कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त

Israel becomes first country to recognise Somaliland

The Independent

|

December 27, 2025

Benjamin Netanyahu has piled pressure on Keir Starmer and Donald Trump to recognise a former British protectorate in a bid to take on terrorism in the Middle East.

- DAVID MADDOX

Israel becomes first country to recognise Somaliland

The Israeli prime minister has unilaterally recognised the disputed state of Somaliland, which is seen as crucial in tackling the Houthi threat in the Red Sea and Strait of Aden, where Iranian-sponsored Houthi terrorists have been attacking shipping.

It means Israel is the first country to officially recognise Somaliland after it declared independence 34 years ago in 1991. Only Ethiopia has previously held an agreement with the unrecognised state in the Horn of Africa.

It comes as US President Trump is under pressure to recognise the breakaway African state, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, after a bitter civil war, with the UK under pressure to follow suit.

Mr Netanyahu, who has launched attacks on the Houthis in the region, said that the decision to recognise Somaliland was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”.

The Independent से और कहानियाँ

The Independent

The Independent

ON THIS DAY

1893: The Independent Labour Party was formed by Keir Hardie.

time to read

1 min

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Sorry, trolls, autistic Barbie may be Mattel's best doll yet

From Barbie dolls with wheelchairs, canes, prosthetic legs and hearing aids; to blind Barbies and dolls with Down syndrome and type 1 diabetes - plus a Ken doll with vitiligo - playing with toys has come a long, long way since I last had a ragtag bunch of Barbie, Sindy and Jem dolls in the 1980s.

time to read

3 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

WIRED AND HIRED

As recruitment teams are increasingly turning to elaborate AI-assisted screening techniques to find staff, Helen Coffey gets quizzed by an avatar and ponders the wider implications

time to read

8 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

‘Port Talbot Pompeii’ find stuns archaeological team

Experts ‘strike gold’ with largest Roman villa discovery

time to read

3 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Zahawi 'begged for peerage before defecting to Reform

Controversial former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK after apparently unsuccessfully “begging” to be nominated for a peerage.

time to read

4 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Mitigation hearing starts in trial of Hong Kong activist

Supporters of Jimmy Lai had queued for days outside court

time to read

4 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Trump is playing with fire by attacking the Federal Reserve

Donald Trump says he did not know about the US Department of Justice’s threatened criminal prosecution of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

time to read

3 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

NICE AND TOASTY

Rachael Penn snuggles up to the top electric heaters

time to read

11 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Should we explore Japan by car on our September trip?

Q We are planning a five-week trip to Japan in September. Bullet trains are the quickest way to get between major cities. However, in less populated areas, transport seems more difficult. As they drive on the same side of the road as us, we are thinking of hiring a car. Do you have any thoughts on this?

time to read

1 mins

January 13, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

What will former top Tory bring to his new party?

Former cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi is the latest prominent Conservative to defect to Reform UK - to the obvious delight of its leader, Nigel Farage. Much is made of Zahawi’s expertise and experience, and he claims that he humbly wishes to be a “foot soldier” in Farage’s army because “we can all see that our beautiful, ancient, kind, magical island story has reached a dark and dangerous chapter”.

time to read

3 mins

January 13, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size