June 25, 2013 | Morning Headlines.
Barclays faces pressure from Somali cash transfer firms
24 Jun- Source: BBC- 555 words
The UK government is being urged to stop Barclays closing the last account in Somalia which allows its citizens overseas to send money back home. A group of aid practitioners said the service was a “lifeline” for an estimated 40% of the Somali population which rely on the transfers. There are an estimated 1.5m Somalis living overseas. Barclays told Dahabshiil, the move was “a commercial decision due to the risks of the sector in which you operate”.
Key Headlines
- Somali Prime Minister Appoints spokesman for his office (Radio Mogadishu)
- One killed 5 injured in explosion in Afgoye (Radio Bar-kulan)
- OIC’s SG thanks Kingdom for relief efforts in Somalia (Saudi Press Agency)
- IMF help puts Somalia on road to debt relief -c.bank governor (Reuters)
- Somali MP: Private securities contributes to insecurity in Mogadishu (Radio Shabelle)
- US raises alarm over illegal cash transfers (Daily Nation)
- Puntland parliament discusses illegal migration epidemic ( Garowe Online)
- Lawmaker reportedly killed in Mogadishu (Radio Shabelle)
- Restaurant owner braves bombs to remain beacon of success in Mogadishu (Business Daily Africa)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali Prime Minister Appoints spokesman for his office
24 Jun- Source: Radio Mogadishu/ Radio Kulmiye/Hiiraan Online/Jowhar Online- 70 words
Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon appointed on Monday Somali-British journalist Radwan Haji Abdiwali, spokesman of the office of the Prime Minister. This came in a decree issued by the Office of the Prime Minister of Somalia, which has been distributed to the media. The Somali Prime Minister said in the statement that this appointment seeks to strengthen government relations and media institutions.
One killed, 5 injured in explosion in Afgoye
24 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle/ al Shahid/Radio Bar-kulan- 94 words
A civilian was killed and five others were injured in an explosion Sunday night in the town of Afgoye in Lower Shabelle province, southern Somalia. Eyewitnesses confirmed to the local media that unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at a house in the town, and then fled from the area, without knowing the reasons. The house that was attacked belongs to the Deputy governor of Lower Shabelle province for Social Affairs Omar Mohammed Elmi. And the Somali security authorities carried out an extensive operation in area after the incident.
Somali MP: Private securities contributes to insecurity in Mogadishu
24 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle- 96 words
The deputy chairman of parliament’s security committee Dahir Amin Jesow speaking to Shabelle radio station in Mogadishu said that privately owned security entities operating in the capital contribute to the escalating insecurities. The MP said that the private security owned and operated by companies and other nongovernmental organizations should be registered to curb the rising insecurities in the capital. Private companies and nongovernmental organizations including the United Nations own private securities with different uniforms and identification cards. The UN compound in Mogadishu that came under attack was guarded by privately owned security company.
Puntland parliament discusses illegal migration epidemic
24 Jun- Source: Garowe Online- 330 words
The Puntland Parliament during the 30th session on Monday, discussed the issue of illegal migration and how to prevent the growing epidemic, Garowe Online reports. The Puntland MPs had a heated discussion about the issue with MPs agreeing that the government needed to create jobs for the out of work youth whose number is increasing according Ministry of Labour officials. The MPs stated that jobs such as fishing, farming and pastoralism have decreased as the industries have seen a downfall in output. The MPs highlighted that the fishing has been plagued by illegal trawlers and foreign fishing vessels and youth have gravitated away from farming.
Lawmaker reportedly killed in Mogadishu
24 June- Source: Radio Shabelle-87 Words
A Somali parliamentarian was Sunday night shot dead by unknown men who are suspected to be members of al Shabaab terror group as stated by government officials.
Mohamed Abdullahi Iyow a prominent parliamentarian told Shabelle radio station that armed men shot Mr. Abdalla Hassan Yarrow who served in the current Somali parliament.
The men escaped after shooting Mr. Abdalla and no one has claimed the killing as for now.
This is not the first time a politician is assassinated in Mogadishu since the new government took over.
OIC’s SG thanks Kingdom for relief efforts in Somalia
24 Jun- Source: Saudi Press Agency- 142 words
The first package of projects of the Saudi national campaign for the Relief of the Somali people has been launched. They included more than 20 projects in the various areas funded by the campaign as part of its continuing efforts to reconstruct and develop Somalia under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The launching took place recently in Mogadishu and Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that ‘The program is an extension of the close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.’ The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Interior, for the efforts of Saudi Arabia in the field of re-construction and development of Somalia.
Restaurant owner braves bombs to remain beacon of success in Mogadishu
24 Jun- Source: Business Daily Africa -587 words
When Ahmed Sama Abdinasir left his thriving Village Restaurant in London’s Hammersmith to set up a hotel in Mogadishu, he knew there was no bed of roses waiting for him. In between fixing us a cappuccino with his modified coffee machine that uses charcoal instead of electricity, Mr Abdinasir tells us how he beat the odds to open not just one, but three restaurants in Mogadishu in three years.
US raises alarm over illegal cash transfers
24 Jun- Source: Daily Nation- 380 words
An informal cash remittance system based in Nairobi’s Eastleigh suburb has been cited by the US State Department report as one of the key avenues of money laundering in the country. The report also lists drug smuggling, ivory poaching, trade in counterfeit goods and other financial crimes as the mainstays of money laundering, often linked to terrorist financing. It defines Kenya as the largest financial centre in the East African region in which money laundering, which sometimes also takes the form of terrorist financing, is derived from domestic and foreign criminal activities.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Barclays faces pressure from Somali cash transfer firms
24 Jun- Source: BBC- 555 words
The UK government is being urged to stop Barclays closing the last account in Somalia which allows its citizens overseas to send money back home. A group of aid practitioners said the service was a “lifeline” for an estimated 40% of the Somali population which rely on the transfers. There are an estimated 1.5m Somalis living overseas. Barclays told Dahabshiil, the move was “a commercial decision due to the risks of the sector in which you operate”.
IMF help puts Somalia on road to debt relief -c.bank governor
24 Jun- Source: Reuters- 537 words
The International Monetary Fund will offer Somalia technical support and advice, a first step in efforts to secure debt relief for the country emerging from two decades of civil conflict, the central bank governor said on Monday. The IMF officially recognised the Somali government in April, ending a 22-year hiatus during which the African nation was mired in grinding poverty, militancy and maritime piracy, without a functioning central government.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Many journalists visit a couple of main streets, where there are street lamps and an ice cream parlour, but if you go beyond that you’ll see Mogadishu is messed up”
Somalia: A dangerous assignment in a country ‘on the mend’
24 June- Source: News Safety Blog-936 Words
A legitimate federal government was put in place last year, ending years of transitional administrations. Pirate attacks are down by at least 75 per cent, according to the latest figures from the International Maritime Bureau. And Somali militant group al Shabaab, which has claimed responsibility for many guerrilla-style killings and bomb attacks, has been pushed out of the major cities. Foreign reporters on the ground say that business is slowly returning to Mogadishu: ice cream parlours and street lamps are appearing in the streets, and bullet holes which pepper the sides of buildings are finally being filled in.
A complete review of today’s articles will appear in the Afternoon Report