In a phone call from the Capitol immediately after the State of the Union address last night, President Obama informs John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica, a kidnapped aid worker, was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia earlier that evening.
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
Somali aid begins to trickle in, but honestly, they need a flood
- ten number of tons of emergency food delivered to Somalia earlier today
- 3,500 number of children that can be fed with the food for one month source
» A drop in a chaotic bucket: With millions reportedly affected by widespread famine and political factors preventing aid from getting to over 2 million people, a lot more has to be done to ensure the health and safety of many affected by the historic drought currently hitting Africa. The World Food Program estimates that as many as 11.3 people in the region need aid. Fortunately, world organizations like the European Union are starting to chip in more money.
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This is a video to Tumblr from Dadaab, Kenya, the largest refugee camp in the world. Thousands of people are streaming into Dadaab as they flee the famine in southern Somalia. We’re working hard to make sure they get the life-saving food and nutrition they need, but we need your help—and your blog—in order to do it!
Donate today! And when you’re done, pull up the dashboard and blog about it. Put one of our banners on your site and let all of your followers know that millions of people across the Horn of Africa need their help!
A reminder from the World Food Programme.
The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia
Nestled in a back corner of Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport is a sprawling walled compound run by the Central Intelligence Agency. Set on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the facility looks like a small gated community, with more than a dozen buildings behind large protective walls and secured by guard towers at each of its four corners. Adjacent to the compound are eight large metal hangars, and the CIA has its own aircraft at the airport. The site, which airport officials and Somali intelligence sources say was completed four months ago, is guarded by Somali soldiers, but the Americans control access.
Jeremy Scahill’s latest must-read.
