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The South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia voted against independence from France on Sunday in a long-awaited referendum that capped a 30-year long decolonisation process.
A “yes” vote would have seen Paris without a strong position in the Indo-Pacific region where China is expanding its presence and hit the pride of a former colonial power whose reach once spanned the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Pacific Ocean.
The French Pacific islands of New Caledonia began voting Sunday on whether to become an independent nation, in a closely-watched test of support for France in one of its many territories scattered around the globe.
Some 18,000 kilometres (11,000 miles) from the French mainland, New Caledonia is home to a quarter of the world’s known supplies of nickel — a vital electronics component — and is a strategic foothold for France in the Pacific.
The self-declared state of Somaliland is stepping up its push for international recognition, warning that the world’s continued refusal to formally accept its independence threatens to plunge the breakaway region back into armed conflict with Somalia.
“We have made a lot of progress in the past 27 years and now we are recognised as a de facto state” Saad Ali Shire, foreign minister, said in an interview in the capital, Hargeisa. “[But] the next 27 years is not going to be like the first,” he said. “War is bound to happen unless the problem is settled peacefully one way or another.”
Somaliland continues to push for its recognition internationally as it held an international forum in the capital Hargeisa on Wednesday.
President Muse Behi Abdi said time is ripe for the international community to recognise and appreciate the role Somaliland is playing in the region.
Greece has agreed to recognize Macedonia under the name ‘Republic of North Macedonia or “Severna Macedonja”, a Greek government official said on Tuesday.
The Syrian government recognized the independence of Georgia’s breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia in a gesture of thanks to its largest patron of late, Russia. Georgia responded by severing diplomatic relations with Syria.
“In gratitude for the assistance against terrorist aggression, the Syrian Arabic Republic has decided to establish diplomatic relations with the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Syria’s foreign ministry said in a statement issued on May 29, adding that embassies will open soon in both regions.
The parliament of Catalonia has voted to declare independence from Spain.
Seventy legislators voted in favour, 10 voted against, while two cast blank ballots.
The decision was made during a secret vote in Barcelona on Friday afternoon.