March 15, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Japan donates $15 million to support children in Somalia

14 Mar – Source:Radio Bar-kulan – 96 words

The Japanese Government has donated $15 million to help UNICEF address a wide range of urgent needs for children in Somalia.The UN global children agency on Thursday said in a statement that the grant will support nutrition, food, security, health, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene efforts for the most vulnerable children. “The funds will provide textbooks for 300,000 children – half of which are girls.

Key Headlines

Somalia’s Prime Minister welcomes growing support for federal government in the regions ( Prime Minister’s Media Office)
Government troops capture more territories in Bay region (Radio Bar-kulan)
Thousands of people still looking for relatives(Source: ICRC)
Puntland Authorities Ban Three Radio Stations Including Humanitarian Radio (Raxanreeb.com)
Elders request federal gov’t to participate in Jubaland conference (Garowe Online)
Somaliland: Turkish Foreign Minister Pledges More Aid (Somaliland Press)
Five injured in Mogadishu grenade attack (Radio Bar-kulan)

PRESS STATEMENT

Somalia’s Prime Minister welcomes growing support for federal government in the regions

14 Mar – Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office – 177 words

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon praised Somalis in Puntland and Galmudug for their show of support to the federal government during his recent Listening Tour to the regions.

“I saw people who want to support their government, who want to seize the initiative of building their states,” the Prime Minister said. “People came out all day waiting for us in the sun without any shade and I appreciate their enthusiasm and thank them for it. I appreciate the change of mood during our visit.”

Holding his first Cabinet meeting since the successful Listening Tour to Puntland and Galmudug earlier in the week, the Prime Minister updated ministers on his visit and the agreements struck on it. In Galmudug, the leaders agreed to form a joint committee to work with government and conclude an agreement by 25 March.

“I appreciated the show of support for the federal government in both regions,” the Prime Minister said. “The regional presidents of Puntland and Galmudug pledged their states would work with the federal government and we welcome that.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Government troops capture more territories in Bay region

14 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 85 words

Somali forces on Wednesday seized control of several key settlements in Bay region, reports say. Reports say troops secured Seydelow, Bulo-Jadid and Wariri villages, all located north-west of Baidoa town without facing resistance from the rebel fighters. Army official Gen. Abdi Mohamed Noor told Bar-kulan that their troops seized these villages from the militant fighters without any fight. He said rebel fighters fled these villages hours before their forces entered them peacefully and promised to continue with such operations until the whole region is secured.

Puntland authorities ban three Radio Stations including Humanitarian Radio

15 Mar – Source: Raxanreeb.com – 600 words

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) protests the ban imposed on three radio stations by the Puntland Ministry of information, communication and culture, showing the downgrading level of the Press Freedom in the semi-autonomous regions controlled by the Puntland Administration.
The Puntland ministry of information issued a decree dated on 21 February 2013, which was addressed to the all media houses operating in the semi-autonamous regions of Puntland ordering that ‘No radio station can reproduce or air any materials and programs of a media station that is not licensed under the ministry, such as Radio Ergo, Radio Bar-Kulan and Radio Hirad.”.

Elders request federal gov’t to participate in Jubaland conference

14 Mar – Source: Garowe Online – 116 words

The Technical Committee for the Jubaland state process announced earlier this week that they have had successful meetings while traditional elders from the regions have asked the Somali Federal Government (SFG) to take part in the conference. Director of the Technical Committee Abdiqani Abdi Jama spoke to media on Tuesday about the Jubaland state building conference. “We have had very successful meetings and we have reached a consensus on very many issues, the meetings will continue,” said Director Abdiqani.

Japan donates $15 million to support children in Somalia

14 Mar – Source:Radio Bar-kulan – 96 words

Somaliland: Turkish Foreign Minister Pledges More Aid

14 Mar – Source: Somaliland Press – 89 words

Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu has pledged to increase aid efforts to Somaliland during a meeting with Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, president of Somaliland. Five ministers who were part of the President’s entourage also attended the Davutoğlu-Silanyo meeting, in which both sides discussed the ongoing projects been implemented by the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) and other Turkish non governmental organizations in Somaliland.

Five injured in Mogadishu grenade attack

14 Mar – Source:Radio Bar-kulan – 88 words

Five people sustained injuries after a hand grenade was thrown into the house of Mogadishu’s Waberi district commissioner Ahmed Mayre Makaran. Confirming the incident, Makaran told Bar-kulan that a hand grenade was hurled at his security details keeping vigil outside his residence, injuring five civilians including a woman. He said security officers in the district managed to apprehend the suspect behind the attack who was himself injured during the attack. He stated that the suspect was handed over to the national security and intelligence agency for further questioning.

REGIONAL MEDIA

‘Khat’ comeback allows Somalis to chew on

14 Mar – Source: Al Shahid – 168 words

Business for women sellers of stimulant banned by al-Shabab has boomed since the armed group was driven out. The mood is tense. A group of young men, some in soldier’s uniforms, gather near empty market stalls in this small town 30km west of Mogadishu, the capital. Standing silently, their eyes stare blankly into the distance. Not far away, a large group of women in colourful hijabs stand in the scorching sun. Both groups are waiting for the daily delivery of khat. Also known as qat, the plant is a mild stimulant, chewed mainly by men and sold by women in Somalia. A few minutes later, a minibus appears far off in the distance.

Immigration department 5,000 officers short

14 Mar – Source: IPP Media – 243 words

The immigration department has said it has only 3,000 officers and needs 5,000 more to effectively play its role of controlling and monitoring movements of people into and from Tanzania and boosting national security. The department’s acting spokesperson, Tatu Burhan, said, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian in Dar es Salaam that the optimum number for now is 8,000 officers. She explained that the department is also short of modern working tools, including motor vehicles, “but the shortage of personnel and other resources such as equipment has not prevented us from performing our duties to satisfaction at the country’s 54 legal entry points”.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Thousands of people still looking for relatives

14 Mar – Source: ICRC – 583 words

Although the humanitarian situation in Somalia has improved slightly, there remain significant concerns: among them, the fate of more than 10,000 Somalis separated from their families. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working to restore contact between family members.

“After two decades of conflict, the task of re-establishing contact between members of dispersed families and of establishing the whereabouts of people who are unaccounted for is immense,” said Asha Ismael, the head of ICRC tracing activities for Somalia.

Tony Hawyard’s Genel May Find Oil in Somaliland, Minister Says

14 Mar – Source: Bloomberg – 146 words

Somaliland is optimistic that a search for oil by Genel Energy Plc (GENL), run by former BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, will find commercial quantities of crude, Mines and Energy Minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh said. The company has completed about 95 percent of an airborne geophysical study and plans to conduct a two-dimensional survey of a 4,000-kilometer (2,485-mile) area in the semi-autonomous northern Somali region, Dualeh said in an interview yesterday in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

WFP Completes Somalia Ports Dredging

14 Mar – Source: Dredging Today – 121 words

WFP has completed dredging works in the port cities of Mogadishu and Berbera, which has allowed larger ships to dock and more cargo to enter Somalia. The clear blue waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean lap Somalia’s enviably long coastline of more than 3,000 kilometres. For years, ports along this coast have been neglected, littered with sunken vessels and general debris. The tide has washed in tons of silt, making the ports less accessible.This has had a damaging effect on the transport of both commercial and humanitarian cargo. As part of a special operation, the World Food Programme rehabilitated the port in Mogadishu and then quickly turned its attention to the north-eastern port of Bossaso.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Preventing sexual violence, improving gender equality and strengthening the role of women in Somali society cannot be done overnight. It will take time, commitment and patience. Most importantly of all, perhaps, it will take leadership and courage, including from the international community.

Giving voice to Somalia’s silent majority

14 Mar- Source: FCO Blog-558 Words
International Women’s Day is a global opportunity to celebrate and promote the rights of women. It is a chance for all of us, men and women, to unite under a single, common aim – gender equality. This is particularly pertinent in Somalia. Everyone in Somalia has suffered from decades of often unrelenting conflict. But Somalia’s collapse has had a disproportionate impact on the lives of women and girls, with Somalia often referred to as one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman.
I am often told that Somalia has been carried on the backs of women for the past twenty years; they provide much of the labour required for the family’s survival, and are often the main breadwinners and entrepreneurs. Somalia’s women have also played a key role in promoting and securing greater stability, bringing different factions together in efforts to stop the fighting – as at the Arta conference in Djibouti in 2000.