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Somalia: US Bank Move
Highlights Importance Of Remittances |
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Somalia, December 31, 2011 - The welfare of hundreds
of thousands of Somalis who depend on financial
assistance from the diaspora is at risk following a
decision by a US bank to close down accounts of
Somali money transfer companies in the state of
Minnesota by 30 December, according to local and
international sources.
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Nairobi, Kenya, December 31, 2011 – One Kenyan
soldier and five Al-Shabaab have been killed after
Kenyan troops raided the militants' patrol base in
Tabda area south of Beles Qooqane.
Several other militants were wounded during the
Thursday evening attack.
Military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir confirmed
that four soldiers were injured but said they were
receiving treatment on the ground. "On 29 Dec 2011
at 1900hrs, in Tabda area of Beles Qooqani, KDF
soldiers raided an Al Shabaab position killing five
Al Shabaab and many suspected wounded,' Chirchir
said in a statement on Friday.
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Mombasa, Kenya, December 31, 2011 – Kenya had signed
a deal with the European Union (EU) to provide
security escorts to cruise ships visiting the East
African coast, Tourism Minister Najib Balala said
Tuesday.
"The EU will be working with our navy to beef up
security so as to attract more tourists," Balala
said after receiving Silver Winds, a cruise ship
that left Miami, the United States, with 500
tourists on a worldwide tour.
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Istanbul, Turkey, December 31, 2011 – As an arm of
Turkish soft power and growing regional influence,
civil society organizations and doctors are leading
the way to make a measurable impact on the ground in
Africa.
The Turkey branch of the prominent doctors'
organization Yeryüzü Doktorları (Doctors Worldwide -
DWW) has been active in Africa since 2000 in such
places as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Kenya, Somalia, Ghana and Sierra-Leone.
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Muscat, Oman, December 31, 2011 – The Italian vessel
Enrico Ievoli, which was hijacked off shore Oman
coastline early morning on Tuesday, is heading
towards Somalia.
“At about 0730GMT yesterday, the ship Master
informed that the vessel under the control of
pirates was sailing towards Somalia waters.
According to the Master, the hijacking went through
without damage and injuries to the crew. Everybody
on the board is unharmed,” the statement issued by
the vessel owner said.
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Ministers from various African countries
gathered in İstanbul for the Turkey-Africa
Partnership Ministerial Review Conference,
organized by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
(Photo: AA) |
Ankara, Turkey, December 31, 2011 – Keeping up its
wide-range initiative for closer ties with Africa,
Turkey throughout the year added to its foreign
missions and sped up ambassadorial appointments all
over Africa, but its main focus stayed on Somalia as
the country went through its most severe drought in
a century in the summer of 2011.
As part of the ruling Justice and Development
Party's (AK Party) initiative to increase the
country's representation to a striking 95 percent of
the African continent, Turkey geared up efforts in
2011 to connect to the continent through its newly
established embassies, in hopes that the country
will reach close to four dozen missions in Africa
within a few years. While the country focused on its
foreign missions and the appointment of ambassadors
to the newly established spots, the Somali famine
dominated Turkey's global agenda and even the speech
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered at the
General Assembly session of the September UN
meeting.
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Minneapolis, December 31, 2011 – Members of the
Somali American Money Services Association -- a
coalition of money transfer operators in Minnesota
-- will hold a rally this afternoon in Minneapolis
to protest a loss of banking support that has led
them to suspend money-wiring services to Africa.
Many of the state's Somali-owned money transfer
operators, or hawalas, stopped accepting money for
transactions -- a day earlier than the Dec. 30
deadline when their Twin Cities bank, Sunrise
Community Banks, was to close their accounts.
Bank officials have cited fears that the accounts
put them at risk of violating federal rules designed
to stop terror financing. In October, two Minnesota
women were convicted of conspiracy to provide
financial support to known terrorists in Somalia,
using hawalas to send money overseas.
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There has to come a point where the navies of the
world have to come together to protect merchant
shipping from the pirates operating off the Somalian
coast and other vulnerable points.
The fact is that there is no war on at this moment
in the globe that demands military flotillas to sail
the seven seas seeking combat. As such, there is a
common enemy and one that is striking at a common
purpose, that being the carriage of cargo from one
part of the world to another. Shipping lanes are the
major arteries of commerce and in the global village
context as so eloquently mentioned by Marshal
Maclughan, essential to the economic stability of
the world. To repeatedly witness the ease with which
merchant vessels are hijacked at gunpoint and
boarded by these gangs is depressing and underscores
the vulnerability of the fleets, regardless of the
size of the seagoing carrier.
Along with escort it is also necessary to now seek
some sort of hi-tech operational high ground to
track the pirates from their lair and use methods
that would provide early warning data to the crew.
Even the use of air strikes can be considered.
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A
car burns at the scene of a bomb explosion
at St. Theresa Catholic Church at Madalla,
Suleja, just outside Nigeria's capital
Abuja. Five bombs exploded on Christmas Day
at churches in Nigeria, one killing at least
27 people, raising fears that Islamist
militant group Boko Haram - which claimed
responsibility - is trying to ignite
sectarian civil war, December 25, 2011. |
Lagos, Nigeria, December 31, 2011 - The Nigerian
Islamist group Boko Haram has again demonstrated its
capacity to inflict fear and terror on the people of
Nigeria, with a series of bomb attacks that killed
at least 39 people this past weekend. Analysts
suspect the group also is working with other
terrorist organizations in Africa, but it is not
clear to what degree.
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is
sinful,” has developed its own distinct brand of
terror in Nigeria by carrying out acts of violence
in crowds, seeking to inflict as much bloodshed and
damage as possible.
The group has typically gone after domestic targets,
including Nigerian police and government
institutions, in what is believed to be an effort to
create a Sharia-ruled state. But that all changed
with a major suicide bomb attack on a United Nations
building this year in the capital Abuja.
The strike against the U.N. raised suspicion that
Boko Haram, which has a stated Islamist agenda, is
now operating on a larger scale, and strengthened
the idea that it may have direct ties to al-Qaida.
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Somaliland Delegation
Welcomed Warmly In Egypt, Al-Azhar Supports Islamic
Moderation |
Cairo,
Egypt,
December 31,
2011 (SL
Times) – A
Somaliland
Foreign
Minister, Dr
Abdillahi
Omar, along
with the
Minister for
the
Presidency,
Hirsi Ali
Haji Hassan,
visited
Egypt this
week.
The
delegation
met with
Muna Omar,
the
Assistant to
the Foreign
Minister for
African
Affairs and
the
assistant
secretary
general of
the Arab
League.
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Jamal
Ali Hussein Emerges Winner Of UDUB Party’s 2015
Presidential Candidacy |
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 31, 2011 (SL Times) –
Jamal Ali Hussein, A Harvard educated banker, has
emerged as the winner of UDUB party’s 2015
presidential candidacy.
His closest front runners for the candidacy were
former Aviation minister Ali Waran-Adde and
ex-foreign minister, Abdillahi Mohamed Dualle.
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Although
Somaliland’s Auditor Says Missing Money Accounted
For, Questions Still Remain |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 31, 2011 (SL Times) –
The auditor general of Somaliland, Mohamud Aw Abdi
Ibraahim (Mohamuud dheere), said that their
investigation of the money missing from the ministry
of water and minerals has led to the exoneration of
the minister of water and minerals, Hussein Abdi
Du'ale, from allegations of embezzlement.
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Sheikh
Sharif Fails To Reconcile Parliament |
Mogadishu, Somalia, December 31, 2011 (SL Times) –
The President of the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) Sheikh Sharif met with some members of
Somalia’s parliament who are opposed to the Speaker
of Parliament, Sharif Hassan. The purpose of the
meeting was to persuade the parliamentarians to
rescind their sacking of the Speaker of Parliament.
The members of parliament, however, turned down
Sheikh Sharif’s request.
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US Somalis Say Funds
Cutoff Will Devastate Country |
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Minneapolis, MN, December 31, 2011 – US Somalis said
Friday that a Minnesota bank group's decision to cut
off their money transfer business would have a
devastating impact on people in the war-torn African
country.
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Hussein Abdi Dualeh’s determination and passion for the oil
industry led to homecoming as a government minister
Barry Morgan
London, UK, December 31, 2011 – Hussein Abdi Dualeh
is Minister of Mining, Energy & Water Resources for
the Republic of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, a
territory exactly the same as the former British
Protectorate of Somaliland, but which remains
unrecognized by the international community.
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Somalia is said to be one of the world's
most dangerous places for aid workers to
operate |
By Sebastian Moffett
Brussels, Belgium, December 31, 2011 – Medecins Sans
Fontieres is withdrawing non-Somali staff from a
hospital in Mogadishu where two of its staff were
shot dead but the aid group hopes to maintain its
operation in Somalia despite the danger, an official
said on Friday,
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Ter Apel, Netherlands, December 31, 2011 – Dozens of
Somali asylum seekers who were camping outside a
detention centre in Ter Apel in the northeastern
Netherlands have packed up their tents and ended
their protest. A local council spokesperson has
confirmed the news.
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The EU
is considering ramping up its anti-piracy
mission. |
Frankfurt, Germany, December 31, 2011 – Piracy off
the Somali coast remains a huge problem, despite
international efforts to combat the scourge. Now,
the EU is considering expanding the scope of its
operation to include attacks on onshore
infrastructure such as weapons depots. German
politicians are warning of the dangers of mission
creep.
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N.Korea Declares Kim
Jong-Un Commander Of Army |
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Kim Jong-Un (C) with head-of-state Kim
Yong-Nam (R) (AFP/KCNA/File)
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Seoul, South Korea, December 31, 2011 — North Korea
said Kim Jong-Un, the son of late leader Kim
Jong-Il, had assumed the "supreme commandership" of
the reclusive nation's million-strong military,
state media reported Saturday.
Kim Jong-Un had already been declared
"supreme leader" of the country during memorial
ceremonies for his father on Thursday, as the nation
ended 13 days of mourning for Kim Jong-Il.
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Turkey Regrets Kurdish
Civilian Deaths In Air Raid |
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The civilian deaths raised tensions in the
already volatile Kurdish region |
Istanbul, Turkey, December 31, 2011 – Turkey has
expressed regret over the deaths of 35 civilians in
a Turkish air strike near the border with Iraq.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday's
attack near a Kurdish village, in which young
smugglers died, was "unfortunate and saddening".
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(Dmitry Kostyukov — AFP/Getty Images) |
Washington, December 31, 2011 – The Obama
administration on Thursday announced an arms deal
with Saudi Arabia valued at nearly $30 billion, an
agreement that will send 84 F-15 fighter jets and
assorted weaponry to the kingdom.
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By
Elizabeth Royall – Part IV
A New Model of Postconflict Reconstruction
A different approach to postconflict
reconstruction
should follow a drastic localization and devolving
of governance basic services. The high level of
participation required by local governance will
allow citizens to have a stake in the new order and
give them valuable experience.
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Thinking differently, questioning assumptions, and
living a life of grateful adventure.
By Chris Guillebeau
2011 Annual Review: Looking Forward
Wherever you are and whatever you’re celebrating, I
hope you’re having a great holiday week.
This is the final post of the 2011 Annual
Review series.
Looking back over the year, here’s what we’ve
covered thus far:
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A
model of an oil rig. Kenya has caused a stir
in the oil exploration sector with the entry
of two major players. File |
By Zeddy Sambu
Two major oil firms are set to enter Kenya’s
exploration scene, adding excitement to the long
search for petroleum which has intensified since the
beginning of the year.
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William Lambers
President Obama issued a statement last
week thanking Americans who had donated to relief
efforts in the Horn of Africa this year. He also
cautioned that much more needs to be done to
overcome the humanitarian tragedy of 2011.
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By Salih O. Nur
After more than five decades of violent
conflict and millions of deaths, Sudan’s southern
region has voted for secession in a referendum on
self-determination early this year. Sudan, once
Africa’s largest state, broke-up into two entities
giving birth to an ethnically and religiously
distinct state constituting one-third of its
territory.
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Somaliland’s Parliament Should Learn The Right Lesson From The
Fate Of Somalia’s Parliament |
The situation
of Somalia’s parliament is so pitiful one almost feels sorry
for it. Only, the other day, in Garowe, Somalia’s
parliamentarians were openly humiliated when their speaker,
Sheikh Sharif Hasan, was invited by the UN to represent
parliament even though 285? parliamentarians said they had
impeached him. Not only did the international community tell
Somalia’s parliament that it does not think much of it, but
it showed it does not care about it. And who should blame
the international community? After all, the international
community has been paying the bills for Somalia’s parliament
from its day of conception until now, and Somalia’s
parliament has all through that time behaved like delinquent
minors rather than responsible adults. In the scheme of
things, what transpired in Garowe may just be a slap in the
face compared to what could follow if Somalia’s
parliamentarians keep up their silly act, for the
international community has not even begun to use the
leverage it wields vis-à-vis Somalia’s parliament. One of
these obvious leverages is the fact that the international
community pays the salaries of parliament.
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The Partition Of
Somalia & The Politics Of Destruction |
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By Ahmed M.I. Egal
There have been some thought-provoking pieces
recently on the balkanization or partitioning of
Somalia. The best of these pieces, in my opinion,
have been Professor Michael Weinstein’s “Kenya’s
Premature Invasions of Southern Somalia Stalls
Balkanization” published in Garowe Online (Click
here) and Abdishakur Jowhar’s “The End of
Somalia: Scenario of Partition” published in
Somaliland Times (Click
here). Professor Weinstein’s piece is a
methodical analysis of the realpolitik
motivations underlying the efforts of Ethiopia and
Kenya to establish statelets beholden to, and
dependant upon, them within Somalia and the
political trends within, and outside, Somalia
supporting or opposed to such efforts. Mr. Jowhar’s
piece, on the other hand, is the anguished and
visceral cry of opposition to these efforts, and the
Somali political actors that are, wittingly or
unwittingly, supporting them, that can only come
from a Somali patriot who feels the dismemberment of
his country as deeply as wounds on his body.
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Less Exams More Learning |
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By Liban Obsiye
Speaking to my worried cousin in Hargeysa I came to
the conclusion that he had nothing to worry about.
He did not. He had an English exam to sit and he
feared that he had not learnt and memorized hard
enough. So I asked him to tell me exactly what he
understood from what he was taught at school. I was
astonished by his ability to memorize and quote
sometimes large chunks of academic texts. I asked
further questions to determine if he understood what
he had just memorized and he clearly had. But was he
able to apply his own interpretation of the facts he
regurgitated to me over the phone? The simple answer
was No.
One may feel that it is just my cousin’s academic
inability but he consistently comes top three in all
classes. On many occasions he came first in most
subjects he was examined in. Clearly individual
student ability is not the problem. The problem with
education in Africa is that it is too exam based.
Everything is examined in empty halls patrolled by
teachers for a certain amount of time. This
relatively small amount of time determines whether
or not students can claim to be educated in their
academic fields. This is absolutely absurd.
Education is about more than pure exams. It requires
time, effort and most importantly patience to
understand and interpret. Knowledge is not passing
exams by regurgitating entire text books even if it
is done perfectly. The problem again is not the
students but the teachers who only know this lazy
examination technique which does more to harm
student’s confidence than help them acquire the
skills they need today to compete in a globalized
labor market. How can future journalists and lawyers
practice their advocacy skills on exam papers? How
would exams help future business leaders in
education today if they are not trained in the art
of face to face marketing?
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Prospects Of Decentralization In Somaliland |
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Abdirahman Adan Mohamoud, Hargeysa
1. Introduction
Decentralized Governance is increasingly becoming an
interesting topic for many United Nations,
international and bilateral agencies, development
partners, local partners and academia.
Decentralized governance, is in many cases seen as
one of the means of preventing and diffusing
conflict, enhancing service delivery and
strengthening the capacity of local governments.
According to the World Bank, in the last quarter
century, over 85 countries have attempted to
transfer responsibilities of the state to lower
tiers of government. Significantly, most of these
lower-tier governments have been elected, so that
the decentralization is not just administrative or
fiscal, but also political. The motivation for the
decentralization has varied. In Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union, it was part of the
political and economic transformation; in Latin
America, it was to reinforce the transition to
democracy; in South Africa, Sri Lanka and Indonesia,
it was a response to ethnic or regional conflict;
and in Chile, Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire, it was to
improve the delivery of basic services (Shah and
Thompson 2004). Even when it is not explicit,
improving service delivery is an implicit motivation
behind most of these decentralization efforts.
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Somaliland: Prospects For Economic Development And
Future Priorities For Investment
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By: Adam Ismail Hassan PhD
1. INTRODUCTION
Although Somaliland is not recognized
internationally it continues to be peaceful,
relatively stable, with central administration, a
multi-party political system, elected government, an
active civil society and vibrant private sector. In
the context of a post-conflict economic base and
without international development aid, due to lack
of international recognition, consecutive
governments in Somaliland have to varying degrees
succeeded in establishing functioning
administrations, promoted peace, reconciliation and
stability, and created positive and enabling
environment for economic growth and social
development. It is no secret that the bulk of
state-rebuilding efforts and activities were
initially focused more on peace and security rather
than on building the capacities of public
institutions to deliver basic services such as
health, water and education to the poor and the
vulnerable sections of the society, and those
consecutive governments were not in a position to
regulate the growing private and non-state sectors
which filled in the vacuum left by the central
government, after the collapse of the Somali state
in 1991.
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