Somalia has finally reopened its embassy in the UK after 32 years, in a ceremony attended by ambassador Abdulkadir Ahmed Kheyr, Olympic champion Mo Farah and Somali-Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre, among others.
In the meantime, the embassy in London is expected to provide consular services to the nearly 500,000-strong diaspora community in the UK who are eligible for Somali citizenship, and other services including travel documentation and marriage certificates.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that will also host cultural and other informative events.
Ambassador Kheyr said that reopening the embassy was a positive step in strengthening UK-Somali relations.
The Somali embassy in London was officially closed in 1991 following the collapse of the central government. However, diplomatic relations have strengthened in recent years.
Britain reopened its embassy in Mogadishu in 2013 after a 22-year absence.
In another report, the US military has confirmed that a US air strike assisting government troops in Somalia has left no fewer than 30 Islamist al-Shabab militants dead.
The operation happened near the town of Galcad, about 260km (162 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu.
Over the past few days, the Somali army and al-Shabab militants have fought for control of the town.
Africa Today News, New York reports that yesterday’s air strike came as more than 100 militants were attacking the army, the US Africa Command says.
Earlier the Islamists killed seven soldiers after storming a military base in Galcad. Somalia’s Information Ministry said dozens of the militants were killed.
Al-Shabab has been fighting Somalia’s central government since 2006, aiming to impose an extremist Islamist regime. While it has been pushed out of Mogadishu and other areas it continues to attack military and civilian targets.
Last Monday the government said its army and local militias had captured the port town of Harardhere, which had been a key al-Shabab supply centre since 2010.