In the decades since residents in Somalia’s northwest region broke away from the East African nation during its 1991 civil war, Somaliland, as the area is known, has enjoyed relative stability despite no global recognition — until now. On Friday, the Israeli government became the first United Nations member nation to officially recognize Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state,” pledging in a press release to “immediately expand its relations” with the nascent African nation. But by recognizing Somaliland, Israel (still internationally ostracized over its war in Gaza) risks antagonizing the global community.

How did it get to this point?
Ties between Israel and authorities in Somaliland “emerged” during the former’s search for countries “willing to take in Gazans it was looking to move out of the Strip during the war,” said the Times of Israel. Also central to Israel’s “motivation for deepening ties with Somaliland” is its “proximity to Yemen.” Access to Somaliland ground and airspace could be used to “conduct strikes and surveil the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.” 

Israel’s upgraded relations are a “breakthrough” in Somaliland’s “quest for international recognition,” said The Guardian. Somaliland officials hope Israel’s move will “break decades of diplomatic isolation” and “encourage other countries to follow suit,” said DW.

Who is and isn’t happy and why?
While both Israeli and Somaliland officials have celebrated their newfound relationship, the global community has broadly condemned the agreement. Any effort to “undermine the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia” risks “setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent,” said African Union Chairperson H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in a statement that did not mention Israel. The European Union’s diplomatic arm reiterated the “importance of respecting” a united Somalia in a brief statement. 

The news was welcomed, however, by Taiwan, which hailed the “like-minded democratic partners sharing the values of democracy, freedom and rule of law” in a statement. In return, the Chinese government, which claims authority over Taiwan, decried Israel’s violation of Somalia’s integrity.

What next?
Somaliland officials hope Israel’s recognition will set the stage for a more impactful agreement with the Trump administration. One other “possible result” of the change, said Haaretz, is an Israeli military presence in the area.

The cosmos has taken up its fair share of space in the news this year. Here are some of the major stories from beyond Earth that happened during 2025.

Deep space comet
The 3I/ATLAS comet was first discovered in July and was only the “third interstellar object ever recorded to pass through Earth’s solar system from another star,” said Al Jazeera. The comet is thought to have been ejected from a giant exoplanet and traversed the Milky Way for billions of years. As a result, scientists are now jumping at the opportunity to study it.

The comet was the closest it has ever been to Earth during July, providing prime viewing opportunities. Astronomers can “glean information about celestial bodies by observing the light reflected off them with telescopes,” Darryl Z. Seligman, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Michigan State University, said at Space.com. 

Alien debate
Scientists claimed to have found signs of life on a planet called K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years from Earth, according to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in April. Analysis of the exoplanet showed an abundance of dimethyl sulfide, which is a “molecule that on Earth has only one known source: living organisms such as marine algae,” said The New York Times.

However, following the study’s release, the results were questioned, and three separate analyses were unable to find any evidence of life on K2-18b. The claim “just absolutely vanishes,” Luis Welbanks, an astronomer at Arizona State University and an author of one of the studies, said to the Times.

New moons
Scientists discovered 128 new moons orbiting Saturn, bringing the planet’s total to 274. Many of these moons are “only a few miles across,” said The New York Times. This is “small compared with our moon, which is 2,159 miles across.”

But size does not matter when it comes to moon classifications. If they have “trackable orbits around their parent body, the scientists who catalog objects in the solar system consider them to be moons,” said the Times.

Crew members on the Ocean Viking rescue ship, operated by the French SOS Méditerranée humanitarian group, take part in a night exercise during a thunderstorm. The vessel, which has been rescuing migrants since 2019, is preparing to resume operations after it was fired on by the Libyan Coast Guard in August.
Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP / Getty Images

With young people increasingly fixated on social media, YouTube and short-form video, 2025 might be the year that studios panicked about the state of the film industry. But filmmakers nonetheless churned out an impressive mix of laugh-oriented films, including rom-coms and dark, surreal comedies.

‘Friendship’
Tim Robinson is Craig Waterman, an awkward and lonely family man. After Craig tries to spark a friendship with his new neighbor, Austin (Paul Rudd), he’s rejected by the local celebrity’s tight-knit circle of male friends. Craig soon spirals out of control. “Friendship” (pictured above) is “one of those singular movies that epitomizes a comedian’s appeal,” said Deep Focus Review. (HBO Max)

‘A Nice Indian Boy’
When Indian American doctor Naveen (Karan Soni) falls in love with a white photographer named Jay (Jonathan Groff) who was fostered by Indian parents, Naveen struggles to find a way to get his more traditional immigrant parents to accept the relationship. The movie takes what “easily could have been a by-the-numbers romance” and makes it into a “story of true tenderness,” said The Queer Review. (Hulu)

‘One of Them Days’
The straightforward pleasures of the buddy comedy are what make “One of Them Days” a kind of “Friday” for the 2020s. Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) are best friends and roommates who face eviction from their Los Angeles apartment. Instead of pratfalls and body humor gags, the film finds its best humor on the “character level in clever dialogue and sharp line deliveries from the entire ensemble,” said The New York Times. (Netflix)