July 2011

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters/Richard Cowan and Deborah Charles) – With four days remaining until the United States hits its debt limit, President Barack Obama on Friday told deeply divided Republicans and Democrats to stop bickering and find a way “out of this mess.” Obama said a deficit-reduction plan being advanced by the top Republican in Congress would be defeated in the Democratic-led Senate and was simply wasting time. He called for compromise and said both parties were not that far apart on spending cuts. Read More… More on Debt Ceiling

Al-Shabaab, the extremist Islamic group that effectively controls much of Somalia, has banned samosas in the famine-stricked, war-torn East African nation, according to the Kenyan Daily Nation . Apparently the ban, which was announced via loudspeaker , was instituted because Al-Shabaab leaders decided the samosa’s triangular shape was too closely associated with the Christian trinity. Locals face punishment for cooking, buying or eating the meat- or vegetable-filled pastries . This hasn’t been a good month for samosa-religion relations. Just a few weeks ago, a group of New Jersey Hindus sued a restaurant for covertly serving them meat samosa, in violation of their religious adherence to a vegetarian diet. Read More… More on Somalia

Al-Shabaab, the extremist Islamic group that effectively controls much of Somalia, has banned samosas in the famine-stricked, war-torn East African nation, according to the Kenyan Daily Nation . Apparently the ban, which was announced via loudspeaker , was instituted because Al-Shabaab leaders decided the samosa’s triangular shape was too closely associated with the Christian trinity. Locals face punishment for cooking, buying or eating the meat- or vegetable-filled pastries . This hasn’t been a good month for samosa-religion relations. Just a few weeks ago, a group of New Jersey Hindus sued a restaurant for covertly serving them meat samosa, in violation of their religious adherence to a vegetarian diet. Read More… More on Somalia