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International News
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Opinion |
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President Obama
MOGADISHU, April 14, 2009 – The crew of a
US ship attacked off Somalia called on President Barack
Obama to lead the battle to stamp out piracy yesterday,
after US forces freed the ship’s captain to end a five-day
hostage drama.
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Photo:
Keishamaza Rukikaire/IRIN
HARGEISA, Aisha*, 24, lives in Hargeysa, capital of the
self-declared republic of Somaliland in northwestern
Somalia, where she puts food on the table for herself and
her child by trading sex for money and khat, a herbal
stimulant. Aisha told IRIN/PlusNews about her life during a
conversation frequently interrupted by customers calling to
make appointments.
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Nairobi, 17 April 2009: The UN Special Representative for
Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has strongly condemned the
recent targeted attacks in Mogadishu aimed at delaying the
ongoing work by the new Government to restore peace as well
as the adoption of Sharia law by the Parliament.
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Eritrean
soldiers march during the country's Independence Day in
Asmara in this May 24, 2007 file photo
London, April 16, 2009
- Eritrea's extensive detention and torture of its citizens
and its policy of prolonged military conscription are
creating a human rights crisis and prompting increasing
numbers of Eritreans to flee the country, Human Rights Watch
said in a report released today.
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Somalia
sh.shariif
ANKARA, April 18, 2009 Turkey will assist Somalia in
establishing and training its security forces after years of
bloody conflict and political turmoil in the African
country, President Abdullah Gul said Friday.
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US Marines
Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 23:14.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a new US
initiative April 15 to battle piracy off Somalia, and said
she has formed a diplomatic team to press Somali leaders "to
take action against pirates operating from bases within
their territories."
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ROME, April 17, 2009 – Italy opposes a military rescue of 10
Italian sailors kidnapped by pirates off Somalia, Italy's
foreign minister said on Friday, adding the hostages were in
good health.
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Arab League
Copenhagen, 17 April 2009 (Somalilandpress) — The Arab
League has said that they will ask the United Nations to
uplift the arms embargo in Somalia so that Somali pirate
groups can be fought.
The Arab League said that it will ask the United Nations
Security Council to lift the arms embargo that has been
imposed on Somalia so that the Transitional Federal
Government of Somalia [TFG] can have the opportunity to
fight Somali pirates whose attacks along the Somali coast
and the Gulf of Aden has increased in the last few days and
to also give the TFG assistance on various sectors.
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Pirates Vow Revenge After Rescue Mission |
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Lawless ... Somali pirates
hold hostages on a French yacht last week. French forces
rescued the captives / Picture: Reuters
Article from: Reuters
By Abdiqani Hassan
April 13, 2009 07:32am
SOMALI pirates have threatened
revenge after two separate hostage-rescue raids by foreign
forces killed at least five comrades, raising fears of
future bloodshed on the high seas.
The latest
raid by US forces this morning saved American hostage Capt
Richard Phillips. Three pirates were killed and one was
taken captive, the US Navy said.
That rescue mission and one by France last week have upped
the stakes in shipping lanes off the anarchic Horn of Africa
nation where pirate gangs have defied foreign naval patrols.
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Prepared to die for Islam |
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AFP
Thu, 09 Apr
2009 10:44
One was a taxi driver in the United States, the other a
part-time baker in Britain. Now they have returned to their
native Somalia to fight "the enemies of Allah."
"Hey brother, what's up?" chirps Abu Muslim,
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Headlines |
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Puntland Pirates Trying To Expand To Somaliland |
Puntland Pirates
Las-Qoray, Somaliland,
April 18, 2009 (SL
Times) – Reports
reaching us from eastern
Somaliland indicate that
Puntland pirates are
trying to establish a
base in Sanag region.
The pirates are
currently holding a ship
hostage about 10 km east
of Las Qoray, Sanag. The
ship was captured a week
ago.
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Al-Shabab Shoots Man Because Of Dispute Over Prayer |
Somalia Al-shabab
Baidoa, April 18, 2009 (SL Times) – A member of al-Shabab
militia in Baidoa shot and killed a Somali man after they
argued about why the man was not attending noon prayer.
According to reports from Baidoa the man was stopped in the
street by the al-Shabab militia and was asked why was he in
the street and not in the mosque praying since it was the
time for the Muslim noon prayer.
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UN-HABITAT Boosts Somaliland Tax |
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Nairobi, April 18, 2009 - A
Geographic Information System (GIS) established in Hargeysa
Municipality with technical assistance from UN-HABITAT has
helped to increase annual property tax revenues by 248 percent,
from US$169,062 in 2005 to US$588,754 in 2008, the UN human
settlement agency has said.
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A Post Panamax
vessel. / Coutersy
Written by Githua Kihara
Djibouti, April 18, 2009 – The port of Djibouti has become the
first regional port to handle a Post Panamax vessel, one of the
biggest cargo ships, and there are fears that other regional
ports will lose business to the port as ship builders shift
focus on the construction of these huge vessels that other
regional ports cannot handle.
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Eriteria Military
Hargeysa, Somaliland, April 18, 2009 (SL Times) – Somaliland
authorities have lashed on Eritrean government for meddling of
other states affairs and fueling instability in the Horn of
Africa.
According to a statement released by Somaliland foreign minister
Abdillahi Mohamed Du’ale,
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One
On One With President Dahir Riyale Kahin Of The Democratic
Republic Of Somaliland |
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By Jerry Okungu
Hargeysa, Somaliland
The President of the Democratic of Somaliland, the other Somali
state that many people don’t really know outside Somaliland is a
different breed of African leaders. I have yet to come across an
African head of state as self-effacing as President Dahir
Rayaale Kaahin.
I first met him at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi way back in
2006 when he visited Kenya and the rest of East Africa as Head
of State.
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U.S. Captain Returns Home to Hero's WelcomeCapt. Richard
Phillips Praises U.S. Navy for Daring Rescue: 'I'm Not the Hero' |
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Capt. Richard Phillips tips his hat
to the sailors of the USS Bainbridge after arriving on a plane
in South Burlington, Vt., Friday, April 17, 2009. At rear is his
daughter, Mariah.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
By JOHN BERMAN and LAUREN SHER
Vermont, April 17, 2009 — The U.S. captain of the Maersk
Alabama, who was rescued from the hands of Somali pirates Easter
Sunday, received a hero's welcome as he arrived home in Vermont
Friday.
After a 7,500 mile flight from Kenya, Capt. Richard Phillips
touched down on familiar ground and was greeted by hugs from his
wife, Andrea, two children, Mariah and Daniel, and other
relatives in a heartfelt reunion at the airport.
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Obama
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US President Barack Obama (left) waves as he walks with Mexican
President Felipe Calderon and his wife MargaritaZavala upon
their arrival at the Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico
City on Thursday.
Mexico City: April 17, 2009: After backing Mexico's ongoing
battle against drug cartels, US President Barack Obama is
heading to a Western Hemisphere summit with a sudden spotlight
on Cuba.
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Islamabad, April 17,
2009: A radical Pakistani cleric on Friday urged the imposition
of Islamic rule across Pakistan and the world.
It was an emotional welcome outside the famous Lal Masjid
premises for Abdul Aziz amid tight security.
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Four Convicted In Pirate Bay File-Sharing Trial |
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Defendants in The
Pirate Bay trial Gottfrid Svartholm Varg (partially obscured)
and Peter Sunde (right).).
A crowd of
journalists press to get a copy of the Pirate Bay trial verdict
on Friday.Stockholm, April 17, 2009 – In a landmark decision, a
Swedish judge on Friday gave jail sentences to four men for
breaking Sweden's copyright law by helping millions of users
freely download music, movies and computer games on the
internet.
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And why none of them will work as well as we might hope.
By Ken Menkhaus
Now that the rush of excitement has subsided from the
made-for-TV drama of the rescue of Captain Phillips, we are left
with the more sobering long-term question of what to do about
Somali piracy. Whether piracy constitutes a serious national
security threat is a subject of debate. But there is no question
that piracy off the Somali coast is now an important symbolic
political issue for both the Obama administration and its
critics.
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Asmara, 17 April 2009 — The terrorist attacks of 11 September
2001 on the Twin Towers had set off torrents of shock and
sadness from nations and peoples from all over the world, as
everyone was sympathetic to the loss and grief of the American
people. Many nations, in an effort to prevent such further
misdemeanors and actions of terror, pledged to join the alliance
to fight terrorism formed by the United States of America to
contribute their parts.
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By Brett D. Schaefer
April 17, 2009
The recent news coverage of pirates has focused U.S. public
attention on Somalia more than at any time since the
confrontation between U.S. forces and Somali fighters
detailed in the movie Black Hawk Down. Numerous suggestions
have been made on how to deal with high seas piracy, but
failing to adopt a strategy that resolves Somalia's ongoing
instability will undermine any such efforts--piracy in the
region benefits from Somali lawlessness and volatility.
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Embarrassing Consequences: Somaliland Accused Neighboring
Eritrea Of Training And Sheltering Islamic |
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April 16,
2009: Somali government (TNG) officials confirm that al
Qaeda is using the country as a base, for training
terrorists for attacks in neighboring Kenya, Ethiopia and
Yemen. The most radical Somali faction, al Shabaab, has even
recruited about a dozen young men from the Somali refugee
community (of about 150,000 legal and illegal migrants) in
the United States. The U.S. is now seeking to interrupt
Somali pirate and terrorist factions access to banks in the
region.
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Interview with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice |
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The
Situation Room
April 14, 2009
BLITZER: First officer of that boat hijacked last week
urging President Obama to do something about these pirate
threats. Shane Murphy calls it a crisis and says the United
States should be at the forefront of ending it.
Let's bring in Ambassador Susan Rice. She's the new U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations.
Ambassador, thanks very much for coming in.
SUSAN RICE, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: Good
to be with you, Wolf.
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The Wacky World Of Piracy In Somalia - And How A Brave
American Crew Turned The Tables On Their Attackers |
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Hassan Abshir -
Current candidate for President in the breakaway republic of
Puntland, where most of the piracy is now based. In the
democratic republic of
It's
official. Somalia is at war with the world, and their weapon
is piracy. It is no longer a few renegade ex-fishermen
looking for easy victims. These pirates now have the
cooperation of the highest officials in Somalia's strange
and fractured government. This is a government rife with
deals and payoffs, with more corruption than Chicago in the
1920's. People jockey for power, sometimes gathering support
for another try at splitting the country into a smaller
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US
Policy Of Punishing Success And Rewarding Failure Is Disastrous |
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined a four-point US
response to piracy in the Horn of Africa:
1- Call for a meeting of the international Contact Group on
Piracy
2- Attend the International Somali peacekeeping and development
meeting in Brussels
3-
A team of US diplomats will meet with Somali leaders from the
Transitional Federal
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OPINION |
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One On One With Somaliland Political Elite |
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By Jerry Okungu
Hargeysa, Somaliland
Eng. Faisal Ali Warabe, President of the UCID opposition
party, the third largest political party in Somaliland
believes that Somaliland is on an irreversible path to
democracy with a sound and credible multiparty political
culture.
He swears that the citizen is the backbone of political
power; therefore his or her participation is fundamental.
The citizen therefore deserves the right to be protected
from state excessive power.
He, like many Somaliland politicians, is appalled at the
apparent indifference of the world community to the plight
of his country despite 19 years of relative peace and
democratic governance.
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The Pirates: Yes, They Are Becoming Dangerous |
By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
Congratulations to both the strong crew of US cargo ship
‘Maersk Alabama’ and US Solider who rescued the kidnapped
Capt. Richard Phillips. The soldiers killed three pirates
and captured the fourth one, and rescued the captain
unharmed. This is the first time that pirates kidnapped
human being off the Somali Coast particularly “Puntland”
Water, which is very serious development.
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For Sale: Somalia’s Territorial Waters |
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Dalmar Kaahin
In October 2008, when a Kenyan lawyer named, Donald Kipkorir
proposed that his country along with Ethiopia—natural
adversaries of Somalia—divide Somalia between themselves he
wasn't bluffing. Among the Somalis, however, the proposed
annexation of their country left them astounded.
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Open Letter To U.S. Congressman Mr. Donald Payne Of New
Jersey |
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Dear Congressman Mr. Payne,
I bring you greetings from the people and government of
Somaliland and am honored to send you this letter.
First let me ask for your indulgence for addressing this
letter to you without the ceremony of Protocol, but I
believe it is permitted in the face of great democracy
inevitability to trespass on the better etiquettes of
Somaliland, and the subject of my letter does at least in my
point of view.
About Somaliland:
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Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis: A Cock- Eyed
Liar And An Iconoclastic Hacker |
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Ismail Ahmed, Dire
Dawa, Ethiopia
Until recently, there has been a surge in malicious
propaganda campaign against the state of Somaliland and its
peace loving people by a hired iconoclastic hacker, who
socially became an outcast in his own country. It is irony
that once notoriously lucrative mercenary businesses in
Africa that we have witnessed in the past, has been replaced
with hired iconoclastic hackers ,who are eking out living in
demonizing stable countries like the Republic of Somaliland.
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The Complex Somali War That Will Never End Untill Vested
Interests Stop Meddling |
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By Jerry Okungu & Said Ibrahim Hussein (Bunna)
Hargeisa, Somaliland
April 13, 2009
Said Ibrahim Hussein is a young and promising journalist
from war-torn Somalia. Chaotic as Somalia is, Hussein,
nicknamed BUUNA is as enterprising as any young man in
Somalia cab be. Instead of taking an AK 47 to the streets to
terrorize fellow countrymen or fight other warlords’ wars,
Bunna has decided to use his intellect.
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ALAN JAMIESON
Globe and Mail
April 15, 2009 at 12:00 AM EDT
There is some irony in the fact that the U.S. Navy vessel
sent to assist the first American merchant ship captured,
temporarily, by Somali pirates should be the USS Bainbridge.
The destroyer is named after William Bainbridge, a naval
officer who played a less than glorious part in the first
U.S. war against Muslim pirates, the struggle against
Tripoli in Libya at the start of the 19th century.
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Somalia: The End Of A Nation State |
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Written by Emma Okocha
Thursday, 16 April 2009
"While the world as a whole, without distinction of race,
creed or religion was sympathetic with our agony and willing
to reach across vast distances to assist us, we the Somali
people were not ready to help ourselves.
The world has with pain learned that Somali is indeed a
difficult patient who refuses to be tested, fed and
cured.....The result was a self inflicted social suicide.
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By Jena Baker McNeill and Brett D. Schaefer
April 15, 2009
When Somali pirates seized the U.S.-flagged Maersk
Alabama, taking the ship's captain hostage, resulting
news coverage focused U.S. public attention on piracy
and lawlessness in Somalia.
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By Paul J. Sullivan
Dr. Sullivan is a professor at the National Defense
University and Georgetown University, and is an expert on
international energy and security issues, and the economics
and politics of North Africa, part of sub-Saharan Africa,
and the Middle East. All opinions expressed are those of the
author.
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The Battle Against Piracy Begins In Mogadishu |
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The Somali marauders who are terrorizing shipping have
deep roots in the local ‘shifta' tradition of outlaw robber
gangs
Ben Macintyre
April 16, 2009
We call them “pirates”, because that is how they most easily
translate into Western culture, but the Somali marauders
currently terrorizing Indian Ocean shipping might better be
termed ocean-going shiftas, heirs to a long and uniquely
African tradition of banditry.
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Chambi
Chachage
9 April 2009
OPINION
The debate on how to unite African states has not changed
significantly since Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere locked
horns on the matter in the early 1960s, writes Chambi
Chachage.
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The Future Of Poverty In Africa |
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By Kayode Oladele
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) were declared and
made “compulsory” social policy option for third world
countries. About the same time the United Nations adopted
these goals as a palliative “arrest” option for the third
world, the World Bank came up with a huge document on
African, entitled “Can Africa Reclaim the Twenty first
Century?” Without anybody saying so, both the UN and the
World Bank held very pessimistic view about Africa ’s
capacity to meet up to its social challenges, to reach or
accomplish the limited and tentative targets set for it, but
they did say so in too many words.
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A Latin American Growth Formula? |
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Greg Mills & Michael Spicer
The full text of an article on the relevance of the Latin
American growth and development experience, which appeared
in The Sunday Times, 12 April 2009.
Is there a formula for growth common among emerging markets?
Is it possible to enjoy high growth and at the same time
reduce social inequality? Are there common approaches to
dealing with the global financial crisis?
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