Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

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 […]

U.S. President Donald Trump / Reuters Would U.S. President Donald Trump go to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang for the summit with Kim Jong-un in May? Would Kim risk of leaving his comfort zone to travel to Scandinavia or even Beijing to meet Trump? Unless one of the two makes a concession, differences over […]

New employees of Seven & i Holdings Co, a Japanese retail giant, participate in a stretching exercise before a welcome ceremony at a Tokyo hotel on Thursday. Photo: KYODO TOKYO Retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co welcomed new recruits at a ceremony in Tokyo on Thursday, soon to be followed by many other Japanese companies at the […]