International

Housing Defeat Becomes Ballot Box Gamble: Sánchez Dissolves Parliament and Calls a November 29 Election

World Politics 

Overview

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez dissolved the Cortes Generales on October 5, 2026 and called a general election for November 29, roughly seven months before his legislature was due to run its full course. The decision came three days after the Congress of…

Algeria's Fighter Jets Expose a Regional Scramble Over Niger After a Failed Mutiny

NIAMEY, Niger 

Five weeks after a failed uprising by soldiers at Niamey's main airbase, the political consequences are still unfolding, and the latest revelation has changed how the episode is understood. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed in recent days that Algeria sent fighter jets to Niger…

Amnesty Report Lifts the Lid on Morocco's Surveillance Apparatus, Naming Politicians, Journalists and Diplomats

RABAT, Morocco 

A new Amnesty International investigation, published on October 1 and still reverberating this week, accuses Morocco's domestic intelligence service of running an expansive apparatus that combines spyware with older, analog methods to monitor and silence critics. The report draws on a former…

Guinea-Bissau's Junta Bars Ousted President Embaló's Return, Putting December Election in Doubt

BISSAU 

Guinea-Bissau's military leadership has blocked the return of deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who had said he would fly home from exile in Morocco on Sunday, October 4, to run in the country's December 6 presidential election. The decision, announced in the days before his…

Somalia's President Vows No Israeli Foothold in Berbera as Somaliland Hits Back, Deepening a Dispute Over Sovereignty

MOGADISHU  

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his government will not accept an Israeli military presence in Somaliland "under any circumstances," accusing Israel of seeking a naval base at the port of Berbera and use of its airport. Somaliland's government answered within a…

Ethiopia's Northern War Goes Regional: Federal Troops Retake Mekelle Airport as Eritrea Cuts Ties and Egypt Trades Expulsions

ADDIS ABABA  

Ethiopia's federal army said it retook the airport serving the Tigray regional capital, Mekelle, on Saturday, October 3. The advance came two days after Eritrea severed diplomatic relations with Addis Ababa and Egypt and Ethiopia expelled one another's diplomats. Taken together…