Somali refugee family finds new home after being displaced from condemned Union Street apartment

A Somali family headed by Haji Mamo, center, is shown here after they were displaced from a condemned apartment in Springfield in May. (The Republican file) By Stephanie Berry SPRINGFIELD – A large family of Somalirefugees have a new home in the city after being driven from an apartment on Union Street in May by roaches, bedbugs, darkness and overcrowding. The family, which includes 12...

Blind faith: Jihadist who cannot see is pictured fighting alongside ISIS militants in Syria and urges others to join him, saying having a disability is not an excuse

By John Hall A blind jihadist pictured fighting alongside ISIS militants in Syria has reportedly urged others to join the Islamist militants, saying having a disability is no excuse. Taymullah al-Somali, a Dutch national who is believed to have travelled to the Middle East earlier this year, has been photographed numerous times alongside ISIS militants and is believed to be...

Strengthening U.S.-Somali Relations

Strengthening U.S.-Somali Relations

The Federal Government of Somalia has taken another step in joining the international community, appointing an ambassador to the United States and opening an embassy in Washington. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud shake hands before a meeting. (May 3, 2014.) The Federal Government of Somalia has taken another step in joining the international...

Ethiopian jailed in China’s first khat smuggling case

Ethiopian jailed in China’s first khat smuggling case

An Ethiopian was sentenced to seven months in jail for trafficking khat to China, marking the first such case in the country, which classed the plant as an illegal drug this year. The verdict was handed down earlier this month by the Intermediate People’s Court of Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province. The defendant, Ibrahim Abdulsemed Abdosh, was also...

FGM summit: Parents to be prosecuted under new measures

David Cameron said FGM and forced marriage were “abhorrent” practices Parents will face prosecution if they fail to stop their daughters undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) under new measures being announced. Prime Minister David Cameron is unveiling a £1.4m prevention programme aimed at ending the practice at a global summit in London. It is estimated that up to 137,000 women...

You mess with my citizen, you mess with my sovereignty!

By Kiflu Hussain Introduction This piece is prompted by the recent unlawful arrest of an Ethiopian born British citizen in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen while on a transit flight from Dubai to Asmara, capital of Eritrea. The arrested person named Andaragachew Tsige was handed over by Yemeni officials to the security agents of the Ethiopian regime who whisked him...

Somali PM: Donors must deliver on promises

Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed tells international donors to be more accountable and work more closely with the government. James Brownsell Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed: ‘We have to allow our citizens to feel safe’ [James Brownsell/Al Jazeera] Mogadishu, Somalia – A country whose very name is almost enough of an introduction, Somalia’s reputation of unfathomable violence and desperate poverty is known...