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Romano converted to Islam while in captivity – Reports

The rescue took place in on Friday night, 30 kilometres from Mogadishu. Reports say captors later sold her to the al Shabaab. After one and a half years in captivity, Italian volunteer Silvia Romano, 25, is free. Romano was kidnapped by gunmen at Chakama village in Kilifi county on November 20, 2018, while she prepared

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Italian woman returns home after 18-month African kidnapping

Wearing a surgical mask, disposable gloves and booties to guard against COVID-19, a young Italian woman returned to her homeland Sunday after 18 months as a hostage in eastern Africa. Silvia Romano lowered her mask briefly to display a broad smile after she stepped off an Italian government plane at Rome-Ciampino International Airport. She hugged

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Battle for Jubilee’s soul: Who has the numbers?

Photo: Credit Daily Nation President Uhuru Kenyatta (left) and his deputy William Ruto. Their allies are engaging in a popularity contest. After months of exchanging barbs in public rallies and on Twitter, rivals in the ruling Jubilee Party christened Kieleweke, who are aligned to President Uhuru Kenyatta, and Tangatanga, leaning to deputy William Ruto, were

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Taliban say they don’t have missing US contractor

Mark Frerichs, a contractor from Illinois, poses in Iraq in this undated photo obtained from Twitter that he would include with his resume when job hunting. Frerichs was abducted in Afghanistan in January 2020. Early efforts to locate him have been shrouded in mystery and his disappearance has been the subject of minimal public discussion

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Italian PM says kidnapped volunteer Silvia Romano freed

Ms Silvia Constanca Romano who was abducted by gunmen from Malindi, Kilifi County, on November 20, 2018. Italian volunteer Silvia Constanca Romano, who was kidnapped by unknown gunmen from Chakama in Kilifi County in November 2018, has been released. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced this on his official Twitter page on Saturday, thanking Italy’s

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Rights group says Saudi Arabia is holding a senior prince incommunicado since March

Photo: Credit Reuters Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Saudi Arabian authorities recently detained and are holding incommunicado Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, who had previously been netted in an anti-corruption drive and released in late 2017. The U.S.-based rights group, citing a source with ties to the royal family, said Prince Faisal bin

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Saudi dissident forced to go to court to claim asylum in Germany

Rasheed Alameer told MEE that he now felt safe in Germany (YouTube) Rasheed Alameer says his case was only settled when he made a legal complaint more than 18 months after fleeing to Europe despite concerns for the safety of Saudi exiles A Saudi dissident who fled to Europe was forced to go to court

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Trump, Saudi king reaffirm defense ties amid tensions

US President Donald Trump (L) and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) attend the Arabic Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 21 May, 2017 [Bandar Algaloud/Anadolu Agency] President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman spoke by phone on Friday and “reaffirmed the strong United States-Saudi defense partnership,” the White

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Ethiopian troops admit shooting down Kenyan plane

Ethiopian forces in Somalia have admitted to shooting down a Kenyan cargo plane on Monday, leading to six deaths, on ‘mistaken identity’. A preliminary report filed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) indicated that the forces guarding Bardelle airstrip in Baidoa adjudged the plane’s unusual flight towards the facility as a potential suicide

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Ugandan hospital, Somali town washed away by East Africa floods

Photo: Credit Reuters Flooding washed away roads, bridges and a hospital in Uganda and an entire small town in Somalia as torrential rain across East Africa compounded problems for governments struggling to respond to the new coronavirus. Hundreds of people have been killed by floodwaters in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda and Ethiopia which have also

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