Monday 9,June ,2025 {HMC}   In summer 1904, millions of people descended on Bradford for arguably the biggest festival it has ever seen.

Along with typical fairground fun and examples of the city’s industrial might, Bradford Great Exhibition’s biggest draw was also its most bizarre – a living and breathing Somali village.

More than 120 years on, a team of historians are piecing together the stories of those who lived within the walled compound and helping the UK Somali community reclaim the narrative.

Reportedly attracting about 350,000 paid visitors in total, the exhibit transplanted about 100 Somali men, women and children from the Horn of Africa and put them on public display in Lister Park for six months.

“It has resonance as a story of colonised and racialised people who still gazed back and resisted in their own way and had fascinating lives,” says Prof Fozia Bora, from the University of Leeds.

“We are really keen to share the story with Bradfordians and the country at large.”

Source BBC NEWS

Even though the Somali community has existed in different parts of the UK for over 150 years, nobody knew anything about the Somali village in Bradford,” says Zainab Nur, chair of the recently founded Somali Village charity.

“That’s why it needs to be told and shared.”

Together with an online history project, Ms Nur is attempting to reframe the event – “not as a footnote of imperial display, but as a significant episode in the longer history of Somali migration, cultural expression and resistance”.

Ms Nur, who was born to Somali parents and whose forefathers came to the UK during the industrial revolution, says learning about the exhibit raised several key questions.

“I was like, what is this? Are they being exhibited? Were they forced? Was it similar to human zoos?”

Monday 9,June ,2025 {HMC}   The future of the African Union mission in Somalia hangs in the balance, as the US maintains it will only fund if Europe and Africa share the burden.

The US maintains African states and Europe must share the funding responsibility for the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia.

Responding to a question on the funding by the Star, Commander of the US Africa Command, General Michael Langley said African states must take responsibility for their own security — insisting on “burden sharing”.

“As resources are rebalanced globally, it is essential that all partners around the world – Africa included – take more ownership in their regional and continental security”.

“I know that the AU and the UN are working to solve these problems, but from a security perspective and more operational perspective that I bring, we do wish for the sustainability of long-term stability in Somalia. The US supports Somalia on building Somali security capacity. That’s where I come in.

“We try to effect the shared responsibility for a broad coalition so they – so the Somali National Army can achieve those security objectives,” Gen Langley said after co-hosting with Kenya the Africa Chiefs of Defense Conference 2025.

U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has also commented on the matter, saying America hasn’t refused to support the AU mission but want more shared commitment.

“… we’re just insisting that Europe and Africa pull their weight. Funding schemes like UNSCR 2719 [the UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023)] let others dodge the bill and dump the cost on U.S. taxpayers, while giving the UN a welcome distraction for its own failure,” he said on Tuesday.

Senator Risch added the US is not abandoning the American-trained Danab Brigade, an elite special operations unit within the Somali National Army, or the fight against al-Shabaab.

“Support for the Danab started to phase out in 2024 after its leaders stole rations and Somalia’s government did nothing about it. U.S. taxpayers shouldn’t keep funding corruption. The Danab is responsible for these failures,” he added.

African leaders have pushed for funding for AUSSOM, particularly through the UN assessed contributions. The UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023) authorizes the funding of AU-led peace support operations from UN assessed contributions, on a case-by-case basis, for a 75 per cent funding share.

President William Ruto and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in October last year called for additional security funding ahead of the AUSSOM transition in January. They stressed the necessity for AUSSOM to be adequately financed and called on stakeholders to explore all possible funding avenues.

In April, regional leaders at the Extra-Ordinary Summit of Troop Contributing Countries in Entebbe, Uganda, deplored underfunding of AUSSOM and urged implementation of the UNSC Resolution 2719.

The support through the UN assessed contributions extends to AU-led peace support operations and includes costs and reimbursement of all categories of support as negotiated between the troop-police contributing countries, the AU and the UN.

However, the US is blocking this, with Gen Langley saying the recent ACHOD Conference offered an opportunity for “honest conversations about burden sharing”.

Although Gen Langley said the AU and the UN are working to solve the problems, he acknowledged “current funding challenges at AUSSOM kind of underscore the difficulties” they face in Somalia.

“But I would just stay out of that realm, but just talk about how, if they do solve these problems, it will be an enabler for continued operations in Somali National Army’s fight against al-Shabaab. So I know that the U.S. continues to work with Somali stakeholders, partners, and neighbors to improve the collaboration to go against this formidable foe,” he added.

On May 2, Senators Jim Risch, Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), introduced the AUSSOM Funding Restriction Act of 2025 to “safeguard U.S. taxpayer funds and hold the UN and African Union (AU) accountable in African peace operations”. Senator Risch said that at the UN, their European partners are looking to skirt their financial commitments to AUSSOM by switching to a new imbalanced funding mechanism that pushes the burden on Americans.

“We can’t let that stand. This bill will prohibit US contributions to AUSSOM under this new funding scheme until the AU and the UN can prove that they are using the funds they have responsibly and prevent Americans from being locked into perpetually funding a broken system,” Risch said.

On his part, Senator Cruz argued that AUSSOM Restriction Act would safeguard American taxpayers’ cash and prevent it from being spent in ways that don’t advance America’s national security interests.

Senator Scott echoed the remarks, saying the US will not allow its tax dollars to be exploited by the UN, while their partners refuse to pay their fair share, “much less for a mission that fails to spend these dollars responsibly or transparently”.

They added that AU’s inability to meet the eligibility criteria and funding conditions asked of the U.S shows a disregard for the American taxpayer’s money.

The blame game comes at a time al Shabaab has sustained attacks in various parts of Somalia amid a drawback of foreign forces.

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Monday 9,June ,2025 {HMC}  The United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its drone attack last weekend has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The timing of the full Russian response was unclear, with one source saying it was expected within days. A second U.S. official said the retaliation was likely to include different kinds of air capabilities, including missiles and drones.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. They did not detail Russia’s expected targets nor elaborate on intelligence matters. The first official said Moscow’s attack would be “asymmetrical,” meaning that its approach and targeting would not mirror Ukraine’s strike last weekend against Russian warplanes.
Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday and Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strike on military and military-related targets was in response to what it called Ukrainian “terrorist acts” against Russia. But the U.S. officials believe the complete Russian response is yet to come.

A Western diplomatic source said that while Russia’s response may have started, it would likely intensify with strikes against symbolic Ukrainian targets like government buildings, in an effort to send a clear message to Kyiv.

Another, senior, Western diplomat anticipated a further devastating assault by Moscow. “It will be huge, vicious and unrelenting,” the diplomat said. “But the Ukrainians are brave people.”

The Russian and Ukrainian embassies in Washington and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he expected Moscow might seek to punish Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, for its role in last weekend’s assault. To send a message, Russia could employ intermediate-range ballistic missiles for the attack, he said.

“Most likely, they will attempt to retaliate against (SBU) headquarters, or other regional intelligence administration buildings,” Kofman said, adding Russia could also target Ukrainian defense manufacturing centers.

Still, Kofman suggested Russia’s options for retaliation may be limited as it is already throwing a lot of its military might at Ukraine.

“In general, Russia’s ability to substantially escalate strikes from what they are already doing – and attempting to do over the past month – is quite constrained,” he said.

OPERATION ‘SPIDER’S WEB’

Kyiv says Sunday’s audacious attack employed 117 unmanned aerial vehicles launched deep from within Russian territory in an operation code-named “Spider’s Web.”

The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit – around half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy – and around 10 were destroyed.

The Russian government on Thursday denied that any planes were destroyed and said the damage would be repaired, but Russian military bloggers have spoken of loss or serious damage to about a dozen planes, including those capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The strikes, prepared over 18 months and conducted by drones smuggled close to the bases in trucks, dealt a powerful symbolic blow to Russia, which throughout the Ukraine war has frequently reminded the world of its nuclear might.

Putin told President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to attack, Trump said in a social media post.

Trump later told reporters that “it’s probably not going to be pretty.”

“I don’t like it. I said: ‘Don’t do it. You shouldn’t do it. You should stop it,'” Trump said of his conversation with Putin. “But, again, there’s a lot of hatred.”

Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Don Durfee, William Mallard and Alistair Bell

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Monday 9,June ,2025 {HMC} Somali Minister of Endorsements and Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali, held a key meeting on Sunday with Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş, President of Türkiye’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı), at the Turkish Hajj Affairs Office in the holy city of Makkah.

During the meeting, Minister Robow expressed deep gratitude to the government and people of Türkiye for their unwavering support to Somalia, particularly highlighting contributions since 2011, when Somalia faced a devastating drought.

He commended Türkiye’s involvement across critical sectors including, education, economy, defense, and military cooperation.

The two leaders discussed avenues to deepen cooperation between Somalia’s Ministry of Endorsements and Islamic Affairs and Türkiye’s Diyanet. Key areas of focus included establishing Somalia’s Endowment Authority, developing a National Zakat Fund Registry, and launching training programs for ministry personnel and religious scholars involved in institutional development.

These initiatives are part of the Federal Government of Somalia’s five-year national development agenda, which seeks to enhance governance and institutional capacity in the religious sector, according to the Somali minister.

The meeting highlights the growing religious and diplomatic ties between Somalia and Türkiye, particularly in efforts to modernize and strengthen Islamic institutions, promote mutual understanding, and foster development.

Monday 9,June ,2025 {HMC} A Somaliland soldier fatally shot his wife and daughter and seriously wounded his sister-in-law in a domestic shooting Sunday morning in the Fallujah neighborhood of Hargeisa, relatives and local media reported.

The shooting occurred around 8 a.m., according to a family member who spoke to Bulsho TV. “My father left the house, came back with a gun, and shot my mother while she was sitting by the door,” one of the soldier’s children said.

Amina, the soldier’s sister-in-law, told Bulsho TV that he entered the home silently, ignoring greetings before opening fire.

“When my brother greeted him, he didn’t respond,” she said. “When he asked, ‘Why are you carrying a gun today?’ the soldier raised the weapon and shot the girl. Then he shot her again as she lay there. I fainted from shock.”

Neighbors quickly gathered at the scene. Witnesses said the soldier continued to threaten anyone who approached, leading to a standoff that ended when he was shot. It remains unclear who shot him.

The mother and her daughter died at the scene. The injured girl was taken to a hospital in Hargeisa and is receiving treatment.

Relatives said they were unaware of any issues that might have triggered the violence and noted that the soldier had shown no signs of mental illness.

As of late Sunday, police and security officials had not issued any public statements regarding the incident, and it is unclear whether the suspect was arrested before being shot.

Monday 9,June ,2025 {HMC} Elite Danab commandos of the Somali National Army have killed at least 25 Al-Shabaab militants, including three senior commanders, in a targeted military operation in the village of Gaalware, located 4 kilometres east of Sabiid and Caanoole in the Lower Shabelle region.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed the operation on Sunday, stating that the joint forces also seized a significant cache of weapons, including six PKM machine guns, two RPG launchers, and 17 AK-47 rifles.

Officials said the raid successfully disrupted a planned terrorist attack, significantly weakening the group’s presence in the area.

“The Federal Government of Somalia remains firmly committed to the total eradication of Al-Shabaab and to ensuring national security, in collaboration with the Somali Armed Forces and the support of the Somali people,” the ministry noted in a statement.

The operation comes amid intensified military campaigns in southern Somalia, where government forces—backed by local militias and international partners—have been targeting Al-Shabaab strongholds in Lower Shabelle, Middle Juba, and Galmudug regions.

Security analysts note that the death of senior operatives and the capture of weapons in this operation represent a major setback for the insurgent group, which has continued to launch asymmetric attacks across the country despite losing territorial control in many areas.