East-Africa

Saudi-and-Iranian officials-hold-talks-for-patch-up-relationships Senior Saudi and Iranian officials have held direct talks in an attempt to repair relations between the two regional rivals, five years after they severed diplomatic ties, according to three officials briefed on the talks. The talks, which took place in Baghdad this month, are believed to be the first important…

After criticism, Biden says he wants to raise the U.S. ceiling on footage of refugees U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday he will raise the ceiling for the number of refugees admitted to the United States this year, a day after he criticized Democratic lawmakers for agreeing to keep the historically low figure in place. Biden signed an order on Friday to extend a ceiling of 15,000…

Northeastern State of Somaliavotes against the president's extended mandate Somali state legislature Northeastern State voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to deny the outgoing president another two years in office after extending his term. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo provoked condemnation at home and abroad after signing an extension of his mandate to law this week. His…

Road blast in Somalia kills top military commander At least two people, including a commander-in-chief of the national army, were killed when a roadside bomb targeted a military vehicle outside Bal'ad, the Middle Shabelle region, an official said Saturday. The attack took place near Gololey on the outskirts of Bal'ad, an agricultural town 40 kilometers from the capital Mogadishu.…

Following the failure of the election negotiations and the two-year extension of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's mandate, Farmajo says, the opposition is raising the tone. The presidential candidate coalition has called on its supporters to reject what they call a "threat to peace and stability" and to challenge President Farmajo. The 14 presidential candidates have all suspended their election campaigns in retaliation for extension of the Head of State's mandate, which sparked an international outcry this week.…

On Friday, April 17, Eritrea acknowledged for the first time the presence of its troops in Ethiopia and announced that they would withdraw. as reported from Nairobi, Albane ThirouardSpeech exchange for Eritrea. Since the beginning of November, the central power of Addis Ababa has been fighting the regional power in Tigray,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A two-day meeting to evaluate the gains of the security sector in Somalia has ended in Mogadishu, the capital, with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Army (SNA) agreeing on strategies for Somali security forces to take a leading role in security operations forward. Attending the meeting were representatives of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), military leaders of the Somali National Army (SNA) and AMISOM as well as officials from the United Nations Support…

Eritrea told the UN Security Council on Friday that it had agreed to begin withdrawing its troops from Ethiopia's Tigray region and publicly recognizing for the first time the country's involvement in the conflict. The inclusion in a letter to the 15-member council - and published online by the Eritrean Ministry of Information - comes a day after UN Secretary-General Mark Lowcock said the world body had seen no evidence of Eritrean troops withdrawing. "As the looming serious threat has been largely counteracted,…

Somalia's protracted political crisis has entered a new, dangerous phase. In a hastily convened session on April 12, MPs overwhelmingly endorsed a bill that would delay the election by two years, effectively extending the term of office of outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo". The movement is an alarming escalation of a dispute that could very well turn into widespread violence unless Somalia's political elite returns to the negotiating table. The opposition is said to be considering forming a parallel…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Outgoing Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo convened a closed-door meeting with foreign diplomats on Saturday at the Afisyonie tent at Mogadishu airport. Sources close to Villa Somalia said Farmajo went to the venue early in the morning to hold talks with international partners five days after Parliament in the lower house extended its mandate by two years, a move the Senate rejected as unconstitutional. Axadlesources revealed that the foreign diplomats are making a final effort to convince…