With a flourish of warm rhetoric and hard-edged diplomacy, China's President Xi Jinping set off for North Korea praising what he called an "invincible friendship" with Pyongyang, embarking on his first trip abroad this year after hosting successive summits in Beijing. For decades, China — Washington's principal geopolitical rival — has remained by far North Korea's biggest trading partner, as well as a crucial source of diplomatic and economic backing for the sanctions-hit nation of about 26 million people. The visit marks…

Friday June 5, 2026 Hargeisa (AX) — A protest in Sheikh district in North Western State of Somalia’s Sahil region turned deadly on Thursday, leaving one person dead and another injured, according to residents and witnesses. The unrest followed the recent arrest of Sultan Qabile in Mandera district. Residents said anger over the detention quickly spilled into the streets of Sheikh, where crowds gathered before confrontations erupted between demonstrators and security forces. The woman killed was identified by residents as…

Thursday June 4, 2026 Ismail Jama Ali by the shack where he and his family now live after diabetes forced him out of work and their rented home/Sabah Mohamed/Ergo A sudden collapse changed Ismail Jama Ali’s life in an instant — and with it, the future of the family of 12 he had been trying to hold together. Since being diagnosed with diabetes in February, he has been unable to work, leaving his household in Gabiley scrambling for food, rent and school fees. The illness was first uncovered after he fainted in shock following…

Thursday May 28, 2026 Hargeisa (AX) — President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro has accused Somalia and Djibouti of meddling in North Western State of Somalia’s internal affairs, saying Hargeisa will stand firm in defending its security and political choices as tensions mount over its ties with Israel. In Eid al-Adha remarks on Wednesday, Irro said North Western State of Somalia’s foreign policy is rooted in peaceful coexistence, cooperation and mutual respect. He added that some neighboring states had taken a hostile…

Sunday May 24, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A plan by North Western State of Somalia to establish an embassy in Jerusalem has drawn sharp condemnation from 18 countries, whose foreign ministers denounced the move as illegal, unacceptable and contrary to international law. The joint statement came from the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Algeria, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. “The ministers condemn in the strongest…

NEW YORK — A reported North Western State of Somalia bid to establish an embassy in occupied Jerusalem has drawn sharp condemnation from foreign ministers across the Muslim world, who said the move would defy international law and violate U.N. resolutions. In a joint statement released Sunday, the ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Türkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Somalia, Palestine, Oman, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, and Mauritania called the reported plan “illegal and unacceptable.” They reiterated that…

Friday May 22, 2026 Photo courtesy of Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs. Egypt on Thursday sharply denounced the opening of what was described as an “embassy” for the self-declared “Republic of North Western State of Somalia” in occupied Jerusalem, saying the move violates international law and multiple resolutions tied to international legitimacy, the foreign ministry said. In a statement, the ministry described the step as “illegal and rejected,” adding that the mission’s inauguration in occupied Jerusalem amounted to “a…

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday sharply condemned reports that the self-declared “North Western State of Somalia” region intends to open an embassy in al-Quds, a move that would further signal growing ties between the Israeli regime and the breakaway territory in the Horn of Africa. In a press statement, the OIC General Secretariat said it was deeply alarmed by media reports about plans by “North Western State of Somalia” to establish a so-called “embassy” in occupied Jerusalem. It…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A reported plan by North Western State of Somalia to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem has drawn sharp condemnation from the Arab League, after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit spoke by phone about the region’s increasingly tense geopolitical climate, officials said. The conversation focused on stability in the Horn of Africa and what both sides described as the need for a coordinated response to the move by the breakaway region. Both leaders…

Thursday May 21, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal government on Wednesday denounced North Western State of Somalia’s plan to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, describing the move as invalid under law and as a deliberate affront to the Arab and Islamic worlds. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the proposed mission carried no legal weight because Mogadishu considers North Western State of Somalia part of Somalia’s sovereign territory. “The Federal Republic of Somalia reaffirms its unwavering…