By Ramola Talwar Badam DUBAI // Somali pirates boarded a UAE-managed tanker by pretending to need water, then drew guns and took the crew hostage, a sailor revealed. The eight crew of the Aris 13 were lined up and told they would be shot in the head during their four-day ordeal that started on March...
By Faisal Roble When Yesterday Resembles Today As President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo settles down in Villa Somalia with his outsized cabinet watching over empty coffers, he encounters a political landscape that resembles the era of “Scramble for Africa,” and the dismemberment of Somali territory. Between 1884 and 1887, Somali strategic ports were all in the...
James Jeffrey/IRIN INDA SELASSIE/ETHIOPIA Under the early morning sun in the most northern region of Ethiopia a motley group of Eritrean men, women and children arrive dusty and tired at the end of a journey – and at the start of another. After crossing the border under cover of darkness (leaving Eritrea without authorisation is...
Security forces funded by US are accused of human rights abuses including summary executions and disappearances By Simon Allison in Nairobi Eastleigh, Nairobi’s predominantly Somali neighbourhood. Photograph: Daniel Irungu/EPA Just before his torturers pushed him out of the van, barely conscious, on to the Nairobi pavement, Abdi was told he was one of the lucky ones:...
By Anita Iyer/Dubai The UAE might be a second city for her but she considers it her native country The year was 1993 when a 21-year-old Sarah Aradi landed in Dubai. All she had with her was $500 and a zest for a better life. She clearly remembers the old Dubai with fewer people around...
The Somali Shilling has gained value against the dollar in what financial experts say is a steady flow of new dollar into the Somali market in the last one week. On Friday the Somali Shilling was exchanging at Sh Som 16000 for $1 compared to last week where the exchange rate was at 22300 against...
Life is lonely and humiliating for Goundo Wandianga, 21, whose friends and twin brother have all gone to seek their fortunes Goundo Wandianga in his village, Sare Bakary, where all the other young men have left. Photograph: Ruth Maclean for the Guardian By Ruth Maclean in Kolda, Senegal Goundo Wandianga is the only young man...
By LESLIE WAYNE An effort by the United States to seize assets from officials who stole their countries’ wealth is now focused on returning the loot without enriching the looters. One would think that an iconic Michael Jackson “Bad Tour” glove, covered in Swarovski crystals and worn on his first solo tour, would rest in a place...
NAIROBI, Kenya witnessed several twists in its foreign relations, from its strained relations with Somalia to plans to quit the International Criminal Court (ICC), in the year 2016 that is coming to an end. At home, medics strike, formation of the Jubilee party and capping of bank interest rates also left complicated legacies the East...
MONTREAL, Canada — Airports are placing a higher priority on IT investments for passenger and airport security with 50% rating it a high priority, up from 37% last year. This is according to the 2016 Airport IT Trends Survey, the extensive annual study of IT trends within the global airport industry co-sponsored by SITA and...