Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

Ukraine‘s far eastern region is “occupied” by Russia, the parliament announced on Thursday, as Moscow warned the declaration could reignite a new war. Ukraine’s parliament adopted the “Donbass reintegration law” with 280 lawmakers voting in favour in the 450-seat body. The bill was submitted by Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko. Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine with three soldiers […]

President Donald Trump said Thursday a government shutdown “could happen,” as lawmakers continue to scramble to reach a deal to avert it. “We’ll see what happens. It’s up to the Democrats,” President Donald Trump said on Thursday. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Addressing reporters outside the Pentagon, Trump added: “We’ll see what happens. It’s up to […]

All long-distance trains in Germany have been cancelled, Deutsche Bahn (DB) said on Thursday as the company took precautions against storm “Friederike” which has since been upgraded to hurricane status. A high-speed train among fallen trees between Hanover and Goettingen in Lower Saxony on Thursday. Photo: DPA For safety reasons, long-distance trains will not be […]

Security agencies are hunting for five al Shabaab abductees who escaped from cells in Somalia. Sources within the security circles said the five were due to be executed by the militants for communicating with al Shabaab fugitive Ahmed Iman Ali. People go about their business on a street in Somalia. /FILE They suspect the five have […]

A bus caught fire in a remote part of Kazakhstan on Thursday, killing 52 citizens of neighbouring Uzbekistan, the Kazakh Interior Ministry said on Thursday. A handout picture provided by the Kazakh emergency situations ministry on January 18, 2018 shows the charred bus in the city of Aktobe. (AFP) The bus was travelling along a […]

An Egyptian military court has sentenced eight people to death, including four in absentia, for alleged involvement in acts of violence in 2015. An Egyptian court sentenced Qaradawi for “incitement to murder” and “vandalising public property” [The Associated Press] Another 17 people were sentenced to life behind bars, including prominent Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who, […]

Turkey said it was unimpressed by US attempts to downplay a planned 30,000-strong, predominantly Kurdish border force in northern Syria. The Turkish foreign minister said the US had lied about supporting the Kurds in the past. FILE PHOTO: Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) head a convoy of U.S military vehicles in the […]

A reporter dealing with South Korean affairs in Pyongyang was part of the North Korean delegation taking part in vice-ministerial-level talks with the South, Wednesday. North Korean reporter Kim Kang-kuk reacts violently to a rally by activists condemning the poor human rights conditions in his country, during a visit to South Korea in 2003. / […]

S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Russia is helping North Korea evade international sanctions and that Pyongyang is getting “closer every day” to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2018. […]

FILE PHOTO: North Korea’s gymnast and South Korea’s listen to the national anthem as the North Korean flag rises © Claro Cortes / Reuters North and South Korea have agreed to form a unified women’s hockey team for the upcoming Winter Olympics, and will march under a unified flag at the opening ceremony, according to […]