Tag: News in English

With ideas ranging from celebrations of Somali poetry and Hmong fashion to art celebrating the people of the city’s East Side and concerts performed on instruments made of ice, the Knight Arts Challenge has named 69 finalists in its program to give $4.5 million to arts projects in St. Paul over the next three years….

WASHINGTON – Somalia has posted an ambassador to the United States for the first time in more than 20 years.The State Department announced Monday that Somali envoy Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has arrived in Washington. It’s a step forward in a nearly two-year effort to improve relations between the U.S. and Somalia as the war-ravaged…

Hamdi Yusuf was sitting in her second-floor bedroom at the Capital Park Apartments when a bullet blasted through her window and smashed into her right cheekbone. Her father, Abdi Burale, was downstairs. “It was a shock,” Burale said through an interpreter last week at a North Side office for a Somali organization. Burale said his…

How hot is the DFL primary contest in Minneapolis House District 60B between state Rep. Phyllis Kahn and school board member Mohamud Noor? So hot that reports of voter registration irregularities in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood have become a talking point in a Republican’s statewide campaign.   The GOP-endorsed candidate for secretary of state, Dan Severson,…

Kenya has advised its citizens to avoid transiting through UK’s Heathrow Airport because of “a substantial threat of possible attack” by Al-Qaeda operatives.   On Saturday, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said the government had received reports of possible terrorist attacks targeting Heathrow. “According to information provided by US officials, Al Qaeda operatives in…

HEALTH WORKERS and council officials in Bristol are working with the city’s Somali community to help it deal with the recent ban on the drug khat. Khat, a plant-based stimulant, is predominantly used by Somali and Yemeni men when they socialise in the mafrish – a house or gathering place where men have traditionally met…

Hundreds gathered in Lawrence Heights late Friday afternoon to mourn Abshir Hassan, the local teacher who was shot dead in that neighbourhood earlier this week. Hassan was laid to rest earlier in the day, drawing busloads of students, friends and colleagues. More than 1,500 filled the mosque, while hundreds more prayed outside. Hassan grew up in Lawrence Heights and…

UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (Xinhua) — The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the recent attacks on the sites of the Somali government and parliament as well as lawmakers, describing the raids “reprehensible acts of terrorism.” After receiving a briefing earlier in the day from Nicholas Kay, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for Somalia,…

Mogadishu, 12 July 2014 – H.E. Mustafa Duhulow today spoke to the media in Mogadishu to provide an update on government progress over the last week. The Minister spoke on various issues: the failed attack on Villa Somalia, changes to the leadership of the security institutions, the latest Media Law consultation conference, plans to revive…

Refugees in Nairobi are appealing against a controversial ruling that would force thousands of Somalis from their homes to live in squalid overcrowded camps in north Kenya, Amnesty International said today. “This outrageous ruling affects the entire refugee population of Nairobi. Using the pretext of protecting national security, the Kenyan authorities have cracked down on…

Communities in Somalia protect pirates when they have no better source of income, sometimes switching back to taxing legitimate trade when economic conditions improve, argues a new report. The international community currently relies on a costly, heavy military presence around Somalia in order to keep shipping lanes safe. However, a new academic study suggests a…

SHIPS navigating the lawless seas of the Gulf of Aden must keep a constant lookout for Somali pirates. The roots of Somalia’s maritime banditry lie in its desperately poor coastal villages, where the choice between fishing and piracy is an easy one for many. But whereas plenty of attention has been given to pirates’ own…

A Toronto teacher who was gunned down early on Tuesday morning had just stepped out to move his car when he was fatally wounded.   Abshir Hassan, a 31-year-old substitute teacher, had been hosting friends at his apartment when he left to move his car and was shot with two others – a 22-year-old man…

Somalia’s president sacked his security chiefs yesterday after Islamist Shebaab fighters struck the heart of government in an escalating campaign of attacks in the capital and across east Africa. Al Qaeda-linked Shebaab commandos stormed the presidential palace late Tuesday for the second time this year, demonstrating again their ability to infiltrate Mogadishu and hit the…

Tonight, at Villa Somalia, HE the Minister of Information and HE The President gave a joint press conference following this evening’s failed terrorist attack. HE the Minister of Information, Mustafa Duhulow provided details of the attack: “The attackers approached in a Noha people carrier vehicle, but were stopped at a checkpoint by Somali National Army…

Somali troops retook the presidential palace in the capital of Mogadishu after militants forced their way in and exchanged heavy gunfire with troops and guards. The new attack underscored the threat posed by Islamic extremist group al-Shabab in east Africa. Smoke billowed from inside the heavily-fortified presidential compound, and loud explosions and gunfire could be…

Islamist al-Shabab militants have attacked the presidential palace in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and entered the heavily fortified compound. An al-Shabab spokesman said fighting was ongoing, but a government official told the BBC the attack was over and the militants had all been killed. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was not at the palace at the…

Security Conference between the council of Ministers, Benaadir Regional Administration and the Defense committee in Parliament was held last night in Mogadishu chaired by H.E Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed. Matters concerning heightened security measures were broadly covered, obstacles discussed and further solutions formulated. At the opening of the gathering, H.E Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed highlighted the outcomes…

Khalid Al-Faheed, secretary-general of the Ministry of Agriculture, said the ministry is tightening quarantine measures and monitoring camels imported from the Horn of Africa to ensure the safety of citizens and residents from MERS-CoV. The secretary-general did not respond directly to claims that the ministry is planning to ban the import of the animal from…

Legal challenges are mounting in a contentious race for the Legislature that has divided Minneapolis’ Somali community. Rep. Phyllis Kahn’s campaign filed a petition with the state Supreme Court on Monday alleging that a city election judge was biased toward Kahn’s opponent, Mohamud Noor. The filing comes just days ahead of a hearing on the…