t a flashy announcement—no ribbon cuttings, no signed…

Somalia’s push for direct vote exposes fault lines between Mogadishu and the regions When Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre insists Somalia is moving away from "lawmakers appointed by clan elders or regional administrations" toward a system in which "representatives elected directly by the Somali people," he is sketching a future that is both aspirational and deeply contested. The proposal — to replace a decades-old, clan-based indirect model with universal suffrage and to shift governance toward a presidential system — has…

In Somalia, a Public Pledge of Loyalty Raises Stakes Ahead of Fragile Elections MOGADISHU — When Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre walked through the departure hall of Aden Adde International Airport this week, he was not merely inspecting toilets and trash bins. He was, in effect, rehearsing a partnership — an explicit commitment to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud that has been rare in Somalia’s recent politics. "I will never run for president against President , who entrusted me to serve Somalia as PM," Hamza said during…

Abiy’s Red Sea Declaration Raises the Stakes in an Already Volatile Horn of Africa When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared on national television that “the mistake made 30 years ago will be corrected tomorrow,” he was doing more than rekindling a long‑smoldering grievance about access to the sea. He was signaling a willingness to contest borders and partnerships in a part of the world where history, water and trade routes are tightly braided — and where small shifts can cascade into wider confrontation. Abiy’s…

Rayner’s resignation shakes Starmer’s reset — and hands David Lammy a testing new brief Angela Rayner’s abrupt resignation on Thursday over a stamp duty dispute has reopened a raw political wound for Britain’s Labour government — one that Keir Starmer had hoped was healing as he sought to rebrand his premiership as steady, sober and scandal-free. The immediate, consequential result was the promotion of David Lammy to deputy prime minister and justice secretary, and a reshuffle that put veteran Yvette Cooper back in charge…

Somalia’s new Northeast State tests fragile federalism as favored candidates win amid interference claims In the sunbaked streets of Las Anod, the epicenter of a year of upheaval on Somalia’s northern rim, lawmakers this weekend chose a president and vice president for a new political entity they call the Northeast State. The result — a victory for Abdiqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali, known widely as Firdhiye, and his running mate Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril — was greeted in Mogadishu as a milestone for state-building. It was also met with…