International

Four Weeks Out, South Africa's Municipal Elections Become a Referendum on Coalition Politics

JOHANNESBURG 

South Africans vote on Wednesday, November 4, in local government elections that will test the Government of National Unity (GNU) formed after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in 2024. With four weeks to go, polls conflict with one another, the ballot is the most…

Bridges and Bargaining: Merz Arrives in a Shaken Kyiv as Washington Pushes for Trilateral Talks by Month's End

World Politics 

Overview

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled unannounced to Kyiv on Sunday, October 4, arriving to air raid sirens and explosions as Russia struck a second Kyiv bridge in as many days. His visit, aimed at finalizing a joint drone-production deal and releasing a…

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…

Algeria Says It Sent Fighter Jets to Niger to Foil a Coup, Exposing the Fragility of Niamey's Junta

NIAMEY, Niger 

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has acknowledged that Algeria sent fighter jets to Niger in late August to help thwart what he called a coup attempt against the military government in Niamey, Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 3. The disclosure recasts a deployment that Algeria's defense…