JERUSALEM: Israel’s foreign ministry on Sunday recommended that Israeli citizens not travel to the Maldives after its government banned the entry of visitors with Israeli passports.
The recommendation, the Israeli ministry said, includes Israelis with dual citizenship.
“For Israeli citizens already in the country, it is recommended to consider leaving, because if they find themselves in distress for any reason, it will be difficult for us to assist,” the ministry said in a statement.
Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu made the decision after a recommendation from the Cabinet, a statement from his office said.
“The Cabinet decision includes amending necessary laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the Maldives and establishing a Cabinet subcommittee to oversee these efforts,” the statement added.
A total of 528 Israel nationals have visited the Maldives in the first four months of this year, dropping from 4,644 during the same period in 2023, according to Maldives government data.
Israel recommends that its citizens avoid the Maldives
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Israel recommends that its citizens avoid the Maldives
Somali president visits city claimed by breakaway region
MOGADISHU: Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Friday visited a provincial capital claimed by the breakaway region of Somaliland -- the first visit there by a sitting president in over 40 years.
The visit to Las Anod, the administrative capital of the Sool region, comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions in the Horn of Africa after Israel officially recognised Somaliland, drawing strong opposition from Mogadishu.
Mohamud was attending the inauguration of the president of the newly created Northeast State, which became Somalia's sixth federal state in August.
It was the first visit by a Somali president since 1984.
Somalia is a federation of semi-autonomous states, some of which have fraught relations with the central government in Mogadishu.
The Northeast State comprises the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn, all territories Somaliland claims as integral to its borders.
Somaliland had controlled Las Anod since 2007 but was forced to withdraw in 2023 after violent clashes with Somali forces and pro-Mogadishu militias left scores dead.
Mohamud's visit "is a symbol of strengthening the unity and efforts of the federal government to enforce the territorial unity of the Somali country and its people", the Somali president's office said.
