Can Somalia’s New President Fix Its Myriad Problems?

Earlier this month, Somalia’s parliament selected Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a former prime minister, to be the country’s new president. Mohamed, known by his nickname, “Farmajo,” is popular among the army and is well-liked by the general public for his efforts to tackle corruption during his time as prime minister. In an email interview, Ken Menkhaus, a professor at DavidsoKen Menkhaus: We know Farmajo has support in parliament because it was the members of parliament who just voted him into office. The voting offers clues as to the extent of that support. In the first round of voting, which involved 21 presidential candidates, Farmajo actually came in second to the incumbent, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, trailing him with 72 votes against Mohamud’s 88.

U.S. Wary of Its New Neighbor in Djibouti: A Chinese Naval Base

DJIBOUTI — The two countries keep dozens of intercontinental nuclear missiles pointed at each other’s cities. Their frigates and fighter jets occasionally face off in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

With no shared border, China and the United States mostly circle each other from afar, relying on satellites and cybersnooping to peek inside the workings of each other’s war machines.

But the two strategic rivals are about to become neighbors in this sun-scorched patch of East African desert. China is constructing its first overseas military base here — just a few miles from Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagon’s largest and most important foreign installations.