| Health |
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Doulas Give
Comfort To Expectant Mothers
MINNEAPOLIS, May 4, 2004(Star Tribune) – Muna Mohammed had borne seven
children, and she'd never had this much trouble giving birth before,
not even with her twins.
She had been in acute pain for hours when Sawa Ade arrived at
Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis to help her.
Mohammed was so tired that she begged for a Caesarean section, even
though her Somali culture frowns on the procedure.
"Sawa, what is this?" Mohamed asked. "Am I dying?"
"Don't worry," Ade replied.
As a doula, a Greek word meaning a woman's servant, Ade set out to
make Mohammed comfortable. She walked with her, helped her take a hot
shower and got her a cup of tea, none of which are standard American
birthing practices.
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Echoes From Lost
Somali Clans
ANALYSIS, Gakuu Mathenge
Nairobi, May 5, 2004 (The Nation) – In a country where ethnicity is a
major factor in senior public service appointments, the choice of Brig
Muhammed Hussein Ali as Police Commissioner was of particular
interest. It brought to the fore the existence of what can only be
termed a minority of minorities.
According to a biographical data issued by the Office of the President
on his appointment, Brig Ali was born in 1956 in Eldoret, which lies
in the Uasin Gishu, Rift Valley province.
He attended primary school in Eldoret and then went to Kolanya
Secondary School in Busia, Western Province, in 1974, where he
attained a Division One in his O-Levels.
He joined the Army in 1977 as an officer cadet.
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| Headlines |
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Buni Lobbying For
House Passage Of Budget Bill
Hargeisa, May 8, 2004 (SL Times) – Abdi Hassan Buni, one of President Rayale’s senior advisors, met yesterday with a number of leaders of
the House of Representatives, including Speaker Ahmed Mohamed Adan (Qaybe),
to prop up support for passage of the Administration’s budget bill.
The ousted minister of Commerce, Mr. Mohamed Hashi Elmi, disclosed on
Monday that there was a discrepancy of at least 2 million dollars
between the surplus achieved in last year’s budget and the figure
quoted in the new budget. He criticized the draft budget as
unrealistic.
Mohamed Hashi also mentioned that government tax revenues levied
against fuel and the Berbera port service charges were not included in
the budget.
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Over $16 Million
In Government Revenues Reportedly Unaccounted For
Commerce Minister M. H. Elmi Loses Job
After Criticizing Budget Plan For 2003/2004
Hargeisa, May 8, 2004 (SL Times) – Somaliland’s former minister of
Commerce and Industry, Mr. Mohamed Hashi Elmi, had strong criticism
for the Somaliland government’s budget plan for the fiscal year of
2003/2004, when he spoke to reporters at a packed press conference
held at Haraf restaurant on Thursday.
Mr. Hashi, who was sacked by President Rayale last Monday, revealed
that a total of at least $16,474,300 in actual government revenues was
not accounted for by the ministry of Finance. Mr. Hashi pointed out
that the draft budget was submitted by the ministry of finance without
a closing of accounts report on the previous budget.
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Women
Demonstrating Against Corruption Beaten By Police
Hargeisa, May 8, 2004 (SL Times) – The Somaliland police used large
sticks to break up a peaceful demonstration held yesterday in Hargeisa
by a group of women in protest against corruption. A number of the
women demonstrators were injured as a result of being beaten up by the
police while 2 of them were arrested.
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Sir Douglas Hall, Last Governor Of The
Somaliland Protectorate, Dies At 95
London, May 03, 2004 (telegrpah.co.uk) – Sir Douglas Hall, 14th Bt,
who has died aged 95, ended a full career in the Colonial Service as
the last Governor of the Somaliland Protectorate; previously, he had
for almost 30 years served in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).
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International
News |
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Biting The Somali
Bullet
Africa Report Nº79, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Nairobi/Brussels, 4 May 2004 (International Crisis Group) – Over
thirteen years after the collapse of the Siad Barre regime, Somalia
remains the only country in the world without a government, a classic
example of the humanitarian, economic and political repercussions of
state collapse, including a governance vacuum that terrorist groups
can take advantage of for safe haven and logistical purposes.
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Purported Bin Laden Tape Offers Gold For
Bremer
Bounty Also Offered For U.N.
Secretary-General
Washington, May 8, 2004 (CNN) -- A new audiotape message purportedly
from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and posted on an Islamic Web site
Thursday offers 22 pounds of gold to anyone who kills Coalition
Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer or top U.S. military officers.
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JICA Set To
Bolster Africa Activities
NAIROBI, 1 May, 2004 (The Japan Times) The Japan International
Cooperation Agency will strengthen its development activities in
Africa once the agency is through with ongoing reforms aimed at
streamlining its operations overseas, JICA chief Sadako Ogata said
Thursday.
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Africans Rush For
Mobile Phones
By Grant Ferrett, BBC Africa analyst – 5 May 2004
Africa is the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market, a new
report says.
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Joint Communiqué
Issued By The 5th IGAD Ministerial Facilitation Committee Meeting On The
Somali Peace Process
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An Overview For
The Press, The Struggle Continues
JULIA CRAWFORD
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Somalia Abuzz With Glimpses Of Al-Qaeda Boss
Nairobi, May 4, 2004 (Reuters) – Cyberspace is the only sure place to
find the man the United States says is Al-Qaeda’s top Africa bomber, a
master of concealment still at large despite a 5-year-old manhunt.
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Why A Village Well Is A
Weapon In The War On Terror
By MARC LACEY
SIYU, Kenya, April 30, 2004 (New York Times) – Why this particular fishing
village, among the hundreds along the East African coast, may soon receive a
new well, courtesy of the Pentagon, is no secret.
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| Editorial
& Opinions |
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The Corruption Menace
The sacking of the minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Mohamed
Hashi Elmi, last Monday, following his pinpointing of serious flaws in
the Administration’s budget plan for the fiscal year 2003/2004, has
once again brought the issue of corruption in the government to the
forefront of national debate.
The revelation that millions of dollars in government revenues were
either unreported or improperly accounted for, has drawn public
anger. Mr. Hashi’s expulsion from the cabinet, apparently for speaking
out against gross irregularities in the budget document
submitted by Finance Minister, Awil Ali Duale, has also erased any
illusions that President Rayale might do something about corruption in
the future. In fact, Mr. Rayale’s decision to remove Mohamed Hashi, a
man widely respected fro his personal integrity and honesty, is
counterproductive.
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Why Celebrate
Somaliland Independence Day
By Mohamed Aden Hassan (Khodhahdi), NomadUK
It may have seemed like a normal day around the world but on Saturday,
18th May 1991, Somaliland declared itself independent from Somalia and
its dictatorial leadership. This marked the importance of 18th May
from all Somalilanders around the world, as the day when our freedom
became true.
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SHARING WORLD
RESOURCES
By: Mohammed Mesbahi, Chair and Founder, STWR
The current world economic system doesn't work. A world ruled by
financiers and economists with no regard for human suffering or
ecological damage is not sustainable. Unfair trading practices, set up
by the World Trade Organization and the G7 squeeze the third world to
a point where famine and war are the result. When I think about the
ever worsening situation in the third world I am reminded of an
incident one summer in my childhood.
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Silanyo is Right!
By: A. Mohamed Ali Xaashi ‘Dhimbiil’
The leader of the opposition party and the leading statesman in
Somaliland recently argued – quite correctly – that the formation of a
government in Somalia could have a serious impact on Somaliland’s
political agenda. It is time to critically debate these issues instead
of playing partisan politics with the interests of Somaliland. The
wealth of experience and political instincts of Siilanyo should not be
discounted and a proper debate on this issue should follow with a view
of offering a more robust foreign policy assessment rather than making
political hay over his comments.
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Peace Talks |
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Somalia Peace
Talks Go Hungry
Nairobi, Kenya, May 7, 2004 (News24, SA) – Delegates at a summit to
end 13 years of lawlessness in Somalia have not been fed for five days
because the organizers of the talks have not paid their bills,
officials said Friday.
The lack of funds came up when a group of African foreign ministers
discussed what needs to be done to move the stalled Somalia peace
process forward, said Augustine Nshimye, Uganda's minister of state
for foreign affairs.
"We have appealed to the international community (to contribute more
money) and we're trying to find solutions," Nshimye said.
The talks, which have included hundreds of Somalis, have so far been
funded by international donors, but the money ran out on May 1.
"We have not had food for the last five days. As Somalis we don't talk
about food, we are concerned about the casual labourers of the Kenya
College of Communications Technology (where the talks are being held)
who have been laid off," said Awad Ahmed Asharah, a delegate at the
talks.
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Next Phase Of
Somali Peace Talks Postponed Indefinitely
Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi, 06 May 2004 (VOANews) – The slow-moving Somalia peace talks,
often marred by walkouts, suffered a further setback when the next
phase of talks was postponed indefinitely. Mediators blame logistical
problems for the delay.
The Somalia peace process has been underway for more than a
year-and-a-half. Marked by in-fighting, dramatic walkouts by warlords,
and other delays, it has produced a draft charter on the form of the
future government, but few specifics.
But Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Kalonzo Musyoka, who helps mediate
the talks, dismissed speculation that the peace process is falling
apart or that the seven African countries sponsoring the talks and
foreign donors have withdrawn their support.
"We pledge ownership of this process as belonging properly to the
Somali people," he said. "But I think we have a role as a region and
the role is to stand together, which is what we are doing today."
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