November 1, 2012 | Morning Headlines.
Appointment of Somali Cabinet Minister postponed
31 Oct- Source: Radio Risaala- 72 words
Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdoon was scheduled to announce yesterday the names of Ministers and Assistant Ministers that would form the cabinet. However, the process has being postponed due to controversies on how many ministers should constitute the cabinet. The Prime Minister is said to be in favor of a 10 member-cabinet and this has solicited sharp disagreements from various quarters. The appointment of ministers was rescheduled to Thursday.
Key Headlines
- Appointment of Somali Cabinet Minister postponed (Radio Risaala)
- Kenya refutes interfering Somalia’s internal affairs (Bar-Kulan)
- Bossaso Provincial Police Commissioner summons former TFG PM (Raxanreeb)
- U.S condemns killing of Somali journalists pledges support (Bar-Kulan
- Gunmen kill policeman in Garissa ambush (Daily Nation)
- As peace expands in Somalia gov’t wants weapons (AP)
- Ugandan death toll in Somalia is 2700 Kenya’s deputy foreign minister says at Somalia forum (Washington Post/AP)
SOMALI MEDIA
Appointment of Somali Cabinet Minister postponed
31 Oct- Source: Radio Risaala- 72 words
Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdoon was scheduled to announce yesterday the names of Ministers and Assistant Ministers that would form the cabinet. However, the process has being postponed due to controversies on how many ministers should constitute the cabinet. The Prime Minister is said to be in favor of a 10 member-cabinet and this has solicited sharp disagreements from various quarters. The appointment of ministers was rescheduled to Thursday.
Kenya refutes interfering Somalia’s internal affairs
31 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 85 words
The Kenyan government has strongly denied interfering in efforts to establish an administration for the recently liberated regions of Juba and Gedo along its border with Somalia. Kenyan Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Richard Onyonka said his government is not interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs, saying that the Horn of African country is a sovereign country. Onyaka made the remarks during a AU/UN’s Information Support Team organised meeting in Nairobi.
Somali gov’t soldier kills a senior military commander in Beled-weyn town
31 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb/Somaliweyn/Bar-
Reports confirm that a senior Somali military commander of Hiiran province was shot dead on Wednesday in Beled-weyn town by a government soldier, officials said. The commander was killed in a confrontation between government forces as he was trying to stop bloodshed between two groups. Reports say that the commander had shut down a checkpoint placed by the troops at Liq-liqato Bridge of Beled-weyn town, Hiiraan region.
U.S condemns killing of Somali journalists, pledges support
31 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 118 words
The United States has condemned in the strongest terms possible the ongoing wave of attacks on Somali journalists and members of the media including the recent killing of a recknown poet who worked for Radio Kulmiye Mr Awale. Addressing a press conference in Kenyan capital, Nairobi, U.S Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer said they are extremely concerned by the number of journalists that have been killed in Somalia this year alone, saying it is very troubling and alarming.
Bossaso Provincial Police Commissioner summons former TFG PM
31 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb – 119 words
Credible sources confirmed that former TFG Prime Minister, Abdiwali Mohamed Ali was summoned by regional Bari Governor and provincial police commissioner on Wednesday. Reports say, when PM Abdiwali and his delegates held a meeting with governor Abdisamad Mohamed Gallan, Bari police commissioner Osman Af-dalow and the mayor of Bossaso, Hassan Abdalle. Governor Abdisamad reportedly informed to former TFG Prime minister Dr. Gas of an order from Puntland president asking him and his colleagues to leave Bossaso as soon as possible.
Puntland’s Tourism Ministry to get new offices in Garowe
31 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 82 words
Puntland president Abdirahman Farole on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the construction of regional Environment, Wildlife and Tourism ministry headquarters in Garowe. The project jointly funded by two international aid agencies, World Vision and Care is aimed at housing the ministry which is said to be one of the key regional ministries in Puntland.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen kill policeman in Garissa ambush
31 Oct – Source: Daily Nation – 82 words
A police officer was killed on Tuesday night and his colleague seriously injured after they were attacked by gunmen along Kismayu road in Garissa town. The officers were on patrol near the First Community Bank at around 8.30pm when they were shot by armed attackers. Police Constable Joseph Kimutai was shot on the forehead and died on the spot. His Administration Police counterpart Constable Erick Mutuka was shot on his arm and shoulder. He was admitted at the Garissa General Hospital.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Ugandan death toll in Somalia is 2,700, Kenya’s deputy foreign minister says at Somalia forum
31 Oct – Source:Washington Post/AP – 117 words
The number of African Union troops killed while battling Somali militants has always been a tightly held secret, but a top Kenyan official says more than 2,700 troops have died there. Richard Onyonka , Kenya’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, said Wednesday at a forum on Somalia that Uganda has lost more than 2,700 troops since 2007. Onyonkoasaid about three dozen Kenyan forces have died there over the last year.
As peace expands in Somalia, gov’t wants weapons
31 Oct – Source: News Channel 9/AP/ – 131 words
Should Somalia’s fledgling government be allowed to import weapons to arm its nascent military? With areas under government control increasing and the threat from al-Shabab militants decreasing, that’s the question being put to the U.N. Security Council. The African Union this week appealed to the council to allow arms and military equipment into the country to equip the military.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“It is clear that al-Shabaab is not going away in the near term. The group is merely changing tactics and strategies to fit its resources and advantages. Al-Shabaab will continue to exploit the political context of the region–whether it be the ineffectiveness and corruption of the Somali government or the treatment of Muslims in Kenya–meaning that the ball in many ways is in Kenya and Somalia’s court.”
Al-Shabaab’s Changing State in Somalia
31 Oct – Source: Somalia News Room – 1013 Words
What began as an plan in July 2011 to push al-Shabaab from its bases in the capital Mogadishu turned quickly into a larger scale operation–with the help of Kenyan and Ethiopian forces and proxy militias–to force al-Shabaab out of all its strongholds in South Central Somalia. Today, al-Shabaab continues to be on the run, as they continue to be pursued by the Somali National Army (SNA) and its allies in AMISOM.