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Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia upends Horn of Africa politics — and tests Somalia’s path forward HARGEISA and MOGADISHU — The split screen was stark. In late December, flags rose over Hargeisa and crowds flooded the streets after Israel announced it would formally recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state. In Mogadishu, tens of thousands rallied beneath Somali and Palestinian flags, denouncing the move as a violation of sovereignty and a dangerous precedent for the region.…

CAIRO — Egypt will step up efforts to safeguard Red Sea maritime routes and back a new African Union mission in Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Friday, framing the Horn of Africa’s stability as inseparable from regional and global security. Addressing African ministers and delegates gathered in Cairo for the second ministerial forum of the Russia–Africa Partnership, al-Sisi called the Red Sea corridor “strategically vital” and said Egypt is working with partners to keep the waterway secure. The shipping lane…

Bodies, borders and a bitter ceasefire: what the recent exchanges reveal about Gaza’s fragile pause The exchange of bodies and a single identified Israeli remains a grim marker of a ceasefire that is at once fragile and consequential. Over recent days, Israeli forces and Hamas have overseen the handover of human remains in a transaction that follows the contours of a wider, uneasy truce — one that has temporarily halted the fiercest fighting but has not ended the humanitarian catastrophe or the political tectonics that…

How a proposed Ethiopia–North Western State of Somalia swap for Red Sea access was stopped by multilateral pressure When former North Western State of Somalia president Muse Bihi Abdi unveiled a deal that would have given landlocked Ethiopia a slice of Red Sea coastline in return for formal recognition of North Western State of Somalia, it briefly reconfigured the diplomatic maps of the Horn of Africa. The pact — which Bihi says offered Ethiopia roughly 20 kilometres of shoreline for a port and a military base — was never…

Abiy’s Red Sea Declaration Raises the Stakes in an Already Volatile Horn of Africa When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared on national television that “the mistake made 30 years ago will be corrected tomorrow,” he was doing more than rekindling a long‑smoldering grievance about access to the sea. He was signaling a willingness to contest borders and partnerships in a part of the world where history, water and trade routes are tightly braided — and where small shifts can cascade into wider confrontation. Abiy’s…

Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a significant warning to the United States regarding its support for Taiwan, emphasizing a "red line" that should not be crossed. During a pivotal meeting with President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru—just two months ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration—Xi expressed China's readiness to collaborate with the incoming administration. This meeting occurred amidst rising concerns about potential trade conflicts and diplomatic strife,…

In a heartfelt turn of events, the team at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland has linked the tragic passing of a baby red panda to the disruptive impact of fireworks, igniting a call for more stringent regulations surrounding their use. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the organization that oversees the zoo, has reported that veterinarians attribute the untimely death of three-month-old Roxie to her distress caused by nearby fireworks. It’s worth noting that her demise coincided with Bonfire Night, a holiday…

FILE - On the date of April 8, 2023, Ethiopian Minister Abiy Ahmed was present at the graduation event for recruits at the Ethiopian military school. Mogadishu (AX) — Ethiopia's hustle for a grip on the Red Sea is heating things up in the Horn of Africa. This tug-of-war among Ethiopia, Djibouti, Egypt, and Somalia might just change the political scene there. At the heart of it all is the fierce scramble for control over the vital Red Sea route. A big piece of the puzzle is Ethiopia’s port deal with North Western State of…

Introduction Well folks, let's just kick things off by saying that yes, I do indeed know how to spell "Red Sea" correctly. But see, here’s the twist — "Red SEE" is a clever little play on words that reflects the trio of nations forming this new coalition: Somalia, Egypt, and Eritrea. Get it? S-E-E. Now, what's lit the fire under this newfound alliance? Just one thing: water. Folks who wear fancy suits and think deep thoughts have long opined that our next big battles would be over water. That future isn’t in some distant…

The Houthi faction from Yemen claimed on Thursday they went after two ships in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.One of these vessels was American, while the other belonged to a company accused of disregarding the group’s prohibition against entering Israeli harbors.“Our Yemeni Armed Forces conducted two operations,” announced group representative Yahya Saree in a taped declaration. “The first aimed at the American oil ship, OLYMPIC SPIRIT,” he continued, noting it faced an assault in the Red Sea involving 11 ballistic…