I thought you were talking about a zoo in Belguim when I saw the title.

Great World Cup. Putin proved everyone wrong.

It is one thing to be antagonistic towards the recent Tigre rulers of Ethiopia, but to dismiss every grievance Somalis have about Oromo expansionists as a "tigre-plot" ignores historical facts.

Drill it now before oil becomes obsolete in the next 10 years.

China’s Silk Road Isn’t So Smooth Skeptics’ warnings are beginning to come true. You may not have noticed, what with the outbreak of trade war with the U.S. and all, but China’s economic diplomacy has had a bad few weeks. The country’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative is dealing with ever-greater resistance, slowing a momentum that once seemed unstoppable. In fact, I’d argue that the BRI is stalled. The clearest sign of this, perhaps, was the news that Malaysia had halted Chinese projects worth $22 billion, including a controversial rail link along the country’s east coast. The decision looked inevitable after May’s elections. One of the pillars of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s successful campaign to unseat Najib Razak was the charge that Najib’s close links to China had bred corruption and bad decisions. Mahathir’s associates linked the scandal at the 1MDB development fund to BRI financing, while Najib’s associates doubled down, putting Chinese President Xi Jinping on their party posters. One Malaysian politician complained visitors might’ve thought Xi himself was on the ballot. In many ways, China’s stumbles in Malaysia are exactly what BRI skeptics had always warned would happen in countries across Asia. Projects that might be easy to execute in China would run into delays and cost overruns in less-regimented countries; growth in debt, deficits and Chinese immigration would spark political opposition; and, when a new political leadership cancelled those projects, bilateral and multilateral tensions would spike. Malaysia is only the most high-profile example. To the north, Myanmar’s Planning and Finance Minister Soe Win told Nikkei this week that his government would demand that a new port on the Bay of Bengal be “slimmed down.” For China, the port is pivotal — the shortest way to get oil from the Indian Ocean to southern China, avoiding a strategic chokepoint at the Straits of Malacca. But Myanmar now owes 40 percent of its external debt to China, which, as Soe Win pointed out with gentle understatement, is “not recommendable.” Myanmar’s leaders can hardly be blamed for scaling back, especially given “lessons learned from our neighboring countries,” as Soe Win put it. In Sri Lanka, an overindulgence in Chinese finance has already pushed one government out the door and left its successor saddled with expensive white elephants. Interest payments on Chinese loans — about $11 billion a year — would’ve consumed almost all of the island nation’s tax revenue. (Chinese infrastructure finance doesn’t come cheap — Sri Lanka reportedly pays six percent.) That prompted the new government to grant a Chinese company a controlling share of the big, empty port at Hambantota in a debt-for-equity deal, and panicked India enough to explore buying the world’s emptiest airport 20 kilometers away — also Chinese-financed, naturally — just to ensure it stays out of Chinese hands. Negotiators began talks this week on a price. Even in Pakistan, which had embraced the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as an effective antidote to dependence on an increasingly unfriendly West, policymakers are having second thoughts. Expensive Chinese machinery imports have pushed the current account deficit — and the rupee — to the wall. Pakistan’s central bank only has enough reserves to cover a couple of months of imports — and that’s after the country borrowed nearly $4 billion from the Chinese last year. Pakistani officials have reportedly warned the Chinese that they’d better keep lending or Pakistan would turn to the International Monetary Fund, and then “we would have to make full disclosure of the terms on which China has agreed to build the CPEC.” Pakistan’s voters, going to the polls shortly, should perhaps be asking themselves why a full disclosure of these terms would be so embarrassing. China’s leaders will shortly learn a lesson the U.S. learned ages ago: Pakistan is the only country in the world that negotiates with a gun to its own head. My guess is that China will pay up this time, but that won’t make the CPEC any more sustainable financially. And while all this was happening, China’s Premier Li Keqiang was in Sofia meeting with the leaders of Central and Eastern Europe for the annual “16+1” forum — a meeting notably lacking in enthusiasm compared to previous such conclaves. The European leaders will have noted that big infrastructure investment hasn’t exactly been turning up on time from China — and, for that matter, where it has, as in Athens’ Piraeus port, it may also have opened the door to criminality and fraud. When the Belt and Road was first announced, it must have felt like a gift from heaven for embattled governments trying to raise money for the infrastructure their voters wanted. But, the truth is that China’s cash came with onerous conditions — high interest rates, procurement guarantees for Chinese companies, imported workers. Nor was China really prepared for the hurdles faced by big-ticket investments in countries with messy, more accountable politics. Can the initiative be salvaged? Perhaps. After all, China has a capital surplus that needs to go somewhere. But, if it wants its investments to be sustainable, China will have to behave in these countries a lot more like the Western capital it seeks to displace. That means being cautious, cooperative with local capital and civil society, and respectful of political sentiment, even from dissidents. In other words, the Chinese state would have to behave like the private sector. And we know how tough an ask that is. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-10/china-s-belt-and-road-initiative-has-stalled

Galbeedi, if the Oromos are so emboldened to be attempting a regime change in the Kilil, we should be very afraid for the future of the Somalis in Ethiopia. It is not about Illey per se, but the future of our people. We don't share borders with the TPLF and they are not expanding into our cities and villages. The Oromos are. The fact that Abiy deployed thousands of troops in the area after a hint of independence was heard tells me that those celebrating Oromo Abiy's rise are in for a rude awakening. We just have to agree to disagree on this one.

I think this kid will be one of the greats. He should leave PSG and go to Real or the Premier League to find a better challenge.

Kylian Mbappe insists he has no interest in succeeding Cristiano Ronaldo as the next winner of the Ballon d’Or. The teenager produced an outstanding display as France edged a tight World Cup semi final against Belgium, reaching Sunday’s showpiece against either England or Croatia thanks to Samuel Umtiti’s second half header. Paris Saint-Germain striker Mbappe has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of his idol Ronaldo, whose transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus was confirmed earlier on Tuesday as the 33-year-old ended his nine-year, trophy-laden spell in the Spanish capital. Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or in each of the last two years but his and Lionel Messi’s stranglehold on the award appears to be coming to a close, not that Mbappe has given it a second thought. ‘I couldn’t care less about that,’ he told TF1. ‘I want the World Cup. I want to sleep with it.’ Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/10/kylian-mbappe-responds-brilliantly-asked-can-succeed-cristiano-ronaldo-next-ballon-dor-winner-7701424/?ito=cbshare Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

"unverified but credible" That is the best news.

It is perfectly believable that Puntland is suffering economically as a result of this senseless war. I think the only reason Somaliland fares better is because Somaliland has it own monetary policy and can print its own money at will.

I always wondered what sort of "dhacdhac" corrupt money the god-fearing Minister of Religion would get from his department. Now we know there is a lucrative deal called "Hajj" and the president threw the first punch to knock out opponent. Every wasaarad has a cash cow. Someone was telling me there is a wasaarad that deals with scholarships and that "business" brings in lots of cash. I was reading the other day there is one that only deals with business licenses and certain clans prefer it over more prestigious ones, as it is known to be another cash cow. Meesha waa la kala xirtay, saxiibayaal.

The UAE has finally taken over Ethiopian foreign policy. Usually, the restoration of bilateral relations take time, but the speed this guy is going on the Eritrea issue is telling us that he is a puppet of some powers behind the scenes. What does @Old_Observer think about this?

Is this even real? I honestly believe Samatar is not doing well mentally. Does this man have family and friends to help him? He needs personal intervention. Galbeedi, this is very very unusual. Perhabs you can explain this to us. Why is this man getting involved in this dirty tribal war?

Biixi must act and must act quickly to save Somaliland.

The good professor is not being honest with us. If the only explanation he could come up with to justify the dismemberment of Somalia is a casual conversation he had with warlord Muuse Suudi, then that is disgraceful. The man is very emotional, compared to his brother. Intaa wuu qaylinayaa.

Somaliland can rent a house and call it "embassy" or "consulate" as it does in many places around the world. I am assuming, the only difference this time is that the recognition of the place as a consulate by the Ethiopian government is taken away.

May Allah help the suffering people in Awdal.

In Somalia, there are no accounting checks and balances. The "xisaabiye" thinks everything in the bank is his and it is for him to distribute. Nobody knows what comes in and what goes out.

Russian wall eventually was too much for Spain to penetrate.

I hope that the ONLF didn't make a deal with Abiy that they will not attack the oil wells in exchange for him taking them off the terrorist list.

ONLF allied with the Oromo vs. Abdi Illey allied with the TPLF. Who will prevail?

Jordan, Saudis and Palestinians Warn Israel: Erdogan Operating in East Jerusalem Under Your Nose Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority have all separately warned Israel over the past year about growing Turkish activity in East Jerusalem, which they say is part of an attempt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “claim ownership over the Jerusalem issue.” Senior officials in Amman and Ramallah told Israel that Turkey was extending its influence in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Israeli defense officials told Haaretz they are aware of the situation and that the issue is now receiving more attention. Turkey’s attempts to gain influence in East Jerusalem have been monitored by Israel’s security services for more than a year. Israeli sources pointed to a number of ways in which Turkey is increasing its presence in the city. These include donations to Islamic organizations in Arab neighborhoods; organized tours arranged by Islamist groups in Turkey, some closely affiliated with Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which have brought thousands of Turkish citizens to Jerusalem over the past year; and the prominent presence of Turkish activists in demonstrations around the Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif). Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority have all separately warned Israel over the past year about growing Turkish activity in East Jerusalem, which they say is part of an attempt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “claim ownership over the Jerusalem issue.” Senior officials in Amman and Ramallah told Israel that Turkey was extending its influence in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Israeli defense officials told Haaretz they are aware of the situation and that the issue is now receiving more attention. Turkey’s attempts to gain influence in East Jerusalem have been monitored by Israel’s security services for more than a year. Israeli sources pointed to a number of ways in which Turkey is increasing its presence in the city. These include donations to Islamic organizations in Arab neighborhoods; organized tours arranged by Islamist groups in Turkey, some closely affiliated with Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which have brought thousands of Turkish citizens to Jerusalem over the past year; and the prominent presence of Turkish activists in demonstrations around the Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif). Jordanian officials have accused Israel of “sleeping at the wheel” with regard to the phenomenon. They have also claimed Israel was slow to react to Turkey’s growing presence in East Jerusalem because of the reconciliation agreement signed between the two countries in early 2016, which they say Israel didn’t want to endanger by acting more forcefully against Turkish activity in the city. Israeli defense officials told Haaretz that both Jordan and the PA have expressed concern about the phenomenon. However, the same defense officials rejected the idea that Israel hadn’t taken swift action. According to these officials, the phenomenon reached its peak last year when hundreds of Turkish citizens became a regular presence in and around the Old City, becoming involved in clashes with police officers during Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The defense officials said the Israeli authorities handled the problem with a combination of arrests and deportations of some of the Turkish activists – barring some of them from reentering Israel. The officials admitted, however, that even though the Turkish activity has quietened in recent months, it is still an ongoing concern. They said Turkey is still striving for influence by investing in organizations and institutions in East Jerusalem, including through Islamist groups related to the AKP. “They’re trying to buy real estate and strengthen their political standing,” said a source in the Israel Police. “It’s also a source of concern for the PA, which doesn’t want to have another country claiming responsibility for East Jerusalem.” Last month, shortly after Turkey ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave Ankara following the death of some 60 Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on May 14, Israel retaliated by instructing the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to leave the country. Israeli sources claimed that the consul – a longtime member of AKP – was involved in Turkish efforts to increase the country’s standing in East Jerusalem, including by assisting Islamist groups that have ties to IHH, the organization behind the 2010 Turkish flotilla to Gaza. That attempt to break a naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists after Israeli forces raided the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-jordan-saudis-and-pa-warn-israel-erdogan-operating-in-east-jerusalem-1.6220111

May Allah save our people. Ethiopian oil helay, kama kacayaan. Get ready for a prolonged oppression.

Where is Suldaan Wabar now? Perhaps Galbeedi can verify this video.