A defendant embroiled in the alleged coup attempt against President Bola Tinubu in late 2025 has disclosed a chilling tactic: plans to cut off electricity to the Presidential Villa during the assault. Another accused individual shared insights on a recruitment strategy targeting personnel within the villa, aiming to enlist soldiers and officials from the State Security Service. Multiple defendants, including high-ranking army officers, are facing trial in a federal court located in Abuja. They confront a serious 13-count…

BAIDOA, Somalia — Aden Madobe, Speaker of Somalia’s House of the People, landed in Baidoa on Sunday, setting the stage for a closely watched push to capture the South West State presidency, with what is widely seen as support from Villa Somalia. Madobe, a seasoned politician and senior member of the Justice and Social Partnership (JSP) party, was greeted by local officials in the heavily secured regional capital. Although he has not publicly announced his candidacy, his arrival is being read by political observers as a clear…

BAIDOA, Somalia — Southwest State is approaching a decisive political moment, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s talks in Baidoa placing the region squarely between the prospects of peace and the threat of deeper conflict. The president met with traditional elders as tensions mounted over the future of the regional leadership. According to reports, Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, widely known as Lafta-Gareen, has been pushed to the margins amid political maneuvers involving the federal government.…

Bruno Fernandes closed in on the Premier League single-season assists record as Manchester United tightened its grip on Champions League qualification with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday, while Tottenham halted a damaging losing run by snatching a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Fernandes set up two of United’s goals at Villa Park to move to 16 assists this league campaign, four shy of the record of 20 jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. The Portugal playmaker, who now has 100 assists as a United player in all…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has named Zakariye Yusuf Hussein deputy director general of the Presidential Palace, a senior Villa Somalia post the government cast as part of a wider push to modernize public administration and elevate youth participation in decision-making. The appointment was announced Thursday in a presidential decree. The move follows a recent reshuffle at the presidency after Mohamed Amin Sheikh Osman, who previously held the deputy director general role, was appointed Somalia’s…

Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appoints Zakariye Yusuf Hussein deputy director general at Villa Somalia in youth-focused reform move MOGADISHU — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday appointed Zakariye Yusuf Hussein as deputy director general of the Presidential Palace, known as Villa Somalia, in a decree presented by the presidency as part of efforts to promote youth participation in governance and modernize public administration. The leadership change follows the reassignment of Mohamed Amin Sheikh Osman,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — High-stakes talks at Villa Somalia between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and opposition leaders collapsed Sunday without agreement, laying bare deep divisions over the electoral model meant to guide Somalia’s next vote. The second round of discussions between the presidency and figures grouped under the Somali Future Council ended in deadlock after the sides failed to reconcile positions on core political questions tied to Somalia’s electoral framework, according to sources familiar with the talks. At…

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting at the Presidential Palace that formally opened a consultative conference with leaders of the Somali Future Council, launching talks aimed at resolving disputes over elections and constitutional reform. The government-opposition dialogue — expected to run several days — begins amid rising political tension and with fewer than three months left in the government’s term, a compressed timeline that has…

Premier League: Arsenal rip Aston Villa to stay five clear; Chelsea held; United stalled by rock-bottom Wolves Arsenal hit four past Aston Villa to extend its Premier League lead to five points on Tuesday, a ruthless second-half surge that set the tone for a night of twists across the table. Chelsea were pegged back at home by Bournemouth, Manchester United dropped points against last-place Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the relegation fight tightened after Newcastle’s win at Burnley and Everton’s away triumph at Nottingham…

Analysis: Somalia’s ‘one person, one vote’ push risks crisis without consensus and constitutional safeguards Somalia’s federal government is advancing a “one person, one vote” election model it says will anchor the country’s democratic transition. But the process, as described by Puntland State State Minister of the Presidency Abdifatah Abdinur, suffers from deep constitutional, legal and practical flaws that threaten to compound — not resolve — Somalia’s political fragility. The concerns revolve around three pillars of any…