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All week, Iranians have been mounting massive and widespread street protests. … These demonstrations have been far more consequential than previous such revolts. ... Even more remarkably, a number of bases for the fearsome Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia reportedly fell into the hands of protesters, with one Basij operative killed after demonstrators threw stones in Kuhdasht, a city in western Iran. At time of writing, this insurrection is still escalating. Although at least four protesters have been killed, the feared bloodbath by security forces hasn’t yet materialized. ... [If] this revolt ... succeed[s], this ... would...

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday that he has intelligence indicating Somaliland agreed to accept displaced Gazans in exchange for Israeli recognition. According to the president, intelligence sources also suggest that Somaliland has agreed to allow the establishment of an Israeli military base on its territory and to join the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states. He added that there had already been “some Israeli presence” in Somaliland in the past. Mohamud argued that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was intended to destabilize Somalia and the region. He noted...

Somalia will assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations (UN) Security Council in January 2026, placing the Horn of Africa nation at the helm of the world’s top security body for one month. The presidency rotates among all 15 council members according to Rule 18 of the Security Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure, according to the UN. The rule requires member nations to hold the position in English alphabetical order, with each serving for one calendar month. Somalia currently serves as a non-permanent member of the council. Its two-year term runs through Dec. 31, 2027. As president, Somalia will...

Israel has taken the controversial decision to recognise the breakaway state of Somaliland as an independent nation, sparking condemnation from many other countries. China is the latest to condemn the decision, with its foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian telling reporters: "No country should encourage or support other countries' internal separatist forces for its own selfish interests." China outlined its position ahead of the UN Security Council holding an emergency session to discuss Israel's decision. Israel on Friday became the first country in the world to acknowledge Somaliland as a standalone republic, more than 30 years after the region declared independence...

Turkish Energy Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday that Turkey intends to seal an energy exploration agreement with Syria in 2026 to assess possible offshore energy resources along the Syrian coast.In an interview with Turkish digital news platform GDH on Monday, Bayraktar said that Ankara and Damascus had already signed a general framework agreement on energy cooperation earlier this year."We plan to sign a specific offshore deal in 2026," he said. "After signing the deal, we may conduct seismic research to see what the field offers us".Bayraktar cautioned that the agreement does not necessarily mean Turkey would carry out drilling...

'Our government will not allow any new church to be built in Somaliland'Somaliland’s only Catholic church has been closed due to “public pressures”, just eight days after it was officially reopened on 29 July. The self-declared state's Religious Affairs Minister, Skeikh Khalil Abdullahi, said reopening the church had caused “a lot of division” which was not in Somaliland's interest. The government has decided to respect the wishes of the people and their religious leaders, and keep the church closed as it has been for the past 30 years,” Sheikh Khalil announced at a press conference on 8 August, local paper...

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s defense of Somalia’s territorial claims and her opposition to the recognition of an independent Somaliland has been criticized as authorities ramp up investigations into alleged mass fraud in her home state. One analyst argued the corruption scandal allegedly involving Somali communities in Minnesota is relevant when contrasting failures in Somalia and the stability of Somaliland, an autonomous region that Omar has opposed recognizing. Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, claimed highlighting the difference between the two regions "mattered." "The corruption exposed in Minnesota mirrors the governance failures that have plagued Somalia for decades,"...

Yeah, another bombshell. This is a subtle yet significant deal, completely under the radar screen and not reported anywhere, to my knowledge. This is a very slick move, IMO. 1: Israel recognizes Somaliland statehood 2: Who even knew that there was an entity separate from Somalia "Somaliland"? 3: Israel recognizes S-Land well before the UN recognizes it as a state. Very pre-emptive. 4: Israel and S-Land sign cooperation and development deal(s) 5: Possibly this creates a platform where states in that region find out that peaceful cooperation w/Israel can be highly advanatageous. Yeah, sure? 6: While there is certain to...

The UN Security Council will convene an emergency session on Monday to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, with members slated to condemn Jerusalem’s move. Israel announced the step on Friday, days before Somalia is slated to take over the presidency of the Security Council. In the announcement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the recognition was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” and that the countries would cooperate in “economic fields, on agriculture, [and] in the fields of social development.” The decision was met with anger from several regional powers who accused Israel of undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced today the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and the President of the Republic of Somaliland signed a joint and mutual declaration. “This declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulated the President of Somaliland, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdallah, and praised his leadership and commitment to promoting stability and peace. The Prime Minister invited the President to pay an official visit...

The precious, fragrant resin is the scent of the festive season and rising in popularity in the wellness industry – but its natural source is being decimated. Salaban Salad Muse has built his whole life around frankincense. Living the small town of Dayaha in the Sanaag region of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, he works as a seasoned harvester of the famously aromatic resin, obtained only from the Boswellia tree. Every year, Salad Muse camps for three to six months in a cave near the site he owns with these trees on it. Each day he heads out the...

It is no longer the 19th century, and so British recognition of a Palestinian state, let alone that of Canada and Australia, means absolutely nothing. Contrary to arguments that Israel “occupies” Gaza, the would-be state has never been a stand-alone entity. Control over disputed territories passed from the Ottomans to the British to the Jordanians and Egyptians. It is telling that neither Jordan nor Egypt recognized the West Bank and Gaza as a Palestinian state. Most Palestinians came from outside the region, as early 20th-century censuses show. If Canberra, Ottawa, and London — the Axis of Pandering — wish to...

Staff. July 25, 2025 Ilhan Omar’s Father and the Isaaq Genocide: The Truth Revealed. Between 1987 and 1989, the Somali military in which Colonel Nur Omar Mohamed, Ilhan Omar’s father, served as a senior officer executed a brutal and systematic campaign of genocide targeting the Isaaq people of the modern day Republic of Somaliland. This dark chapter in Africa’s history, which was known as the Isaaq Genocide, was a merciless military campaign that resulted in the killing of over 200,000 Isaaq civilians. It also involved widespread forced displacement, scorched‑earth destruction of the second and third largest cities (Hargeisa and Burao),...

The U.S. and Israel have reached out to officials of three East African governments to discuss using their territories as potential destinations for moving Palestinians uprooted from the Gaza Strip under President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan, American and Israeli officials told The Associated Press. The contacts with Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland reflect the determination by the U.S. and Israel to press ahead with a plan that has been widely condemned and raised serious legal and moral issues. Because all three places are poor, and in some cases wracked by violence, the proposal...

“It is really, really a sad day in America,” Rep. Ilhan Omar declared at a rally by Democrats outside USAID headquarters protesting President Trump’s reconstruction of the aid agency. It wasn’t a sad day for America, but it was so for Somalia. Over the last two years, USAID had funneled $2.3 billion in “humanitarian assistance” to Omar’s native Somalia. Last year it reported a request for $1.6 billion in aid and even with the Biden administration on the way out the door, it sent an additional $29 million in December 2024. USAID support for Somalia had doubled under the Biden...

Big if true, as they say. The Trump administration is considering three potential areas for the absorption of refugee Gazans after President Donald Trump announced that the US plans to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate those currently there to rebuild the area, N12 reported on Wednesday. According to the report, the areas being considered are Morocco, Puntland, and Somaliland. The report noted that what these three countries share in common is a strong need for US support, as Somaliland and Puntland seek international recognition, and Morocco has an ongoing territorial dispute over Western Sahara.

Access to the residence and offices of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was blocked off Wednesday by members of the elite Presidential Guard, a source close to Bazoum said, although the reason was unclear. Access to the residence and offices of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was blocked off Wednesday by members of the elite Presidential Guard. The landlocked West African state is one of the most unstable nations in the world, experiencing four coups since independence from France in 1960 as well as numerous other attempts on power. The country is struggling with two jihadist campaigns -- one in the southwest,...

We present to you, the rare pointy long boi Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard. Image courtesy of Mark Spicer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being elusive might seem exclusively the realm of spies and space stuff, but animals are pretty good at it too, and one that takes the trait to heart is the Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard. Having not been officially seen in over 90 years, the odd-looking creature has now made a reappearance. The Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard (Ancylocranium somalicum) was first reported back in 1931, when scientists discovered a subspecies of the reptile in what’s now the unrecognized state of Somaliland. It...

The deputy minister of foreign affairs of Somaliland called Omar's recent comments "lacking in common decency." Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a progressive member of the so-called “Squad” and a Mogadishu native, is facing calls for her resignation after, critics say, she promised to do all she could to prevent a Somaliland deal with Ethiopia over access to the sea. “The language she employed was regrettably unbecoming of both the office she holds and the constituents she represents,” wrote Rhoda Elmi, deputy foreign affairs minister of Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but which most most countries, including...

Why Ethiopia is Preparing to Invade Eritrea Next | 49:54 | RealLifeLore | 7.22M subscribers | 1,321,742 views | November 28, 2023