East Africa

The election, which was due to begin this Sunday according to the official calendar, has not started despite a political crisis that shook Somalia for several months. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's term expired on February 8, resulting in violent clashes in Mogadishu in April. In early May, in a gesture of appeasementthe President delegated the organization of the vote to his Prime Minister. A shop was then found between the federal government and semi-autonomous regions. An agreement that had resulted in an…

Somalia has postponed elections that were due to start on Sunday after months of delays in the deeply unstable Horn of Africa country, officials told AFP. Indirect parliamentary and presidential polls were due to open on July 25 with four days of voting for the upper house by state delegates. The election cycle was due to end with a presidential poll on October 10. “Even though the plan was the upper house election to start around the various states today, there is a delay, the election may not take place as planned,”…

Elections in Somalia "delayed", said a spokesman for the federal government, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu without leaving any details. The election would begin on Sunday after months of political crisis in the deeply unstable Horn of Africa country, officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Indirect parliamentary and presidential polls were to open on July 25 with a four-day vote for the upper house by state delegates. The election cycle was to end with a presidential poll on 10 October. "Even if the…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is "an accomplice in the torture of a Briton in Somalia" LONDON - A British citizen has claimed to have been tortured in Somalia and questioned by US intelligence agents, fearing that controversial post-9/11 “war on terror” practices are still being used. The 45-year-old from London alleges he suffered a balaclava, sensory deprivation and waterboarding at the…

Ethiopia's Amhara regional president called on all armed residents to mobilize for the fight against rebels from the conflict-ridden Tigray Sunday, calling it a "survival campaign," state media reported. Amhara borders Tigray to the south and the two regions are involved in a decades-old land war that has become central to the eight-month-old war in Tigray. Sunday's statement from Amhara regional president Agegnehu Teshager echoes a call from the president of Ethiopia's Afar region just east of Tigray. Together, the…

US Secretary of Defense defends airstrikes in Somalia against Al-Shabaab WASHINGTON - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that US airstrikes targeting al-Shabab in Somalia over the past few days were undertaken because Somali forces are stepping up their offensive against the al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group. “More recently what has happened is that our partner forces have…

A Ugandan athlete disappeared on July 16 in the Osaka region of Japan. He had not turned up for a Covid-19 test, which warned local authorities. He was found a few days later. Ugandan media announced on Saturday, July 24, that he is currently in custody. Cap on his head, jeans with holes and hanging arms, a photo published by…

After Malawi and Chad, Sierra Leone abolished the death penalty on Friday. A step forward that is welcomed by human rights and civil society organizations, who, however, believe that this is only the first step. The Post-War Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended the abolition of the death penalty in Sierra Leone. It…

Ethiopian parents call for help to evacuate students stranded by the Tigray War ADDIS ABABA - Parents of thousands of Ethiopian students stranded in the war-ravaged northern Tigray region on Friday asked for help evacuating them after the main university warned it could not feed them any longer in due to food and cash shortages. The University of Mekelle, which receives its budget from the…

The day after the inauguration of the Tokyo Olympics, the African athletes experienced various fortunes involved on Saturday. In boxing, they took convincing first steps. And the Tunisian Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi has picked up a silver medal in taekwondo. In other sports and disciplines it was more complicated. BOXINGCameroonian Albert Mengue Ayissi climbed to the…