Dagaal khasaare geystay oo ka dhacay degmada Janaale ee gobolka Shabeellaha hoose

Jimco, June, 30, 2017 (HOL) – Wararka ka imaya gobolka Shabeellaha hoose ayaa sheegaya in dagaal khasaare sababay ku dhaxmaray degmada Janaale ciidamo ka tirsan dowladda Soomaaliya iyo Al-shabaab.

Dagaalkan ayaa yimid kaddib markii ciidamada dowladda Federaalka ay weerar ku qaadeen fariisimo Al-shabaab ay ku leeyihiin degaanka Janaale.

Labada dhinac ayaa isku adeegsaday hubka nuucyadiisa kala duwan, taasi oo sababtay in Dagaalka uu socdo mudo saacado ah, sida ay sheegeen dadka degaanka.

Inta la xaqiijiyay dagaalkan ayaa waxaa ku geeryootay 10 ruux oo ka kala tirsan dhinacyadii uu iska horimaadku dhaxmaray, halka tiro kalena ay ku dhaawacmeen.

Dadka degaanka ayaa warbaahinta u sheegay ciidamada dowladda markii hore Al-shabaab kala wareegeen deegaankae, balse dib ay uga baxeen.

C/raxmaan Diini, Hiiraan Online
diini@hiiraan.com

Helping black students know their rights on school discipline

About 60 times a year, Abdirizak Karod will find an unexpected and agitated visitor outside his office asking for help on an urgent matter.

Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen
Friday June 30, 2017

Abdirizak Karod, executive director pf the Somali Center for Family Services. The centre has just received a $100,000 from Legal Aid Ontario to offer legal services and seminars for parents of black students facing suspension or expulsion. JEAN LEVAC

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The problem: a child has been suspended or expelled and the parent has exhausted every avenue to come to a solution to get the student back to class. Often, the parent doesn’t speak English or French and can’t afford a lawyer. Enlisting the Somali Centre for Family Services, where Karod is the executive director, is sometimes the parent’s last shot. 

Across North America, researchers agree that black students are disproportionately expelled or suspended from school compared with their white counterparts. It has long-term effects, from unemployment to gang involvement and high rates of incarceration, and has been dubbed the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

This week, the Somali Centre for Family Services, which offers services to a broad range of  ethnicities, was awarded a $100,000 grant from Legal Aid Ontario to offer legal representation, advocacy or legal education to black students who are in conflict with the education system.

“When kids are suspended, suspended, suspended, they drop out. Then they go to the illegal (criminal) system. And at the end of it, we all pay,” says Karod.

Legal Aid Ontario, a publicly funded corporation that provides legal assistance to low-income individuals, has been consulting with community agencies to develop a strategy for serving racialized communities.

“One of the things we have learned is that the parents of black and other racialized students don’t know what their rights are,” said Kimberly Roach, Legal Aid’s policy counsel on the strategy.

Among those rights: students have the right to be represented by a lawyer at both suspension and expulsion hearings, the right to call witnesses and present their side of the story, the right to cross-examine witnesses, and the right to explain if there are other things the school board needs to consider.

Last year, the Supreme Court’s Jordan decision, which imposed strict time frames to ensure the right to a speedy trial, issued a challenge to the entire legal system to improve resources and create structural changes, said Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, who announced the grant.

This project tackles that at a local level, he said. “We’re talking about resolving conflicts and keeping kids out of the criminal justice system.”

Carl James, the Jean Augustine chair in education, community and diaspora at York University, has recently finished a report on the schooling of black students in the Greater Toronto Area.

“In some of the stories we’ve heard, the parents say the teachers or the principal will have discussions with the kids, but the parents will only hear about it afterwards,” he said. “Anything that will bring parents knowledge about the school system and build a relationship with the school will be useful. And I think it will be useful for the schools.”

While school boards in Ontario collect data on suspension and expulsions, there are few statistics about school discipline based on race.

In 2003, the  Ontario Human Rights Commission produced a report on the Safe Schools Act and school discipline and discrimination and concluded that there was enough anecdotal evidence to point to discrimination of racialized minorities. Those interviewed for the report felt that students from certain racial groups, especially black, Tamil, aboriginal and Latino, were treated more harshly than other students for the same offence. Among the recommendations made by interviewees was to collect statistics on race and school discipline, with the aim of addressing inequities.

In 2013, the Toronto District School Board released figures indicating that black students were three times more likely to be suspended than white students in the 2006-07 school year. While black students make up only about 12 per cent of high school students at the Toronto board, they accounted for more than 31 per cent of all suspensions, according to data from a survey conducted during the province’s No Safe Schools disciplinary regime. (Indigenous students were even more likely to be disciplined.)

The Peel District School Bard and Durham District School Board have since indicated that they will collect data based on race. But most school boards, including those in Ottawa, currently don’t collect this information, said Roach.

That may change. The Ontario government passed legislation on June 1 that provides new authority and a framework for collecting and reporting racialized data.

“This is an important step forward in strengthening and standardizing race based data use by school districts and other public agencies,” said Sharlene Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, in a statement. “The OCDSB, like all school districts across the province, will be doing important work on implementation of this bill over the next years.”

The Ottawa Catholic School Board recorded 1,154 suspensions in 2013-14, 1,100 in 2014-15 and 991 in 2015-16. Last year, the Catholic board expelled two students. In 2014-15 it was 13 students, and 10 students in 2013-14. The board has a multi-pronged approach to engaging students, including increasing the number of staff and schools that are trained to use restorative justice and circles and using personalized teaching and schedules, said spokeswoman Mardi de Kemp.

Race-based data is important to illustrate inequities. But James says some communities are wary about it. “They’re concerned it the data will reinforce perceptions or stereotypes.”

His recent research points to a major area of concern —  third-generation black students are not doing as well as first- and second-generation students. “Maybe they know the system too well,” he said. “They’re cynical about the system.”

Karod has fielded complaints from the black community about all four Ottawa school boards, public and Catholic, French and English. His most recent complaint was about a 15-year-old student who was suspended and then expelled. That case is still in limbo because the school year has ended.

“I don’t think we can eliminate suspensions and expulsions, but I think we can reduce them,” he said.

The money for the Legal Aid Ontario pilot will last a year. Among the plans already in the works is a series of workshops to be offered to parents by law students. Karod hopes that fewer black students will be suspended or expelled as a result.

“But you can’t change a system that needed to be changed for hundreds of years in one year.”

Suspensions:

Suspensions can last from one to 20 days. A written notice is issued. Within 10 days of the staring date, the student, parent or guardian can ask for an appeal. Appeals must be held within 15 days of receiving the notice, unless the parent/guardian and school board agree to an extension. The student and principal can have their say before a committee of at least three school board trustees. The student can’t appeal if the principal is conducting an expulsion investigation. This can only be done after the principal makes a recommendation on whether or not to expel.

Reasons for suspension:

• uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person

• possessing alcohol or illegal drugs

• being under the influence of alcohol

• swearing at a teacher or  at any person in a position of authority

• committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the student’s school or to property on school premises

• bullying, including cyberbullying

• any other activities identified in school board policy

Expulsions:

If the principal recommends expelling a student, the student and principal will both get their say in a hearing before at least three school board trustees. The hearing must be held within a least 20 days of the suspension. An expulsion can be appealed to the Child and Family Services Review Board within 30 days of the expulsion notice.

Reasons for expulsion:

• possessing a weapon, including a firearm

• using a weapon to cause of threaten bodily harm to another person

• committing physical assault on another person that causes bodily harm requiring treatment by a medical practitioner

• committing sexual assault

• trafficking in weapons or illegal drugs

• committing robbery

• giving alcohol to a minor

• bullying — if the student has previously been suspended for bullying and the student’s presence in the school creates an unacceptable risk to the safety of another person

• any activity for which a student can be suspended that is motivated by bias, prejudice or hate

• any other activities identified on school board policy

Source: Legal Aid Ontario

Hees Waaberi - Soo dhaweyntii madaxda Djibouti 1987

Hees Waaberi - Soo dhaweyntii madaxda Djibouti 1987 (Hees ku tuseysa jacaylka dhabta ah ee aan u qabno dadka iyo dalka Djibuuti)

Police arrest youth intend on disrupting ODM Rally

Police arrest youth intend on disrupting ODM Rally

Pope aide George Pell charged with child sex abuse

Australian police say top Vatican cardinal charged with multiple counts of 'historical sexual offences'.

Australian police have charged a top Vatican cardinal with multiple counts of historical sexual assault offences.

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis' chief financial adviser and Australia's most senior Catholic, is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged in the church's long-running sexual abuse scandal.

Victoria state Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said on Thursday police have summoned Pell to appear in an Australian court to face multiple charges of "historic sexual offences", meaning offences that generally occurred some time ago.

Patton said the 76-year-old was charged on summons and was required to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18 for a hearing.

Patton would not take any questions, citing the need to preserve the integrity of the judicial process.

The Catholic Church in Australia said Pell "strenuously denies" the multiple sexual assault offences.

"Cardinal Pell will return to Australia, as soon as possible, to clear his name following advice and approval by his doctors who will also advise on his travel arrangements," the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said in a statement.

"He said he is looking forward to his day in court and will defend the charges vigorously."

READ MORE: 'Shocking' scale of Catholic Church sex crimes revealed

"It is important to note that none of the allegations that have been made against Cardinal Pell have, obviously, been tested in any court yet," Patton told reporters in Melbourne.

"Cardinal Pell, like any other defendant, has a right to due process."

The charges are a new and serious blow to Pope Francis, who has already suffered several credibility setbacks in his promised "zero tolerance" policy about sex abuse.

For years, Pell has faced allegations that he mishandled cases of clergy abuse when he was archbishop of Melbourne and, later, Sydney.

His actions as archbishop came under intense scrutiny in recent years by a government-authorised investigation into how the Catholic Church and other institutions have responded to the sexual abuse of children.

Last year, Pell acknowledged during his testimony to the commission that the Catholic Church had made "enormous mistakes" in allowing thousands of children to be raped and molested by priests.

He conceded that he, too, had erred by often believing the priests over victims who alleged abuse. And he vowed to help end a rash of suicides that has plagued church abuse victims in his Australian hometown of Ballarat. 

Wiilkii laga ceyriyay Imaaraadka ISMAACIIL MADAR oo Qatar si weyn loogu soo dhaweeyay

Wiilkii laga ceyriyay Imaaraadka ISMAACIIL MADAR oo Qatar si weyn loogu soo dhaweeyay, Qaariga weyn ee Soomaaliyeed Sheekh Cabdirashiid Sh. Cali Suufi oo ka hadlay soo dhawentiisa ayaa ka xumaaday in Quraanka la siyaasadeeyo.

Ma Gafe Soomaali ah oo lagu qabtay jasiiradda Lempedusa ee dalka Taliyaaniga

Wednesday June 28, 2017

23 jir Soomaali ah ayaa lagu xiray  jasiiradda Lampedusa ee dalka  Talyaaniga kaasoo lagu soo eedeeyay jirdil iyo kufsi uu kula kacay dad dhibaateysan oo magangalyo doon ah kuna sugnaa dalka Libya ka hor sodcaalladoodii Mediterraneanka,   sida laga helay ilo wareedyo Talaadadii.

Arrintan la xiriirta eedeynta ninkan dhallinyarada ayaa la sheegayaa iney ka dhacday dhul-beereed lagu magacaabo Xudeyfa, degmada Kufra oo ku taal dhulka saxaraha ah ee Libiya.

Warbixinno laga qoray dhibbanayaashii iyo markhaatiyo laga qoray ayaa sheegeysa in ninkan uu dadkaas jilicsan ku garaaci jiray KARBAASH ka sameysan tuubooyinka cinjirka amaba caagga ah isla markaasna ku haddidi jiray hub kuna cabsiin jiray inuu dilayo siduu rabana ka yeeli jiray.

35,000 Ethiopians return from Saudi Arabia on special amnesty program

Sunday June 25, 2017

Thousands of Ethiopian nationals voluntarily returned to the country from Saudi Arabia taking advantage of an amnesty program between the two governments.

With barely days to the end of the 90-day amnesty program, the government’s information outfit said about 3,500 nationals had arrived in the country.

The returnees all came through air transport. Photos showed a government delegation at the airport to receive the returnees.

Information Minister, Negeri Lencho, told a press briefing that so far 85,000 Ethiopians had secured visas to return home. The figure is twice as much the number announced in May this year when exit visas for about 40,000 citizens was announced.

He also disclosed that some returning citizens had taken other routes besides flying in. Assuring that those who left Saudi via ship and rail. Most of them are in neighbouring Djibouti and Sudan.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn had months back expressed worry over the refusal of nationals illegally resident in Saudi to return despite the amnesty program. At the time the PM said he feared that the Saudi government will resort to forcibly deport Ethiopians who have refused to voluntarily return home.

The period for illegal foreigners to leave the oil-producing giant started on March 29, 2017 and ends in a matter of days. Those who fail to leave will be subjected to fines or face legal measures, which include forced deportation.

Most rich Middle East countries hire thousands of domestic helpers from Africa and Asia. Most of these helpers often complain of abuse from their employers.

Rattled by hate incidents here and abroad, Minnesota Muslims take new precautions

Sunday June 25, 2017

The fears leading to added security and extra precautions are not misplaced, according to new crime data. 

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At his south Minneapolis mosque, Imam Sa’ad Roble has expanded his sermons lately with a new message: Don’t idle outside the building after midnight prayers.

Don’t walk alone after dark. Know who you can call in a crisis.

Roble’s admonition is just one sign of the extraordinary new precautions Minnesota Muslims are taking as they react to a string of disturbing recent incidents, including this month’s deadly attack outside a London mosque and the Portland, Ore., stabbing of two men who came to the defense of a Muslim woman.

Across the Twin Cities, other imams report depressed attendance at prayer services, and federal law enforcement authorities are ramping up outreach efforts to the Somali community. Basim Sabri, landlord of the Karmel Mall, where Roble’s mosque is located, has hired extra security guards.

“I have never in my life increased the amount of security personnel like we have now,” Sabri said. “We’re concerned, and we’re taking extra measures to ensure safety in our community.”

The fears are not misplaced, according to new crime data obtained by the Star Tribune. The state’s law enforcement agencies reported 14 anti-Muslim incidents last year — a record. More troubling, they are becoming increasingly violent: Nearly half of last year’s incidents involved bodily harm to victims, state figures show, far higher than in previous years.

Many Minnesota Muslims have not shaken the memory of last year’s most serious attack, which bore a chilling resemblance to more recent cases of late-night bloodshed in other states. In the early morning hours of June 29, 2016, a 26-year-old Lauderdale man fired a volley of bullets into a car carrying five young Somali men near Dinkytown in southeast Minneapolis. Two were shot in the legs and a bullet missed striking another in the head. Federal authorities investigated the incident as a possible hate crime, and this month a Hennepin County judge sentenced Anthony Sawina to 39 years in prison after a jury convicted him of nine counts of assault and attempted first- and second-degree murder.

The popular neighborhood near the University of Minnesota campus was the site of more violence last week. Hodan Hassan, a mental health practitioner who once served with Roble on the state’s Somali-American Task Force, said a man attacked her 22-year-old niece after following her away from Mesa Pizza. Hassan said her niece, who did not want to talk about the attack, had to be treated for a concussion and was hospitalized for two nights. Minneapolis police are investigating.

“Ever since this incident happened, I haven’t been out on my own at night,” Hassan said.

Last week, for the first time, the national Council On American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made its safety guidelines brochure public; for many years it distributed hard copies only to community leaders. The civil rights organization warned Muslim-Americans to stay vigilant and step up personal security measures during the final days of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, a celebration that marks the end of the fasting month.

“I don’t think we have seen this level of apprehension in the American-Muslim community, even after 9/11,” said Ibrahim Hooper, one of CAIR’s founders. “You don’t want to give people an idea of all your security measures, but it was so important now that we decided to put it out in full.”

Praying at home

At the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in Minneapolis, one of the state’s largest mosques, executive director Abdullahi Farah said attendance dwindled noticeably after a Muslim man was stabbed nearby and a woman was robbed at gunpoint after midnight prayers. The incidents have not officially been labeled hate crimes, but they left congregants rattled and anxious.

“People are choosing to pray at home [rather] than at the mosque,” Farah said. Even so, he and his team are not faltering. They hired a security company to patrol the mosque through the night and have enlisted an off-duty police officer to help with security.

This year the mosque is considering new security measures, including a change of venue, for its Eid prayers, which attract nearly 20,000 congregants. Farah met Thursday with Minneapolis police, and a department spokesperson said precinct inspectors asked for extra patrols in areas that have a large population of Muslims for the weekend.

Plans for another annual event, the Masjid Shaafici Cultural Center’s outdoor Eid prayers in Currie Park, are unchanged, despite requests from some worshipers to move it inside this year, said Imam Abdighani Ali.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota is also responding. Attorneys there plan to meet with officials from the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Protective Security Advisors (PSA) to discuss outreach in the local Somali community. While details are not final, the PSA could advise local faith leaders on security vulnerabilities at places of worship or community centers and help recommend improvements.

“Enforcement of hate crimes [law] is still a major component of the office,” Acting U.S. Attorney Greg Brooker said. “We need to reassure folks, and we are still here.”

FBI officials in Minneapolis are also planning a summer discussion with local Muslims on safety measures after hearing multiple concerns about youths being harassed in public.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Council of Churches will repeat its “Blessed Ramadan” yard sign campaign this year, and reports heightened interest in its annual Taking Heart cross-cultural gatherings. Some 1,300 people registered for multifaith Iftar dinners in 23 Minnesota communities, said the Rev. Cynthia Bronson.

“More people are saying I really want to come to show my solidarity,” she said. “I want Muslims to understand not everybody thinks that way.”

‘I’m just normal people’

For others, even appearing to be Muslim is enough to become a target. Raji Dinka, a 26-year-old electrical engineering student at the University of Minnesota, was driving home one evening last November after dropping a friend off in Blaine, when he said he was nearly run off the road by a man in a pickup truck. The man shouted profanities at Dinka, calling him a “[expletive] ISIS” and saying “go back to Africa.”

Dinka, who immigrated to Minnesota from Ethiopia in 2014, is a Christian. But one stranger’s glance and actions, nonetheless, made him feel his life was threatened. Dinka said he now tries not to venture too far outside Minneapolis.

“He doesn’t know my story,” he said.

Dinka added, however, that he was heartened by the response of a Blaine police officer, who consoled him after he took the nearest exit and called 911. The officer gave Dinka his card and offered to escort him home.

“You don’t have to love me, but don’t hate me,” Dinka said. “I’m just normal people, man.”

2017 migrant death toll in Mediterranean surpasses 2,000, UN reports

Saturday June 24, 2017

The number of migrants who have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year has climbed above 2,000, the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM), said in a statement on Friday. Of the 2,108 victims, 2,011 perished at sea between Libya and Italy as the journey in the central Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy is the deadliest route taken by migrants.

Although the U.N. organization recorded fewer deaths in the same period last year, IOM spokesman Joel Milman said in Geneva that 2017 marks the fourth year in a row in which more than 2,000 people have died in the Mediterranean.

Since the inflow of refugees and migrants started in 2013, nearly 15,000 migrants have lost their lives trying to reach Europe by boat, an average of 10 every day. In the first half of this year, nearly 84,000 migrants reached Europe after crossing the Mediterranean, most of them arriving in Italy.

The sea crossing from Libya to Italy, operated by people-smugglers based in the North African country, is now the main route for migrants bound for Europe. In Libya, the turmoil engulfing this North African country has become a death trap for thousands of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan African countries, seeking to escape poverty and find a better life in Europe.

Libya, the oil-rich North African country, descended into chaos after Western intervention, and parts of it have become a bastion for Daesh, giving the militants a new base even as its territory in Syria and Iraq shrinks under constant assault.

Five years after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was toppled by NATO intervention, the country has become the main jump-off point for migrants heading for Europe, and the breeding ground for militants as there is no security or stability left in the war-torn country.

Meanwhile, over 400 migrants were rescued at sea off the coast of southern Spain in the past week, rescue services said Thursday. Spanish coast guards rescued migrants on 16 boats making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing, as an increasing amount of people seek entry into Europe through Spain.

The number of migrants headed to Spain by sea has soared this year, rising threefold in the first four months compared to the same period last year. Most of the migrants rescued over the last week were escorted to ports in the region of Andalusia, including 180 who were taken to the coastal city of Almeria.

According to the IOM, nearly 3,300 people reached Spain by sea between January and the end of April, and at least 59 died attempting to cross. The number of migrants reaching Spain remains much lower than in Italy, which counted over 69,000 migrants arriving by sea between the beginning of the year and June 18, while 1,889 died en route.

Maxaa keenay in Sanaag-bari laga abuuro ciidanka Gaarhaye?

Maxaa keenay in Sanaag-bari laga abuuro ciidanka Gaarhaye?

Faysal C Waraabe" Buuhoodle kuma shiri karaan cidaan ruqsad ka haysan Khaatumo

Faysal C Waraabe" Buuhoodle kuma shiri karaan cidaan ruqsad ka haysan Khaatumo

US drops former Al-Shabab leader from 'RFJ List’: VOA

Hiiraan Online

Friday June 23, 2017


Robow, the former spokesman for Al-Shabaab at a press conference. FILE PHOTO

Mogadishu (HOL) - According to the VOA, The United States has removed the ex-Deputy Leader of Al Shabaab from it’s Reward for Justice (RFJ) list on Friday.

The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour - the former commander and spokesman for Al-Shabaab - a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on under Executive Order 13224 on November 20, 2008.

Abu Mansour had a USD $5 million bounty placed on him for information leading to his location on June 7, 2012.

The Al-Shabaab leader dismissed the bounty at the time saying “If [the U.S. government] can harm me, I [say] now that I am here in Burhakaba town and also I can move freely in Somalia.”

The State Department in consultation with the Federal Government of Somalia decided to remove Robow from the list according to the VOA news service.

One of the original founders of Al-Shabaab, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow fell out with the leadership of the late emir Ahmed Abdi Godane (Mukhtar Abu Zubair) over the use of foreign fighters. The ensuing row split Al-Shabaab into two factions and eventually led to the death of American fighter Omar Hammami and the defection of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. It has been widely reported that Mukhtar Robow also defected to the Somali government since 2013 although this has never been confirmed by Somali authorities.

An official list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons from the Office of Foreign Assets Control published on June 21, 2017, still, includes Sheikh Mukhtar Robow. The US government - through either the State Department or Treasury Department have yet to make a public statement regarding the removal.

It is not clear on whether he will remain on that list or whether he has just been removed from the bounty program.

The list is published regularly by OFAC and includes individuals and companies tied to terrorism, drug trafficking or supporting target countries.

25-year-old refugee chef Hassan from Somalia, prepares dishes for customers in "Vassilenas",

 25-year-old refugee chef Hassan from Somalia, prepares dishes for customers in "Vassilenas", a restaurant with a long history in Athens, Greece, on June 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

By Alexia Vlachou

ATHENS, June 23 (Xinhua) -- For extrovert young chef Hassan to present his refugee journey from Somalia to Greece in a menu of 6 dishes was a bet to win during the Refugee Food Festival that run through this week in local restaurants in Athens.

We met 25-year-old Hassan inside the kitchen of "Vassilenas", a restaurant with a long history in the Greek capital, preparing a fresh salad with black eyed peas, beetroot, lime, coriander and a traditional dish from his country, a roasted mackerel with hot sauce of paprika and chili.

"It is the first time I present my country's cuisine, and I am proud that people come and taste it," he told Xinhua.

While being used to cooking Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine for restaurants in Athens and Crete Island since 2012, it was the first-time Hassan, who was a guest chef for two nights at the restaurant, cooked Somali cuisine for so many people. The success was so huge that the owner decided to extend from two to three days the event.

Run under the auspices of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, the Refugee Food Festival was inaugurated in Paris in 2016, and this year was expanded to 13 European cities to mark World Refugee Day.

A citizen's initiative, the festival address to local restaurants to open their kitchens to refugee cooks with the goal to change people's perception towards refugees, to trigger job opportunities and to make participants discover delicious meals.

"Food unites people," Hassan said as he was looking people coming in the restaurant, expressing the value of the festival.

Not only people but cultures as well, as co-founder Louis Martin would say later. "We often talk about those countries through the prism of war. But these countries have much more to tell. They have culture, deep history and it is something you can find on our plates," he explained to promote the positive approach of the refugee issue.

Hassan's story reminds us the thousands of unaccompanied minors fleeing from war-torn countries in the Middle East, risking their lives to cross the sea and dealing with traffickers within the last three years.

With his life being in danger in his country Somalia, Hassan fled to Greece when he was 16 years old all alone leaving behind his family. For a whole month, he traveled by ship up until Turkey and then with a small inflatable boat reached Greece in December 2008.

"I did not know a lot about Greece, in 2009 I tried to leave illegally but I did not make it," Hassan recalled.

It was when he was excluded from the family reunification program, where he had asked to unite with his uncle in Finland, that he claimed asylum in Greece.

"I stayed in a hospitality center for unaccompanied minors at Exarcheia, in the center of Athens from 2009 until 2012."

With the support of the Network of Children's Right, he enrolled into a professional chef's course on a scholarship and had worked in hotels and restaurants since.

"I finished my school in 2012 and went on training in a big hotel in Crete for two years. Then I returned to Athens and started working as a chef," he said.

The most difficult part was his first six months in Greece where he lived in a small apartment with 20 other Somalis in Athens.

"A minor in a foreign country feels frightened, thinks about his future, where to sleep, who to meet," Hassan told Xinhua.

"But, then I managed to integrate into the society, to learn the language and meet with people who love me and want to be next to me," he noted.

Despite the difficulties, Hassan's integration into the society has been rather smooth, as he explained. After being in Greece 9 years, what does he dream? "To continue my work, to be at a restaurant as a chef," he confessed with a big smile on his face.

When we asked him if he would like to run a Somali restaurant in Athens, he hesitated to answer.

"In Greece, it is difficult to open my restaurant with Somali dishes. Maybe if I go to another country like Sweden or Britain where there are large communities of Somali," he said.

Though being something completely new to the Athenians who visited the restaurant, the Somali dishes made them a great impression.

"I did not have the opportunity to taste Somali cuisine before. Though we are only in the second dish, I must say that the menu is very impressive," Nikos Kourtzis told Xinhua.

Martin acknowledged the success of the event in Athens and other European cities. "We are impressed by the reaction of all the people participating in the festival. All the restaurants are full. The restaurants ask at the end when we can do it again," he said.

Mareykanka oo Liiska argagixisada ka saaray Sheekh Mukhtaar Rooboow Abuu-Mansuur

Jimco, June, 23, 2017 (HOL) – Dowladda Mareykanka ayaa shaacisay in Liiska Argagixisada laga saaray Sheekh Mukhtaar Roobow Cali Abuu Mansuur oo ka mid ahaa saraakiisha ugu sareysa Al-shabaab.

Abuu Mansoor ayaa ahaa ku-xigeenkii hogaamiyahii hore ee Al-shabaab Axmed Cabdi Godane, isaga oo dhinaca kale mar soo noqday afhayeenkii Al-Shabaab.

Waaxda Arrimaha Dibadda Mareykanka ayaa u xaqiijisay VOA in Abuu Mansuur laga saaray liiska Argagixisada Caalamiga, waxaana madaxiisa dul saarnaa 5 milyan oo dollar.

Mukhtaar Rooboow ayaa sanadihii u dambeeyay la hadal hayay inuu wada hadalo hoose kula jiro dowladda Soomaaliya, isla markaana ay xurguf soo kala dhex gashay Hoggaanka Al-Shabaab.

Abuu Mansuur ayaa la sheegay in sanadihii ugu danbeeyayba uu dhuumaaleysi ku jiray kaddib markii ay isku dhaceen Hoggaamiyihii hore ee Al-Shabaab Abuu Zubeyr, taasoo keentay xitaa la khaarajiyo rag isku aragti ahaayeen Mukhtaar Rooboow.

Ilaa iyo hadda ma jiro wax war ah oo ka soo baxay dowladda Soomaaliya oo ku aadan liiska Argagixisada ee laga saaray Abuu Mansuur.

Sidoo kalana wax war ah lagama hayo Mukhtaar Rooboow oo sanadihii ugu danbeeyay aan warkiisa laga maqlay warbaahinta.

C/raxmaan Diini, Hiiraan Online
diini@hiiraan.com

Deportation protest outside federal court in downtown Detroit

Destabilizing the Middle East (yet more)

Friday June 23, 2017

At this point, it’s no great surprise when Donald Trump walks away from past statements in service to some impulse of the moment. Nowhere, however, has such a shift been more extreme or its potential consequences more dangerous than in his sudden love affair with the Saudi royal family. It could in the end destabilize the Middle East in ways not seen in our lifetimes (which, given the growing chaos in the region, is no small thing to say).

Trump’s newfound ardor for the Saudi regime is a far cry from his past positions, including his campaign season assertion that the Saudis were behind the 9/11 attacks and complaints, as recently as this April, that the United States was losing a “tremendous amount of money” defending the kingdom. That was yet another example of the sort of bad deal that President Trump was going to set right as part of his “America First” foreign policy.

Given this background, it came as a surprise to pundits, politicians, and foreign policy experts alike when the president chose Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as the very first stop on his very first overseas trip. This was clearly meant to underscore the importance his administration was suddenly placing on the need to bolster the long-standing U.S.-Saudi alliance.

Mindful of Trump’s vanity, the Saudi government rolled out the red carpet for our narcissist-in-chief, lining the streets for miles with alternating U.S. and Saudi flags, huge images of which were projected onto the Ritz Carlton hotel where Trump was staying. (Before his arrival, in a sign of the psychological astuteness of his Saudi hosts, the hotel projected a five-story-high image of Trump himself onto its façade, pairing it with a similarly huge and flattering photo of the country’s ruler, King Salman.) His hosts also put up billboards with pictures of Trump and Salman over the slogan “together we prevail.” What exactly the two countries were to prevail against was left open to interpretation. It is, however, unlikely that the Saudis were thinking about Trump’s much-denounced enemy, ISIS — given that Saudi planes, deep into a war in neighboring Yemen, have rarely joined Washington’s air war against that outfit. More likely, what they had in mind was their country’s bitter regional rival Iran.

The agenda planned for Trump’s stay included an anti-terrorism summit attended by 50 leaders from Arab and Muslim nations, a concert by country singer Toby Keith, and an exhibition game by the Harlem Globetrotters. Then there were the strange touches like President Trump, King Salman, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi laying hands on a futuristically glowing orb — images of which then circled the planet — in a ceremony inaugurating a new Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology, and Trump’s awkward participation in an all-male sword dance.

Unsurprisingly enough, the president was pleased with the spectacle staged in his honor, saying of the anti-terrorism summit in one of his many signature flights of hyperbole, “There has never been anything like it before, and perhaps there never will be again.”

Here, however, is a statement that shouldn’t qualify as hyperbole: never have such preparations for a presidential visit paid such quick dividends. On arriving home, Trump jumped at the chance to embrace a fierce Saudi attempt to blockade and isolate its tiny neighbor Qatar, the policies of whose emir have long irritated them. The Saudis claimed to be focused on that country’s alleged role in financing terrorist groups in the region (a category they themselves fit into remarkably well). More likely, however, the royal family wanted to bring Qatar to heel after it failed to jump enthusiastically onto the Saudi-led anti-Iranian bandwagon.

Trump, who clearly knew nothing about the subject, accepted the Saudi move with alacrity and at face value. In his normal fashion, he even tried to take credit for it, tweeting, “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar — look!” And according to Trump, the historic impact of his travels hardly stopped there. As he also tweeted: “So good to see Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries paying off . . . Perhaps it will be the beginning of the end of the horror of terrorism.”

Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution hit the nail on the head when hecommented that “the Saudis played Donald Trump like a fiddle. He unwittingly encouraged their worst instincts toward their neighbors.” The New York Times captured one likely impact of the Saudi move against Qatar when it reported, “Analysts said Mr. Trump’s public support for Saudi Arabia . . . sent a chill through other Gulf States, including Oman and Kuwait, for fear that any country that defies the Saudis or the United Arab Emirates could face ostracism as Qatar has.”

And then came Trump . . .

And what precisely are the Saudis’ instincts toward their neighbors? The leaders in Riyadh, led by King Salman’s 31-year-old son, Saudi Defense Minister and deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, are taking the gloves off in an increasingly aggressive bid for regional dominance aimed at isolating Iran. The defense minister and potential future leader of the kingdom, whose policies have been described as reckless and impulsive, underscored the new, harsher line on Iran in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV in which he said, “We will not wait until the battle is in Saudi Arabia, but we will work so the battle is there in Iran.”

The opening salvo in Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iran campaign came in March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition, including smaller Gulf petro-states (Qatar among them) and Egypt, intervened militarily in a chaotic situation in Yemen in an effort to reinstall Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi as the president of that country. They clearly expected a quick victory over their ill-armed enemies and yet, more than two years later, in a war that has grown ever harsher, they have in fact achieved little. Hadi, a pro-Saudi leader, had served as that country’s interim president under an agreement that, in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2012, oustedlongstanding Yemeni autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh. In January 2015, Hadi himself was deposed by an alliance of Houthi rebels and remnants of forces loyal to former president Saleh.

The Saudis — now joined by Trump and his foreign policy team — have characterized the conflict as a war to blunt Iranian influence and the Houthi rebels have been cast as the vassals of Tehran. In reality, they have longstanding political and economic grievances that predate the current conflict and they would undoubtedly be fighting at this moment with or without support from Iran. As Middle Eastern expert Thomas Juneau recently noted in the Washington Post, “Tehran’s support for the Houthis is limited, and its influence in Yemen is marginal. It is simply inaccurate to claim that the Houthis are Iranian proxies.”

The Saudi-Emirati intervention in Yemen has had disastrous results. Thousands of civilians have been killed in an indiscriminate bombing campaign that has targeted hospitals, marketplaces, civilian neighborhoods, and even a funeral, in actions that Congressman Ted Lieu, D-Calif. has said“look like war crimes.” The Saudi bombing campaign has, in addition, been enabled by Washington, which has supplied the kingdom with bombs, including cluster munitions, and aircraft, while providing aerial refueling services to Saudi planes to ensure longer missions and the ability to hit more targets. It has also shared intelligence on targeting in Yemen.

The destruction of that country’s port facilities and the imposition of a naval blockade have had an even more devastating effect, radically reducing the ability of aid groups to get food, medicine, and other essential supplies into a country now suffering from a major outbreak of cholera and on the brink of a massive famine.

This situation will only be made worse if the coalition tries to retake the port of Hodeidah, the entry point for most of the humanitarian aid still getting into Yemen. Not only has the U.S.-backed Saudi war sparked a humanitarian crisis, but it has inadvertently strengthened al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has increased its influence in Yemen while the Saudi- and Houthi-led coalitions are busy fighting each other.

Trump’s all-in support for the Saudis in its war doesn’t, in fact, come out of the blue. Despite some internal divisions over the wisdom of doing so, the Obama administration also supported the Saudi war effort in a major way. This was part of an attempt to reassure the royals that the United States was still on their side and would not tilt towards Iran in the wake of an agreement to cap and reverse that country’s nuclear program.

It was only after concerted pressure from Congress and a coalition of peace, human rights, and humanitarian aid groups that the Obama administration finally took a concrete, if limited, step to express opposition to the Saudi targeting of civilians in Yemen. In a December 2016 decision, it suspended a sale of laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided munitions to their military. The move outraged the Saudis, but proved at best a halfway measure as the refueling of Saudi aircraft continued, and none of rest of the record $115 billion in U.S. weaponry offered to that country during the Obama years was affected.

And then came Trump. His administration has doubled down on the Saudi war in Yemen by lifting the suspension of the bomb deal, despite the objections of a Senate coalition led by Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Al Franken, D-Minn. that recently mustered an unprecedented 47 votes against Trump’s offer of precision-guided bombs to Riyadh. Defense Secretary James Mattis has advocated yet more vigorous support for the Saudi-led intervention, including additional planning assistance and yet more intelligence sharing — but not, for the moment, the introduction of U.S. troops. Although the Trump foreign policy team has refused to endorse a proposal by the United Arab Emirates, one of the Saudi coalition members, to attack the port at Hodeidah, it’s not clear if that will hold.

A parade for an American president?

In addition to Trump’s kind words on Twitter, the clearest sign of his administration’s uncritical support for the Saudi regime has been the offer of an astounding $110 billion worth of arms to the kingdom, a sum almost equal to the record levels reached during all eight years of the Obama administration. (This may, of course, have been part of the point, showing that President Trump could make a bigger, better deal than that slacker Obama, while supporting what he described as “jobs, jobs, jobs” in the United States.)

Like all things Trumpian, however, that $110 billion figure proved to be an exaggeration. Tens of billions of dollars’ worth of arms included in the package had already been promised under Obama, and tens of billions more represent promises that, experts suspect, are unlikely to be kept. But that still leaves a huge package, one that, according to the Pentagon, will include more than 100,000 bombs of the sort that can be used in the Yemen war, should the Saudis choose to do so. All that being said, the most important aspect of the deal may be political — Trump’s way of telling “my friend King Salman,” as he now calls him, that the United States is firmly in his camp. And this is, in fact, the most troubling development of all.

It’s bad enough that the Obama administration allowed itself to be dragged into an ill-conceived, counterproductive, and regionally destabilizing war in Yemen. Trump’s uncritical support of Saudi foreign policy could have even more dangerous consequences. The Saudis are more intent than Trump’s own advisers (distinctly a crew of Iranophobes) on ratcheting up tensions with Iran.

It’s no small thing, for instance, that Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who has asserted that Iran is “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East,” and who advocated U.S. military attacks on that country during his tenure as head of the U.S. Central Command, looks sober-minded compared to the Saudi royals.

If there is even a glimmer of hope in the situation, it might lie in the efforts of both Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to walk back the president’s full-throated support for a Saudi confrontation with Qatar.

Tillerson, for instance, has attempted to pursue an effort to mediate the Saudi-Qatari dispute and has called for a “calm and thoughtful dialogue.” Similarly, on the same day as Trump tweeted in support of the Saudis, the Pentagon issued a statement praising Qatar’s “enduring commitment to regional security.”

This is hardly surprising given the roughly 10,000 troops the U.S. has at al-Udeid air base in Doha, its capital, and the key role that base plays in Washington’s war on terror in the region. It is the largest American base in the Middle East and the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command, as well as a primary staging area for the U.S. war on ISIS.

The administration’s confusion regarding how to deal with Qatar was further underscored when Mattis and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah signed a $12 billion deal for up to 36 Boeing F-15 combat aircraft, barely a week after President Trump had implied that Qatar was the world capital of terrorist financing.

In a further possible counter to Trump’s aggressive stance, Secretary of Defense Mattis has suggested that perhaps it’s time to pursue a diplomatic settlement of the war in Yemen.

In April, he told reporters that, “in regards to the Saudi and Emirati campaign in Yemen, our goal, ladies and gentleman, is for that crisis down there, that ongoing fight, [to] be put in front of a U.N.-brokered negotiating team and try to resolve this politically as soon as possible.” Mattis went on to decry the number of civilians being killed, stating that the war there “has simply got to be brought to an end.”

It remains to be seen whether Tillerson’s and Mattis’s conciliatory words are hints of a possible foot on the brake in the Trump administration when it comes to building momentum for what could, in the end, be a U.S. military strike against Iran, egged on by Donald Trump’s good friends in Saudi Arabia. As Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group has noted, if the U.S. ends up going to war against Iran, it would “make the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts look like a walk in the park.”

In fact, in a period when the turmoil has only risen in much of the rest of the Greater Middle East, the Saudi Arabian peninsula remained relatively stable, at least until the Saudi-led coalition drastically escalated the civil war in Yemen.

The new, more aggressive course being pursued against the royal family in Qatar and in relation to Iran could, however, make matters much worse, and fast. Given the situation in the region today, including the spread of terror movements and failing states, the thought that Saudi Arabia itself might be destabilized (and Iran with it) should be daunting indeed, though not perhaps for Donald Trump.

So far, through a combination of internal repression and generous social benefits to its citizens — a form of political bribery designed to buy loyalty — the Saudi royal family has managed to avoid the fate of other regional autocrats driven from power.

But with low oil prices and a costly war in Yemen, the regime is being forced to reduce the social spending that has helped cement its hold on power.

It’s possible that further military adventures, coupled with a backlash against its repressive policies, could break what analysts Sarah Chayes and Alex de Waal have described as the current regime’s “brittle hold on power.” In other words, what a time for the Trump administration to offer its all-in support for the plans of an aggressive yet fragile regime whose reckless policies could even spark a regional war.

Maybe it’s time for opponents of a stepped-up U.S. military role in the Middle East to throw Donald Trump a big, glitzy parade aimed at boosting his ego and dampening his enthusiasm for the Saudi royal family. It might not change his policies, but at least it would get his attention.

Republicans unveil Senate health Bill, lack votes to pass it

Friday June 23, 2017

US Senate Republicans have unveiled a revamped health care plan aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump's pledge to repeal Obamacare, but a revolt by four conservatives put the Bill in immediate jeopardy.

Democrats formed a united front against the controversial measure that was drafted in secret, criticising it as a "war on Medicaid," the health care programme for lower income Americans, and calling it a worse plan than one that passed the House of Representatives in May.

23M FEWER

For the past seven years, Republicans have worked to repeal the landmark health reforms of Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

Members from both parties agree the repeal effort has never been closer to fruition.

Senate Republicans are painting the new plan as less austere than the House Bill which, according to a forecast by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), would leave 23 million fewer people insured than under current law.

But the 142-page draft would allow states to drop several benefits which are now mandated, such as maternity care and hospital services, and also would abolish the requirement for most Americans to have health insurance.

It however delays cuts to the Medicaid programme and maintains for two years the tax credits included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — commonly known as Obamacare — to help lower-income Americans purchase coverage.

"I am very supportive of the Senate #HealthcareBill," Trump tweeted, seeking to give the effort a boost.

"Remember, ObamaCare is dead."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled the Bill at a closed-door session with party faithful.

Four Republicans quickly came out in opposition — Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul — while at least three more Republicans have openly expressed serious concerns.

That poses a problem for the party leadership.

Republicans hold 52 out of 100 Senate seats, so they can afford only two defections; in that case, Vice President Mike Pence would be brought in to break a 50-50 tie.

Asked what would need to be included in the Bill to get him on board, Paul said: "It has to look less like Obamacare light — it's got to look like what we promised.

"It looks to us like the Obamacare subsidies will remain in place and... we think that the spending actually may exceed Obamacare spending in the next two years."

TRANSFER

Lawmakers will be "looking to see if there are things that we can do to refine it, and make it more acceptable to more members in our conference, to get to 50," Senator John Thune said.

"Right now the challenge is — how do we get to 50?"

Trump remained confident, but acknowledged that a "negotiation" might be needed to get the Bill passed.

But during a picnic with members of Congress later Thursday, he urged that the "spirit of cooperation" lawmakers have shown in the aftermath of a congressman's shooting last week extend to legislative discussions.

However Obama, whose best-known domestic policy achievement stands to crumble, offered a scathing critique of the new Bill just hours after its release.

He called it "a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families" to the very rich that would raise costs, reduce coverage, roll back protections and "ruin Medicaid as we know it."

Even if the measure is ultimately tweaked through amendments in Congress, it "cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation," the former president warned in a Facebook post.

ABORTION

McConnell said a fresh CBO score was expected next week, and there will be "robust debate" on the floor.

He also said there would be an open amendment process to allow changes.

He wants a final vote by the end of the month.

Any new Senate Bill would have to be reconciled with the House version.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said the new Bill was "heartless," warning it would eventually cut Medicaid even more steeply than the House legislation, which slashes it by $800 billion over a decade.

While Trump reportedly called the House Bill "mean" and wants to see a Bill with heart, Schumer said "the Senate Bill may be meaner."

The new legislation would eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood, a non-profit health organisation that Trump's administration has targeted for cuts because it provides abortion services.

But it preserves a key element of Obamacare, which allows parents to cover children under their plan until age 26.

Deg Deg Mooshin Laga Keenayo RW Kheyrre Iyo Cidda Dabada Kawadda

Deg Deg Mooshin Laga Keenayo RW Kheyrre Iyo Cidda Dabada Kawadda

2017 Eureka! Innovation award winner: Gadiid Inc.

Rachel Keranen,
Rachel Keranen,Thursday June 22, 2017

Hassan Abdullahi is the CEO of Gadiid

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Eureka! idea: Software that manages logistics for small to mid-size trucking companies

What the judges said:"The company saw a problem and true need and brought a solution to commercialization."

The logistics involved in the trucking industry are vast. There are driver logs and dispatch calls, fuel and maintenance expenses, customers and brokers, trucks and trailers, and much more.

Most of the existing software products created to handle trucking logistics were priced with large trucking companies in mind. And yet, according to the American Trucking Associations, 93 percent of trucking companies have less than 20 vehicles in their fleet. Trucking, one of the most common occupations in the United States, is an industry of small businesses. And for small fleets, the cost of trucking software that could help them improve efficiencies and cut costs, was prohibitively expensive.

“Too many people are using pens and papers and spreadsheets to manage their business on a daily basis,” said Gadiid Inc. CEO and Founder Hassan Abdullahi.

After a post-college stint helping a friend who owned a dispatching company, Abdullahi saw the need for less-expensive business software that would work for small and mid-size fleets. That need inspired him to build Gadiid, a web and mobile application for trucking business management.

Trucking companies can use Gadiid to streamline or automate almost all trucking logistics. The software is cloud-based, which means that office staff and truckers can use the app wherever they go.

For example, instead of having a dispatcher call a driver to give instructions and directions for the next load, dispatchers can assign drivers to loads via Gadiid and send the load status to the driver and customer. Instead of requiring drivers to save receipts and either mail, fax or walk the slips of paper into the office, drivers can take a photo of a receipt with their phone and upload it to the app.

The automation reduces the amount of time spent on paperwork and communication, and it also reduces the likelihood of losing receipts. The documents, which might otherwise travel thousands of miles before reaching the office, are essential for trucking companies to receive reimbursement for their sizable expenses.

Gadiid’s customer base ranges from fleets with 14 to 254 trucks. Abdullahi is not interested in pursuing enterprise companies, like FedEx and Wal-Mart, which have over 500 trucks in their fleets. Instead, he sees continued growth in the small and mid-sized markets.

Abdullahi also anticipates growth in the product’s capabilities. “We’re continuously working on our AI and deep machine learning algorithms to help our customers automate more and get insights into their data.”

Abdullahi expects to double the number of Gadiid employees by the end of 2017 or the first quarter of 2018.

–Rachel Keranen, contributing writer