Monthly Archives: October 2008

The 27th annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, popularly known as The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America®,will be this Sunday October 5, 2008.

This year, African-born marathoners include Zeddy Chepkoech, Richard Kandie, Callen Moraa and Macharia Yuot who will be running in the elite field. Zeddy, Richard and Callen were born in Kenya and are from the Duma Runners Club. Macharia is one of the Lost Boys from Sudan who arrived in the US in 2000 and joined Team USA in August 2008.

Over the years Minnesota has been home to immigrant communities from different countries all over the world. In the last ten years, Minnesota has seen the exponential growth of immigrants, especially refugees from Liberia, Somalia and Ethiopia.

African countries need to develop a hybrid of governing styles to achieve modern-day democracies was the consensus at a recent conference in St. Paul.

Minneapolis, MN—Liberian-born Helene Cooper, author and diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times, was here on a promotional tour of her book “The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood.”

Seattle, WA—Asha Mohamed knew America was the place for her soon after her arrival in a Kenyan refugee camp. “They gave me two books, a Bible and a pamphlet that talked about the American Constitution.” She was familiar with the former, but found the latter “the most fascinating document that I could ever read.”

NEW YORK - The soaring cost of fuel and basic foods over the past year has left many countries in sub-Saharan Africa unable to adequately fund critical activities, such as health care and the provision of safe drinking water, their leaders told the General Assembly's annual high-level debate today.

It’s been eight months and Isaiah Washington, 18, is getting frustrated. He’s pounded the pavement knocking on doors and he’s faxed resumes all to no avail.

TRANSMARA, KENYA – It is five in the morning, and we are climbing the winding dirt road that leads to the entrance gate of the Maasai Mara, Kenya's famous wildlife reserve. Emmanuel Tasur, our Maasai guide, is explaining the rite of passage where a young Maasai warrior, or moran, kills a lion.

On September 22, 2008, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey issued an important order relating to victims of female genital mutilation (FGM).  Mukasey instructed the Federal Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to reconsider a decision from a 2007 case in which the board denied protection from removal (deportation) to a 28-year-old woman who was a victim of FGM in her native Mali.  BIA’s decision severely limited the ability of FGM victims to obtain asylum and similar forms of relief from removal in the United States.

As of July 1, 2008, there are several new vaccination requirements for refugees and immigrants who are getting their Green Cards (Adjusting their Status).  These requirements come from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Many companies are asking “What to do about an employee’s home when he or she is moved to a new job location? This is an increasing tough and costly question with the real estate market tightening throughout much of the country.