European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman The European Parliament will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to consider calling off this week’s plenary session of the EU assembly due to the coronavirus outbreak, two officials said. The parliament had been due to sit in

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, during his inauguration in Mogadishu, Somalia in 2017 The United States of America and the United Kingdom have called on Somalia to exercise restraint and reduce the presence of security forces in Gedo. In a joint statement with IGAD and AMISOM, the two countries expressed

Sudan’s prime minister survived an assassination attempt on Monday after a blast in the capital, Khartoum, Sudanese state media said. Abdalla Hamdok’s family confined he was safe following the explosion, which targeted his convoy. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamdok was appointed prime minister last August, after pro-democracy protests forced the military

Photo/ Somali Times Villa Somalia confirms President office Somali President Mohamed Abdllahi Farmajo last evening agreed to Kenya’s invitation to visit Nairobi, signalling the calming of tensions that rose last week on Monday. to withdraw a maritime boundary case at the International Court of Justice Kenya-Somalia. Mr Farmajo, who received President Kenyatta’s special envoy and

Photo: Credit Reuters Saudi Arabia imposed a temporary lockdown on Sunday on the eastern oil-producing province of Qatif, home to all 11 people in the kingdom who have tested positive for the coronavirus, and suspended all schools and universities nationwide. The interior ministry announced the lockdown in Qatif, which has a large Shi’ite Muslim population,

Photo/Somali Times The Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, met at Villa Somalia with Kenyan Minister of Interior, Fred Matiang’i, and received a message from the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta. The president shared with the Kenyan delegation that arrived in the country the importance of achieving joint security, economic and political challenges to the two

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday agreed to send a delegation of security chiefs to meet his Somali counterpart Mohamed Farmaajo, in a move that signals a climbdown in tensions between the two countries over an alleged border intrusion. The delegation led by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i left for Mogadishu following a week that saw

General view of Kaaba at the Grand Mosque which is almost empty of worshippers, after Saudi authority suspended umrah (Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) amid the fear of coronavirus outbreak, at Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ganoo Essa Several Gulf Arab states recorded new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday including

UAE Prime Minister and Emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum attends the 39th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 9 December 2018 [Bandar Algaloud / Saudi Kingdom Council/Anadolu Agency] British police will launch a review of the 2000 probe of the disappearance of the ruler of Dubai’s daughter

By Peter Kagwanja The strategic partnership between President Abdullahi Farmaajo and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire that has held Somalia together since 2018 has done its course. Somalia is headed for a historic election in 2020/2021. As the electoral fever kicks in, Somalia reflects two diametrically opposed electoral strategies. Somalia is waging “three wars”. The