Free Republic

(snip) Why Minneapolis? Authorities say it's linked to Minneapolis-St. Paul's large Somali community. According to The New York Times, estimates peg the local Somali population, which Minneapolis touts as the largest in the US, at roughly 30,000 people. Reports have described violent extremism as bubbling up within the local Somali community going back years, especially as a result of the 2006 conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia. At the time, much of the terrorism-recruitment issue centered on al-Shabab, the Somali-based group that would later become an Al Qaeda affiliate. The office of Minnesota's US attorney, Andrew Luger, said Wednesday that groups...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — President Obama asserted on Tuesday that he could win a third term if allowed by the Constitution, but said he was looking forward to life after the presidency, when he will be able to take a walk and spend more time with his family. As he wrapped up what may be his final trip to Africa while in office, Mr. Obama took aim at some of the continent’s gerontocracy and called on long-entrenched leaders to step down, declaring that “nobody should be president for life.” But it led to an off-the-cuff riff about his own improved...

Archeologist explains link between bones found in Ethiopia, Texas Lucy's bones on display at Houston museum By Pamela LeBlancAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFSaturday, December 22, 2007 One roamed the forests of East Africa 3.2 million years ago. The other lived in Central Texas more than 9,500 years ago. What's the connection between two skeletons found a world apart? That was the question on a recent visit to Houston, where the famous older skeleton is on display. Though not complete, Lucy does have enough pieces, especially skull bones, for scientists to predict her measurements. This model at the Houston Museum of Natural Science shows...

US President Barack Obama has told the BBC he will continue to deliver his "blunt message" to African leaders about gay rights and discrimination."I am not a fan of discrimination and bullying of anybody on the basis of race... religion... sexual orientation or gender," he said. Mr Obama is on his way to visit his ancestral home of Kenya and he will also go to Ethiopia. He said the trip showed US commitment to fighting terror in East Africa. In the wide-ranging interview with the BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel before he left Washington, President Obama also said: â—¾His...

Rabbi Capers Funnye to be the first American head of the Black Hebrew Israelites since 1999. America has elected its first "Black Chief Rabbi," the International Israelite Board of Rabbis (IIBR) announced - and he is a cousin of First Lady Michelle Obama. Rabbi Capers Funnye, a Chicago-based convert to Judaism, is the first person to hold the position since Chief Rabbi Levi ben Levy died in 1999. "Rabbi Funnye’s work with Black Jews in the United States and Africa made him uniquely qualified for this position," the IIBR said. "His goal as Chief Rabbi is to build closer ties...

Adolf Hitler started World War II by attacking Poland on September 1, 1939. Nazi Germany moved only after it had already remilitarized the Rhineland, absorbed Austria and dismantled Czechoslovakia. Before the outbreak of the war, Hitler's new Third Reich had created the largest German-speaking nation in European history. Well before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese government had redrawn the map of Asia and the Pacific. Japan had occupied or annexed Indochina, Korea, Manchuria and Taiwan, in addition to swaths of coastal China. Attacking Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia was merely the logical 1941 follow-up...

Hundreds of migrants brought to Italy after being rescued at sea camped on streets near Rome's Tiburtina train station and gathered in Milan's main terminal on Thursday, making a brief stop on their journey to northern Europe. At Tiburtina, migrants from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia were among those resting in the shade under olive and fig trees. Children played in the supermarket nearby, and dozens napped on cardboard under an overpass. Italy is struggling to handle the summertime surge in migrants, with thousands rescued at sea each week and more than 50,000 so far this year. Almost 2,000 have...

About 1,000 Israeli Ethiopian Jews have held a rally in Tel Aviv to protest against institutional racism in Israeli society. Monday night's march passed without incident under the watch of dozens of security officers, a police spokesman said. Demonstrators chanted slogans demanding "social justice" and "the arrest of racist police". Ethiopian Jews in Israel have staged several rallies against alleged police brutality and racism in recent weeks, and some gatherings have turned violent as they clashed with security forces. Earlier this month, a video of two police officers beating a black Israeli soldier sparked a massive protest by Ethiopian Jews,...

The first modern humans to arrive in Europe and Asia migrated north out of Egypt around 55,000 years ago, according to new genetic research. The study has answered a long standing question about the route early Homo sapiens took when spreading from the African continent. It shows most Europeans and Asians living today are more closely related genetically to people living in Egypt than in Ethiopia. The first modern humans to leave Africa and spread into Asia and Europe appear to have taken a northern route out of the continent by crossing the Sinai peninsula according to new genetic research....

A Muslim mob in Deder, Ethiopia, attacked a Christian man and forced him out of his home on pain of death in an effort to appropriate his land and build a mosque on it—despite recent court rulings confirming the Christian man’s property rights.“Their first plan was to kill my husband,” said Fikere Mengistu’s wife. “Now, he has escaped from the area. We are fasting and praying for God to rescue us from this forceful action.”She remains with her five children, aged mother-in-law, and 30 other Christians praying on the property.According to International Christian Concern, Fikere Mengistu’s family has owned their...

A new species of ancient human has been unearthed in the Afar region of Ethiopia, scientists report. Researchers discovered jaw bones and teeth, which date to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old. It means this new hominin was alive at the same time as several other early human species, suggesting our family tree is more complicated than was thought. The study is published in the journal Nature. The new species has been called Australopithecus deyiremeda, which means "close relative" in the language spoken by the Afar people. The ancient remains are thought to belong to four individuals, who would have...

Terrorists release propaganda video showing two massacres of Christians from Ethiopia ISIS has released another video depicting the slaughter of Christians in Libya, showing footage of two massacres in which 30 Ethiopian Christians were killed.Before the executions a masked militant said: “To the nation of the cross, we’re back again… Muslim blood that was shed under the hands of your religion is not cheap.”“We swear to Allah … you will not have safety even in your dreams until you embrace Islam,” he added.Later a militant with a Yemeni accent said: “Those who convert to Islam are safe. Those who...

April 19, 2015 ISIS Claims Slaughter Of Christians In Libya Again Displaced Sunni people, who fled the violence in the city of Ramadi, arrive at the outskirts of Baghdad, April 17, 2015 CAIRO - A video released by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Sunday appears to show the killing of two different groups of captured Ethiopian Christians by the extremist group's Libyan affiliates. The 29-minute online video purports to show militants holding two groups of captives. It says one group is held by an ISIS affiliate in eastern Libya known as Barka Province and the other...

Boko Haram Adopts ISIS' Bloody Religious Cleansing Strategy By Steve Dorsey April 19, 2015 The Islamic militant group Boko Haram is adopting ISIS' bloody strategy of stamping out Christianity with a frightening fervor, putting Nigeria's 70 million followers of Jesus in danger for their lives, fearful human rights advocates say. Boko Haram leaders vowed their formal allegiance to IS in an audio message in Arabic posted to Twitter last month, according to intelligence analysts. The militant group has launched murderous rampages across northeastern Nigeria, and into neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger. In an attack April 7, Islamist extremists disguised themselves...

A shocking new video appearing to show at least 30 Christians being beheaded and shot by ISIS has been released this afternoon. The 29-minute video, titled 'Until It Came To Them - Clear Evidence', shows dozens of militants holding two separate groups captive in Libya. At least 16 men, described by Islamic State as the 'followers of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church', are lined up in a desert area while 12 others are filmed being forced to walk down a beach. fore the killings a masked fighter in black brandishes a pistol as he vows to kill Christians...

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia said on Sunday it had not been able to verify that about 30 people shown in a video being shot and beheaded by Islamic State in Libya were Ethiopian Christians, but said it condemned the "atrocious act." "We have seen the video but our embassy in Cairo has not been able to confirm that the victims are Ethiopian nationals," government spokesman Redwan Hussein told Reuters. "Nonetheless, the Ethiopian government condemns the atrocious act."   He said Ethiopia, which does not have an embassy in Libya, would help repatriate Ethiopians if they wanted to leave Libya. REUTERS

Slaughter On The Beach: ISIS Behead And Shoot Ethiopian Christians In Sickening New Propaganda Video Video seems to show militants in Libya holding one group of at least 16 captive on a beach and 12 others in a desert Before the killings a masked fighter in black brandishes a pistol as he vows to kill Christians if they do not convert Ethiopia unable to confirm its citizens were killed by militants in the footage but condemned the 'atrocious act' It comes two months after 21 Egyptian Christians were beheaded by extremists in a similar video from Libya By LYDIA WILLGRESS...

The 29-minute video, titled 'Until It Came To Them - Clear Evidence', shows dozens of militants holding two separate groups captive, thought to be in the south and the west of the country. At least 16 men, described by Islamic State as the 'followers of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church', are lined up and shot in a desert area while 12 others are filmed being forced to walk down a beach before being beheaded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow on Monday where the issue of Middle East peace talks will be raised, Russian authorities announced Thursday. “The two leaders will hold talks concerning key aspects of Russian-Palestinian relations and their future, with particular attention on the trade, economy and humanitarian sectors,” the Kremlin said in a statement according to AFP. There will also be “an exchange of ideas on the process of Israeli-Palestinian talks and other problematic regional situations,” the statement continued, adding that North Africa would also be on the agenda. …

The former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency on Sunday described President Obama's Middle East policy as one of "willful ignorance," saying the administration needs a clearer strategy for dealing with conflicts emerging across the region. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said during an interview on "Fox News Sunday" that recent developments in the Middle East are moving in a bad direction for the United States, with Iran "clearly on the march" to influence events in a "regional sectarian war." “At the end of the day, we have just this incredible policy confusion — never mind what our strategy is to...