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MOGADISHU — The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Yamahi, has welcomed the direct elections for the Banadir Regional Council, calling the vote a historic milestone and the first of its kind in Somalia since 1969. In a statement issued Thursday, Al-Yamahi said the Mogadishu ballot represents a significant step in Somalia’s state-building process, strengthening democratic governance and citizenship while widening public participation in decision-making. He said the direct elections are expected to deliver…

Mogadishu’s municipal elections are more than a local contest; they are a stress test for Somalia’s long-promised transition from elite bargaining to citizen-driven governance. If they hold, they could become the clearest step yet toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than half a century. For decades, Somalia’s political order has been defined by indirect electoral arrangements and power-sharing formulas negotiated among clans and political elites. Those frameworks helped stabilize a state battered by…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents of Somalia’s capital voted Thursday in municipal elections billed as a key step toward restoring direct democracy nationwide for the first time in more than half a century. The Mogadishu vote, held in a city of roughly 3 million where security has improved despite persistent attacks by al-Qaida-aligned al-Shabab, is widely seen as a test run for national-level direct elections. Somalia last held direct polls in 1969, months before military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in a coup. With…

A US-drafted, 28‑point peace proposal that would formalise large territorial gains for Moscow and sharply limit Ukraine’s military and diplomatic options surfaced Wednesday, setting off alarm in Brussels and Kyiv. Axios reported the Trump administration had been “secretly working in consultation with Russia” to draft the plan. Media accounts described provisions that would recognise Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk as effectively Russian, freeze parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia along the current contact line, cap Ukraine’s…

Somalia: Hassan Sheikh Turns Down PM Barre's Resignation Amid Electoral Disputes MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ambling through a political maze, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia has declined Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s offer to resign, according to insiders conversing with Axadle. The two political bigwigs are experiencing difficulties syncing efforts with regional states, especially those severing ties with the central government in Mogadishu. Jubaland, the latest state to distance itself from the federal…

Mogadishu (AX) — On Sunday, the Somali Deputy Minister of Education, Ahmed Isman Ibrahim Daqare, alongside Abdirashid Jire Qalinle, Minister of State for Planning and International Cooperation, tendered their resignations due to the federal government's intentions to challenge certain regional authorities. Qalinle shared his apprehensions regarding what he perceives as discriminatory actions by the federal government against the regional governments of Jubbaland, Northeastern State, and SSC Khatumo. Daqare, in a similar…

Mogadishu (AX) — In North Western State of Somalia, two deputy ministers have thrown in the towel, indicating a major realignment in the political sphere just a few weeks shy of the crucial November 13 presidential election. These officials, formerly aligned with the sitting Kulmiye Party, have now pledged their allegiance to Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Irro, from the opposition. Their rationale? A push for transformation.Nasir Aydid Mohamed, once serving as Deputy Minister of Fisheries, expressed his intention to…

The Covid-19 outbreak continues to worsen in Indonesia. Powered by the highly portable Delta variant, cases and deaths have risen across the country. Hospitals have become overwhelmed, forcing some of the newly infected to have no choice but to isolate themselves at home. We see how volunteers have helped. We also take a…

Although the presidential election should in principle be held in February 2022, several personalities are expected to be candidates. This is the case with the former Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, who joined the URD, a major Malian political party this weekend. as reported from Bamako,Serge DanielBoubou Cissé's immediate…

Yesterday in Kigali, Emmanuel Macron acknowledged France's "responsibility" in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, but made no apology. So, some are happy, others are disappointed. But what does Vincent Duclert think, the author of the report that came out two months ago and which greatly inspired the speech that the French president gave yesterday. He answers questions from Christophe Boisbouvier.…