Somalia signed a military cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia on Monday, marking the second such defense pact in recent weeks as Mogadishu intensifies diplomatic efforts to counter Israel’s unprecedented recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland. The memorandum of understanding was sealed between Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and Saudi counterpart Prince Khalid bin…
A cargo lorry packed with about 85 Ethiopian migrants overturned on a highway in the northern Afar region on Tuesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring 65 others, local authorities said. The crash happened early in Semera, several hundred kilometres west of the Djibouti border, as the group — mostly young people seeking work…
More than 84,000 people have fled to Burundi from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo since early December, escaping intense fighting as the M23 rebel group seized the strategic border city of Uvira. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR warned on Friday that Burundi had reached a critical point, with thousands crossing the border…
Kamal Gutale, chief of staff to Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, has been accused of benefiting from Swedish funds while helping negotiate the same aid package, according to an investigation by Sweden’s public broadcaster Sveriges Radio. The probe, aired on 18 December 2025 by the flagship news programme Ekot, revealed that Sweden redirected around 100…
Al Jazeera has revealed a critical security flaw in Somalia newly revamped electronic visa website, enabling unauthorised access to thousands of applicants’ sensitive personal data, including passport details, full names and birth dates. The discovery comes just a month after a major data breach hit the same system, raising fresh concerns over the government digital…
Uganda’s government is seeking parliamentary approval to borrow $608 million from international lenders to fund infrastructure development, amid growing concerns over the country’s rising public debt. A document tabled in parliament Tuesday shows the East African nation plans to obtain $448 million from South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank and $160 million from the Korea Export-Import…
Promises of lucrative jobs in Russia have tricked at least 82 Kenyan men into fighting on the front lines of Ukraine, where some have been killed, others gravely wounded and many are desperately seeking escape, diplomatic records and survivor accounts show. The Kenyans, mostly young and without military backgrounds, were drawn in by recruitment agents…
Kenya is deepening ties with Azerbaijan to bolster President William Ruto’s ambitious affordable housing program, with officials highlighting cooperation in urban development and sustainable building as bilateral relations expand. Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi met with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Sultan Hajiyev in Nairobi on Dec. 10, discussing collaboration in housing, sustainable development…
Kenya on Friday posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal, one of its highest honors for bravery, to three police officers killed while serving in a multinational security mission in Haiti. President William Ruto presented the medals during ceremonies marking the country’s 62nd Independence Day, known as Jamhuri Day, at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. The…
Eritrea has withdrawn from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African regional bloc, accusing it of failing to fulfill its mandate and contributing little to regional stability. The announcement came Friday, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Algiers Agreement that ended a devastating border war with Ethiopia. Tensions between the two neighbors…
