Terrorism Watch

Somalia is fast becoming a central theater in mounting Gulf Arab rivalries, with the African nation’s diplomatic orientation taking several traumatic twists. Late last year, Mogadishu’s relations with Abu Dhabi ruptured after Israel and Somaliland—a separatist republic that the central government does not recognize—announced their mutual recognition . Somali officials suspected that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had facilitated the deal given the close Emirati ties with Israel. On Jan. 12, Somalia’s Council of Ministers canceled all agreements with Abu Dhabi, including those reached independently by the country’s federal states. While the UAE did not react publicly, Emirati personnel reportedly left Somalia’s capital in an apparent attempt to de-escalate tension. However, the UAE presence has remained largely unchanged in the contested semi-autonomous federal states of Jubaland, Puntland and Somaliland, where local authorities have rejected Mogadishu’s decision. Far from being a lo...

DHARAMSHALA, May 25: United States Congressman Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul introduced a new bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, directing the U.S. Secretary of State to advocate for the inclusion and recognition of the Tibetan government in exile, known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). The proposed legislation, introduced on May 21 under the title “H.R. 8982 — To direct the Secretary of State to advocate for the inclusion and recognition of the Central Tibetan Administration, and for other purposes,” has been referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for review. The bill was introduced by McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and McGovern, a long-time congressional advocate for Tibet and sponsor of several Tibet-related legislations. While the full text of the bill has not yet been publicly released, available information indicates that the legislation calls on the U.S. State Department to elevate official recognit...

In their most comprehensive joint statement yet, the foreign ministers of India, Australia, Japan, and the United States deliver pointed warnings. Quad Powers Draw Hard Lines On China, Terror, Critical Materials In Delhi New Delhi: The foreign ministers of the four Quad nations gathered in New Delhi today and issued a sweeping joint statement that served as both a strategic manifesto and an operational blueprint for reshaping the Indo-Pacific order - one that, while never naming China directly, left little ambiguity about where the grouping's most urgent anxieties lie. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya signed off on a document that ranged across maritime confrontation, nuclear proliferation, terrorist attacks on allied soil, undersea cable sabotage, and the weaponisation of critical mineral supply chains. The breadth and specificity of the statement reflect...

China to resume mediation efforts between Pakistan and the Taliban, with plans underway for a second round of talks following last month’s meeting in Urumqi, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported. According to the report, Chinese officials are preparing a new round of negotiations aimed at creating a lasting framework to ease tensions that have strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban over the past year. The tensions, largely linked to security issues, have also disrupted trade, transit and cross-border movement, with border closures reducing economic exchanges and worsening insecurity along frontier areas. In such circumstances, bilateral efforts to resolve the disputes have effectively reached a deadlock, pushing Pakistan to rely increasingly on third-party mediation, particularly from China. China’s special envoy for Afghanistan has travelled to Kabul in recent weeks and held meetings with Taliban officials, including the group’s foreign minister. According to official stat...

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed a report that Iran and Oman would manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a deal to end the war, in a sign that any agreement remained elusive. Trump's comments came after Iranian state TV reported that it had obtained an unofficial draft of an agreement that would restore commercial shipping through the strategic waterway to prewar levels within a month, with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic. That framework also would have the United States lift its blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw military forces from Iran's vicinity. Trump said no single country would have control over the waterway, and appeared to threaten Oman, a country with which the United States has decades-long military and economic ties. He also said that he was not yet satisfied with Iran's offers to make a deal, after Iranian state television reported details of what it claimed was a draft agreement.   Source:  Iran Israel War Live Upd...

The UK's largest intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have likely been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The estimate was revealed by GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler during her first public speech, where she outlined the growing threats facing the UK and its allies. Speaking from Bletchley Park, the historic World War II codebreaking site, Keast-Butler warned that Britain is at a moment of consequence as Russia continues relentlessly targeting key infrastructure and institutions. She accused the Kremlin of orchestrating espionage operations, sabotage efforts, and a broader undeclared ‘hybrid war’ against the UK and other NATO countries. While both Moscow and Kyiv have regularly estimated each other's battlefield losses, they have avoided publishing complete figures for their own casualties. Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had lost ...