Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

The Super U supermarket at Trebbes where there hostage taking took place. Photo Screengrab Google street view A police operation was underway near the historic town of Carcassonne in southern France on Friday after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket. A policeman was also shot and wounded near the town in […]

China plans tariffs on some US imports to offset loss on steel and aluminum products, the Ministry of Commerce claims on Friday. According to the ministry’s announcement, these proposed tariffs involve 128 products China imports from the United States, with a value of $3 billion. Among the figure, 120 products worth a total of $977 […]

Um Yae-run is living in Seoul with her daughter [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera] In part four of the series on North Korean defectors, Um Yae-run sheds light on how brokers work in the country. Seoul, South Korea – Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected into the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Almost […]

File Photo A military aircraft has crashed in central Turkey’s Nevşehir province’s Gülşehir district, reports said Thursday. Emergency services later reached the dead body of one soldier at the site of the crash. The F-16 jet was on a training mission when the crash happened, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said. Medical teams and fire […]

People throw stones at police in Paris. Photo: AFP A wave of industrial action hit France on Thursday with rail and public service strikes causing headaches for commuters and passengers. Violence flared in Paris in the afternoon. Here are the latest updates. Main info: Thousands join protests taking place across the country including Paris Violent […]

The powerful explosion struck a busy street filled with civilians, witnesses said [Feisal Omar/Reuters] Explosion outside popular hotel in Mogadishu kills at least 14 people and wounds 10, interior ministry spokesman says. At least 14 people have been killed in a car bomb blast outside a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, according to a […]

China warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday that Beijing will not “sit back” and let its interests to be harmed, ahead of an announcement from Washington on a new round of punitive tariffs on Chinese imports. Sources familiar with Chinese government discussions said Beijing had been preparing a contingency plan to deal with escalating […]

Italy’s chamber of deputies in session in 2015. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AF Italy may not have a government yet, but it does have nearly 1,000 new legislators. Two weeks after Italians voted, Italy’s 315 newly elected senators have been registering at the houses of parliament in Rome since Monday and the 630 new deputies began registering […]

Photo: AFP French President Emmanuel Macron will address a joint session of Congress during his state visit to the United States next month, the speaker of the House of Representatives said Wednesday. “France is not only our oldest ally, but one of our strongest,” said Speaker Paul Ryan. “I look forward to welcoming President Macron […]

MPrime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his entrance before addressing a conference in Toronto on Wednesday.  (CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS) U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday told lawmakers “I think we’re in a pretty good place” on auto negotiations — the most positive statement he’s made on the issue. WASHINGTON—Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are moving […]