Addis Ababa, August 22, 2007 - Ethiopian Trade Office in Somaliland handed 5,000 tree seedlings on Saturday to the Ministry of Environment Protection of Somaliland in connection with the Ethiopian Millennium, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Ministry told ENA that Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of peoples' Representatives of Somaliland, the ministers of environment protection and agriculture, the mayor of Hargeisa City and other invited guests had attended the handing over ceremony.
NAIROBI, Aug 20, 2007 - They've become as much a symbol of Africa's landscape as the stereotypical lions and plains.
Discarded plastic bags - in the billions -- flutter from thorn-bushes across the continent, and clog up cities from Cape Town to Casablanca.
NAIROB, 23 Aug. 2007 - Somali forces fighting a bloody insurgency in the capital are poorly trained and equipped and receive no pay, says the country's interior minister.
However, the government was not relying on a military strategy to defeat the insurgents, said Somali Interior Minister Mohamed Mohamoud Guled.
President of the Somaliland, Dahir Riayle Kahin |
Addis Ababa, August 24, 2007 - Ethiopia and the Somaliland said they are taking various measures aimed at further scaling up their relations.
While conferring with President of the Somaliland, Dahir Riayle Kahin here on Thursday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the two parties are closely working in the efforts underway to fight terrorism.
BAIDOA, Somalia, August 21, 2007 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Tuesday completed the distribution of basic supplies to some 5,000 displaced people living in makeshift shelters in the southern Somalia town of Baidoa.
The distribution of plastic sheeting for shelter, blankets, jerry cans and kitchen utensils started last Sunday and was completed on Tuesday morning. The 5,000 people from 1,000 families who received supplies during this distribution round are among the estimated 4,000 displaced families living in settlements in and around Baidoa, a market town and seat of Somalia's interim parliament.
NAIROBI, Kenya, August 24, 2007 – A corruption index report targeting Kenya which has been released by the world’s graft supervisory body Transparency International (TI) reveals that Kenyan police as the most corrupt government body six years in a row.
The report further reveals that Kenyans are paying more bribes than they did two years ago. The bribes are paid mainly to access public services that should be provided at no fee by the government.
Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Omar Habeeb |
MOGADISHU, August 22, 2007 - Somalia's fledgling interim government has committed all its resources to restoring stability in the capital Mogadishu during major reconciliation talks threatened by Islamist insurgents, the mayor said.
Mohamed Omar Habeeb "Dheere" told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday that security had improved in a city mostly in chaos since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.
Djibouti, August 23, 2007 - The Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) and the Government of Djibouti discussed today the proposed economic partnership between the two regions in setting up and running of an economic zone in Djibouti.
A senior official from Djibouti paid an official visit to the (RAK FTZ) for this particular purpose and to explore investment opportunities available for business community in the emirate.
MOGADISHU, August 24, 2007 - Somali government security forces killed seven insurgents and lost one of their own in intense overnight clashes in the capital Mogadishu, said police on Friday.
Police spokesperson Abduwahid Mohamed said: "The insurgents launched two separate attacks on our security forces and there were heavy exchanges of gunfire. Both sides used heavy machine guns and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades)."
Nairobi, 23 August. 2007 - Denmark says a ransom was paid to free a Danish cargo ship and its crew who were held by Somali pirates for nearly three months.
A Danish Foreign Ministry official, Lars Thuesen, has confirmed that ship owner Joergen Folmer paid the ransom, although he would not say how much.
The pirates had demanded $1.5 million for the ship and its five-man crew.
Moscow, 24 August 2007 Somalia has urged Russia to join the development of national deposits of hydrocarbons and offered Moscow exclusive uranium shipments.
"We invite all Russian oil and energy companies to take maximum part in the work under way in Somalia," Somalian Ambassador to Russia Mohamed Handule said at a news conference in Moscow on August 22.
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BELETWEIN, Somalia August 24 2007 - A beleaguered city mayor in Somalia has gained support from local clan elders who have dismissed the swearing-in ceremony of his replacement yesterday as "illegal."
Clan elders in the Hiran regional capital, Beletwein, convened Friday at Hotel Peace to express support for Ahmed Gobey, the former mayor.
Yesterday, Hiran Governor Yusuf Daboged and Ethiopian generals endorsed the appointment of Elmi Saney Qassim as the new mayor of Beletwein.
Abuja, 25 August 2007 - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, has enlisted the support of the Congress of the United States of America (USA) over Nigeria's economy, saying the President Umaru Yar'Adua government is determined to provide conducive environment for business.
The minister said the President is committed to declaring the energy issue as a national emergency.
KHARTOUM, Aug 18 2007- China is still giving Sudan financial and military aid that enables it to wage war in Darfur, but global pressure on Beijing has made a difference, a Small Arms Survey research paper said.
The paper said advocacy to persuade China to exert its influence over Sudan was a "promising avenue" to bring peace and security to Darfur, torn apart by 4-1/2 years of revolt.
Eritrean president Isayas Afewerki |
ASMARA, August 25, 2007 - The Eritrean president has set pre-conditions for the improvement of the country’s relations with the USA. In an interview as broadcast by Eritrea’s state-run radio, Isayas Afewerki said that the USA should suspend "activities aimed at harming our national interests".
Afewerki who accused the USA of interfering in regional affairs, added that the conflicts in Sudan and Somalia had nothing to do with terrorism. He further argued that Eritrea concerns in these countries are based on the need for a stable region.
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The arbitration committee delivering their press statement |
Hargeysa, August 25, 2007 (SL Times) – A group of prominent S/land figures announced on Monday that they have reconciled the long-standing dispute that divided the executive and the lower house of parliament over the national budget (2007) and the issue of the remaining National Election Commission (NEC) board nominees waiting for parliament’s endorsement.
The group, known as the arbitration committee, took the initiative to resolve the deadlock between the government and parliament as well as the issue concerning the detention and trial of Qaran party leaders.
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Mandhera, Somaliland, August 25, 2007 (SL Times) – The three Qaran party leaders held in Mandhera prison were convicted by Hargeysa regional court on 20 August 2007 for an array of sedition charges and for illegally forming a political party, according to the prosecution. All three defendants were given a prison sentence of three years and 9 months and a 5 year ban from holding public office.
The three leaders of the Qaran party, Muhammed Abdi Gabose, and his two deputies, Muhammad Hashi Elmi and Jamal Aideed, have been held, since 28 July, in Mandhera prison, near the coastal port city of Berbera. They were charged with "engaging in unauthorized political activities” and “putting the good name of the head of state in disrepute”.
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Former deputy minister for Livestock and Veterinary Affairs, Mr Adan Jama Hori |
Hargeysa, August 25, 2007 (SL Times) – Somaliland Deputy Minister for Livestock and Veterinary Affairs, Mr Adan Jama Hori, announced in a press conference held in Mansoor hotel, in Hargeisa, on Thursday, that he had submitted his letter of resignation to President Dahir Rayale Kahin. Mr Hori said that his decision to resign from Rayale's government was due to "the government's constant disregard of the well being of the country and its people who have suffered great hardships and struggles in building Somaliland from nothing, to where it is today".
Somaliland's president Dahir Rayale Kahin and his wife Huda Barkhad Adan (Photo: Jamal Abdi) |
HARGEISA, 22 August 2007 - President Dahir Rayale Kahin of the self-declared republic of Somaliland has agreed to release three leaders of the Qaran organisation who were jailed for setting up a political party unsanctioned by the authorities, officials said.
Ahmed Mohammed Silanyo, chairman of Somaliland’s main authorised opposition group, told IRIN the decision was made after an all-day meeting with a mediation team of religious leaders, human rights activists and local politicians.
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A Somali policeman displays a rifle recovered after a container full of weapons was seized in north Mogadishu August 20, 2007 in the government’s latest arms search operations. |
MOGADISHU, Aug 22, 2007 - Somalia's fledgling interim government has committed all its resources to restoring stability in the capital Mogadishu during major reconciliation talks threatened by Islamist insurgents, the mayor said.
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Mohamed Ali Yusuf
Minister of Finance
Puntland State of Somalia
Recent moves by Prime Minister Gedi to introduce a so called national oil law through the TFG Parliament must be viewed with great suspicion, and little credence should be given to the move.
The Prime Minister is the head of a transitional government put in place to attempt to form a federal Somalia, and a general constitution to be accepted by all regional parties.
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Somaliland's relative stability contributes to its successful ARV programme
HARGEISA, 22 August 2007 - Almost two years after appointing a national HIV/AIDS commission, the self-declared republic of Somaliland, in northwestern Somalia, has slowly begun rolling out antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.
The ARV programme, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, started in 2005 with 30 participants; it now provides medicines, supplemental food and counselling services to 300 HIV-positive people in Hargeisa, the Somaliland capital.
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
London, August 22, 2007 – On 19 August three opposition party leaders were sentenced to three years and nine months' imprisonment and banned from political activities for five years.
MOGADISHU, August 24, 2007 - Gunmen shot dead a Somali radio reporter on Friday, colleagues said, the third journalist killed in two weeks.
Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey, of local Radio Banadir, died when attackers opened fire on a minibus in southwestern Gedo province, the local journalists' union said.
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Mogadishu, August 23, 2007 - The transitional government of Somalia on Wednesday pledged to enhance security in Mogadishu to let humanitarian assistance reach vulnerable populations in the Horn of Africa nation.
Somali Ambassador to Kenya Mohammed Ali Nur said the interim government has appointed health minister to work closely with relief agencies in coordinating humanitarian operations in the war- ravaged nation.
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Forces loyal to the Somali government patrol on the streets of the capital Mogadishu on New Year's Day this year. In spite of long-standing unrest, Finland's Directorate of Immigration feels that parts of Somalia are safe places to send convicted criminals. The Supreme Administrative Court is allowing the Somalis to stay in Finland while it considers an appeal on the matter. |
Helsinki, Finland, August 24, 2007 – Three young Somali men convicted of committing street robberies in Helsinki will be allowed to remain in Finland for now. The Supreme Administrative Court ordered them not to be deported, until it has made a decision on their applications for the right to appeal their deportation order. A decision on the matter could take months.
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Commentary
By Scott A Morgan
At a recent regional summit in Nairobi the membership of IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) announced that they were taking the step to set up a regional standby force to assist the African Standby Force.
There have been growing calls for African Troops to handle peacekeeping operations on the continent. African Troops are currently in the forefront in several missions like in Darfur and in Somalia.
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Mogadishu, 26 August 2007 - Shabelle Media Network which is an independent media house in Somalia has begun broadcasting a peace promoting program sponsored by the United States embassy in Nairobi.
The program includes panel discussions over promotion of peace-building by key such as clan elders, intellectuals, scholars and politicians
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Amid US charges of Iran's hand in Iraq's instability, some counsel caution
Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi heads the group that the US may label a "terrorist" organization.
Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP |
Istanbul, Turkey, August 24, 2007 - Somalia, 1993: During the darkest days of the American military intervention, when US troops were taking casualties from drug-addled gunmen wearing flip-flops, US officials pointed to a familiar nemesis.
It was Iran, warned Madeleine Albright, then-US envoy to the United Nations, that had forged a "tactical alliance" with a Somali warlord and "terrorists" in Sudan. Intelligence sources for the first time spoke of smuggled Iranian weapons. In Mogadishu, journalists were told that Iranian agents were training Somalis to make car bombs. But no proof was ever presented.
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By Ibtissam Al-Bassam
The following is just a sample of this week’s breaking news:
“Four truck bombs killed at least 190 people on Tuesday in two villages in a Kurdish-speaking area near the Syrian border, destroying houses and sending hundreds of the wounded to at least six hospitals as far as 150 miles away, the Iraqi authorities said.”
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Jamala Maye, a former refugee from Somalia, works for refugee groups and Dallas schools as a translator and tutor for students like Mohamed Mohamed, 14.
Dallas, August 26, 2007 - Many spent their lives trapped in the limbo of tent cities and huts in places like Mae La, Thailand, and Daadab, Kenya.
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ST. PAUL, August 24, 2007 - A security video from an apartment hallway shows at least 10 witnesses ignored a woman's cries for help for more than an hour as a man beat and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said Thursday.
Police said they responded to a call of drunken behavior, where they found Rage Ibrahim, 26, and a woman lying unconscious in the hallway early Tuesday. The woman's clothing had been pulled up, she had fresh scratches on her face and blood on her thigh, according to the criminal complaint.
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Just when it seemed as if the crisis in Somaliland would get deeper and deeper, Somalilanders managed to find a way out. It came in the form of a nine-member committee who took the initiative and offered their services to mediate the nasty conflict that had paralyzed political life in the country. Once their offer to mediate was accepted by the main protagonists in the conflict, the committee set out to work without much fanfare, and soon enough they were able to persuade the various sides to accept an agreement composed of three binding clauses and six recommendations.
This was no mean achievement, especially given the advanced stage of hostility and mutual recrimination that was prevalent among the competing actors in this drama.
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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 Mohamed Sougal
Dear Garaad,
It is a common and sad well known fact that the region of Sool region is the least developed parcel of Somaliland. While an intensive study would be worthwile, among all the diverse causes explaining why the situation in Sool is more desperate than ever, leadership remains the elephant in the room. For the Lascanood native that I am, you are, dear Garaad, predisposed to hearing my lamentations on this matter.
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By Mohamed Abdilahi Duale
One of the requirements that accrediting bodies demand when recognizing a university is that it has lecturers who have a degree higher than the one they are teaching. For example if the university is offering bachelors degrees, the body may demand that the lecturers should have masters’ degrees or higher. However, in the less developed countries (LDCs), due to resource scarcity, it is possible that the universities retain their bright graduates to teach the first year of the university as assistant lecturers and after many years of experience allow them to become lecturers.
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Is Awdalnews.com an Online Tabloid or a Reputable Website?
By Dalmar Kaahin
While one must respect awdalnews.com’s efforts to be fair to its contributors, one also wonders the purpose of posting tabloid articles that violate pillars of good journalism. These barely articles are not only written poorly, even a layman (like me) could point out their incoherence and inconsistence, but they also deliberately spew out a load after a load of venom towards Somaliland. Are the proofreaders of awdalnews.com dead? This is a mind-boggling exercise, to say the least.
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Somaliland Research Group
By Hassan Abtidon
The Somaliland Research Group explored different techniques in which our country could develop simultaneously without any region left behind. They show how to determine the optional strategy for allocating resources and growth of every region in order to satisfy the equitable criterion that each region has an equal chance of receiving its share of development.
The Western World achieved their quick development through allocation of resources in all its parts. But Africa in particular concentrated in one city and the whole country is one city.
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30th Anniversary of the Somali Studies International Association
By Abdi Goud Musa
I am not a scholar, but I act one, in the Somali Cyberspace Chat rooms, Websites, Kat Chewing gatherings, and camel milk drinking social events. The 1993 Somali Studies International Association’s conference that took place in Massachusetts, at Worcester, at Holy Cross College and this year’s (2007) conference, which took place in the state of Ohio, in Columbus, at the University of Ohio are the only two times, I had the privilege and honor to attend. In this piece, I will try to share, with my readers, my observation in the conference.
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By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib
Judicial independence means that the judges are free to make decisions based on the law and do not feel compelled to comply with the wishes of the political leaders. In democratic countries judges are usually chosen on the basis of merit rather than politics and cannot be removed from office because of the nature of their decisions. The greatest protection of the judiciary from the threats to its independence comes from the people as long as judges are careful not to get too far of what the majority of the people want in their decisions. An independent judiciary that secures the rights of citizens is a cherished part of any political landscape in which the rule of law is paramount.
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By Abdirahman Ahmed Ali
Freedom is not a license, Somaliland is livery of Freedom and if we want to retain freedom we need decent conduct. Creation of Somaliland is like building the kingdom of God on earth. Decent cooperation is a must for Somaliland democracy and that of the world. Qaran politicians should learn how to win election through love, not public uprising and security disturbances. Ladies and Gentlemen, Somaliland’s status is moral, peace and freedom. Somalilanders should lay down strong foundations for Somaliland, in order to have strong and democratic Somaliland. I say “Realisation never pays” just like the one lost in 1960.
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By Mohamud Samatar
The sub-clan cleansing against the Habar-gidir of Hawiye in Southern Somalia particularly in Moqdisho are mostly caused by the so-called military army or the militia created by the governments Somalia/TFG, in the name National Army. Most government militia who operate in Moqdisho the capital of Somalia and it's surroundings are of the sub-clans, of the Abgal of the Hawiye and the Majertens of the Darood clan, both arch enemy of the Habargidir sub-clan of Hawiye.
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Amadou Gouh with his camels |
Nouakchott, Mauritania, 20 August 2007 - Camel milk has been honored as a gourmet food by Italy, as a poverty reducer by the United Nations and as a blessing by those who work with camels, for its healing power. A British physicist convinced Mauritanians, two decades ago, to part with their animals' sacred milk. Since then, camel cash has changed Mauritania's nomadic lifestyle. Advocates say, if camels could earn respect outside the desert world, they could change even more. Phuong Tran brings us this report from Nouakchott, Mauritania.
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By Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Sometimes a private letter can be far more convincing a document than a public speech or an academic paper that are written on purpose, which makes the author very cautious and truly cool. A private document can therefore be taken as more pertinent a record in order to analyze the culture, the education, the mentality and the mindset of a person or even a people, an ethnic group and a political organization.
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By Meg Harney
A living thing is born.”1 With these words, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson laid out the first draft of the Covenant of the League of Nations before the Paris Peace Conference. At the end of the first World War in 1919, the entire globe was war weary and in need of relief system that could keep the peace, and Wilson’s ambitious idea to set up a League of Nations seemed almost too good to be true: it was to be an association of states designed to replace traditional power politics in an organization that would use peaceful negotiation to maintain international peace and security.
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The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest in the East African Submarine Cable System, a landmark fiber-optic cable project that will connect 21 African countries to each other and the rest of the world with high-quality Internet and international communications services.
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HIV positive mother of three Rahma Hirsi, 29, holds the ARV drugs she receives at the Hargeisa Group Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland ( Photo: Casey Johnson/IRIN) |
HARGEISA, Somaliland, August 2007 - Twenty-nine-year-old Rahma Hirsi is trying to raise three children on her own following the death of her husband in 2006. She was diagnosed with HIV the same year and has been on antiretroviral (ARV) medication at Somaliland's Hargeisa Group Hospital since then.
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By Meg
Somaliland, August 17 2007 - the north-west part of Somalia, declared independence from Somalia (and everyone else) in 1991 but is not yet recognized as a country by the UN or any other state. It is safe, the people are friendly and generous, the air is clean and the fruit is good!
I was there for two weeks and had a wonderful time.
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BOSASSO, Somalia 20 Aug 20, 2007 - Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region will refuse to recognise a proposed national hydrocarbon law that nullifies any exploration deals struck after 1990, its most high-ranking officials said.
Many observers expect Somalia's interim parliament to pass the controversial bill -- widely viewed as the brainchild of interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi -- in coming days.
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According to Ruth Kelly, migrants must learn English language to integrate. Learning English language is about as useful as learning Arabic, Urdu and other community languages. The British Establishment and society has systematically failed to understand the causes of migration, global terrorism and social and emotional, economic segregation. Muslims suffer different forms of discrimination which reduce their employment opportunities and affect their educational achievements.
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