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MINNEAPOLIS - More than one hundred Somali Minnesotans held a rally on Friday to denounce Al-Shabaab, the hard-line Islamist insurgents in Somalia and a series of suicide bombings in their homeland.

The radical Islamic group Al-Shabaab has carried out several suicide bombings attacks on African peacekeeper’s bases and against government officials and clan leaders whom they suspect to be allied to a weakening Somali government led by their former ally, President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

The 2010 H-1B visa cap remains unfilled.  Each year, the U.S. government allocates 65,000 temporary employment visas for foreign-national workers engaging in “specialty occupations.”  Specialty occupations are jobs that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field and a bachelor's degree or its equivalent.  Examples include engineers, computer programmers, and accountants.

Wilson Coker left his Nigerian homeland 17 years ago.  He now supervises a group home for Ramsey County, Minnesota.  Tuesday evening, although still dressed in business attire, he moves his hips in true Nigerian dance style.  He might have lost a bit of his accent, but he hasn’t lost the beat of traditional dance.

He came to the Minnesota Zoo on June 30^th to hear a favorite musician, King Sunny Adé who opened the evening of Nigerian music to a near-capacity crowd of over 1300 people.  He stayed to experience superstar Femi Kuti close the house.

Despite fears of distractions from  the missing Somali youth saga that has engulfed the Somali community in Minnesota, the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center held its 9th Annual Convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center over the  weekend where thirty speakers addressed 10,000 people over three days. Participants said it was encouraging to see the number of attendees, the breadth of topics, and the scope of talent.

CLARKSON, GA. -– In this small town on the edge of Atlanta, the FBI and local law enforcement are looking out for an alarming kind of crime: radical Islamist terrorists potentially trying to recruit the town's young Somali-Americans to fight a war in Africa.

There is terrorist recruitment taking place already in Minnesota, said Clarkston police chief Tony J. Scipio. That's why his department and the FBI are looking for anything similar in the Somali-American community here in Clarkston.

^{Federal district courts continue to play a significant role in reviewing immigration cases, despite the passing of the REAL ID Act of 2005, which makes it more difficult to obtain judicial review of discretionary decisions by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) and other government agencies.}

Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere said over the weekend that the coalition government in Kenya was stable despite what was portrayed in the press.”Sasa tuko katika hali ya kusikizana ki sawa sawa (we are in the process of being in agreement)”. The Minister was speaking to Kenyans in Minnesota gathered to celebrate Madaraka day at a local park. He is in the country to be part of the inaugural flight to Nairobi by Atlanta based Delta Airlines on June 2.

Courage is the fuel that powers our ability to believe that all things are possible in our life. Courage fuels action and advancement; fear fuels passivity and mediocrity.

ATLANTA - Books for Africa, the world’s largest shipper of donated books to the African Continent, has opened a 20,000 square-foot warehouse in Atlanta.  The new facility, located just outside city of Atlanta in Smyrna, will serve as the organization’s primary shipping, receiving and sorting center. 

SAN FRANCISCO - On April 1, 2010, less than a year from now, a snapshot of the whole population of the country will be taken. Whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, legal, illegal, homeless or an international student, if you are in the United States at that time, you will be counted.

The story of Somali youth who vanished from the Twin Cities, possibly to fight alongside jihadists in their home country, is transforming the normally passionate and sometimes pugilistic debates at Minneapolis coffee shops into quieter introspection.

Now a recurring topic of conversation among Somalis is “reconstructing the community’s tainted image,” said Dahir Awaleh, a 47-year-old small-business owner who frequents the popular Starbucks on Minneapolis’ Riverside Avenue.

“In Minnesota, Somalis are increasingly associated with terrorists,” he lamented, sipping his coffee. “Businesses are raided. Friends and family members are being interrogated by law enforcement agencies. Mosques are under surveillance.”