Ethiopia

Somalia

Egypt

Military & Security

Egypt is reportedly set to deploy troops to Somalia under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) to counter the al Qaeda-affiliated militia al Shabaab, which maintains strongholds in central and southern Somalia, Garowe Online reported on Sept. 9.

Somalia, Egypt: Cairo Prepares To Deploy Troops in Somalia, Identifies Key Military Bases

Eritrea

Politics

Tadesse Werede, the leader of Tigray's interim regional administration, warned against a "visible cloud of war" in the region and urged the Ethiopian government to fully implement the November 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended the Tigray war, Addis Standard reported on Sept. 9.

Ethiopia: Tigray Interim Administration Reiterates Need for Full Implementation of 2022 Peace Deal

Energy

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz region, and the dam reached its full operating capacity of 5,150 MW, up from 3,400 MW previously, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 9.

Ethiopia: Abiy Inaugurates Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Unveils Plans for Nuclear Power Plant

South Sudan

Kenya

Sudan

Uganda

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held phone calls on Aug. 21 with his counterparts from Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya during which he stressed Egypt's "categorical rejection of unilateral measures" on the eastern Nile Basin and said "water security" was "existential" for Egypt, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 22.

Egypt: Cairo Courts Upstream Nile Basin States With Promise of Development Support  

Tigray's parties of Arena Tigray, Semeret and National Congress of Great Tigray -- known as Baytona -- confirmed comments by Lt. Gen. Tsadkan Gebretensae, the former vice president of Tigray's interim regional administration, that they had formed an alliance aimed at advancing political change in the region, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 7.

Ethiopia: Tigrayan Parties Form Anti-TPLF Coalition

Somalia's Gedo Regional Governor Abdirashid Janan, who is aligned with Somalia's federal government, claimed that Ethiopian troops deployed in Gedo Region have issued a three-day ultimatum to Somali federal forces to vacate the town of Beled Hawo, located near the border with Kenya and Ethiopia, Garowe Online reported Aug. 6.

Somalia: Ethiopian Troops Allegedly Issue Ultimatum For Federal Forces to Leave Border Town 

Clashes between forces loyal to Jubaland state and those linked to the federal government erupted in Somalia's town of Dollow on July 27 and 28, Garowe Online reported on July 28. 

Somalia: Fresh Clashes Erupt Between Federal Government and Jubaland Forces

Ethiopian authorities said they arrested 82 individuals suspected of links to the Islamic State Somalia Province, which operates in neighboring Somalia's Puntland region, Addis Standard reported on July 16. 

Ethiopia: Security Forces Reportedly Arrest 82 Suspected Islamic State Operatives

Assessments

Brazil

Israel

Japan

France

United Kingdom

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Aug. 27, 2025.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: France's Bayrou Faces a Confidence Vote, Ethiopia Inaugurates Its Mega-Dam

Columns

On Geopolitics

Chad

United Arab Emirates

Shipping containers are offloaded from a vessel at Berbera Port in Somaliland on Aug. 31, 2021.   (ED RAM/AFP via Getty Images)

The UAE is expanding its influence across East Africa through large-scale investments and security partnerships, aiming to consolidate its status as a global trade hub and counter regional competitors, at the risk of entangling regional states in broader geopolitical contests.

The UAE's Long Game in East Africa

A Tigrayan flag waves at the entrance of a hospital in Tigray's regional capital, Mekele, on Oct. 10, 2024. 

The ruling TPLF's apparent rapprochement with Eritrea and the rise of anti-TPLF groups are raising the risk of an Ethiopian-Eritrean proxy conflict in Tigray that could eventually spur a larger military escalation.

Ethiopia's Tigray Region Faces a Brewing Storm Amid Shifting Alliances

United States

Europe

Germany

Ukraine

Russia

Reichstag in Berlin with flags.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Russia Contacts on a Ukraine Ceasefire, a Vote on Reforming Germany’s Debt Brake

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Sri Lanka

Damage on Feb. 13 in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Mideast Ceasefires and Arab Gaza Proposals, the AU Summit

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tanzania

Americas

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Cuba

Haiti

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Iraq

Jordan

Syria

Yemen

Cambodia

China

Indonesia

North Macedonia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbia

Albania

Kosovo

South Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

India

The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

The Geopolitics of Water

In the coming decade, water scarcity will likely contribute to the erosion of Egypt's economic and political independence, including its ability to act unilaterally against other countries vying for water along the Nile basin.

The Geopolitics of Water: The Threat to Egypt's Independence

Turkey

An illustration of the Ethiopian and Somali flags.

The countries’ commitment to negotiate maritime access reduces immediate conflict risks and could enable Ethiopia to secure leasing rights at Somali ports, but tensions will likely resurge if the two sides fail to finalize a deal.

Ethiopia and Somalia Crack Open the Door To Compromise on Maritime Access

South Africa

Iran

Moldova

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

A Somali National Army soldier participates in a military drill in Mogadishu on March 19, 2024.

Egypt and Somalia's deepening security coordination risks triggering armed clashes with Ethiopia that could undermine regional counterterrorism efforts and inflame ethnic tensions.

The Horn of Africa Braces for Conflict as an Anti-Ethiopia Alliance Takes Shape

Middle East and North Africa

Algeria

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Population growth, security vacuums, bad governance and climate change will increasingly strain the desert region's already scarce water supplies, raising the risk of social unrest, interstate conflict and violence from non-state actors.

The Geopolitics of Water: In the Middle East, Water Will Increasingly Become a Weapon and Driver of Conflict

Internally displaced people walk past the Tigrayan flag at the Tsehaye camp in Ethiopia's Shire, Tigray region, on July 16, 2024. 

Factionalism within the Tigray region's ruling party raises the prospect of resurging clashes in the region, threatening to undermine Ethiopia's recent peace and economic gains.

Tigray's Leadership Tussle Bodes Ill for Ethiopia

Ethiopia is an ancient African country bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Ethiopia's relatively large population of 100 million people has helped the country establish itself as a regional heavyweight in East Africa. Its extensive mountain system, which surrounds the fertile lowland core of the country, is key to understanding Ethiopia's diverse ethnic composition and how it relates to its neighbors. Invasion is not a major concern for Ethiopia, as the northern Ethiopian Plateau and the Ahmar Mountains almost completely surround the lowlands. In the northeast, the Awash River Basin opens to the coastline, but even this area gains a certain measure of protection from its extreme desert conditions. The country's capital, Addis Ababa, sits at an elevated position overseeing the lowlands, where the majority Oromo and Amharic peoples merge with several less populous mountain cultures. Ethiopia's greatest challenge is uniting these disparate groups. Financially, Ethiopia's export and import costs are high because neighbors Djibouti and Eritrea block its sea access. North of the lowland core, the Ethiopian Plateau serves as the country's breadbasket, growing wheat, barley, corn and the staple crop teff. These highlands form an extensive drainage system that creates the most fertile land in the region. Within this region lies Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River, which is the largest tributary of the greater Nile River. Much of Ethiopia's coffee is grown at the fertile apex of the Ahmar Mountains, which are south of the lowlands. Those mountains descend into the arid Ogaden desert, which was acquired in the 19th century and remains disconnected from the core. While it provides Ethiopia with strategic depth to protect it from the issues of its unstable neighbor Somalia, the desert is also home to separatist and Somali militants, which pose a threat to the Ethiopian state.

SITUATION REPORTS

Somalia, Egypt: Cairo Prepares To Deploy Troops in Somalia, Identifies Key Military Bases

Ethiopia: Tigray Interim Administration Reiterates Need for Full Implementation of 2022 Peace Deal

Ethiopia: Abiy Inaugurates Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Unveils Plans for Nuclear Power Plant

Egypt: Cairo Courts Upstream Nile Basin States With Promise of Development Support

Ethiopia: Tigrayan Parties Form Anti-TPLF Coalition

Somalia: Ethiopian Troops Allegedly Issue Ultimatum For Federal Forces to Leave Border Town

Somalia: Fresh Clashes Erupt Between Federal Government and Jubaland Forces

Ethiopia: Security Forces Reportedly Arrest 82 Suspected Islamic State Operatives

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