Turkey To Launch First Overseas Deepwater Exploration Project Off Somalia

 Via The Cradle

Tukey is planning to send a drilling vessel to Somalia this February to begin its first deep water exploration project abroad, Energy Minister ‌Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday.

The minister said the operation with the Cagri Bey drilling vessel will focus on offshore areas in Somalia’s waters, but did not elaborate further. Ankara signed an energy exploration agreement with Somalia last year and has been seeking ways to diversify energy sources and reduce its reliance on imports. 

Source: Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said earlier this week that a new drilling vessel would soon be operating on the Somali coast. 

Alparslan’s announcement comes in the aftermath of Israel’s decision to recognize the separatist Republic of Somaliland. Israel last week became the first state to formally recognize Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991 but had never been recognized by any UN member state. 

Somalia has slammed the move, which was also condemned by most members of the UN Security Council, as well as Turket.

"Preserving the unity and integrity of Somalia in all circumstances holds special importance in our view. Israel's decision to recognize Somaliland is illegitimate and unacceptable," Erdogan said.

Reports over the past year said Somaliland and Israel have been in talks to forcibly relocate displaced Palestinians from Gaza to the East African breakaway state. 

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said two days ago that Somali intelligence confirms Somaliland accepted three Israeli conditions in exchange for recognition – specifically the resettlement of Palestinians, an Israeli military base on the Gulf of Aden coast, and accession to the Abraham Accords. Somaliland has denied this.

According to a new report by Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), Somaliland's president is planning an official visit to Israel and is expected to formally join the Abraham Accords. 

NOW - Turkey's Erdogan condemns Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an illegal act aimed at destabilizing "the entire Horn of Africa." pic.twitter.com/3TCW085JZQ

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) December 30, 2025

Israel’s i24 news outlet had previously reported that the recognition came after months of secret negotiations between the two sides.

Somalia and Turkey have accused Israel of trying to destabilize the Horn of Africa. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement has vowed to target any potential Israeli presence in Somalia. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/turkey-launch-first-overseas-deepwater-exploration-project-somalia

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/then-it-war-elon-musk-responds-after-somali-tiktoker-threatens-his-life

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/turkey-launch-first-overseas-deepwater-exploration-project-somalia

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-forces-strike-venezuela-trump-reveals-maduro-has-been-captured

Hochul’s order to light 1 WTC green for Muslim American Heritage Month sparks controversy

 Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sparked outrage Friday after ordering that 16 state landmarks – including Manhattan’s One World Trade Center – be illuminated in green to celebrate “the heritage and culture of Muslim Americans.”

Hochul’s decision to light up the skyscraper erected on the site where the Twin Towers were knocked down by terrorists during the 9/11 attacks was decried as “tone deaf” and “disgusting” by several social media users.

“The twin towers were unable to be lit green tonight,” Queens Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino wrote on X. 

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The spire of the One World Trade Center in New York City is lit in green in “celebration of the heritage and culture of Muslim Americans,” on Jan. 2, 2026.X/GovKathyHochul

“It’s disgusting that the Freedom Tower – which stands at the World Trade Center site – is lit in green to celebrate Islam,” fumed Angela Morabito, a spokeswoman for the Defense of Freedom Institute, in a post on X.   

“What ‘contributions of Muslim communities’ are you honoring here, Governor?” she continued. “The time the worst among them killed thousands of innocent Americans?”

Hochul signed a proclamation Friday declaring January as Muslim American Heritage Month in the Empire State for the first time. 

“The resilience, compassion, and contributions of Muslim communities help make our state stronger,” the governor wrote on X, including images of One World Trade Center and other buildings in the state lit up in green – which is considered a sacred color in Islam. 

Several social media users were left in disbelief by Hochul’s order. 

“There must be some mistake, this can’t be real??” wrote one shocked X user. 

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Green lights illuminate the exterior of the New York State Education Department Building in Albany, NY.X/GovKathyHochul

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Buildings around Empire State Plaza are lit in green, celebrating Muslim American Heritage Month after an order by Gov. Hochul on Jan. 2, 2026.X/GovKathyHochul

Political activist Drew Pavlou remarked, “Lighting up the new World Trade Center in the colours of Islam is a bit much, don’t you think.” 

“Of all the tone deaf things, this is the deafest,” another person argued.

Hochul noted that New York is “home to the largest Muslim American population in the nation,” and the governor said the state “remains committed to being a beacon of hope, tolerance, and inclusivity that celebrates the diversity of its Muslim American population and protects them from Islamophobia, hate, bias, and harm.”

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NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James attend the inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Jan. 1, 2026.GC Images

A press release from the governor’s office included a statement of support from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn in Thursday and is the city’s first Muslim mayor.

“While I was proud to be sworn in as our city’s first Muslim mayor yesterday, Muslims have been part of New York for centuries,” Mamdani wrote. “We have built small businesses, raised our families, pursued every profession, enriched our culture and cuisine, and been a part of what makes our city what it is today.

“I am grateful for Governor Hochul’s leadership in recognizing these many contributions and ensuring that every January, Muslim New Yorkers can see ourselves reflected and recognized in a city and state that is also our home.”

Included among the 15 other sites Hochul directed to be lit up green are the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Grand Central Terminal – Pershing Square Viaduct,  Albany International Airport Gateway, the MTA LIRR – East End Gateway at Penn Station and  Roosevelt Island Lighthouse.

https://nypost.com/2026/01/02/us-news/ny-landmarks-including-world-trade-center-lit-green-for-muslim-american-heritage-month-after-hochul-order/

'AP: Venezuela accuses US of attacking civilian, military installations in multiple states'

 Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

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Smoke rises at La Carlota airport after a reported overnight explosion on Jan. 3, 2026.AP

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Venezuelan state television did not interrupt its programming and aired a report on Venezuelan music and art.

The blasts come as the US military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the US to combat drug trafficking.

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A column of smoke rises during multiple explosions in the early hours of the morning, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026.via REUTERS

The South American country’s President Nicolás Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the US The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.

US President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The US has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

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Soldiers guard the area around the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026.AP

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Pedestrians run after explosions were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.AP

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September.

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US and asserted that the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the US.

https://nypost.com/2026/01/03/world-news/at-least-7-explosions-and-low-flying-aircraft-are-heard-in-venezuelas-caracas/