urges

Somali president urges turnout as Mogadishu holds first one-person, one-vote local polls in more than 50 years MOGADISHU — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Wednesday night urged Mogadishu residents to fully participate in Thursday’s one-person, one-vote local council elections, calling the vote a milestone in the country’s state-building and democratic recovery as polls opened across the capital’s 16 districts. In a nationally televised address, Mohamud framed the elections as a defining moment in the restoration of…

Somali president opens door to talks as Mogadishu holds first one-person, one-vote polls in decades Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says “all doors are open” for dialogue with opposition over Somalia’s electoral process Banadir Regional Council elections mark Mogadishu’s first direct vote in more than 50 years Citywide lockdown and flight suspensions imposed as security forces secure polling MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged open dialogue with opposition leaders on Thursday and hailed Mogadishu’s…

In a quiet housing estate in Navan, Co Meath, a Palestinian orthopedic surgeon scrolls through family photos that have become a catalogue of loss. Dr. Mahmoud Abumarzouq’s younger brother, four nieces and nephews, and countless friends are gone — killed in Gaza since the war erupted after the Oct. 7 attacks — and he is pleading for the world to deliver more aid to those who remain. “This genocide, or you call war or ethnic cleansing — bombardment, all day and night,” he said, searching for the words to contain his grief. “My…

MOGADISHU — Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo warned that Somalia is sliding into a deeper crisis, citing deteriorating security, political, economic and social conditions, and urging national dialogue and unity to avert further instability. In a statement issued Monday, Farmaajo said the country faces “serious security challenges,” accusing the current government of failing to adequately counter the threat posed by terrorist groups. He warned that fragmentation within the national army has weakened the…

Sudan’s prime minister urges U.N. Security Council to back monitored cease-fire plan NEW YORK — Sudan’s prime minister called on the U.N. Security Council to stand “on the right side of history” by endorsing a peace plan for his war-torn country that would impose a nationwide cease-fire and bring international monitoring to the conflict. Since April 2023, Sudan’s army has been locked in a brutal fight with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which controls the west and parts of the south. The war has killed tens of…

KISMAYO, Somalia — A senior Puntland State official urged President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to embrace the outcomes of the Somali Future Council conference that concluded in Kismayo on Saturday, as the newly formed opposition alliance set a Jan. 20, 2026, deadline for inclusive talks on Somalia’s elections. Abdifatah Mohamed Abdinur, the state minister for the Puntland State presidency, called on the president to place national interests above personal considerations and warned against actions that could deepen political…

Puntland State’s Deni urges inclusive national dialogue, warns of political instability in Somalia KISMAYO, Somalia — Puntland State State of Somalia President Said Abdullahi Deni on Thursday urged Somalia’s federal leadership and political actors to heed warnings from Somali intellectuals and reopen inclusive talks on the country’s future, saying failure to do so risks renewed political chaos and threatens national unity. Speaking at the opening of the Somali Future Council conference in Kismayo, Deni said repeated alerts…

Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting probed as terror attack; Israel’s envoy urges protection for Jewish Australians SYDNEY — Dozens queued along Sydney’s Bondi Beach to lay flowers and light candles for the victims of the weekend’s Hanukkah festival shooting, as Australia opened a terrorism investigation and Israel’s ambassador called for stronger protection of the country’s Jewish community. Police said 16 people were dead, including one of the alleged gunmen, after two attackers opened fire on Sunday in Australia’s worst mass…

MOGADISHU — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged Mogadishu residents to turn out for the Banadir local council elections later this month, calling the vote a historic step toward one-person, one-vote democracy and the first time in nearly 57 years that citizens will directly choose their local leaders. Speaking Saturday after collecting his own voter card, Mohamud framed the December ballot as both a civic right and a personal responsibility with tangible consequences for daily life in the capital. “You choose who…

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Tanzania’s prime minister urged citizens to remain at home Tuesday as activists called for Independence Day protests over the deadly suppression of demonstrations that followed October’s elections. Police warned any gathering would be illegal, and security forces mounted a visible show of force in major cities. The United Nations has said hundreds of people were likely killed in the unrest, which was fueled by the exclusion of leading opposition candidates from the ballot. President Samia Suluhu…