UN envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdallah |
DJIBOUTI, 1 June 2008 - Negotiations sponsored by the United Nations and aimed at bringing the Somali government and its main political foes into direct dialogue were due to resume Saturday in Djibouti.
The first round of discussions ended on May 16 and although the rivals did not engage in direct talks, the move was seen as a breakthrough in efforts to end a conflict which, according to international rights groups and aid agencies, has seen at least 6,000 civilians die in fighting over the past year.
Burao, Somaliland, 1 June 2008 - The first graduates from the Burao School of Health have completed their three year course. The thirty one students are the first batch of graduates from the school since 1986.
Speaking at the ceremony held at the Burao University campus Mrs Fadumo Osman, the school administrator, congratulated the graduates on completing their studies and encouraged them to use their knowledge and skill for the benefit of the people of Somaliland and the Horn of Africa.
MOGADISHU, Somalia May 29, 2008 - A little-known Somali Islamist group claimed responsibility on Thursday for a bomb attack that killed three people in Ethiopia on the eve of national celebrations to mark the 17th anniversary of the current government's ascent to power.
«We will keep on fighting until we liberate our country from the Ethiopian invaders,» said Haji Abukar, a spokesman for the Islamic Guerrillas, after claiming responsibility for Tuesday's bombing in Nagele, 560 kilometers (347 miles) south of the capital, Addis Ababa. «Our fighters will continue their holy war against the enemy of Somalia and we will target them everywhere.
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UNITED NATIONS, May 29, 2008 - As diplomats prepare to leave for Africa where the U.N. Security Council is due to meet next week, calls from activists are growing for strong international action to address the worsening human rights situation in many parts of the continent.
"Killings, rape, abduction, and displacement are going on right now," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, an influential U.S.-based group that tracks rights violations across the world.
26 May 2008
Vice-chairman of the Sudan Popular Liberation Movement (SPLM), Riyak Mushar, arrived in Khartoum to conduct talks with leaders of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in an attempt to avert an escalation toward renewal of civil war.
The eruption of violence in Abyei last week has jeopardized the fragile peace agreement between the two sides.
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UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah |
Djibouti, May 29, 2008 – The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has said he is pleased that the UN Security Council members have agreed to travel to Djibouti to discuss Somalia.
The SRSG said he was disappointed that, due to a number of considerations, the Council members were not able to travel to Somalia itself. However he pointed out that the Council visit would coincide with inter Somali talks.
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Museveni addresses delegates at the Kampala Serena Hotel |
Kampala, Uganda, 25 May 2008 - THE Africa Liberation Day, marking 45 years of independence for most African countries, was celebrated on May 25. Below is a speech President Yoweri Museveni made to mark the event at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
On May 25, 1963, the leaders of the then independent African countries made history and gave significant impetus to the continent’s collective, but then incomplete struggle for independence, by establishing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
SANA'A, Yemen, May 29, 2008 - Yemen expressed willingness to continue its efforts to complete the reconciliation among Somali factions in order to achieving security, stability and peace in the war-torn country.
Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said on Thursday that a delegation of the Somali Islamic courts headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had arrived in Sana'a to brief Yemeni officials on the recent developments of reconciliation and meetings were held among the Somali factions hosted by Djibouti.
Nairobi, Kenya 1 June 2008 - Suspected militiamen attacked a police post along the Kenya-Somalia border.
The heavily armed gang stormed the Dadajabulla Police Post on Saturday night, released suspects, injured two police officers and escaped in a police vehicle.
Nairobi, Kenya, 25 May 2008 - The Italian government has announced a donation of 600,000 euros to the UN-HABITAT which will go towards improving the living conditions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Somalia.
In a statement of appreciation to the Italians, UN-HABITAT headquarters here Saturday said shelter and settlement were important components in the agency's response to humanitarian and emergency needs in the Somali regions.
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GALKAYO, Somalia, 30 May 2008 - At least two loud explosions were heard Friday morning across the Somali town of Galkayo, part of the semiautonomous region of Puntland, residents and officials said.
There were no reports of any casualties, but witnesses said the explosions caused some damage on buildings at the airport in Galkayo.
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MOGADISHU, Somalia 29 May 2008 - The Ethiopian ambassador in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, has indicated that the government of Ethiopia is initiating policy changes to help improve security.
Ambassador Fisaha Shawel told journalists Thursday that the Ethiopian army will stop search operations across Somalia.
NAIROBI, Kenya, 31 May 2008 - Kenyan police fired teargas on Saturday to disperse hundreds of demonstrators protesting against high food prices in the east African country.
Food prices have risen sharply in the region's biggest economy since a political crisis over a disputed election led to food shortages.
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Headlines |
Geological map of Somaliland showing late I980's block concessions held by the various US oil companies during the Siyad Barre government |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, May 31, 2008 (SL Times) – The Somaliland ministry of Water Mineral Resources has started awarding concessions to interested oil companies.
According to the director general of the ministry, Ahmed Ibrahim Suldan, a UK-based Norwegian-owned company called Asante Oil has already purchased rights to a new oil block.
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Ambassador Wubshet Demissie at Maansoor Hotel, Hargeysa. |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, May 31, 2008 (SL Times) – The 17th anniversary since the fall of the former military regime in Ethiopia was celebrated in Hargeysa last Thursday.
To observe the occasion, Ethiopia’s envoy to Somaliland, Ambassador Wubshet Demissie held a grand reception at the Maansoor Hotel, Thursday evening.
Guests included government officials, opposition leaders and representatives of the business community, women groups and the civil society. Read full text...
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US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, (photofile). |
By Jamal Gabobe
On Thursday May 29th, 2008 the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, gave a lecture at the University of Washington School of Law. The title of the lecture was: “The Future of Africa and U.S. Foreign Policy.”
Dr Frazer talked about US policy toward various countries and regions in Africa. She addressed economic, security and humanitarian issues, and the principles that guide American policy.
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Last Thursday's parliamentary vote on the national budget |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, 30 May 2008 - The honourable members of the Somaliland House of Representatives have voted to approve the 2008 budget put before them by the Somaliland Ministry of Finance.
In Thursday's session chaired by the Speaker of the House, Mr Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi and attended by 57 members of the 82 seat house including the Speaker. 54 MP's voted to approve the budget whilst 2 MP's voted against the motion. The Speaker of the House did not cast a vote.
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Analysis
By Yusuf Gabobe
It is very hard to understand the position of TGS-NOPEC, the Geophysical Services Company that enjoys the Ministry of Water and Mineral Resources [MW&MR] complete and strictest confidence. TGS is a services company and like all service providers in any industry they simply work if they are fully paid. Facts and research clearly show that there is no exception to this universal rule. Some of the facts regarding TGS that are worth evaluating are summarized below:
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Sydney, May 27, 2008 – An Australian company today announced the "historic" start-up of a large seismic survey in the semi-independent Somali region of Puntland. While investors are positive on the prospects for oil exploration, operations in the disputed status of Puntland could carry a great political risk. New revenues could fuel the Somali war. ontrol from coming to power.
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Doha, Qatar, 28 May 2008 - Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Television in Arabic on 27 May reports on "sharp divisions among the ranks of the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia following its participation in the Djibouti meeting" and on "accusations by Sharif Ahmad Sharif, head of the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia, against the Eritrean Government of dividing the ranks of the alliance."
The channel then carries a three-minute video report by its correspondent Jami Nur in Asmara, who says: "Eight months only is the age of the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia, which was established in Asmara following the overthrow of the Islamic Courts and the entry of Ethiopian forces into Somalia. During this short age, the alliance did not escape some differences in viewpoints in order to realize its objectives; however, these differences did not turn into estrangement and disagreement carried by the media."
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Commentary
By T .D. Kenyon
After seventeen years of non-recognition by the international community, the people of Somaliland have a modus vivendi in spite of this huge disadvantage which they continue to suffer. Yet ordinary people worldwide recognize that Somaliland constitutes a very worthy addition to the United Nations as a peace loving and devout Islamic State, which excludes and deplores all fanatics and extremists.
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A Djiboutian soldier, left, and an Eritrean soldier at a wall denoting the battle line in the border dispute near the Red Sea. Opposing troops are within feet or inches of each other |
ON THE DJIBOUTIAN-ERITREAN BORDER, May 24, 2008 — The distance between the rival armies is shorter than the barrel of a gun. Hundreds of opposing troops are lined up on the border, staring each other down, from just inches away.
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By Jerry Okungu
Nairobi, Kenya
The relationship between South Africa and Kenya is a perfect example of a study in sibling rivalry. It is a hate-love relationship that seems to have matured into a common fate!
It goes way back in colonial times when the current Kenyan senior citizens like Charles Njonjo ventured there for their higher education.
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Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed |
MOGADISHU, Somalia, 1 June 2008 - A mortar shell exploded Sunday near Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's plane as it was preparing to take off from Mogadishu airport, officials and witnesses said.
Three shells struck the airport and one exploded near the plane just after the president boarded it and was preparing to take off, an African Union peacekeeper at the airport said on condition of anonymity.
By Greg Mills and Gwyn Prins
From voting with Burma and Iran to active diplomacy lending long-term comfort and support to Robert Mugabe, the image and direction of South Africa’s foreign policy is today bewilderingly far removed from Nelson Mandela’s 1993 hope that human rights would be the light that guided its foreign policy.
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Deputy Police Chief Ahmed Hashi Tajir, from Sparkhill in Birmingham |
Mogadishu, May 23 ,2008 – There is a shockwave – no bang – and an explosion sucks air out of my lungs so violently I taste blood. I glance back through the truck’s rear window and see a whirlwind of black smoke and people running. My cameraman says, ‘Roadside bomb. A couple of the guys have taken shrapnel.’ He’s talking about the gun-toting security guards in the pick-up behind us, who defend us in case of ambush as we drive round Mogadishu. Their truck has taken the full blast. The bomb was probably triggered by an insurgent using a mobile-phone detonator.
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Pretoria, South Africa, May 26, 2008 - President Thabo Mbeki has condemned the "shameful acts" of anti-immigrant violence in an address to the nation, and warned of a return to national conflict.
“The shameful acts of a few have blemished the name of South Africa through criminal acts against our brothers and sisters from other parts of the continent,” he said in a prerecorded speech broadcast on public radio and TV yesterday.
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NAIROBI, Kenya, June 2 2008 - The U.N. Security Council meets the key players in the Somalia conflict on Monday to try to persuade the disparate factions to cooperate and restore order to the desperately poor and lawless Horn of Africa country.
The Somalia talks mark the start of a 10-day tour of regional hot-spots that will bring diplomats from the 15-nation council to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and the Ivory Coast.
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Gang chief: Musa Mohammed |
London, May 29, 2008 – A 'general' in a London street gang has been stripped of his personal possessions by a court - including a collection of nearly 60 baseball caps and trainers.
Musa Mohammed, 20, was also ordered to hand over a plasma TV and £1,500 bike. His two pitbull terriers were seized and destroyed.
The move is part of a campaign against gang members using laws aimed at confiscating the proceeds of organized crime networks.
Ashraf Qazi flying to South Sudan, Security Council trip not shown |
UNITED NATIONS, May 29 - The UN Security Council's ten-day trip through Africa, even before it begins, has its first controversy. Juba in Southern Sudan was initially on the program. Then the stop was seemingly cancelled, just as South African Ambassador Kumalo's initial desire to go to Mogadishu or Baidoa in Somalia was vetoed by the UN's Department of Safety and Security.
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Since the government and the opposition sat down together to find a way out of the serious problems related to the elections and the extension of the president’s term, the political temperature in Somaliland has dropped considerably and things are moving in the right direction. It was a smart move that the parties involved in the discussions started by tackling the problem which was most amenable to a solution, namely, setting a date for the elections. The only potential problem here is that now that the opposition parties have committed themselves to the dates of the elections, the government might be less forthcoming on other issues. But despite the government’s bad record when it comes to keeping its word, at this point, we do not want to prejudge the issues under the discussion, and like the rest of the country, we will look on the bright side and hope for the best.
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In November 2005, the Centre for Human Rights began investigating the possibility of a third destination for the LLM field trip. The reasons for increasing the number of field trip destinations to include Somaliland include the following: Somaliland is a state in the making; it would be ideal for students on the programme to have a first hand experience of this.
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By Oyam South MP, Uganda
SOMALIA is one of the world’s most forgotten African nation where millions of innocent civilians continue to face the worst humanitarian situation, and humiliation resulting from the war between the militia groups and recently, the Islamic extremists.
Somalia has never had a central government for the last decade, with dozens of civilians living under a humiliating, helpless refugee life in their own country. But the worlds super powers like the US, Russia, Britain and France, as well as international bodies like the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU),
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By Somali Press Review, May, 31 2008
The Peace talks for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the opposition group to start in Djibouti today is the most serious peace–making efforts since the Sudanese sponsored talks for Somalia collapsed in 2006. Intense negotiations preceded the peace talks which will take place at a time when the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) is divided along two groups—one group led by Sheikh Shari and based in Djibouti, and the other group led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweis based in Eritrea, the birthplace of the Alliance
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By Hassan Dirie
Many people may ask themselves the reason I am posing the above-mentioned question. But if you deeply investigate what Kulmiye stands for, you may come out as puzzled as I am. Just bear with me until I table my findings:
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17th Anniversary Of 18th May: A Dance With Riyale, Or A Dance For Riyale!
By Rhoda A. Rageh, USA
The Unfortunate situation in Somaliland today is the destroying of the Constitution of the land. After may failed negotiations, it was not the year as the Guurti had extended but a year nonetheless. So Riyale had the last laugh. What does the outcome of this incident mean? Who was behind it? What has Riyale done for the country for the six years he was in office? What will be his focus now for this year? And finally, what will be the consequences?
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By By Noah Arre
For our family of over 30 persons in the late fifties, Ismail and I were the only two who had a chance to go to school. And since joining school was always our dream, often times we walked to nearby Tog-wajale which had its primary school since the fall of 1957. And because we had always had all the free time as we were hopeless boys when it comes to tending livestock which was the main occupation of our family, we went almost every morning to town to watch school boys sing our favorite song before starting their classes:
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By Ivan Simic
Millionaires, millionaires, day after day we watch and read about millionaires, actor's millionaires, singer's millionaires, heiress millionaires and others. Every day number of millionaires in the world is rising with incredible speed. This "millionaire" phenomenon became very important in global society, in fact, sometimes millionaires and billionaires are front news before domestic or global issues. In relation, large number of companies, news papers and TV stations are conducting detailed researches on their treasured assets.
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By Abdi Mohamed Ali
I see no shame in people, especially refugees working to eke a living. After all, there is no Somali who was born and brought up in a palace. Even the prophets used to chop wood or do other manual works to make a living. The questions arising from the documentary, Warlords next door are many and multi dimensional. In this article let us only deal with whether there is shame in work.
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, 31 May 2008 (SL Times) – This article was published in last week’s Somali edition of Saxansaxo newspaper based in Hargeysa. Reporters from Saxansaxo, while covering a news story on new medical equipment donated to Hargeysa general hospital by an overseas charity, came across an unusual event in the hospital which caught the imagination of the media and the public alike.
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Abbie Wightwick meets the freedom fighter forced to leave Somalia who has made a new Welsh life for himself
Cardiff, Wales, May 24, 2008 – When he touched down in Somalia for the first time in a quarter of a century Eid Ali Ahmed was moved to tears.
As a refugee who fled as a wanted man from the dictatorship of General Siad Barre in 1981, he had often dreamed of this return. In dark times he feared it might never be.
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It's a heartwarming sight ... seeing students chip in to help those in their darkest hour of need.
The pupils of Sekolah Sri Damesh came out in full force to donate generously. |
Kuala Lumpur, May 25, 2008 – The massive earthquake that struck Sichuan Province in China on May 12 claimed tens of thousands of lives and destroyed countless homes.
A few million people were estimated to have been left destitute by Cyclone Nargis which wrought a path of destruction through south-western Myanmar earlier this month, leaving nearly 134,000 people dead or missing.
By Heather J. Carlson
It is an image Udbi Wallin cannot forget.
An elderly blind woman sits alone under a makeshift shelter of twigs and cloth in a camp for refugees of the recent violence in Somalia. She has no food. Her only daughter has abandoned her -- choosing to leave rather than watch her mother starve to death.
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May 26, 2008
Some people simply lack a sense of occasion. It gets worse when these are public representatives.
There was Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder smiling to the cameras this week. Feeling good about himself that he had got “his people” the attention of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) whom he hoped would extend recognition to the Afrikaners.
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"Obama has repeatedly telegraphed his contempt for any worldview that fails to glorify the U.S. rise to global dominance."
28 May 2008
by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
One of the great ironies of the current campaign season, is the assumption by so many Black voters that by supporting Barack Obama for president, they are making a real contribution to African American self-determination. Nothing could be further from the truth. The candidate, himself, is mightily opposed to the principle of African American self-determination, as he revealed in great detail and beyond doubt in rejecting Rev. Jeremiah Wright's narrative on America's origins.
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Press release
27 May 2008 - A new report released today by Save the Children UK shows that children living in conflict-affected countries fear to report sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeeping troops and humanitarian aid workers.
Despite recent political commitments by governments and international organisations to tackle this problem, the report exposes the chronic under-reporting of such abuse, which leaves many children around the world suffering in silence.
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Israel , Syria, and Lebanon Prepare the "Home Fronts"
By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
May 7, 2008
The Levant could be the starting point of a major international conflict with global ramifications and which could quickly spin out of control. Such a conflict could even involve the use of Israeli or American nuclear weapons against Iran and Syria. Syria has additionally declared that it is preparing for an inevitable war with Israel despite the fact that it believes that the chances of a war in 2008 are slim.
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By Ducaysane M Muhumed
I refer to your question – “Where is justice?” – about the comfort the former Ethiopian dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam, lives in Zimbabwe under the protection of another dictator Robert Mugabe (Daily Nation May 29, 2008).
The question would have been more pertinent had you just mentioned in passing, the abuses the current Prime Minister, Mr Meles Zenawi, metes out on his own countrymen.
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