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Somalian woman who came to Norway more than 10 years ago is harshly criticizing her fellow Somalian immigrants and Norwegian authorities. In a new book, she claims Somalians themselves don't want to integrate into Norwegian society, and that Norwegian welfare programs make it easy for them to remain isolated. A Somalian immigrant in Oslo is blasting her fellow Somalians for resisting integration. The Norwegian welfare system lets them get away with it, she claims. She claims that resistance to integration is widespread especially among Somalian men, who fear losing their culture and religion. Many are afraid of Norwegians and view...

Swedish security service Säpo has arrested three men in Stockholm suspected of preparing terrorist acts and financing terrorism. All three men are Swedish citizens of Somali origin.

Crackdown on tax-dodging taxisOslo tax authorities have several nasty surprises for taxi drivers and owners not registering all of their income. The biggest shock is a bill for NOK 12 million (USD 1.97 million) in back taxes for the worst offender.The case is just one involving 500 taxi owners and 2,500 drivers being investigated for tax evasion, newspaper VG reports.According to VG, 37 of the 500 owner investigations are now finished and 35 can expect a bill of NOK 1 million each.Oslo authorities are also investigating possible social security frauds involving taxi drivers who are suspected of receiving payments while...

Man jailed in Rangeley rape case By BETTY JESPERSEN, Staff Writer RANGELEY — A man who police said repeatedly raped a woman he knew in Rangeley over a period of three months last year and threatened her with a tire iron if she left him, remained in jail Sunday after he was arrested Thursday in Bangor by two area officers. Abdilahi Abdi, believed to be 18 or 19, is a Somali refugee who lived in Rangeley until moving to Bangor last month. He is charged with gross sexual assault, a felony, along with criminal threatening. He is being held in...

LEWISTON — Leaders of the city's fledgling Somali community called Mayor Laurier Raymond a racist and a bigot for asking Somalis to stop moving to Lewiston from other parts of the United States...

LEWISTON Lewiston releases Somali statistics By Scott Taylor More than half of all Somali immigrants who have received General Assistance from the city over the past year are children, according to city officials. Assistant City Manager Phil Nadeau has issued a report with statistics about the number of new Somalis registering for assistance from the city. In all, 699 Somalis have received General Assistance since February 2001. Of that, 427 were children and 272 were adults. According to the statistics, almost 37 percent of Somali families getting aid have one adult parent – and those are overwhelmingly female-headed households. Almost...

Dropoff in refugee Flow Threatens Resettlement Program PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The primary refugee resettlement program in Maine may be forced to close because of a sharp drop in the number of refugees entering the country since last September’s terrorist attacks. State and federal funding of resettlement programs is based on the number of refugees they serve. With numbers down, some programs in Maine and elsewhere have been forced to lay off staff. Matt Ward, director of the resettlement program run by Catholic Charities Maine, said that if the slowdown in refugees persists for another month, it will seriously consider...