Despair endangers Dadaab refugees as smugglers seize their moment

Unsafe in Somalia and unwanted in Kenya, refugees increasingly risk abduction in search of a better life

Two months after he went missing from the Dadaab refugee complex, Abdullahi Mohamed called his mother, Ubah, from a detention centre in Libya where he was being been held by armed gangs. The men asked his mother to pay a ransom of up to $10,000 (£7,850) for the 19-year-old.

Relieved but distraught, Ubah started fundraising for his release, talking to family members in the diaspora and in Somalia.

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The Guardian view on Ethiopia: change is welcome, but must be secured | Editorial

Though Abiy Ahmed’s record to date is impressive, the developments he has set in train need a proper political roadmap and institutional backing

Ethiopians could be forgiven for their scepticism when their new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, promised sweeping reforms last spring. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition which appointed him toyed with change in 2005 – only to revert to its usual autocratic form. Now wariness has been replaced by genuine enthusiasm; the transformation is happening at dizzying speed. But the obstacles and perils are also clearer.

Mr Abiy, 42, has followed symbolic shifts with more substantive action. His president, chief justice and half of his ministers are female. He freed thousands of political prisoners and journalists, before arresting senior officials for human rights abuses and corruption. He overturned bans on opposition groups and invited an exiled dissident home to head the election board. The next polls are scheduled for 2020. Last time, not one opposition MP was elected. Mr Abiy’s overtures to Eritrea led to the end of a long-running conflict. He oversaw the meeting of South Sudanese leaders that produced a fragile but desperately needed peace deal. This – along with Eritrea’s ensuing rapprochement with Somalia and Djibouti – led the UN secretary general António Guterres to speak of “a wind of hope blowing in the Horn of Africa”.

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Somalia expels top UN official over ‘interference with internal affairs’

Nicholas Haysom told to leave after urging inquiry into civilian casualties during protests over former al-Shabaab leader’s arrest

Somalia has asked the UN secretary general’s special envoy to leave the country “as soon as possible” after accusing him of “interfering with the country’s internal affairs”.

A statement from the ministry of foreign affairs on Tuesday declared top UN official Nicholas Haysom persona non grata. The ministry said that Haysom “is not required and cannot work in this country”.

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Special Report: Slamming the door – How Trump transformed U.S. refugee program

On Jan. 19, 2017, Aden Hassan's long wait to start a new life ended when he stepped off a plane in Columbus, Ohio, half a world away from the Kenyan refugee camp where he had lived for a decade. Aden Hussein Hassan with his daughter Asmo, 2 days, son Mohammed, 4, and daughter Adno, pose for a picture inside their apartment in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., August 8, 2018.

The ‘War on Terror’ Still Grows in Somalia

On August 29, U.S. forces carried out their 21st confirmed airstrike in Somalia this year. The short U.S. Africa Command press release announcing the strike on al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda linked insurgency that has sought to implement a hardline Islamic state in Somalia, resembled those that had come before it: It specified neither the kind of aircraft used, the exact location of the strike, nor the identities of those killed.

Nation’s 1st Somali-American lawmaker eyes seat in Congress Source: AP

Ilhan Omar escaped her war-torn homeland of Somalia as a child and grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the United States as a preteen. She learned English by watching American television.

3D scanners can ‘digitally unpack’ carry-ons and transform airport…

Technology used in the medical field for years may soon revolutionize screening of carry-on bags at airports - bolstering security while dramatically cutting bottlenecks at checkpoints. Computed-tomography machines being tested at airports in Phoenix and Boston allow Transportation Security Administration screeners to rotate a three-dimensional image of a suspicious object without opening up a bag, meaning travelers can whisk through faster without removing items such as laptops and small containers of liquids.

Governor to light residence blue in honor of Somalia victims

Gov. Mark Dayton plans to light the Minnesota governor's residence blue to honor victims of a weekend bombing in Somalia that killed hundreds of people. In a statement, Dayton says many of those killed or wounded in the attack in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu have friends and family in Minnesota.

US military carries out first offensive airstrike in Somalia under Trump’s new authorities

The U.S. military has conducted its first offensive airstrike against the jihadist fundamentalist group al-Shabaab in Somalia, targeting the group under the new authorities given by the Trump administration in March that allows offensive airstrikes. "On June 11, at approximately 2 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Department of Defense conducted a strike operation against al-Shabaab in Somalia," said Dana White, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson, in a statement.

Somalia to delay election for 4th time, official says

Travel conditions remain hazardous across much of the northern Great Plains as a winter storm continues to sweep across the region. Travel conditions remain hazardous across much of the northern Great Plains as a winter storm continues to sweep across the region.

Obama Expands 9/11 Authorization to Cover Al-Shabab

Members of Somalia's al-Shabab militant group patrol on the outskirts of Mogadishu, March, 5, 2012. Citing senior U.S. officials, The New York Times reported Monday the administration has deemed al-Shabab to be part of the armed conflict that Congress authorized against the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Suicide attacker sets off huge car bomb near peacekeeping headquarters in Somalia

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War-weary Somalis flee for Europe as rebuilding too slow

When hundreds of Somalis were reported drowned in the Mediterranean last month, Abdi Deeq didn't rethink his plans to flee the Horn of Africa nation and risk the illicit crossing to Europe. More than two decades of Somali civil war and a bloody al-Qaida-aligned insurgency have left the 22-year-old student with little hope his country is becoming safer or more prosperous.