By Prof. Askar Abdishakur In contemporary political discourse, the rhetoric of division has found a dangerous new focal point. Across the Atlantic and throughout Europe, populist right-wing factions increasingly isolate specific ethnic and national groups as political scapegoats. Among these, the Somali diaspora has faced a persistent, disproportionate, and unwarranted campaign of stigmatization. Modeled after...
By Dr. Abdirazak Takar On 4 March 2026, Somalia adopted a new constitution in Mogadishu, ratified under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed, replacing the Provisional Constitution that had governed the federal project since 2012. For outside observers, Somali’s federal experiment is easy to misrepresentation as either a fragile arrangement barely holding the country together or a...
By Dr. Abdulkadir Osman Farah Gar Allay Taqaan Once, a powerful and calculating man stole property from a less powerful, unsuspecting owner. The dispossessed man appealed to elder mediators (oday dhaqameedyo), but the corrupt elders largely ignored his claim. He returned to the thief. Unexpectedly, the thief proposed taking the dispute to a renowned regional...
Garowe (WDN) — Puntland is preparing to remove one of the biggest barriers keeping children from school, with the government announcing plans to make primary and intermediate education free across the region, potentially bringing immediate financial relief to thousands of families once the policy takes effect. Puntland Interior Minister Abdi Hersi Ali (Qarjab) said the...
By Abdulkadir Osman Farah, PhD Once, two Somali diaspora friends met in a major Somali city. The first returned to the homeland decades earlier. Witnessing people’s suffering and helping them recover from a devastating civil war. The second returned periodically also offering his people qualified support. One day, during a casual conversation over coffee, the...
Dr. Abdurahman Baadiyow There is a profound question that should touch both our hearts and our minds: How is it possible for a society so deeply attached to its religion to remain, for more than thirty years, trapped in collapse, conflict, division, poverty, misgovernance, and statelessness? Somalia presents a tragic example of the enormous gap...
By Ali Haji Warsame A Referee Sent Home, and A Nation Watching In June 2026, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a 34-year-old referee from Somalia, landed in Miami, USA, with a diplomatic passport and a valid US visa. He was Somalia’s first-ever FIFA World Cup referee and the reigning CAF Men’s Referee of the Year. He had...
By Eng Mohamed Ali Mirreh For years, Somalis living in the United States and Europe have found themselves in the media spotlight. Whether in political debates, social commentary, or news reports, Somali immigrants appear more frequently than many other communities of similar size. Their visibility raises a question that many observers struggle to answer: Why...
WASHINGTON -The Senegal Football Federation on Tuesday clarified the circumstances surrounding a viral social media video showing members of the Senegal national team undergoing security screening checks after arriving in the US for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The federation said in a statement that the footage has led to misunderstandings online, with some reports...
The U.N. refugee agency said forced displacement of people due to conflict or persecution fell in 2025 for the first time in a decade. But the agency warned in its annual report Thursday that 118 million people who had to flee their homes or nations is still alarmingly high. A look at the agency’s Global...