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International News
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Opinion |
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Supporters of KULMIYE party
turn out across the country (Photo: Ramaasnews.com)
Hargeysa, April 20, 2009 – Large crowds
defying government ban on demonstrations showed up at
rallies across the country to support the opposition KULMIYE
party.
The Interior minister of Riyale administration, Mr. Cirro,
has repeatedly threatened to use force to stop political
rallies by the opposition parties.
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Hargeysa, April 20, 2009 – Approximately about thirty plus
members of of Somaliland’s house of parliament and Guurti
whose roots are from the eastern regions of Somaliland, Sool,
Sanaag and Buhodle, have held a press conference yesterday
in Hargeysa. The members who were led by the deputy speaker
of Somaliland Parliament Mr Bashe Farah requested that the
government produce written records and verifiable accounts
about its spending of the rebuilding projects in the easter
regions.
Read full text...
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Hargeysa, April 19, 2009 - On April 16, 17 and 18, 2009 the
two opposition political parties in Somaliland UCUD and
KULMIYE met for intensive consultations. The meetings took
place in a dangerous environment in which the Somaliland
Government has embarked on the perilous path of Africa’s law
of the jungle; of criminalizing political opposition and
perpetuating its hold on power. The leaders of both
opposition political parties have been physically and
personally threatened with death, public demonstrations have
been outlawed and the government have resorted to direct
threats of action against the opposition if they fail to
submit.
Read full text...
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U.S.
Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya
Press Release
April 24, 2009
The U.S. embassy’s Somalia Unit hosted a soccer tournament
for Somali youth in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighborhood on
April 18. The theme was “Youth United for Peace in Somalia.”
Over 150 Somali youth spent the day playing soccer games,
but also reflecting on the parallels between cooperation on
the sports field and in the context of rebuilding Somalia.
Read full text...
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Donors Tackle Lawless Somali Woes
Brussels, April 21 2009 - International donors gather in Brussels on
Thursday to try to help bring stability to civil war-torn
Somalia, but the conference risks being overshadowed by
rampant piracy off its coast.
The United Nations, whose chief Ban Ki-moon will attend,
hopes to collect €200-million to back the peacekeeping
mission there and rebuild the Horn of Africa country's
security forces, according to an EU official.
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Pirates
BRUSSELS, April 23, 2009) - International donors gathered in
Brussels Thursday to try to help bring stability to civil
war-torn Somalia, with rampant piracy in a busy shipping
zone off its coast likely to dominate the talks.
The one-day conference is meant to boost Somalia's security
forces and provide support to an African peacekeeping
mission, but concern was high that the piracy problem might
divert resources in the lawless nation.
Read full text...
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Mogadishu, April 24, 2009 – A hardline opposition leader
accused of al-Qaida links has ruled out peace talks with the
government unless African Union peacekeepers leave Somalia.
Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys returned to the Somali capital this
week for the first time since 2006. He says the peacekeepers
should leave Somalia or face attacks.
Read full text...
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By Khaled Mahmoud
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Cairo, Asharq Al- Awsat- In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat,
President of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed denied that
Al Qaeda had any presence in his country saying "We know
that the Al Qaeda organization is not present inside
Somalia, but there may be those that sympathize with the
words of Osama Bin Laden, or his way of thinking, or his
actions. Osama Bin Laden, as a Muslim, should not incite a
country that is recovering from problems, or its people, to
fighting. He knows the position of Islamic Shariaa law on
[doing] this."
Read full text...
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Mother of Somali Pirate Appeals for Mercy for Her Son |
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LAdar Abdirahman Hassan,
mother of Somali piracy suspect Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi, April 22, 2009
The mother of the Somali piracy suspect being held for trial
in the United States is appealing for mercy for her son. She
says he did not know what he was doing when he and three
other men boarded a U.S.-flagged ship earlier this month and
took the ship's captain hostage. But that opinion contrasts
sharply with the description outlined by U.S. investigators
and the now freed captain, who say the alleged pirate was
the ringleader of the operation.
Read full text...
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Donors pledge 250 mln dlrs for Somalia- EU official |
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Thursday,
April 23, 2009
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - International donors have pledged more
than $250 million to help Somalia boost security and restore
order, a senior European Union official said on the
sidelines of a donors conference on Thursday.
"We are on target. We are even a little bit higher. The
target was 250 million dollars. It seems we are above 250,"
Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development and
humanitarian aid, told reporters.
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EU:
Stable Somalia key to tackling piracy |
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Thursday, April
23, 2009
International leaders gathered Thursday for a one-day
meeting aimed at boosting security in Somalia to halt the
growing piracy problem in the region.
The conference in Brussels, Belgium, is aimed at supporting
Somalia's security and stability through more funding.
Organized by the European Union, it also includes leaders of
the United Nations and African Union.
Read full text...
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Final Communique From The International Conference On
Support To The Somali Security Institutions And The AMISOM
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The
International Conference in support of the Somali Security
Institutions and the African Union Mission in Somalia
22- 23 April, Brussels
COMMUNIQUE
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The
International Conference in support of the Somali Security
Institutions and the African Union Mission in Somalia was
convened by the United Nations Secretary General following
the request of the UN Security Council in its resolution
1863 of 16 January 2009 under the joint auspices of the
African Union and United Nations and hosted by the European
Commission and the European Union. The Conference, which
took place in Brussels from 22 – 23 April, was co-chaired by
the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the African Union
Chairman, Jean Ping.
Read full text...
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Somalia: Running From The Media |
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April 23,
2009: Lacking a legal system that can deal with pirates, or
willingness to fight the brigands, Western nations are now
demanding that shipping companies stop paying ransoms, and
are considering bribing the warlords running the
Transitional National Government (TNG, now run by more
moderate Islamic radicals), Somaliland and Puntland (where
most of the pirates are based) to go after the pirates. The
problem is that there is no real government in Somalia, just
attempts by various collections of warlords to work out
power sharing deals.
Read full text...
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Headlines |
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Heads Of Somaliland’s Parties To Meet Today |
Kulmiye Party Ahmed
Silanyo
Hargeysa, Somaliland,
April 25, 2009 (SL
Times) – An election
mediation committee has
issued a press release
in which it said that it
will bring together the
heads of Somaliland’s
three political parties
(President Dahir Riyale
Kahin, Mr Ahmad Sillanyo
and Faysal Ali Warabe)
in a face-to-face
meeting today. The
purpose of the meeting
is to find a solution
for the political
disputes between the
government and the
opposition. The
committee said it took
the initiative to
mediate between the
opposing parties in
order to help Somaliland
navigate through the
political problems on
the way to a peaceful
and fair election.
Read full text...
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Somali Man Charged With Terrorism In Britain. |
London, UK, April 25, 2009 (SL Times) – A Somali man by the
name of Yaasin Ali who holds a Swedish nationality was
charged with terrorism in Britain.
Court proceedings for Yaasin Ali started this week in London
(Kingston Crown Court). Yaasin Ali was accused of
contributing financially to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida linked
Somali organization.
Read full text...
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Somaliland Forces Advance Towards Puntland |
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Somaliland Forces |
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Las-Anod, Somaliland, April 25, 2009
(SL Times) – Reports from Las-Anod, capital of Sool region say
that the Somaliland military advanced to towards Tukaraq village
after they clashed with Militia loyal to Puntland in Adada and
Higlada towns in the area.
The Somaliland forces who captured Lasanod, the capital city of
Sool region have been stationed in the area for the last two
years.
Read full text...
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ADEN, Yemen Apr 23, 2009 – Thirty-five people drowned after one
of two smugglers' boats carrying more than 220 passengers across
the Gulf of Aden from Somalia capsized Wednesday off the coast
of Yemen's Abyan region, some 250 km east of Aden.
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Desert Locus
Hargeysa, 22 April 2009 – During the past week, more swarms have
been reported in southern Yemen and, to a lesser extent, in
Somaliland.
In southern Yemen, there were a dozen reports of small immature
swarms that migrated into the interior of Shabwah (Ataq, Nisab,
Bayhan) during the second week of April, reaching Marib and Al
Abr.
Read full text...
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Somaliland: Pirates Arrested Near Berbera |
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Hargeysa, April
22, 2009 – At least 9 pirates were arrested along with their
weapons and a small boat in a place about 75kms from Berbera.
The Police said the operation was successful and the security
forces have been following the group since they arrived the
area.
The police operation which took place last night did not result
any human casualties from both sides as the pirates surrounded
to the Somaliland security forces when they realized they are
rounded up.
Read full text...
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Dubai denies laundering Somali pirates’ money |
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DUBAI, April 22, 2009
– The deputy commander in chief of Dubai police has denied
allegations published in a UK-based newspaper that the emirate
has been laundering money belonging to Somali pirates. The
Independent ran a story on Tuesday claiming that huge amounts of
money taken in ransom from vessels hijacked off the Horn of
Africa were being laundered in Dubai and other Gulf countries.
Read full text...
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Female Suicide Attackers Kill 58 Near Baghdad Shrine |
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An injured women is treated at a
hospital after a double suicide bombing in in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, April 25, 2009 — Two female suicide bombers struck
a major Shiite shrine in Baghdad, killing at least 58 people
amid a brutal spike of attacks nine weeks before US troops
are to withdraw from Iraqi cities.
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South Africa's ruling
party leader Jacob Zuma
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PRETORIA, April 25, 2009 — More than half of South Africa's
registered voters cast ballots for the ruling ANC, according to
the election commission's count, clearing the way for party
leader Jacob Zuma to become president.
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Somalia |
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Washington, April 24, 2009 – In the aftermath of the April 12
sniper killings of three Somali teenagers by the U.S. Navy,
several U.S. agencies met on April 17 to conduct a review of
military and foreign policy toward this Horn of Africa nation.
The State Department, Pentagon and Justice Department have
outlined a series of options to ostensibly fight “piracy” in the
Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Read full text...
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Iran cleric tells Washington to stop the language of threats |
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Fri Apr 24, 2009
9:03am EDT
TEHRAN (Reuters) - An influential Iranian cleric urged the
United States Friday to stop threatening Iran with more
sanctions if it wanted to hold talks with the Islamic state over
its disputed nuclear work.
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Pentagon To Release Prisoner Abuse Probe Photos |
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen shortly
after his March 2003 arrest in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.
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Fri Apr 24, 2009
2:53pm EDT
By Andrew Gray
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it would
release hundreds of photographs from investigations into
prisoner abuse but insisted they did not reveal a policy of
mistreatment.
The Obama administration's commitment to release the pictures by
May 28 could fan the flames of a political firestorm over the
treatment of terrorism suspects and other detainees during
George W. Bush's presidency.
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By Nicole Stremlau
Co-authored with Iginio Gagliardone
April 13, 2009
Even for George Bush's careless reaction to Hurricane Katrina,
it would have been hard to imagine him telling the thousands of
victims made homeless "it's like a weekend of camping." But that
was what Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said on the German
television, NTV, about the more than 30,000 people whose homes
were destroyed by the earthquake that struck the center of the
country.
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Somali Pirates
April 23, 2009
WASHINGTON, Apr 23 (OneWorld.net) - The issue of piracy should
not take precedence over humanitarian concerns in Somalia, where
nearly 80 percent more people are in need of emergency relief
since last year, said an international anti-poverty group as
donors to the country meet today.
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Sokari Ekine
23 April 2009
column
What happens when a state (Somalia) becomes a rudderless
ship? This week's roundup of blogs by Sokari Ekine suggests
that it is not just Somalia that is without direction.
Abductions in Zimbabwe, the outing of gays and lesbians in
Uganda and the election of Jacob Zuma as president of South
Africa all call into question the direction of the
leadership and status of human rights across the continent
says Ekine.
Read
full text...
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Middle East Talks On Thin Ice |
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Dr:Terry Lacey |
Dr. Terry
Lacey
Development Economist
Recently in Jakarta we were treated to a wonderful fantasy
world on ice which whirled into action when global US live
entertainment mega impresario Feld Entertainment, defying
the global downturn, put on Disney on Ice presents a
Princess of Wishes on a specially built ice rink, complete
with Aladdin, magic lamp and genie.
When the US puts on a show, it knows how to do it. A
brilliant professional job with all the props and
preparations.
Read
full text...
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The Islamic Center of Hate in the U.S.A. |
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By
Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, April 24, 2009
Frontpage
Interview’s guest today is Dave Gaubatz, the first U.S.
civilian (1811) Federal Agent deployed to Iraq in 2003. He
is the owner of
DG Counter-terrorism Publishing. He is currently
conducting a 50 State Counter-terrorism Research Tour (CTRT).
He can be contacted at
davegaubatz@gmail.com.
Read
full text...
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Q&A: ‘It’s Better To Fight The Pirates’ |
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From Somalia, to the
Caribbean to ancient Phoenicia, a look at high crimes on the
high seas
By
Steve Bloomfield | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Nairobi, Apr 23, 2009 –
Abdirahman Mohamed Farole insists he doesn't want to be the
president of the home of modern piracy. But the recently
elected leader of
Somalia's semiautonomous region of
Puntland says his breakaway government needs support—and
about $20 million—to combat the scourge.
Read
full text...
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The
International Community’s Anti-Somali Agenda |
The
increase in Somali piracy has sparked a flood of news items and
commentaries on this issue. But to those who are familiar with
the Somali situation and are honest about it, much of these news
articles and commentaries are dishonest and misleading,
particularly when it comes to how to solve this problem.
To illustrate what we mean, let us look at a typical statement
that is often repeated by foreign governments and media:
Read full text...
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OPINION |
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Pirates, Al-Qaeda And Arabs Lifting Arms Embargo: Road To
Advance Terror In Somalia |
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By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
Somalia was without effective central government for more
than two decades, which changed the demography of the
country, destroying infrastructure and immigrating the brain
of the country to outside. The country felt apart without
quick signs of recovery. .
Read full text...
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What Went Wrong And Caused Bashir Goth To Leave Awdal News? |
By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib
One early morning I went to the sitting room to take my
coffee. While I was sitting I thought to open the internet
to see the websites. I first opened Awdalnews if there is
any exciting news. Sadly I saw a letter written by Bashir
Goth leaving Awdalnews. He explained to all the audience the
reason he is abandoning the site.
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Struggle For Education & Development In Somaliland’s
Periphery: Notes On A Trip To Burco And Las-Anod |
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By Markus Virgil Hoehne
Introduction
Visiting Somaliland once in a while shows the enormous
progress made in the country, largely through people’s
private investments and some help from the international
community. New shops, restaurants and even industrial plants
open every year, schools and universities mushroom. NGOs and
UN organizations carry out programs from water and
sanitation to health care, support of local municipalities
and training for judges and lawyers. Closer observation
shows, however, that most of these developments and programs
are centered in the capital city of Hargeysa, in western
Somaliland.
Read full text...
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Somaliland: Political Turbulence Due To A Constitutional
Imperfection |
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Written by Sharmarke Ali, USA
Deep down I believe that Somaliland will come to a sense to
defy once again the cynics and deter the vultures awaiting
its demise to emerge out of this political deadlock strong
and resilient as ever. Bitter rivalry between political
parties spurred to create an unbrotherly and unfriendly
atmosphere in dealing with current issue.
Read full text...
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Collateral Damage!! |
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By Ibrahim Rashid Mohamed
I believe Allah Subhanahu Wa Tala is the creator of
everything including the free will given to human beings. He
is the giver and taker of lives. At the same time the
greatest sin is the killing innocent people. Indeed, saving
people's lives is one of the foremost goals in Islam and
will be rewarded in hereafter.
Read full text...
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A Quick Trip To Somalia |
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“Before traveling to Mogadishu, it’s a good idea to
call the various rebel groups if it’s OK to come.”
Pekka Haavisto
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By Pekka Haavisto
Helsinki, April 21, 2009 – “Are you sure you’re on the right
plane?” asks a flight attendant of African Express Airways,
as I sit in my seat. I nod and he looks at me incredulously.
I notice that I am the only white person on board.
I am on flight XU521 en route from Nairobi to Mogadishu. In
the classification for safety by the UN, Mogadishu ranks in
category five. According to the rules, workers must be
evacuated immediately, and the countries should not be
visited except in cases of urgent need.
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Ilka Ase
Mohamed says he lost the tall, bright-eyed love of
his life to a Somali pirate who paid a $50,000 cash
dowry to her mother. (Miguel
Juarez - For The Washington Post)
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By
Stephanie McCrummen
NAIROBI, April 20, 2009 --
The young Somali couple had plans. Ilka Ase Mohamed and the
love of his life, tall, bright-eyed Fatima Mukhtar, were
going to leave their little fishing town of Harardhere,
attend university and, when Mohamed had enough cows for a
dowry, get married.
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PIRACY: The Danger of Escalation |
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A
document from a hijacked ship contained a 'list of written
rules' of pirate conduct.
By
Mark Hosenball | NEWSWEEK
Apr 27, 2009
It was a hit with the U.S.
public, but president
Obama's decision to authorize
the Pentagon to kill three Somali
pirates who took an American sea captain hostage sent
shudders through the world's shipping and insurance
industries. Because the pirates are motivated chiefly by
money, maritime experts say, they have—at least until
now—taken good care of the crews they hold captive.
Read full text...
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Life at Princeton may be more complex now than it was in
Michelle's day.
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Michelle
Obama, USA's First Lady |
By Andrew Romano and Aku Ammah-Tagoe
Washington, April 27, 2009 –
Alexandra Kennedy was on the inside looking out. For much of
the evening, streams of Polo-clad students had sped east
across the
Princeton campus, flooding Prospect Avenue and breaking
in waves against the row of imposing mansions, called eating
clubs, where most upperclassmen "take their meals"—and where
nearly all undergrads go for their regular dose of dancing,
drinking and hooking up. Now hundreds filled Ivy, the oldest
of the clubs.
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A slain
U.S. soldier’s body is dragged through Mogadishu in
October 1993. |
Brett Popplewell
Somalia,
noun: the
embodiment of a failed state.
Apr 18, 2009 – It is a
modern-day pirate kingdom known for banditry, shootouts and
kidnappings.
For the past 18 years, Somalis
have had a closer relationship with the Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse than they have with the notion of good
government. Pestilence, famine, war and death are a part of
everyday life, while the current president barely controls
more than a few city blocks of Mogadishu and has little
ability to govern 9 million Somalis.
Read full text...
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Adapting Ancient Roman Lessons On Beating Pirates |
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By Roger Middleton
Published: April 21 2009
Piracy is a crime as ancient as maritime trade, flourishing
in areas where authorities are too weak to counter
criminals. Somalia is a perfect pirate environment, lawless
and next to busy shipping lanes. Yet history shows that
piracy can be stopped, whether in the unruly seventeenth
century Caribbean, the ancient Mediterranean or, more
recently, in south-east Asia where attacks are being curbed.
But can lessons from the rest of the world be applied to
Somalia?
The answer is: only if adapted for the Somali context.
Read full text...
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J.Peter Pham, PhD
April 23, 2009
When I wrote in
this column three weeks ago that “the Somali pirates
have hardly been cowed by the international naval presence”
in the Gulf of Aden and “have simply shifted their
operations to areas which they know are not being patrolled,
with strikes increasing taking place on the high seas,”
little did I know how quickly events would confirm my
analysis. On April 8th, four pirates hijacked the Norfolk,
Virginia-based MV Maersk Alabama, while the boat was
some 240 nautical miles of the Somali coast en route to
Mombasa, Kenya, with humanitarian supplies for Kenya,
Somalia, and Uganda.
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