December 18, 2015 | Morning Headlines
President, AU Envoy Discuss Strengthening Of AU – Somalia Cooperation
17 December – Source: Radio Muqdisho – 118 Words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia , Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has received in his office the new African Union envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Jose Maderia. The President and the AU representative discussed AMISOM issues , the success that has been achieved, and the relationship between the Somali National Army and AMISOM.The President assured the Ambassador of his full support and thanked the African Union for its unwavering support to Somalia. On his part , the AU envoy delivered greetings from the Dlamini Zuma and promised to continue with the efforts of AU Mission to Somalia. The meeting was also attended by AU Deputy envoy to Somalia, Lydia Wanyoto Mutende and other officials from both sides.
Key Headlines
- President AU Envoy Discuss Strengthening Of AU – Somalia Cooperation (Radio Muqdisho)
- Security Chief Killed In Berbera (Wacaal Media)
- CECAFA Lauds For Football Progress In Somalia (Horseed Media)
- Djibouti Leader Slams Opposition For Insincerity (Garowe Online)
- Seven Dead 541 Admitted In Dadaab Cholera Outbreak (The Star Kenya)
- Bond Is Set At $50000 For A Man Accused Of Torching A Somali Restaurant In Grand Forks (Star Tribune)
- Five Years Since The Famine Somali Children Are Still Stalked By The Menace Of Hunger (Daily Maverick)
- The Economics Of Terrorism In Africa (Project Syndicate)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Security Chief Killed In Berbera
17 December – Source: Wacaal Media – 68 Words
A senior commander identified as Adan Guleid was today shot dead in Berbera by members of his forces. The officer was shot dead near the entrance of the local police station but the culprit was immediately disarmed and arrested by his colleagues. The Somaliland administration did not comment on the incident by the time of going to press although similar incidences were on the rise in the area.
CECAFA Lauds For Football Progress In Somalia
17 December – Source: Horseed Media – 210 Words
The council of East and Central Africa Football Associations [CECAFA] is very much pleased with the football progress in Somalia where the first live screened football match went on successfully today. CECAFA Secretary General, Nicholas Musonye, has written to Somali Football Federation president congratulating him on the successful approach in the country. Today’s match was the first to be shown on TV screen live in Somalia’s football history.
“Congratulations again to SFF for all the timely positive things you are doing in your country. We want to see a changed Somalia and more programs for our youth in our beautiful country” Secretary General, Nicholas Musonye, said in his congratulatory letter on Thursday. “CECAFA stands with you always in all your efforts. The LIVE coverage is the beginning of greater things in your country, congratulations again” the regional Africa football boss mentioned in his letter. The final match of the 2015 edition of the General Da’ud cup was broadcasted live on the Somali National Television and was facilitated by the privately-owned production company [Horn Connect]. The Somali military team [Horseed] lifted the trophy after beating their Somali police-owned Heegan FC rivals by 2-1 in the final match. Tens of thousands of spectators including key government officials were watching the match.
Djibouti Leader Slams Opposition For Insincerity
17 November – Source: Garowe Online – 165 Words
Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh has slammed opposition parties for egocentric agendas over his fresh bid for re-election in 2016 elections, Garowe Online reports. In an interview with BBC Somali Service, strongman President Guelleh quashed opposition claims of dictatorship, saying he is prepared to continue with arguably one of Africa’s smallest nations. “If the aim is vacate and I will ascend into, then I will never heed this. I want to save the country from slipping into anarchy,” said Guelleh. Earlier this month, Djibouti leader announced his re-election bid in upcoming vote in a message posted on You Tube, subsequently drawing the ire of close to a dozen hapless opposition parties. He has been leading People’s Rally for Progress (RPP) for over a decade. To his credit, Djibouti has registred unprecedented economic surge under his watch. Djibouti– a country of a million people and strategically located at the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden– hosts military bases for the United States, Japan and France.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Seven Dead, 541 Admitted In Dadaab Cholera Outbreak
17 December – Source: The Star – 196 Words
Seven people have died and 541 admitted after a cholera outbreak in Dadaab’s Dagahaley refugee camp. About 30 per cent of the patients are children under twelve, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said, adding the heavy rains and poor sanitation stoked the spread. “The rains are exacerbating an already precarious hygiene situation,” said Charles Gaudry, MSF head of mission in Kenya.
Gaudry said the outbreak highlights the camp’s dire hygiene and poor living conditions, and lack of long-term investment in sanitation services. “The number of patients in the hospital has doubled over the last week – children are the most affected, including many with malnutrition,” he added. The cholera epidemic has affected 16 counties in Kenya since December 2014. It was officially declared in Dadaab, which has more than 500,000 refugees, on November 23.
The outbreak is believed to have started among newly arrived refugees from Somalia, who may also have contracted it en route by drinking unsafe water from areas flooded by heavy rains, the UNHCR said. The UNHCR and other aid agencies set up treatment centers in the camp for severe cases and promoted safe hygiene practices, but insecurity has continued to hamper aid efforts.
Bond Is Set At $50,000 For A Man Accused Of Torching A Somali Restaurant In Grand Forks
17 December – Source: Star Tribune – 132 Words
Bond is set at $50,000 for a man accused of torching a Somali restaurant in Grand Forks. WDAZ-TV reports 25-year-old Matthew Gust, of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, made his initial court appearance Wednesday. Court documents indicate he could enter a plea Jan. 19 to a felony arson charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Gust is accused of throwing beer bottle filled with gasoline through a window at Juba Coffee House on Dec. 7, starting a fire that caused an estimated $90,000 in damage. It happened three days after vandals spray-painted what some have described as a Nazi-like symbol on the business, along with the words “go home.” Authorities didn’t immediately link the fire and the vandalism. The Associated Press requested comment from defense attorney Theodore Sandberg.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Hawa and her colleagues dispense crucial information on feeding and hygiene practices to the mothers. They also treat common childhood diseases, and provide referral services. UNICEF supports this lifesaving work by Hawa and her colleagues with funds from donors. Not too long ago, the European Union’s humanitarian department, ECHO, committed US$2.8 million to support UNICEF’s work on nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene and other areas,”
Five Years Since The Famine, Somali Children Are Still Stalked By The Menace Of Hunger
17 December – Source : Daily Maverick – 832 Word
With so much the world focused on war, terrorism and the plight of a seemingly endless stream of refugees, it is no surprise that Somalia has been forgotten. The last time the country was featured in news headlines was nearly five years ago, when failed rains and failed politics led to famine. By the time the famine was declared over, months later, hundreds of thousands had perished and millions more had been uprooted. Since then, Somalia has been largely ignored by the news media. Many consider the information void a sign of progress. But does “no news” really mean “good news” in the case of Somalia?
Three weeks ago, I took a field trip to Baidoa, one of the largest cities in southern Somalia – the epicentre of the famine. It was still early in the morning, but the outpatient therapeutic feeding centre run by UNICEF partner, Deeg-Roor Medical, was already packed with mothers and their young children. Inside the single-floor building, which is about half of the size of a basketball court, multiple activities were taking place. In the inner sections, children were being weighed on a scale. Right next to it, doctors and nurses were assessing each child and diligently making note of their conditions. Across the room, a young female health worker was delivering a lesson on feeding and hygiene to a group of mothers and children. She was aided by a flip chart with colourful illustrations that helped enforce her messages on breastfeeding, hand washing and immunisation. Outside, more mothers and children were waiting to get in, shielding themselves from the sun in the little shade they could find – along the walls, beneath the trees, or just by holding up a headscarf.
“These attacks, and others, have cast a dark shadow across the continent’s long-awaited economic rise. It is not difficult to see why. Terrorism risks derailing Africa’s economic and political development in six important ways.”
The Economics Of Terrorism In Africa
17 December – Source: Project Syndicate – 760 Words
Terrorism on the scale witnessed in Paris last month is nothing new in Africa. In Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, the extremist group Boko Haram – famous for its kidnapping of 276 school girls in 2014 – has inflicted thousands of casualties with suicide bombings and assaults on civilians. In Kenya, the Somali group Al-Shabaab has carried out two major attacks, on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in 2013 and on Garissa University in 2015, as well as many smaller acts of terror.
Meanwhile in Tunisia, the Islamic State has targeted tourists – orchestrating attacks on a museum and a beach resort. And in Mali, shortly after the attacks in Paris, gunmen belonging to an Al Qaeda affiliate stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, killing 22 people. Terror, it seems, has become part of the new normal in Africa.
These attacks, and others, have cast a dark shadow across the continent’s long-awaited economic rise. It is not difficult to see why. Terrorism risks derailing Africa’s economic and political development in six important ways. For starters, there is the sheer scale of the humanitarian catastrophe. Since 2009, Boko Haram alone has killed more than 10,000 people in Nigeria and has driven nearly a half-million from their homes. Traumatized populations have fled to refugee camps in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, where malnutrition and disease are becoming increasingly prevalent – especially among children.
Second, terrorism is undermining GDP growth and weighing down overall economic performance in affected countries; the economy of northern Nigeria, for example, has been devastated by the ongoing violence. The International Monetary Fund now includes terror threats among the major risks to the economic outlook in Nigeria, Tunisia, and Kenya.