"Somali PM appeals to U.S. banks to resume money transfer services"

Somalia's prime minister urged the U.S. government and U.S. banks to support money transfer firms that offer a lifeline for many in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation. About 40 percent of all Somali families rely on remittances from another country, and the estimated annual total of $1.3 billion is more than all foreign aid and investment in Somalia combined...

Virtually all major U.S. banks have ended remittance services to Somalis in the United States because of regulations designed to stop money falling into the hands of groups branded "terrorists" by Washington, such as Somalia's al Shabaab.