Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

Lee Keun-sum, left, 92, from South Korea, hugs her son Ri Sang-chul, 71, from the North, at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North’s east coast. They split in 1951, when the son was only four, at the height of Korean War. Eighty-nine South Koreans, mostly in their 70s and older, met about 180 […]

Container ships in Hamburg harbour. Experts put Germany’s account surplus down to a high proportion of exported goods. Photo: DPA According to the Institute of Economic Research (IfO), Germany will have the biggest account surplus in the world for the third successive year in 2018. It is not only Donald Trump who is irritated by […]

File photo of US pastor Andrew Brunson (C), arrives at his in Izmir, Turkey. (AP) President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected Turkey’s offer to condition the release of an American pastor on clearing a top Turkish bank of billions of dollars in US fines, media reported Monday. Washington and Ankara are locked in a bitter […]

File photo of an officer from the Catalan police force. Photo: AFP A man armed with a knife was killed when he attacked a police station near the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona early Monday, police said. “A man armed with a knife entered the police station in Cornella to attack the officers. The attacker was […]

After tensions with the U.S. hit the Turkish lira, German leaders repeatedly underscored that a strong Turkish economy is important for the stability of Turkey’s European partners. Turkey’s European allies continue to emphasize the country’s significance for the benefit of all partners as U.S. President Trump’s threats of sanctions against a longtime NATO ally continue […]

Jordan’s King Abdullah II (L) and US First Lady Melania Trump (R) listen while US President Donald Trump makes a statement for the press before a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House June 25, 2018 in Washington, DC. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski) US President Donald Trump reportedly told Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the […]

Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin at the German government guest house Meseberg Palace in Gransee, Germany / Sputnik The Iran nuclear deal, which was recently ditched by the US, humanitarian efforts in war-ravaged Syria, and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project… Putin and Merkel hold three-hour talks and are mostly on the same page. The […]

White House counsel Don McGahn (back) listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Aug. 16. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo President Donald Trump is claiming his White House lawyer, Don McGahn, was representing his interests, and following his orders, when he voluntarily testified before the special counsel in […]

The death toll from the worst flooding to hit India’s Kerala state in a century has jumped to 357 with losses to infrastructure pegged at almost $3bn. The idyllic tourist hotspot has been badgered by torrential monsoon rains since the end of May, triggering landslides and flash floods that have swept away entire villages. “Since […]

Religious practice does not fall outside the law,” Lausanne authorities said. Photo: AFP The Swiss city of Lausanne has blocked a Muslim couple’s bid to become Swiss nationals over their refusal to shake hands with members of the opposite sex. The municipality said it refused to grant the couple’s citizenship application over their lack of respect […]