Jeff Rueter at Los Angeles StadiumSaturday June 13, 2026 With the Forum standing across the parking lot as a reminder of Los Angeles’ showtime sports tradition, the US men’s national team opened its 2026 World Cup campaign before 70,492 spectators and looked every bit the part. The latest homegrown cast delivered the kind of bright, swaggering performance that made the Lakers famous in the 1980s, sweeping past Paraguay in a 4-1 victory. Folarin Balogun celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's third goal during…

by BRIAN ORUTASaturday June 13, 2026 Somalia has stepped up its drive to spur economic growth and sharpen its regional competitiveness, unveiling a fresh round of infrastructure and public investment projects in Hirshabelle State that officials say are central to the country’s reconstruction effort. In Jowhar, the Hirshabelle capital, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud joined Hirshabelle President Ali Abdullahi Hussein, better known as Ali Guudlaawe, to launch a package of major projects intended to improve connectivity,…

Saturday June 13, 2026 Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said it has intercepted a large stockpile of explosive chemicals that were allegedly intended for al-Shabaab militants operating in the country’s south. The agency said the seizure took place Thursday evening during a targeted security operation in the Lower Shabelle region. The militants had hidden more than 100 containers of the chemicals in the Jilib Marka area after becoming aware that security forces were monitoring their movements, NISA…

By: Jeremy CorbynSaturday June 13, 2026 Omar Artan’s journey home on Wednesday, after being turned away at Miami international airport, marked a bitter twist in what should have been a historic moment. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters Omar Artan was set to break new ground as the first Somali referee to take charge at a World Cup finals. Already a Fifa-certified official since 2018, he had overseen matches at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and was later named the 2025 Confederation of African Football men’s referee of the…

Saturday June 13, 2026 Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal, North Western State of Somalia's representative to Taiwan, speaks to journalists before the opening of the new North Western State of Somalia representative office in Taipei, Taiwan June 12, 2026. REUTERS/Tsai Hsin-Han Purchase Licensing Rights North Western State of Somalia will not let pressure from Beijing or Mogadishu dictate its foreign ties, its top envoy in Taiwan said Friday as the territory opened a new representative office in Taipei, underscoring a relationship that…

MOGADISHU, June 13 – Somalia’s federal government moved on Saturday to firmly rebut U.S. allegations involving Somali referee Omar Artan, saying there is no evidence linking him to terrorism or any extremist network. Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said the state was standing unequivocally behind Artan, rejecting claims that he had any association with Al-Shabaab or any other militant group. "The Somali government confirms that Omar Artan has no connection whatsoever with terrorism," Fiqi told reporters in Mogadishu. "It…

Saturday June 13, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said Somalia’s federal government is still prepared to sit down with opposition figures, insisting that the country’s political disputes should be settled at home through Somali-led dialogue. Speaking to Dawan TV this week, Mohamud said his administration is willing to pursue a political resolution to the divisions facing the country and that negotiations remain an option. “There is always an opportunity,” Mohamud said. “The Federal Government’s…

MOGADISHU – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has condemned Israel’s decision to recognise North Western State of Somalia in December 2025, calling it “one of the darkest days in Somalia’s history” and saying Mogadishu responded by choosing diplomacy over force. The term-ended leader said Somalia faced two possible courses of action in the long-running North Western State of Somalia dispute: military confrontation or negotiations. “We considered both paths, and in the end we chose dialogue and persuasion,” the president…

Saturday June 13, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation said on Saturday that Banadir Region’s district council commissioners will be elected on July 5, 2026, setting a date for a key step in the capital’s local governance process. The ministry described the upcoming vote as part of the broader rollout of local government elections in Banadir Region, following earlier groundwork for the regional electoral process. In its statement, the ministry said the elections are meant…

Ramallah: The man who leads Palestinian football is still stuck in Mexico City, awaiting entry to the United States as World Cup officials from around the globe gather for the 2026 tournament. Jibril Rajoub attended Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but he remains one of several accredited World Cup guests who have either been denied U.S. visas or are still waiting for them. “I don’t believe that it’s fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend,” the…