Sports

Puntland State arrests senior immigration official in Garowe over alleged youth-smuggling passports Garowe, Somalia — Puntland State security forces on Sunday arrested a senior official with the Immigration and Nationality Authority in Garowe on allegations he facilitated youth smuggling networks by illegally issuing Somali passports, authorities said. The official, identified by local sources as the deputy head of the Garowe Immigration Office, is accused of producing travel documents for large numbers of young people who…

Portland police arrest third suspect in 2022 killing of Uber driver and father of eight PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police have arrested a third suspect in the 2022 shooting death of Shaani Mohamed, a Somali immigrant, Uber driver and father of eight whose killing rattled the city’s Somali community. Police said 41-year-old Shaperryia L. Lambert was taken into custody Wednesday in Northeast Portland and charged with second-degree murder. According to court records, investigators allege Lambert was involved in an attempted…

Mogadishu — Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has been named the CAF Best Male Referee for 2025, a landmark honor announced Wednesday evening at a ceremony at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat, Morocco. The award marks a historic breakthrough for Somali football and its match officials, drawing swift congratulations from the nation’s top leadership. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called the accolade “historic” and said Artan’s rise reflects the talent and professionalism of a new generation of Somali officials…

Somalia says E-Visa has choked ISIS travel pipeline Somalia’s defense minister says a new national E-Visa system has sharply curtailed the movement of ISIS fighters into the country’s northeast, where the group has long maintained a foothold in the Calmiskaad mountains. Ahmed Moallin Fiqi said that since the digital visa rollout, no foreign ISIS members have entered Somalia to join militants in the remote range. The statement underscores Mogadishu’s bid to tighten border controls after years of porosity exploited by…

Somalia’s Mogadishu Port switches to 24/7 operations in bid to cut delays and boost trade MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia has begun round-the-clock operations at the Port of Mogadishu for the first time, a step officials say will ease chronic congestion, speed cargo handling, and strengthen the country’s position in regional trade. The shift to uninterrupted service took effect Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, following recent upgrades to core port infrastructure. Senior representatives from the Ministry of Ports and Marine Transport,…

From Flight to Fight: Ramla Ali’s return to Kenya turns advocacy into action A champion steps back into a familiar story On a bright morning in Nairobi’s Dandora neighborhood, Ramla Ali pulled on gloves—this time not for sparring, but to sort plastic and cardboard alongside dozens of women in a community recycling yard. The Somali-born boxer, model, and UNICEF ambassador moved quickly along the line, measuring, weighing, and bagging materials that would help turn a day’s work into a day’s pay for refugee mothers. Kids…

UK warns travellers of conflicting visa rules across Somalia after federal e-visa rollout North Western State of Somalia and Puntland State reject Mogadishu’s system, creating airport confusion The United Kingdom has cautioned its citizens to expect inconsistent and sometimes conflicting visa requirements across Somalia after the federal government launched a new e-visa system that regional authorities in North Western State of Somalia and Puntland State say they will not honor. In updated guidance, the UK Foreign,…

U.S. Embassy warns of suspected breach in Somalia’s e‑visa system, thousands of travelers at risk The United States Embassy in Mogadishu has issued a security alert warning that a suspected cyber intrusion into Somalia’s electronic visa platform may have exposed the personal data of tens of thousands of applicants — a reminder that the global rush to digitize borders carries risks as well as convenience. In a notice released this week, the embassy said it received credible reports on November 11, 2025, that unidentified…

EU warship seizes suspected pirate ‘mother ship’ off Somalia after tanker hijack; 24 crew freed unharmed A 30-hour standoff ends without casualties in the Western Indian Ocean European naval forces have captured an Iranian-flagged dhow believed to have served as a pirate “mother ship” in the hijacking of the oil products tanker Hellas Aphrodite, bringing a tense 30-hour standoff to a close and freeing all 24 crew members unharmed, officials said. Operation Atalanta, the European Union’s counter-piracy mission, said the dhow…

A Gate Birth in Mogadishu Sparks a Bigger Question: Who Gets Care in Somalia? In a city that understands endurance, one image has shaken Mogadishu this week: a woman giving birth on the steps outside Banadir Maternity and Children’s Hospital after she was reportedly refused admission while in active labor. An elderly passerby helped bring the child into the world at the hospital gate, witnesses said. Both mother and newborn were later reported in critical condition. The incident, on October 26, triggered outrage far beyond…