A former Somali refugee who returned to his troubled nation specifically to help with reconstruction and development was shot to death by government security officers in a strange incident near the presidential palace. Public Works Minister Abbas Abdullahi Sheikh Siraji was traveling in a vehicle with two other government officials and an armed security detail.…
There is definitely no love lost between President Donald Trump and former rival Hillary Clinton, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise when rumors began to emerge several weeks ago that former Secretary of State Clinton was helping to launch a new anti-Trump political action committee called Onward Together. Playing on Clinton’s 2016 campaign slogan…
The moment of reckoning appears to be building up for the most controversial US President in history. Donald Trump, who was elected after a campaign that taught many important and unexpected lessons about the current state of geopolitics, now could be headed towards formal impeachment or a criminal investigation that would potentially render him unfit…
Parents of 82 schoolgirls kept captive for three years by Boko Haram in Nigeria were anxiously awaiting to see them as of Wednesday, May 10. The families have not been given any guarantees as to when they will be able to see the girls, who were released in a prisoner exchange between Boko Haram and the…
Veteran journalist April Ryan perfectly exemplifies the sentiment expressed by the actor Eddie Cantor that “it takes twenty years to become an overnight success.” Ms. Ryan has toiled for exactly 20 years as the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) – an outlet barely known outside the African-American community, but prominent within it as…
The good people of France have spoken against the nationalist and populist proposals of extreme-right politics. Emanuel Macron, a 39-year-old Minister of Finance and former investment banking firm executive will succeed President Francois Hollande, marking a departure from the political stronghold of the French Socialist party. Macron did not win by a landslide; nonetheless, early counting…
A cyber attack eerily similar to the one perpetrated against Hillary Clinton in the United States is being investigated by French law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Hackers apparently gained access to the email servers and computer network used by Emmanuel Macron, the former leading candidate and now French president-elect. Copies of the messages and other…
There was a time when the Syrian Arab Republic was not the site of an out-of-control civil war where government forces carry out chemical weapon attacks against civilians, and where an abominable terrorist organization has set out to destroy rich archaeological treasures dating back several centuries. Less than a decade ago, Syria was a country…
In late 2016, Fadumo Dayib made history when she announced her candidacy for the presidential elections of Somalia, thus marking the first time a female politician aspired to the highest office of the troubled nation. Dayib was not in Somalia at the time of the announcement, which she made from Finland—the nation that welcomed her…
Israeli musician Idan Raichel blends styles to share music with a message of peace. A keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and composer, his music draws from Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African musical styles. His lyrics are almost always in Hebrew and he often uses bits of traditional Hebrew texts. LA Times described what Raichel does as creating “a zesty…
