By TOM ODHIAMBO In the past few years, Nuruddin Farah has written like an individual pursuing a very personal quest for peace in his country of birth. His recent fiction has intensively and extensively pondered the question of the relevance of war. He has written about what the war in Somalia has done to the country, its people, its neighbours,...
May 12, 2026
Kenya’s political scene is set on Kenyatta succession
By FRED OLUOCH The region’s attention may be turned to this year’s elections in Tanzania, Somalia, Burundi and Ethiopia, but Kenya has been politicking since the conclusion of the 2017 general election, with jostling in full gear for the 2022 elections. The beginning of 2020 has seen a rise in political temperatures with major players creating new alliances against the...
Egypt strongly rejects Ethiopian statement on GERD’s recent meetings in Addis Ababa
Ethiopian officials claimed that Egypt requested extending the filling period of the dam to 12-21 years Sarah El-Sheikh gypt’s Foreign Ministry rejected a statement issued by Ethiopia regarding the outcomes of recent ministerial meetings of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) held on 8-9 January in Addis Ababa, saying that it is full of inaccurate...
5 al-Shabaab terrorists killed in Somalia
Area liberated after raid on base to ‘clear remnants of the militants from their hideouts,’ says military commander MOGADISHU, Somalia At least five al-Shabaab terrorists were killed Friday and others wounded after Jubbaland Security Forces raided a base in Lower Juba region located in southern Somalia, according to a government spokesman. al-Qaeda linked Jubbaland State Ministry of Security spokesman Abdinur...
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos dies; cousin Haitham named successor
Lisa Barrington, Nayera Abdallah DUBAI (Reuters) – Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, one of the Middle East’s longest serving rulers who maintained the country’s neutrality in regional struggles, died on Friday and his cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was announced successor in a smooth transition. With his death, the region loses a trusted and seasoned leader who managed to balance ties...
Parts of Saudi Arabia blanketed in snow
LONDON: Parts of Saudi Arabia were blanketed by snow on Friday, especially in the northwestern regions such as the Dahr Mountains. Temperatures dropped below 0 degrees Celsius in some parts, with Saudi Arabia’s meteorology office urging residents to keep warm and avoid venturing to isolated places. The General Authority of Meteorology and Environment Protection also forecasted heavy rain and thunderstorms...
Puzzlement in Ethiopia as Trump claims hand in Nobel prize
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – Video of U.S. President Donald Trump saying he had a hand in the latest Nobel Peace Prize has gone viral in Ethiopia after Trump asserted that he had “made a deal” to save the country. The comments during a rally in the U.S. on Thursday don´t mention the East African country by name, but Trump...
An attack on American forces in Kenya raises questions and concerns
Tourists visiting Kenya’s lovely Lamu archipelago are normally stirred from their slumber by pleasant sounds, such as gently lapping waves or the call to prayer drifting across the water. But on January 5th some were woken by the less melodious rattle and crump of distant battle. Across Manda Bay, on the mainland, fighters from al-Shabab, a Somali jihadist group, were engaged...
Kenya warns locust swarm is spreading, threatening food security
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Swarms of desert locusts have spread from Ethiopia and Somalia into eastern and northern Kenya, posing a threat to food production and grazing land, its agriculture minister said on Friday. The locusts began crossing into Kenya around Dec. 28, initially destroying pastures in semi-arid counties mainly occupied by herder communities. They have since spread to the counties...
World Bank cuts Ethiopia GDP forecast to 6.3% for 2020 fiscal year
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The World Bank has cut Ethiopia’s economic growth forecast to 6.3% for the 2020 fiscal year, down from an earlier estimate of 9.0%, citing the growing debt burden of state-owned firms and a worsening security situation. Ethiopia’s central bank earlier this week forecast the economy would expand by 10.8% in its 2019/20 fiscal year that ends...