December 13, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Parliament Speaker Vows To Go Ahead With The Impeachment Against President Farmaajo
12 December – Source: Halbeeg News – 227 Words
The speaker of the Federal Parliament of Somalia, Mohamed Mursal Sheikh vowed to go ahead with impeachment motion against Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo. The speaker has turned down a call to withdraw from an impeachment motion against the president. The speaker insist on the legality of the motion in a letter from his office on Wednesday. He informed the members saying that the motion is still valid, rebuffing another letter from the office of the Secretary General of the house on Tuesday, stating that the proposal failed due to lack of quorum.
“My office has received the proposal of impeachment motion against the president from 92 MPs on Sunday, 9th December,” the letter reads in part. “The motion will proceed as per article 92 sub-article 1 and 2 of the constitution, and article 20 sub article 2, of the house standing orders,” he added. The speaker of the Somali upper house of the people, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, is making efforts to mediate between the office of the president and the parliament led by the speaker.
However, speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh, turned down the request to end the political tension citing setbacks from Villa Somalia. The speaker relocated from his official residence on Wednesday, blaming President Farmaajo restricted his movements for the past four days, adding that his interaction with other members of the house was frustrated.
Key Headlines
- Parliament Speaker Vows To Go Ahead With The Impeachment Against President Farmaajo (Halbeeg News)
- Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire Jets Off To Qatar For Official Visit (Goobjoog News)
- Al-Shabaab Executes Three Men Including Former Electoral Delegate (Radio Shabelle)
- RUDN Medics Called The World To Action Against Hepatitis In Somalia (Eureka Alert)
- Mogadishu Street The Al-Shabaab Love Bombing (The East African)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire Jets Off To Qatar For Official Visit
12 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 90 Words
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire today departed for a two-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates. Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire who received an official invite from his counterpart of Qatar, Doha, where he will hold talks and and discuss bilateral ties, between the two countries.
Prime Minister Khaire will also attend the annual Doha Diaspora Conference, which he also attended back in 2017. Qatar is among the few foreign countries that provide support to Somalia government and had launched various development programs and infrastructures’ projects in the country.
Al-Shabaab Executes Three Men, Including Former Electoral Delegate
12 December – Source: Radio Shabelle – 104 Words
Al-Shabaab militant killed three men in an execution-style, accusing two of them working with the Somali army. The third man they killed was an elderly traditional leader, who helped choose candidates for the 2016 parliamentary elections. Al-Shabaab media reported that the killings took place in front of a crowd in Mubarak village in southern Somalia.
The Al-Qaeda affiliated militants Al-Shabaab, control much of the territory in rural areas of Somalia, and are fighting to overthrow the UN backed government. The militants are known for killing suspected informants, including those accused of spying for the U.S. and other foreign intelligence agencies inside the country.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
RUDN Medics Called The World To Action Against Hepatitis In Somalia
12 December – Source: Eureka Alert – 539 Words
Viral hepatitis means liver inflammation caused by viruses and is among top-10 mortality factors in the world. It is passed with contaminated food and water, through contact with infected blood, via common use of household appliances such as manicure or shaving sets. There are numerous viruses that can cause this disease. Some of them, such as hepatitis A virus, can be fought with efficient vaccines, while some, such as hepatitis C, are almost untreatable with medicinal drugs.
Due to all these factors different types of hepatitis are widely spread, especially in Central Asia and Africa. “After my graduation, I have been working with Internal Medicine Hospital in Somalia under my beloved Professor Osman Dufle. During my work, I have realized that after the collapse of the central government in 1991 the research studies on liver diseases and others were declined. Hence, I started my researches which finally brought me to Russia for my specialization. There I analyse molecularly the hepatitis in my country through reviewing of earlier hepatitis studies in the country,” said Mohamed Hassan-Kadle, author of the study and member of the Center for Liver Studies at RUDN
RUDN medics were the first to gather together scattered data on hepatitis morbidity in Somalia. Numerous studies have been dedicated to the spread of particular types of hepatitis in this country, but this is the first work to describe the rate of viral hepatitis in Somalia in general.
“There is no state program in Somalia to monitor and control hepatitis or prevent this disease. Our study and the obtained data may help launch such initiatives on the state level. We expect to raise awareness among the public, health care professionals, and politicians,” said Mohamed Hassan-Kadle, author of the study and member of the Center for Liver Studies at RUDN.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Investors, both local and foreign, consider the Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue a worthy location. Aroma Café that lies a short distance from Weheliye Hotel, has had its fair share of the explosions that have rocked Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue.”
Mogadishu Street The Al-Shabaab Love Bombing
12 December – Source: The East African – 937 Words
Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue easily passes for the stretch in Mogadishu that has absorbed the most violence unleashed by the Al-Shabaab jihadists in the past decade. On November 9, a triple car explosion, targeting Sahafi Hotel, killed 53 people. The hotel is situated a short distance from the K4 roundabout that links several roads including Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue and the one leading to the airport.
The attack was devastating on the hotel and its its entire neighbourhood, coming at around 5pm (local time) when traffic, both vehicular and human, was almost at its heaviest. It was the second time Sahafi Hotel fell victim to car bombs, coupled with attack by gunmen. The first assault involving dual car explosions and gun battle between attackers and security guards occurred in November 2015. The victims included the owner of the hotel, Mr Abdirashid Shire Liquate, and his son Abdi Fatah Liquate who were both killed, causing a double tragedy to the business family.
On the other side of Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue’s K4 roundabout lies Nasa Hablod Hotel. Like Sahafi, it has suffered a combination of car bombs and assault by militants loyal to the jihadist group. The name Nasa Hablood (women’s breasts), derives from Twin Mountains that stand outside Hargeisa city, the current capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, about 1,500km northwest of Mogadishu. The hotel was built a few years after the Somali regions respectively gained independence from Italy and Britain in 1960.
Another Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue hotel, Ambassador, was bombed in June 2016. The current chairman of the Somalia Senate, Mr Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, was among those who narrowly escaped the attack. Two of his fellow MPs fell victims of the impact of the car bomb and the subsequent gunfire.
Down the avenue, towards the city centre, several other high profile accommodation facilities have suffered similar violent fates. Maka-al-Mukarrama Hotel, whose name derives from the avenue, has suffered at least three attacks. Being a location highly frequented by influential people including diplomats and the returning diaspora, many of them have either died or suffered injuries from the organised violence.
Like Maka-al-Mukarrama, Weheliye Hotel that was built in the 1980s, has experienced similar attacks with cars packed with explosive materials blasting its front side and causing harm to many. Weheliye Hotel’s Lumumba Emporium and Veritas Pharmacy, are popular with many high profile customers. Numerous other small business stand around the hotel, hence the devastating effect of every attack.