The first-time actor reacts to his Oscar nomination for ‘Captain Phillips.’ Think 12 Years a Slave newcomer Lupita Nyong’o isoverwhelmed? Try Barkhad Abdi, a former Minnesota-based Somali limousine driver who answered a Captain Phillips casting call and wound up with an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor on Thursday. The nomination has “been crazy, in a good way. It was just so...
November 14, 2026
Category: News
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Al-Shabab: Guardians of Somali identity?
What are the reasons behind Al-Shabab survival in Somali politics? By Abdullahi Boru Halakhe British Channel 4 journalist Jamal Osman had an exclusive on al-Shabab that included a training and graduation ceremony. The picture that emerged was that al-Shabab is a sophisticated group which, more than others, grasped the duality of the state; one of brutal efficiency...
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Muslim Women Challenge American Mosques: ‘Now Is The Time’
by MONIQUE PARSONS Most American mosques do a poor job of including women, according to a recent study co-sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America. Sometimes that means subpar women’s prayer spaces, a lack of leadership roles or little programming relevant to women. For Edina Lekovic, a recent visit to a mosque meant being asked to use...
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Kenya on fast track to join world’s top oil producers
By MACHARIA KAMAU Turkana County could be holding well over a billion barrels of oil, which have the potential to place the region as a key oil province globally. This is after British oil explorer Tullow Oil announced that it had struck oil in two more wells – Amosing 1 and Ewoi 1 – in...
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Mother, Son Team Up to Fight Somalia Poverty
A small, woman-run store at the Hidaya Camp, on the outskirts of Mogadishu, sells detergent, coffee, charcoal and candy (Photo courtesy of Filsan Darman) Faiza Elmasry Although he has never lived there, Sahnun Mohamud has always wanted to help Somalia, the birthplace of his parents and home to many of his relatives. Now a college...
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Iftin: San Diego Charter School To Close In Middle of School Year
By Kyla Calvert KPBS, San Diego One of San Diego’s 49 charter schools will close its doors at the end of January. The San Diego Unified Board of Education is scheduled to approve that closure Tuesday. It is the second time in less than a year leaders of one of the city’s charter schools has volunteered...
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Warka Raadiyo Wardheer
Wararka maanta ee Raadiyo Wardheer waxaad ku dhageysan doontaan: Wafdi ka socda dowladda Soomaaliya oo u ambabaxay dalka Turkiga si ay uga qayb galaan wada hadallo ay la yeelanayaan maamulka Soomaaliland, Dagaalo xalay ka dhacay degmada Mahadaay ee Shabeelaha Hoose iyo warar kale. Warka oo dhan hoos ka dhegeyso
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Trial of Kenya Westgate mall massacre suspects opens
NAIROBI: The trial of four men charged in connection with Kenya’s Westgate mall massacre opened Wednesday, an attack claimed by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents. The court heard testimony from a guard who was outside the upmarket mall when the gunmen launched their attack in September, killing at least 67 people. The men are not accused...
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9/11 mastermind says Koran ‘forbids’ violence to spread Islam
The self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has released a manifesto claiming that the Koran forbids the use of violence to spread Islam. The document, published Tuesday by The Huffington Post and Britain’s Channel 4 News, marks Mohammed’s first public communication since 2009, when the US government officially accused him of...
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Why Kenya needs to invest in IT surveillance at borders
By JUDIE KABERIA A KDF helicopter patrols inside Somalia where Kenyan troops are involved in peace keeping. Photo/AMISOM NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 15 – Reports that militants who attacked Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall last September entered Kenya by road have heightened concerns that the government has failed to bolster security adequately at the country’s borders. At least...