- Mexico excludes Spanish king from president's swearing-in
- Meta bets big on celebrity AI voices and augmented reality glasses
- Bus hijacking leaves one dead in Los Angeles
- UN chief raises alarm over Sudan 'escalation' to army leader
- Ecuador firefighters battle blazes choking capital
- CONCACAF chooses West Coast venues for Gold Cup
- Ohtani 50-50 home run ball up for auction
- Trump accuses Zelensky of refusing to strike a deal on war
- Putin proposes broader criteria for using nuclear arms
- Zelensky alleges Russian plot on nuclear plants in defiant UN address
- France's Ubisoft pushes back new 'Assassin's Creed' game to February
- Paris fashion: The Dries dream lives on without Van Noten
- Meta unveils star-studded AI assistants
- DRC leader calls for sanctions on Rwanda over rebel support
- Mud, loss and despair after Polish floods
- England skipper Stokes on track for Pakistan tour
- UN chief warns of 'rising tide of misery' from swelling seas
- Israeli troops on alert to go into Lebanon
- Russian strikes on eastern Ukraine city kill two, wound 19
- Workers 'disappointed' as Volkswagen remains vague on turnaround plan
- Biden warns 'all-out war' possible in Middle East
- Ex-Real Madrid defender and World Cup winner Varane retires
- Nuking a huge asteroid could save Earth, lab experiment suggests
- Six hurt in Ecuador as firefighters battle blazes choking capital
- Florida girds for arrival of Helene as powerful hurricane
- German prosecutors charge three in Schumacher blackmail case
- Restoring nature, 'adaptation' helped limit Storm Boris impact
- Son says Spurs team-mate Bentancur 'almost cried' over alleged racial slur
- French minister vows to 'protect the French' after student rape and murder
- Harris and Trump target economy in close US election battle
- Zelensky alleges Russia plot on nuclear plants in defiant UN address
- 'Worst crisis': German Greens leaders quit after election losses
- Israel puts troops on alert for entry into Lebanon
- 'The UN has betrayed us': Israeli ambassador
- US new home sales slow slightly in August
- UN chief says sea level rise threatens 'rising tide of misery'
- Global stocks mixed after fresh China stimulus
- US-China progress sparks hope for COP29, says Azerbaijan
- Zelensky says Russia planning attacks on Ukraine nuclear plants
- Film legend Bardot, nearing 90, enjoys her 'silent solitude'
- Walking on the Moon in Cologne: Europe's lunar life simulator
- Google files EU complaint over Microsoft cloud services
- Finnish zoo to return pandas to China early
- At last! China's Zhang Shuai ends 24-match losing streak
- Global stocks trade mixed tracking China stimulus
- EU backs plan to downgrade wolf protection status
- Jacks says new-look England need time to master ODIs
- Madrid's Mbappe suffers thigh injury before Atletico derby
- Russian MPs back adoption ban on countries allowing gender reassignment
- France minister vows new immigration 'rules' after student murder
RBGPF | -1.04% | 59.48 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.04% | 25.09 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.22% | 25.065 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 7.07 | $ | |
VOD | -0.3% | 10.06 | $ | |
BCC | -2.69% | 138.07 | $ | |
SCS | -1.86% | 12.88 | $ | |
RIO | 0.37% | 67.67 | $ | |
RELX | -0.32% | 48.375 | $ | |
JRI | -0.26% | 13.385 | $ | |
AZN | 0.86% | 77.54 | $ | |
BTI | -0.36% | 37.965 | $ | |
BCE | -0.72% | 34.88 | $ | |
GSK | -1.04% | 40.56 | $ | |
NGG | -0.01% | 70.1 | $ | |
BP | -3.6% | 31.688 | $ |
Somalia's foreign partners hail peaceful election of new president
Somalia's international partners on Monday welcomed the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who takes office after months of political instability and faces crises including a violent insurgency and devastating drought.
Residents in the capital Mogadishu raced through the streets banging metal cans and fired guns into the air in celebration as the result of the marathon poll was announced around midnight.
Many are hoping that the vote -- which concluded peacefully but was dogged by claims of irregularities -- will draw a line under a political crisis that has lasted well over a year.
Outgoing president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's term ended in February 2021 without an election and the protracted tussle for power that followed turned violent at times and caused divisions at the highest levels of government.
Somalia's international partners had repeatedly warned that the election delays were a dangerous distraction from the fight against Al-Shabaab insurgents, who have been trying to overthrow the government for more than a decade.
On Monday, the UK's minister for Africa congratulated Mohamud, who ruled Somalia between 2012 and 2017 and is the first president to win a second term in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
The UK "looks forward to continuing its close work to support on building stability, tackling Al-Shabaab and supporting those affected by the devastating drought", minister Vicky Ford said on Twitter.
Mohamud has promised to transform Somalia into "a peaceful country that is at peace with the world".
The East African regional bloc IGAD said Mohamud's victory was "a clear testimony of the trust and confidence that the people of Somalia have in his leadership qualities".
Somalia has not held a one-person, one-vote election in 50 years and few of its 15 million people played any part in choosing Mohamud.
Instead, polls follow a complex indirect model, where state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament, which in turn chooses the president.
- 'Heal grievances' -
But some in the capital welcomed the appointment of Mohamud, a former academic and peace activist, whose first administration was dogged by claims of corruption and infighting.
"I can't express in words how happy I am, Allah willing. I am very, very happy," Mogadishu resident Hassan Mohamud Mohamed told AFP.
In addition to tackling a looming famine caused by drought, Mohamud will also need to repair the damage done by months of political infighting, both at the executive level and between the central government and state authorities.
At his swearing-in after midnight on Sunday, he hailed his predecessor for enabling a peaceful transfer of power. "We must move forward and never backwards. We have to heal any grievances," he said.
In a reminder of the country's treacherous security situation, explosions were heard on Sunday near Mogadishu's heavily-guarded airport complex, where lawmakers were voting. Police said no casualties were reported.
L.Janezki--BTB