West-Africa

Sunday May 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s opposition leaders say the country is drifting into dangerous political territory, warning that an approaching electoral transition could trigger a constitutional showdown. At a press conference in Mogadishu on Saturday, the politicians said they had spent recent days consulting widely with traditional elders, scholars, women, young people, media figures, and civil society activists about the country’s political climate and the road to elections. “We agreed to safeguard the…

Sunday May 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — With his term set to expire in less than two weeks, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called members of the Somali Future Council to a high-level meeting in Mogadishu on May 10, 2026, as political friction deepens over the country’s next steps. In a statement released Saturday, the presidency said the invitation came after the president consulted with a range of social groups in recent days. The planned gathering is expected to examine major national issues, among them Somalia’s…

By Daniel Tari and News AgenciesSaturday May 2, 2026 Pirates appear to be exploiting a widening security gap in the region, with officials saying patrols in the Red Sea have been stretched by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the diversion of commercial shipping lanes. Somalia maritime police from PMPF patrol in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of semi-autonomous Puntland State State in Somalia Yemen’s Coast Guard said on Saturday that it is trying to track down an oil tanker seized off the country’s coast and now…

Saturday May 2, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s labour movement marked International Labour Day in Mogadishu on Saturday with a gathering of more than 1,000 people, turning the occasion into a public display of worker solidarity and shared purpose. The commemoration was hosted by the Federation of Somali Trade Unions, with backing from the International Labour Organization, and formed part of the National Conference on Employment-Intensive Investment and Decent Work. Senior government officials, labour representatives, and…

By: OMAR M ELMI, EconomistSaturday May 2, 2026 North Western State of Somalia sits on one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors, along Somalia’s Gulf of Aden coast where the Bab el-Mandeb strait opens into the Red Sea. | Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images As tensions mount across the Red Sea, North Western State of Somalia is nearing a turning point that could reshape not only its diplomatic ambitions but also its security outlook. For more than 30 years, the self-declared republic has pressed for international…

Saturday May 2, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali pilgrims have begun their journey to the holy sites as the first Hajj flights from Mogadishu and Hargeisa touched down in Saudi Arabia, signaling the opening of this year’s pilgrimage season for nationals from the Horn of Africa. According to Somali officials, the initial flights arrived Friday at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport with 432 pilgrims on board. Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs Mukhtar Robow Ali oversaw the launch ceremony in Mogadishu,…

Writer Charles KingSaturday May 2, 2026 Charles King, the UK ambassador to the Federal Republic of Somalia, takes readers inside the routines and risks that define one of the world’s most challenging diplomatic assignments. In most capitals, the day begins with an alarm clock. In Mogadishu, my mornings lately have often started instead with the thunder of an F-16 fighter jet overhead. From there, it is a two-minute walk from my armoured pod to the chancery — a brief crossing under Somalia’s fierce sun that is a world away…

By Awes Hagi Yusuf AhmedSaturday May 2, 2026 Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks with journalists about security policy at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace and main office, on April 22, 2025, in central Mogadishu, Somalia. In world affairs, where a nation sits can matter almost as much as what it says. For years, Somalia was mostly a topic of debate in international security circles, not a power helping to steer them. That is beginning to change, and the implications are both practical and symbolic.…

Saturday May 2, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has rejected Mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein Muungaab’s move to dismiss district commissioners in parts of the capital, saying the decision has no legal basis. In a statement, the commission said the Banadir Region’s local councils were duly elected in the December 25, 2025 polls and formally took office on April 2, 2026, after being sworn in. The electoral body said the Federal Constitution and the National Electoral Law…

By Shola LawalFriday May 1, 2026 A fresh wave of hijackings off Somalia is rattling shipping lanes and reviving memories of the piracy crisis that once made the Horn of Africa one of the world’s most dangerous maritime corridors. At least three vessels have been targeted this week, according to reports, prompting fears that the region may be sliding back toward the turmoil that plagued global trade in the early to mid-2000s before an international naval response helped bring the threat under control. According to the World…