Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s deputy foreign minister, Ali Omar Ali (Balcad), met Saturday with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican lawmaker pushing for Washington to formally recognize Somaliland.

LONDON, United Kingdom (HOL) — Somali director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, who brought international acclaim to East African cinema with his Cannes-debut feature The Gravedigger’s Wife, is preparing his next film: a genre-bending tale about a middle-aged Somali hitwoman returning to her village to confront the crime boss who once drove her away.

Somalia stands on the front lines of a growing, multilayered climate crisis. With each passing season, droughts stretch longer, floods grow fiercer and the land becomes increasingly degraded by advancing desertification. Climate change and environmental challenges are not abstract threats here: they are lived realities, stripping bare an already fragile landscape. A recent analysis by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) confirms what Somalis have known for years: this country faces extreme environmental fragility and is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate-induced displacement.

Garowe (HOL) – U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Richard H. Riley and Major General Claude Tudor, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, met with Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni in Bosaso on Saturday to commend Puntland’s efforts in combating ISIS and ensuring maritime security.

Mogadishu (HOL) – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday welcomed Somali boxing champion and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ramla Ali at the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu.

Pastoralists in central Somalia’s Mudug region, who were on the brink of giving up on livestock due to devastating drought, have regained hope since joining a milk trading cooperative that keeps camels on urban-based ranches.

Beijing (HOL) – Chinese Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun met with Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Moallin Fiqi in Beijing on Friday on the sidelines of the Xiangshan International Defense Forum, marking the first ministerial-level meeting between the two countries in nearly 40 years.

Mogadishu (HOL) – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has formally requested the leadership of Parliament to delay the opening of the 7th session of the Federal Parliament, which had been scheduled for Saturday. The session will now open on September 29, according to a notice sent to members of both houses.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — For many Somali immigrants in Minnesota, managing diabetes goes far beyond taking medication or following a doctor’s orders. It often means navigating cultural traditions, unfamiliar foods, religious obligations and systemic barriers in a health care system that can feel overwhelming.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — President Donald Trump launched an extended attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar on Thursday, repeating calls for her impeachment and assailing Somalia in remarks that came a day after the House narrowly blocked a Republican resolution to censure the Minnesota Democrat.

MOGADISHU (HOL) — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Friday that more than 10 million people currently hold Somali passports, though the government does not know how many were issued legally, as his administration moves to overhaul the country’s identification system.

Kismayo (HOL) – Somali National Army’s elite Danab commandos, in collaboration with Jubbaland’s Dervish forces, carried out mine clearance operations on Thursday in the outskirts of Kismayo, the capital of the Lower Juba region.

Mogadishu (HOL) – A Somali delegation led by Defense Minister Ahmed Moalin Fiqi is attending the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a major international defense conference underway in China.

Mogadishu (HOL) – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has announced sweeping reforms to the passport issuance system, warning that any institution that refuses to implement the national identity card system will be treated as a “national criminal.”

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly blocked a Republican-led resolution to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar, underscoring the deep partisan divides surrounding the Minnesota Democrat’s remarks after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — Somalis at home and abroad have raised more than $250,000 to operate a kitchen in Gaza that has been feeding hundreds of families a day for the past 50 days, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians trapped under blockade.

Mogadishu (HOL) — A Banadir regional court has sentenced a Somali woman to 16 years in prison for channelling more than $2.1 million to Al-Shabaab, marking one of the country’s most significant convictions for terrorism financing.

MOGADISHU (HOL) — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Thursday that Somalia’s federal government will not bow to politicians or regional states seeking to advance personal agendas outside the political process, insisting the country’s future must be decided collectively.

Garowe (HOL) – Former Puntland Finance Minister Hassan Shire Abgaal, who returned to Garowe on Thursday after losing the 2024 Puntland presidential election, criticized President Said Abdullahi Deni and called for Puntland leaders to convene a conference to decide the region’s political future.

Mogadishu (HOL) – Somali Prime Minister Hamse Abdi Barre has announced on Wednesday that voter registration for the upcoming one-person, one-vote elections in Jubbaland will begin soon.

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” This quote, widely attributed to Martin Luther King Jr., reminds us that humanity is interdependent; when neighbors are ignored, all suffer. Our elders understood this long before modern civilization; in Somali we say, “Nabadda waa furaha nolol wanaagsan, waana jidka kaliya ee daris lagu noqdo,” meaning “Peace is the key to a good life, and it is the only path to being a true neighbor.” Ethiopia would do well to remember this lesson in the context of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. By disregarding the voices of Egypt and Sudan, it risks turning a shared lifeline into a source of conflict. Shared rivers demand, shared responsibility otherwise, we all lose.

Israeli military vehicles including tanks have advanced into new neighborhoods in the northwest of Gaza City, according to local reports.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk headed home a last-gasp goal in stoppage time to lead Arne Slot's men to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in the opening game of their Champions League campaign on Wednesday at Anfield.

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has emphasized that it will no longer be acceptable for anyone to enter the country with a foreign passport without obtaining a visa.

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s Speaker of Parliament Aden Mohamed Nuur Madobe says the country has made its most significant gains since state collapse in 1991, but warned that Al-Shabaab remains the single greatest obstacle to achieving lasting stability.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — Somali-born U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has pushed back sharply against Republican Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C. move to censure her, dismissing the effort as baseless and politically motivated, and condemning Mace’s comments as an attack on her identity.

Hargeisa (HOL) — Somaliland has signed a $70 million agreement with the International Maharat Investment Company to modernize Egal International Airport, the country’s main aviation hub in Hargeisa. The agreement, signed with a little-known firm called International Maharat Investment Company, promises new terminals, a refurbished runway, and upgraded navigation systems.

Mogadishu (HOL) — A U.S. airstrike in Somalia’s northern Sanaag region killed Abdullahi Omar Abdi, a respected clan elder whom the Pentagon identified as an Al-Shabab weapons trafficker, US Africa Command confirmed Wednesday.

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Wednesday that negotiations are underway to resolve disputes between the federal government and the regional administrations of Puntland and Jubbaland, whose strained relations have long complicated national reforms.

Mogadishu (HOL) - Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) serving under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) have killed a senior Al-Shabaab commander in the Lower Shabelle region.

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said that Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam project will have a significant impact on the entire Horn of Africa, particularly on Nile River countries such as Egypt and Sudan.

Las Anod (HOL) - The Northeastern administration has accused the Somaliland authorities of mobilizing troops along disputed border areas, alleging preparations for an attack against the newly formed Northeastern regional government.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (HOL) — Fewer than 500 students in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State passed the country’s high school exit exam this year, out of more than 22,000 who sat for the test, according to the Ministry of Education. The pass rate of about 2 percent is among the lowest in the country.

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s federal government said Tuesday it needs an additional $40 million to launch a new series of Somali shilling banknotes, a project officials say is vital to stabilizing the economy and curb widespread counterfeiting.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — Somali-American filmmaker Mohammed Sheikh will premiere his first international feature, Barni, in December at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, marking a milestone for Somali representation on the global screen.