Somalia
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Climate change impacts Somalia
What future without rain – or aid?
Somalia is still facing unprecedented drought and high inflation, ruining the livelihoods of many and causing widespread hunger. Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya, where Somalis have found refuge over decades, is again facing a new influx. Erik Siegl reports
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Port of Berbera, Somaliland
The development of a trade hub in the Horn of Africa
Dubai-based DP World is expanding its operations in Somaliland as part of a plan to turn the breakaway region into a major trade hub. Though Somaliland has relinquished commercial power, it may gain political weight. By Jonas Gerding
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Turkey-Africa summit
Erdogan scores "Made in Turkey" points
Ankara staged its third Turkey-Africa summit on 17 December, a sign of growing economic partnership under President Erdogan. Military co-operation is also a hot topic. Martina Schwikowski, Daniel Bellut and Pelin Unker have the details
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "Prey"
Condemning Islam, glorifying the West
Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s new book "Prey" claims to examine how Muslim immigration threatens the rights of Western women. Indeed the injustices women face only seem to matter to her when Muslims are involved, writes Sonja Zekri
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Ankara’s Maghreb moment
Advancing Turkey's economic, energy, and military aims
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, disappointed by the European Union’s reluctance to integrate Turkey into its ranks, has re-directed his country’s diplomacy toward the Maghreb and Africa to expand Turkey’s sway in the Mediterranean, writes Dalia Ghanem
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From failed state to fragile state?
Somalia and the rocky road towards greater stability
With elections on the horizon and an altered African Union mission, Somalia was meant to enter a new phase of stabilisation in 2021. But both have been postponed, and the present government seems ill-equipped to shoulder the country's considerable challenges. It is time for external stakeholders to name their terms, says Annette Weber
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Album review: Groupe RTD's "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti"
Foot-tapping fusion
Blending East African, Bollywood and Arab music traditions, Groupe RTD's "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti" is not only a stunning album, it is also the first internationally-released recording of music from this small and isolated country. By Richard Marcus
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Human rights in the Islamic world
Battle cry "blasphemy"
Many predominantly Muslim countries have penal laws against "blasphemy", "defamation of religion" and "apostasy". In practice they serve as highly effective weapons to settle personal animosities, family vendettas and land disputes. By Thomas Krapf
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Interview with graphic novel illustrator Reinhard Kleist
Arab comics – protest, love and the everyday
Reinhard Kleist is regarded as one of Germany’s finest graphic-novel illustrators and has travelled the Arab world extensively, discovering a fascinating local comics scene
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Civil wars in the Middle East
The Arab issue of kith and kin
However they may appear in their early stages, Arab civil wars are wars between kinsfolk. The social group becomes partisan, whether sectarian, tribal, party political or ethnic. Whatʹs more, argues Morris Ayek, Arab civil wars have no end
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Book review: a ″Banthology″ of short stories
Framing the dangerous nations
Born in a difficult space, this seven-story collection celebrates the work of prose artists from Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Libya, and Iraq – the seven nations on Donald Trump′s January 2017 travel-ban diktat. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
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Album review
Lost Somali tapes: ″Sweet as broken dates″
Ostinato Records recently released an amazing compilation of Somali music, ″Sweet as broken dates″, which reminds listeners that – despite the prevalent images of a land torn apart by civil war – Somalia was once a country with a thriving cultural tradition. Review by Richard Marcus