Global Voices

Aggregated from sources worldwide

Since fighting began in late February, Iranian retaliation has reached U.S. bases and Gulf infrastructure while disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has repeatedly threatened energy exports and maritime trade. Roughly a fifth of global oil flows normally passes through...

War & Peace, gulf states, iran war

OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, more than doubled its crude oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz in August as it offered month-watering discounts for loadings at Basrah in the Persian Gulf and Iran allowed Iraqi oil cargoes to transit the...

News

Russian President Vladimir Putin said there is still a possibility of reaching a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while arguing that recent Ukrainian attacks on shipping and warnings over Russian airspace have made the resumption of negotiations...

World News, peace, Russia

TODAY’S NUMBERS $4,334 (gold, per ounce, near record) · $200bn (Russian reserves frozen at Euroclear) · Sept. 15 (deadline for the EU’s Russia sanctions list to lapse). Gold near records prices geopolitical risk broadly; the frozen-assets deadlock and an expiring...

Economy, Analysis, Belgium

Europe’s lowest levels of natural gas in storage in nearly two decades risk intensifying the race for LNG supply in the coming months as both Europe and Asia are competing for a shrinking pool of supply, with the Middle East’s...

News

Chinese refiners are paying a hefty premium for Russia’s ESPO crude to replace Iranian crude that independent refiners were importing before the U.S. installed its naval blockade on the country. East Siberia-Pacific Ocean crude, or ESPO, for delivery in November...

News

Spain has found no evidence that Moroccan authorities planned or orchestrated the massive migrant surge into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament. His comments come amid conflicting accounts over whether the unprecedented border...

World News, migration, Morocco

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Dear President Abdirahman Abdullahi, As you prepare for your next cabinet reshuffle, you have an opportunity to make a decision that could define your government’s effectiveness: put the right people in the right positions. Cabinet appointments should not be driven primarily by political loyalty, the balancing of interests, or rewards for those who supported the government. These considerations may always exist in politics, but they should not outweigh the qualifications of those chosen to lead the country’s ministries. Your government is moving beyond its early period. Citizens will increasingly judge the administration by what it delivers. Can ministries function more effectively? Can public services improve? Can public resources be managed responsibly? Can Somaliland attract investment and create opportunities for its young population? These outcomes require capable people. A president may have a strong vision and ambitious plans, but that vision means little if the people responsible for implementation lack the capacity to deliver. The government’s goals must be matched by the abilities of those appointed to lead its ministries. When there is a gap between ambition and administrative capacity, the result is a misaligned government. As a member of the diaspora living in Somaliland, I have observed good intentions at the top but uneven execution below. That is why the next reshuffle matters. Somaliland needs ministers who understand the responsibilities they are being asked to assume. A person appointed to lead a ministry should bring a relevant combination of education, professional experience, management ability, and a record of achievement. A ministry is not a political trophy. It is a public institution whose performance affects citizens’ daily lives. Political experience alone should not automatically qualify someone to lead a technical ministry. Nor should a close relationship with the president, membership in the governing political camp, or strong personal connections be enough. This does not mean politics has no place in government. It does. Presidents have political responsibilities, and governments need people they can trust. But trust and competence should not be treated as competing choices. The president should seek people who are both trustworthy and capable. The Somaliland diaspora also deserves careful consideration. Somaliland has produced many highly educated professionals with valuable experience in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. Bringing that experience home can benefit the country enormously. But diaspora status should not confer automatic preference. No one should become a minister simply because they worked abroad or have an impressive resume. The same standard should apply to everyone. What have they accomplished? What do they know about the ministry they would lead? Have they managed people and budgets? Have they solved difficult problems? Can they work within Somaliland’s realities rather than simply import ideas from another country? These are the questions that should guide appointments. One practical step would be to interview serious candidates before making senior appointments. This should not be a political interview, but a rigorous assessment of each candidate’s ability to do the job. Ask candidates what they have accomplished, what they understand about the ministry, what they would change in their first six months, and how they would measure success. Then verify their qualifications and professional history. This would not eliminate political appointments, but it would introduce a basic element of accountability into the process. There is nothing radical about this approach. Governments around the world increasingly recognize that professional civil service is essential to effective government. Research by the Anti-Corruption Evidence programme has also identified links between merit-based recruitment, stronger motivation, lower corruption, and better public-service performance. For Somaliland, this should not be merely an academic discussion. We have limited resources and a long list of national priorities. Every ministry that fails to perform represents a lost opportunity. Your administration has already achieved what many people once considered extremely difficult by securing international recognition from Israel while continuing to build broader support for Somaliland. That is an important development. But recognition, diplomacy, and foreign relations are only part of the larger challenge of building a functioning state. Somaliland also needs institutions that work. It needs ministries that can implement policy, officials who understand public finance, and competent leaders for infrastructure, education, health, investment, fisheries, agriculture, mining, security, and other critical sectors. Most importantly, citizens need to see that government appointments are made because a person can do the job, not simply because they are politically connected. Mr. President, the next cabinet reshuffle gives you an opportunity to establish a different standard. Choose people who can deliver. Choose people who understand their responsibilities. Choose people whose results can be measured and who can be held accountable when they fail. If a politically loyal person is also the best person for the job, appoint them. If a political ally is not qualified to lead a particular ministry, do not appoint them simply because they are an ally. That is what merit should mean. Somaliland cannot afford to place unprepared people in important positions and wait years to discover that they were never capable of carrying the responsibility. The country needs experienced professionals, capable managers, effective politicians, and people with a genuine understanding of Somaliland’s circumstances. The next cabinet should therefore not be about who deserves a position. It should be about who can do the job. That would send a powerful message to Somaliland’s citizens, investors, development partners, and the international community that Somaliland is serious about building institutions based on competence, accountability, and performance. Somaliland needs a government that serves the country, not individuals or political interests. And that starts with putting the right people in the right positions. Thank you, and God bless Somaliland. Mohamed Ibrahim is a Somaliland businessman and public-affairs commentator based in Hargeisa. He holds an MBA and has a professional background in business, journalism, media, and public affairs. He is the founder and former Chief Editor of SomalilandPress , an independent online news and analysis platform covering political, economic, and social developments in Somaliland and the wider Horn of Africa. He can be reached at moguled@gmail.com. Reference: Governance and Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE), Civil Service Reform and Anti-Corruption in Developing Countries: Tools and Evidence from Eight Countries in Four Developing Regions. GI ACE. Civil Service Reform and Anti-Corruption in Developing Countries....

Somaliland

As a new convoy of Russian armored vehicles arrives from the port of Lomé to support Russia’s Africa Corps deployment in Mali, that mission has entered its fifth year. Russia’s investment of blood and treasure urgently demands a return, but...

Commentary, Mali, Russia

Nepal is facing a major reconstruction challenge after a catastrophic glacier collapse triggered floods, mud and landslides across areas near the Chinese border on August 26. Authorities estimate that around 20,000 homes will need to be rebuilt, while search and...

World News, flood, Nepal

The Iran conflict and disruption to the Strait of Hormuz are forcing major oil importing countries to rethink how they source crude. Countries that once relied heavily on nearby Middle Eastern suppliers are increasingly turning to producers in the Americas...

Energy Geopolitics, Economics, energy security

This year marks four decades since Vietnam launched Doi Moi, the economic renovation program that broke with communist central planning. It also marks one of the most concentrated bursts of institutional change the country has witnessed since launching the market-oriented...

Southeast Asia, Block 2, Communist Party of Vietnam

On 1 September in Bishkek, Vladimir Putin used one summit to tell Iran that Russia would keep supplying what Tehran needs and to tell the world that Russia is winning in Ukraine and will not negotiate with Kyiv. The same...

Iran, Politics, Russia

This summer the Pentagon handed NATO members a questionnaire asking whether they support in part, “U.S. foreign policy priorities.” Dubbed a “loyalty test” in the press, it was seen by many Europeans as the most recent sign that the alliance is...

Eu, Eurasia, Transatlantic-relations

The Bunker appears originally at the Project on Government Oversight and is republished here with permission. President Trump designs aircraft carriers the way kids build paper airplanes. It’s just that his cost billions and can inflict far more pain than paper...

U-s-navy, F-35, Pentagon-spending

This summer the Pentagon handed NATO members a questionnaire asking whether they support in part, “U.S. foreign policy priorities.” Dubbed a “loyalty test” in the press, it was seen by many Europeans as the most recent sign that the alliance is...

Eu, Eurasia, Transatlantic-relations

See an insect crawling in the corner of the room? It might be a surveillance robot, thanks to research at Carnegie Mellon University to develop cockroach-like robots with, and for, the Israeli military. Robot cockroaches, “terror-network” mapping, and rapid missile guidance...

University-funding, Foreign-influence, Weapons

Summary of Expert Predictions vs. Actual Outcomes The convergence of regional and international expert commentary provides a sharp lens through which to evaluate what transpired during the historic state visit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Highlighted...

News

Expo isn’t usually seen as a platform for international diplomacy. Conceived as a world’s fair to showcase the achievements of nations, it has traditionally been treated as an economic or cultural forum. In truth it’s all of these things at...

Diplomacy, Economics, EXPO

Many participants at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau this week would like to talk about anything but great power rivalry: transnational crime, energy security, climate change, development finance, seabed minerals, transport links. Instead, the meeting has been pulled toward the...

Opinion, Australia, New Zealand

Today, the West Bank is a nightmare of vicious settlement expansion, land seizure, economic strangulation, settler violence and forced displacement. With the collusion of the Israeli military and police, the Israeli-occupied territories are effectively ruled by the Messianic far-right settlers...

Uncategorized

Israel has plans drawn up to carry out US President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove most of the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip, according to its defense minister, Israel Katz. Katz has been a fervent cheerleader for the proposal made by Trump last...

Middle East, Block 3, Donald Trump

Scientists and start-ups believe naturally occurring hydrogen could be the next major geological breakthrough, unleashing huge amounts of hydrogen to power the clean energy transition. Researchers in the United States, Canada, and Australia are mapping and discovering potential sources of...

News

Meta recently open-sourced a capable, large-scale agent model — 30 billion parameters, a rough measure of the model’s size and complexity. It’s free, downloadable, and runs, per Meta’s own benchmarks, on a MacBook Pro with an M4 Max or M5...

AI, AgentDojo, Alibaba's ROME agent

As the artificial intelligence boom drives major energy demand growth and catalyzes an all-of-the-above approach to energy development, enhanced geothermal energy is catching a windfall of investment dollars and renewed policy interest. A new wave of next-gen geothermal energy projects...

News

A final deal between the United States and Iran is slipping further out of reach. Since the Memorandum of Understanding collapsed in July, the prospects for reviving it have deteriorated by the day. While Tehran publicly demands a return to...

News

Chevron will invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela over the next five years and more than double its oil production in the country to about 600,000 barrels per day, Reuters reported Wednesday. The investment follows new agreements with Venezuela...

News

🗳️ This is Midterm Madness , the only newsletter you need to stay up to date on election news. Key race updates, money trails, numbers that cut through the spin, and campaign moments that say more than official talking points...

Midterm Madness

In 2025, Michael Hunzeker and Yuster Yu wrote, “Taiwan’s Biggest Problem in Steeling Itself for War With China is Cultural,” where they argued major cultural changes were needed in both Taiwan’s military and civilian society if it were to be...

Members, Rewind and Reconnoiter

With President Xi Jinping’s anticipated visit to Egypt in late August and early September, coinciding with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek (August 30 – September 3) and the Chinese president’s visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt, several questions...

Eurasia, Belt and Road, China

It was a rough night for Seth Moulton, a congressman challenging incumbent Ed Markey in Massachusetts’ Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. Seeing opportunity in an election season favoring anti-establishment candidates, Moulton billed himself as “one of Massachusetts’ rising progressive...

Analysis

The latest package of US sanctions on Iran is unlikely to achieve Washington’s objectives Jeffrey D. Sachs is University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network,...

Economics, Geopolitics, National Politics

Donald Trump is determined to subvert the midterms. All that can save us, if he succeeds, is a national strike. Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times, where...

National Politics, Article, Chris Hedges

A government has plenty of alternatives in dealing with its debt, but most are not palatable for financial speculators Richard Murphy is an economic justice campaigner. Professor of Accounting at Sheffield University Management School., and Chartered Accountant, and Co-founder of the...

Economics, Finance, National Politics

Review of Odd Arne Westad’s “The Coming Storm” Branko Milanović is an economist specialised in development and inequality. His latest book, The Great Global Transformation: National Market Liberalism in a Multipolar World , was published November 2025. Cross-posed from Branko Milanović’s blog Global...

Geopolitics, National Politics, Article

Anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in the United States, and yet Muslim political candidates are enjoying a banner year. Zohran Mamdani was elected the first Muslim mayor of New York City in 2025. This year, Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic...

Human Rights, Uncategorized, Abdul El-Sayed
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