3 killed after cruise ship runs aground off Italy

Rome (CNN) — At least three people were killed when a cruise ship ran aground near the Italian island of Giglio on Friday night, the local civil protection agency said Saturday. The Costa Concordia, owned by Genoa-based Costa Cruises, ran aground on a sand bank off the island, located off of Italy’s western coast, ANSA [...]

EU Seeks to Expand Anti-Piracy Mission in Somalia

EU Seeks to Expand Anti-Piracy Mission in Somalia AFP The EU is considering ramping up its anti-piracy mission. Piracy off the Somali coast remains a huge problem, despite international efforts to combat the scourge. Now, the EU is considering expanding the scope of its operation to include attacks on onshore infrastructure such as weapons depots. [...]

Shabaab leader recounts al Qaeda’s role in Somalia in the 1990s

In a recent interview with Radio Andalus, Shabaab’s leader said that three influential al Qaeda leaders played an important role in fighting the Americans in Mogadishu in the early 1990s. Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed, the spiritual who is better known as Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr and Godane, said that al Qaeda played a “prominent role” [...]

In Somalia, wounded Doctors Without Borders worker dies

In Somalia, wounded Doctors Without Borders worker dies; Kenya reports deaths of 5 al-Shabab Photo credit: AP | Residents walk outside of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) compound in Mogadishu, Somalia Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. A disgruntled former employee shot at least two international workers from the aid group Doctors Without Borders at [...]

The largest bank which lets Somalis in the US send money back home is due to close this service,

The largest bank which lets Somalis in the US send money back home is due to close this service, raising fears for the famine-hit country. Sunrise Community Banks said it would halt the money transfers to comply with US laws on financing terror groups. US-based Somalis are believed to send about $100m back home each [...]