October 24, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Italian foreign affairs minister arrives in Somali capital

23 Oct- Source: Radio Risaala/Kulimye/Midnimo Online/Shabelle/Radio Bar-kulan-644 words

A delegation led by the Italian foreign affairs minister, Giulio Terzi di Sant’agata, yesterday arrived in Mogadishu. The delegation met President Hasan Shaykh Mahmud at his office to discuss the two countries’ bilateral relations. Speaking to the press inside the presidential palace shortly after the meeting, president Mohamud said they discussed the need for Italy to double its support for Somalia as it emerges from the ashes of two decades of conflict.

Key Headlines

Somali police displays 4 alleged al Shabaab agents in Mogadishu (Shabelle)
Kenyan forces vacate Kismayo University (Garowe Online)
Two injured in Las Anod explosion northern Somalia (Bar-Kulan)
Military court in Puntland awards death sentence to a Yemeni national (Puntlandi Online/Radio Kulmiye)
KDF captures al Shabaab’s top woman (Daily Nation)
Row over al Shabaab charcoal stockpile (The Star)
Shabaab bolster northern ‘Tora Bora’ base (AFP)

SOMALI MEDIA

Italian foreign affairs minister arrives in Somali capital

23 Oct- Source: Radio Risaala/Kulimye/Midnimo Online/Shabelle/Radio Bar-kulan-644 words

Somali police displays 4 alleged al Shabaab agents in Mogadishu

23 Oct- Source: Shabelle/Jowhar Online /Hiiraan Online/Radio Kulmiye- 193 words

The spokesman of Somali police Abdullah Hassan Barise, yesterday held a press conference in Mogadishu, where he displayed al Shabaab fighters found guilty of killing journalists. The men were accused of several separate assassinations in the capital and elsewhere in the country and the police spokesman said: “These four al Shabaab combatants, among them a woman were arrested in an army crackdown in Mogadishu in the past few days.”
The three men and the woman charged of the killing cases have neither denied nor admitted all the charges.

Kenyan forces vacate Kismayo University

23 Oct- Source: Garowe Online- 230 words

Kenya’s African Union (AU) forces have vacated Kismayo university that was home to allied forces since the capture of the port city. AMISOM vacated Kismayo University on Tuesday after using the university as a military post since capturing Kismayo late last month.

Two injured in Las Anod explosion, northern Somalia

23 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 107 words

Two people sustained injuries on Tuesday when an explosion went off in the northern Somali town of Las Anod, Sool region, reports say. Somaliland police later arrested one of the victims on suspicion that he might have been behind the explosion. The second person is said to be a Quran student who was standing near the place where the explosion occurred. No group has claimed responsibility of the explosion.

The allied forces move ahead to seize al Shabaab-controlled town

23 Oct- Source: Radio Dalsan- 98 words

A military movement is taking place on the outskirts of Marka city as the allied forces are planning to take control of the remaining towns of lower Shabelle still held by al Shabaab, reports said on Tuesday. Residents said the allied forces of AMISOM and Somali military are heading to Barawe town of lower Shabelle.

Military court in Puntland awards death sentence to a Yemeni national

23 Oct- Source: Puntlandi Online/Horn Cable TV/Universal TV/Radio Kulmiye- 122 words

A military Court in Puntland on Tuesday sentenced Yemeni National Salihi Al-arifi Al-amudi to death. The Yemeni national was arrested smuggling illegal weapons and explosive devices to Puntland’s Coastal neighborhood of Haabo.Al-Ariifi, 50, was arrested by Puntland coastal guards when he was smuggling arms into Puntland from Yemen by using boat.

REGIONAL MEDIA

KDF captures al Shabaab’s top woman

23 Oct- Source: Daily Nation- 193 words

Kenyan troops in Somalia have captured an al Shabaab women’s leader in the recently seized port town of Kismayu. The arrest of the woman is a big boost to the soldiers’ efforts to neutralise the terror group’s plans to use women to carry out attacks. Kenya Defence Forces information operations officer Col Cyrus Oguna on Tuesday said a house-to-house search last Sunday netted 72 suspected Al-Shabaab members.

Somalia, Italy look to restore old ties

23 Oct- Source: Africa Review- 127 words

Somalia will look to restore ties with former colonial master Italy as donors continue to pledge support for the recovering country. New President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud Tuesday held closed door talks with visiting Italian Foreign Affairs minister Giulio Terzi after which they said the meeting symbolised the restoration of once close links. Mr Terzi also delivered a letter of congratulations from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The Somali leader stated that he and Mr Terzi had discussed how to increase relations between the two countries.

Row over al Shabaab charcoal stockpile

23 Oct- Source: the Star- 613 words

The Kenyan commander in Somalia has requested the United Nations to lift an export ban for four million bags charcoal discovered in Kismayu. Brigadier Anthony Ngere, the Amisom Sector II commander, wrote the letter to the UN which banned charcoal exports in February 2012. The UN Security Council imposed the ban on charcoal exports from southern Somalia over fears were funding al Shabaab.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Terzi pays surprise visit to Somalia

23 Oct- Source: ANSA-127 words

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi paid a surprise visit to Somali capital Mogadishu Tuesday to voice Italy’s support for a united Somali State. It was the first visit to Mogadishu by an Italian foreign minister since 1992, and the only one by an EU foreign minister. During his trip, unannounced for security reasons, Terzi met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Abdi Farah Shirdon Saacid, voicing “Italy’s full support for a unitary Somali Federal State” and for the adoption of a new Constitution defending human and civil rights.

Shabaab bolster northern ‘Tora Bora’ base

23 Oct- Source: News24/AFP- 694 words

Somalia’s al-Qaeda linked Shabaab insurgents are on the back foot, reeling from a string of losses as they battle a 17 000-strong African Union force as well as Ethiopian troops and Somali forces. But while the extremist movement is badly damaged a hard core remain a potent threat, linking up with regional Islamist groups and leaving operatives to launch attacks across the south, analysts warn.

Somalian al Shabaab group in new attack threat to Britain

23 Oct- Source: Telegraph-463 words

High Court ruling overturning attempts to stop the Egyptian-born imam being sent to the US was “a testament to the reality of the west’s vicious war against Islam and the Muslims”, al-Shabaab said. For this, the group said on its official Twitter feed, Britain faced another terror attack that would be deadlier than those on July 7 and July 21, 2005.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“…..the pirates are clearing their stock of hostages and hijacked ships while they wait for the weather to change and the international community to tire of an expensive policing operation. In the meantime it still pays well.”

Somali piracy: Just taking a break

23 Oct- Source: The Economist Blog-419 Words

THERE is no shortage of actors seeking to take the credit for a sharp reduction in piracy off the coast of Somalia. The queue got longer still after the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a Malaysia-based monitoring group, reported that the number of attacks was down by nearly two thirds since last year. At the peak of the crisis in 2009 there were near-daily attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean or the Red Sea; the third quarter of this year saw only one attempted hijacking. In the first nine months of 2012 there were 70 attacks compared with 1999 in the equivalent period the year before.