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Strategies & Market Trends : World Outlook -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (49867)	12/27/2025 2:42:52 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50998

Syrian Druze fighters 'covertly' armed by Israel since Assad's fall: ReportA camp within the Israeli security establishment pushed the idea of transforming Syria's Druze into an official Israeli proxy loyal to Tel Aviv News Desk DEC 23, 2025 Syrian Druze fighters 'covertly' armed by Israel since Assad's fall: Report Proxies are useful for creating provocations to justify direct intervention.

To: Les H who wrote (49867)	12/28/2025 8:59:08 AM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50998

Israel becomes first country to recognize breakaway Somaliland as independent state President says his country wants to join Abraham Accords; move sparks anger among regional powers who say it undermines sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia By Lazar Berman, Follow Times of Israel Staff and Agencies 26 December 2025, 6:54 pm Israel on Friday became the first country to recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state, more than three decades after the African region broke away from Somalia, with the Muslim nation saying it aspired to join the Abraham Accords. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar signed the declaration for Israel, while Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi signed for his country, which sits in a key strategic region in the Horn of Africa. While no other countries have formally recognized it, several states — including the UK, Ethiopia, Turkey, the UAE, Denmark, Kenya and Taiwan — maintained liaison offices, and the Trump administration has signaled in recent months that it could change its stance on the breakaway region. However, the Friday announcement sparked anger among several regional powers who accused Israel of undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia. ... Channel 12 reported that Abdullahi made a secret visit to Israel in October, meeting with Netanyahu, Mossad chief David Barnea and Defense Minister Israel Katz. The network said that ties between the two governments emerged as Israel searched for countries willing to take in Gazans it was looking to move out of the Strip during the war — an effort that seems to have failed due to overwhelming international backlash against the idea of displacing Gazans. Beyond a potential home for Gazans, a central Israeli motivation for deepening ties with Somaliland’s is the latter region’s proximity to Yemen. Access to Somaliland’s territory and airspace would make it easier for Israel to conduct strikes and surveil the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Israel becomes first country to recognize breakaway Somaliland as independent state \| The Times of Israel Somaliland recognition for forced transfer of Palestinians? ‘Not worth it’ Locals and analysts say reported Israeli plan to forcibly move Palestinians from Gaza to Somaliland risks inflaming the region. Somaliland recognition for forced transfer of Palestinians? ‘Not worth it’ \| Israel-Palestine conflict News \| Al Jazeera Israel had been negotiating with Somaliland since mid-year to accept the transfer of ethnically cleansed Palestinians from Gaza. Placing them into the middle of another country ruled by militias in a country where the public resents the forced migration of peoples is no better than being in the occupied territories where they're targeted by Israelis and the IDF. For Israel, they think they get to revoke the right of return for Palestinians to their homeland.

To: Les H who wrote (49867)	12/28/2025 3:51:34 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50998

US Missiles Hit Two Nigerian Villages Far From Intended Target: Nigerian Government Several buildings were destroyed in a village in Kwara state by Dave DeCamp \| December 28, 2025 at 3:11 pm ET \| Nigeria Two villages in Nigeria that were hit by US missiles as part of the first US strikes in Nigeria launched on Christmas Day were not the intended target, according to a statement from the Nigerian government. On Friday, Nigeria’s Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the strikes, which were launched by a US warship in the Gulf of Guinea, targeted “two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves” in the forests of the Tangaza district in Nigeria’s northwest Sokoto State, an area that’s not known as a hub for ISIS-affiliated militants, raising questions about why it was the US’s first target. Idris also said that debris from US missiles landed in the village of Jabo in Sokoto, as well as Offa, a village in the central western Kwara state, hundreds of miles from Sokoto. Idris downplayed the damage to the villages, saying there were no civilian casualties, but residents of Offa say several homes were destroyed by the US missile, and some injuries were reported. “At first, we were confused about what happened,” Benji Omale, a resident of Offa, told News Central TV, describing the loud sound he heard when a munition landed on the village. “So, we ran toward the area to find out. When we got there, we saw that several houses had been destroyed and many properties damaged.” Omale added that the residents of the village are now “appealing to the government to take steps to address the destruction and provide some form of assistance.” Reports based on images of debris posted on social media suggest that at least three Tomahawk missiles fired by the US warship fell short of their target. Tajudeen Alabi, a former special assistant to the Kwara State governor, told the BBC that some people were injured by the falling debris. “At least about five structures were destroyed in different locations. We saw some objects in a popular hotel, which we call Offa Central Hotel. It looked like a bomb,” he said. In Jabo, residents described fear and confusion after US missile debris landed in a field, though there were no casualties in the village. “Our rooms began to shake, and then fire broke out,” Abubakar San, a resident of Jabo, told The Associated Press. “The Nigerian government should take appropriate measures to protect us as citizens. We have never experienced anything like this before.” Residents of Jabo questioned President Trump’s claims that he launched the airstrikes to defend Nigeria’s Christians. “In Jabo, we see Christians as our brothers. We don’t have religious conflicts, so we weren’t expecting this,” Suleiman Kagara, a villager, told CNN. Other Jabo residents said they didn’t understand why their village was hit since their community has not been subject to attacks by armed bandit groups or the Lakurawa, an armed group suspected of being affiliated with ISIS. Analysts suspect Lakurawa was the target of the US airstrikes, though the group’s ties to ISIS are unclear. The more well-known jihadist groups in Nigeria — Boko Haram and ISWAP — operate in northwest Nigeria. Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, told the AFP on Saturday that the strikes targeted ISIS militants who were in the country to work with the Lakurawa. A day earlier, he said the US claims about the strikes were “sketchy” and said he would have more information in the coming hours. US Missiles Hit Two Nigerian Villages Far From Intended Target: Nigerian Government - News From Antiwar.com Not even ISIS now. They might be affiliated with ISIS which is a nebulous term they still used when they bombed militias or insurgents by claiming they were 'affiliated' or 'linked' with Al Qaeda. More or less, it means they receive financial support, arms, and/or intelligence directly from one of the Gulf States, such as United Arab Emirates, as an intermediary for the US, UK, or NATO, in order to carry out attacks against the government and the civilian population. They can be counted on to act as a proxy because of their historical grievances and trade in minerals.