Colombia becomes new hub for human smuggling into US
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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
FOUR Somalis who charged migrants as much as £1,000 in a "cash for citizenship" exams scam were jailed yesterday.
The men had set up the Home Office-approved centre running Life In The UK tests helping people gain British passports.
They accepted tens of thousands of pounds in bribes from desperate applicants - then got staff to sit the exams instead.
But it was realised that the centre's pass rate was 84 per cent - 18 per cent higher than the national average.
Jail ... Abdi Yusuf
Jail ... Abdi Yusuf
When police raided the City Wide Learning Centre in Sheffield, South Yorks, they found seven tests running on computers with no applicants there.
One Turkish man who had failed the £34 test five times paid more than £1,000 and was handed a pass certificate.
Others paid between £200 and £400.
The centre issued more than 5,000 certificates between October 2005 and February 2007.
Brothers Mohammed Yousif, 34, and Abdi Rashid Yusuf, 37, were each jailed for 3½ years.
Another brother, Mubarak Yusuf, 28, got 15 months.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2867597/Somalis-jailed-in-British-citizenship-test-scam.html#ixzz0gaFHnYaO
Cousin Mustafa Yassin got 2½ years.
After the investigation, 3,500 applicants who had "passed" were invited to sit a re-test - but only 849 agreed.
Judge Michael Murphy told Sheffield Crown Court: "If the people running the tests can't be trusted, who can?"
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2867597/Somalis-jailed-in-British-citizenship-test-scam.html#ixzz0gaFrRGUE
The men had set up the Home Office-approved centre running Life In The UK tests helping people gain British passports.
They accepted tens of thousands of pounds in bribes from desperate applicants - then got staff to sit the exams instead.
But it was realised that the centre's pass rate was 84 per cent - 18 per cent higher than the national average.
Jail ... Abdi Yusuf
Jail ... Abdi Yusuf
When police raided the City Wide Learning Centre in Sheffield, South Yorks, they found seven tests running on computers with no applicants there.
One Turkish man who had failed the £34 test five times paid more than £1,000 and was handed a pass certificate.
Others paid between £200 and £400.
The centre issued more than 5,000 certificates between October 2005 and February 2007.
Brothers Mohammed Yousif, 34, and Abdi Rashid Yusuf, 37, were each jailed for 3½ years.
Another brother, Mubarak Yusuf, 28, got 15 months.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2867597/Somalis-jailed-in-British-citizenship-test-scam.html#ixzz0gaFHnYaO
Cousin Mustafa Yassin got 2½ years.
After the investigation, 3,500 applicants who had "passed" were invited to sit a re-test - but only 849 agreed.
Judge Michael Murphy told Sheffield Crown Court: "If the people running the tests can't be trusted, who can?"
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2867597/Somalis-jailed-in-British-citizenship-test-scam.html#ixzz0gaFrRGUE
Somali woman in London wins EU case to claim benefits
Somali woman in London wins EU case to claim benefits
Nimco Hassan Ibrahim
Two of Mrs Ibrahim's four children go to school in Harrow
A Somali woman with children in London schools has won a test case to claim benefits even if she is "a burden on the social assistance system".
Nimco Hassan Ibrahim took her case to the European Court of Justice when she was turned down for housing benefit by Harrow Council in north-west London.
The judges ruled that a parent with children "in education in the host member state has a right of residence".
The judges added that Mrs Ibrahim's right is "not conditional".
The judges ruled: "A parent caring for the child of a migrant worker who is in education in the host Member State has a right of residence in that State.
"That right is not conditional on the parent having sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system."
'Never self-sufficient'
Mrs Ibrahim married her husband, who is a Danish citizen, in Ethiopia and moved to London to join her husband - named in court as Mr Yusuf - in 2003.
He worked for five months before claiming incapacity benefits but when the benefits were stopped in 2004 he moved to Denmark.
His wife and four children, all Danish nationals, remained in Harrow in temporary accommodation and two of her children attend state schools in the borough.
Mrs Ibrahim, who is separated from her husband, "was never self-sufficient, and depends entirely on social assistance," the court heard.
"She does not have comprehensive sickness insurance cover and relies on the National Health Service," the judgment added.
'Floodgates issue'
Her initial plea for housing assistance was rejected on the ground that only people with a right of residence under European Union (EU) law could apply, and neither she not Mr Yusuf were at the time considered a resident in the UK under EU law.
But the Luxembourg court said parents caring for the children of migrant workers, and resident in EU countries are covered under EU rules on freedom of movement, including those who cannot support themselves.
Harrow Council said it will study the implications of the ruling.
Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane said: "We have a floodgates issue.
"It has set a legal precedent that people who have not contributed to the country's benefit systems can now actually qualify to get benefits when their children are in schools, so it opens the doors for more migrants to come in to the country."
Nimco Hassan Ibrahim
Two of Mrs Ibrahim's four children go to school in Harrow
A Somali woman with children in London schools has won a test case to claim benefits even if she is "a burden on the social assistance system".
Nimco Hassan Ibrahim took her case to the European Court of Justice when she was turned down for housing benefit by Harrow Council in north-west London.
The judges ruled that a parent with children "in education in the host member state has a right of residence".
The judges added that Mrs Ibrahim's right is "not conditional".
The judges ruled: "A parent caring for the child of a migrant worker who is in education in the host Member State has a right of residence in that State.
"That right is not conditional on the parent having sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system."
'Never self-sufficient'
Mrs Ibrahim married her husband, who is a Danish citizen, in Ethiopia and moved to London to join her husband - named in court as Mr Yusuf - in 2003.
He worked for five months before claiming incapacity benefits but when the benefits were stopped in 2004 he moved to Denmark.
His wife and four children, all Danish nationals, remained in Harrow in temporary accommodation and two of her children attend state schools in the borough.
Mrs Ibrahim, who is separated from her husband, "was never self-sufficient, and depends entirely on social assistance," the court heard.
"She does not have comprehensive sickness insurance cover and relies on the National Health Service," the judgment added.
'Floodgates issue'
Her initial plea for housing assistance was rejected on the ground that only people with a right of residence under European Union (EU) law could apply, and neither she not Mr Yusuf were at the time considered a resident in the UK under EU law.
But the Luxembourg court said parents caring for the children of migrant workers, and resident in EU countries are covered under EU rules on freedom of movement, including those who cannot support themselves.
Harrow Council said it will study the implications of the ruling.
Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane said: "We have a floodgates issue.
"It has set a legal precedent that people who have not contributed to the country's benefit systems can now actually qualify to get benefits when their children are in schools, so it opens the doors for more migrants to come in to the country."
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Hope and support those who are not committed to war
Professor Samatar "Hope and support those who are not committed to war like Somaliland and puntland"
Friday, February 19, 2010
Super-jumbo comes to Africa
Super-jumbo comes to Africa
Feb 18, 2010 11:40 PM | By CHARL DU PLESSIS
Passengers who arrived in Johannesburg on Air France flight AF990 made history. It was the first time the massive A380 "super-jumbo" has brought passengers to Africa.
Current Font Size:
A REAL BIG DEAL: Air France's A380 super-jumbo arrives at OR Tambo International yesterday. The airport widened runways for the massive aircraft, which can carry more than 500 passengers Picture: VIRGINIE VALDOIS/AIR FRANCE
A REAL BIG DEAL: Air France's A380 super-jumbo arrives at OR Tambo International yesterday. The airport widened runways for the massive aircraft, which can carry more than 500 passengers Picture: VIRGINIE VALDOIS/AIR FRANCE
The A380, which can carry 538 passengers and 22 crew, is the largest passenger aircraft yet made. You could park five buses end-to-end on its 80m wingspan, and it is more than double the length of the Wright brothers' first flight of about 36m.
Excited members of the public packed the viewing galleries at OR Tambo International to see the airliner. Kieran Bell, 16, who wants to be a pilot, told The Times he'd "watched everything on TV about it and now it's finally coming here and I get to see it". He would not say whether he had skipped school for the occasion.
Airport manager Chris Hlekane said the runways and taxiways had to be widened to accommodate the aircraft.
Feb 18, 2010 11:40 PM | By CHARL DU PLESSIS
Passengers who arrived in Johannesburg on Air France flight AF990 made history. It was the first time the massive A380 "super-jumbo" has brought passengers to Africa.
Current Font Size:
A REAL BIG DEAL: Air France's A380 super-jumbo arrives at OR Tambo International yesterday. The airport widened runways for the massive aircraft, which can carry more than 500 passengers Picture: VIRGINIE VALDOIS/AIR FRANCE
A REAL BIG DEAL: Air France's A380 super-jumbo arrives at OR Tambo International yesterday. The airport widened runways for the massive aircraft, which can carry more than 500 passengers Picture: VIRGINIE VALDOIS/AIR FRANCE
The A380, which can carry 538 passengers and 22 crew, is the largest passenger aircraft yet made. You could park five buses end-to-end on its 80m wingspan, and it is more than double the length of the Wright brothers' first flight of about 36m.
Excited members of the public packed the viewing galleries at OR Tambo International to see the airliner. Kieran Bell, 16, who wants to be a pilot, told The Times he'd "watched everything on TV about it and now it's finally coming here and I get to see it". He would not say whether he had skipped school for the occasion.
Airport manager Chris Hlekane said the runways and taxiways had to be widened to accommodate the aircraft.
Happiness wards off heart disease, study suggests
Being happy and staying positive may help ward off heart disease, a study suggests।
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