December 20, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali police forces mark 69th anniversary in Mogadishu

19 Dec- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA- 199 words
Somali Police forces are due to mark their 69th anniversary since establishment in 1943 in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday as preparation to this great event is on going.

Speaking to Radio Mogadishu, Sharif Shekhuna Maye, police chief said final preparation is underway at General Kahiye Police Academy to mark the anniversary

Somali police forces’ anniversary this year comes as the capital Mogadishu enjoys relevant peace and the al Qaeda linked group of al Shabaab was rooted out from it and most of the south and central Somalia by the Somali National Army together with AU forces.

Key Headlines

Somali President UN envoy hold talks in Mogadishu (Hiiraan Online)
Vaccination against six killer diseases kicks off in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
UN experts on use of mercenaries urge greater oversight for private security contractors (UN News Centre)
Somalia ready to try pirates on its soil says chief of justice (Shabelle)
Galmudug leader cautions against deforestation (Radio Bar-kulan)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali President, UN envoy hold talks in Mogadishu

20 Dec- Source: Radio Risaala/Hiiraan Online- 94 words
Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held talks with the United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, Dr. Augustine Mahiga.
The duo talked about various issues concerning security, how to rehabilitate and assimilate al Shabab defectors among other issues.
President Hassan called on the International Community to be more supportive especially in the areas where help is needed.
He also called on UN aid agencies and NGOs to work with the relevant ministries so as to achieve progress.

Somali police forces mark 69th anniversary in Mogadishu

Speaking to Radio Mogadishu, Sharif Shekhuna Maye, police chief said final preparation is underway at General Kahiye Police Academy to mark the anniversary

Somalia ready to try pirates on its soil, says chief of justice

19 Dec- Source: Shabelle- 122 words
The chief of Somali Supreme Court Aydiid Abdullahi Ilka Hanaf has declared that Somali pirates seized by international would be tried inside the country.

In an exclusive interview with Shabelle radio, Ilka Hanaf said that the justice system in Somalia can handle now the trails of Somali pirates and that it is not needed to take pirates to foreign countries to face justice there.

Galmudug leader cautions against deforestation

27 Dec- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 75 words
Galmudug leader Abdi Hassan Awaale Qeybdid, has warned his people against deforestation and charcoal burning.
Speaking on Tuesday at a forum attended by elders in Galka’yo, Qeybdid stated that those who cut trees will be arrested and heavily fined.
“Any vehicle seen carrying charcoal will be confiscated by the authority and its driver imprisoned.”Qeybdid said.
Deforestation and charcoal export to Middle Eastern countries is one of the major causes of environmental degradation in Somalia.

Vaccination against six killer diseases kicks off in Mogadishu

19 Dec- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV- 110 words

Somalia’s Minister of Social Development Maryam Qasim has officially launched a vaccination campaign of the six killer diseases that is due to begin from all 16 districts in Banadir region in the capital Mogadishu.

The minister said, “The women would have only tetanus vaccine while children under five would have the vaccine of the six killer diseases such: measles, tuberculosis, whooping cough, diphtheria, Tetanus and polio”.

REGIONAL MEDIA

At least two injured in Nairobi’s twin blasts

19 Dec- Source: Standard Media (Kenya)-145 Words
At least two people have been injured in two blasts in Pangani area near Eastleigh, Nairobi.
The two blasts occurred outside Alamin mosque along Chai Road.
Witnesses and police say one of the explosions believed to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded outside Alamin Mosque while the second one, believed to be a grenade, was thrown by occupants of a speeding vehicle which sprinted from the scene as the first one went off.

Belgian warship intercepts Somali pirates

19 Dec- Source: Al Shahid/ Pana Press-125 words
Belgian military frigate “Marie-Louise”, which is part of the European Union Naval Force Somalia, tagged ‘Operation Atalanta”, has intercepted a vessel with five Somali pirates on board in the Indian Ocean, the Belgian Ministry of Defence said.
It said, in a statement made available to PANA here Tuesday, that the pirates are been screened to see if any of them was involved in the capture of the Belgian vessel “The Pompei” in 2009.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Two injured by blasts in Somali area of Nairobi

19 Dec- Source: Reuters-303 Words
Two loud blasts in quick succession injured two people near a mosque in the Somali-dominated Eastleigh area of the Kenyan capital Nairobi during the evening rush hour on Wednesday, police said.
The area has been the scene of numerous attacks which authorities suspect are the work of Somali Islamist groups that object to Kenya’s armed incursion into neighbouring Somalia. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
grenades.”

Soldiers turn hijackers of N.Korea ship in Somali port

19 Dec- Source: Reuters- 257 words
A dozen soldiers guarding a North Korean ship impounded in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region for maritime violations have hijacked the vessel and its 33 crew, government and naval sources said on Wednesday.
Puntland had been the epicentre of Somali piracy but the use of armed guards on ships and a concerted crackdown by international navies has seen the number of successful pirate hijackings fall in 2012.

UN experts on use of mercenaries urge greater oversight for private security contractors

18 Dec- Source: UN News Centre- 674 words
The Government of Somalia must do more to ensure the security of its citizens while increasing regulations on private military and security companies, a United Nations expert panel urged today at the conclusion of its seven-day visit to the Horn of Africa country.
“As Somalia rebuilds its security institutions, the Government should ensure that private security forces are properly regulated and do not become a substitute for competent and accountable police,” said Faiza Patel, who currently heads the UN’s Working Group on the use of mercenaries.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Somalia, including Somaliland, is submerged in an ocean of terror, but the Godanites days are numbered and business will be as usual. The feast to commemorate the prophet and the singing of religious songs praising the prophet Mohamed (PBUH) will be even louder than before.”

Somalia: A Nation That Refused Being Swallowed By Jihadists

18 Dec- Source: Democracy Chronicles-1643 Words
When Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991 and civil war broke out, the consequences that followed were construed by the people as the wrath of Allah rather than a failure of leadership. Thus, religiosity drastically increased not just in private lives, but extended itself deep into the public sphere. Through refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, a few clerics on the Saudi Arabian payroll in the category of Da’wa, or preacher pay-list, rushed to the camps to “save the faith of believers.” They preached radicalism from religious books to poor masses and won favor by distributing small handouts of money once a year. A popular chant instilled the innocent people with baseless fear, “Fear from hell! Do not be a purgatory in hell!” When crisis and disaster struck Somalia, radicals mastered exploitation of the people’s hopelessness.