April 2, 2014 | Morning Headlines.
Somali Police get hold of two vehicles laden with explosives
01 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 106 words
Somali security forces after conducting operations between Mogadishu and Afgoye corridor presented two vehicles laden with improvised explosive devices, weapons including 4 AK47 and four men who were manning illegal checkpoints. Security spokesman Mohamed Yusuf Omar “Madale” told the media that the security forces in a careful operation arrested four men who were giving tough time to the passengers on the highway linking Mogadishu and Afgoye and weapons. Madale added that they seized a man who is accused of minting fake Somali shillings in Mogadishu and nearby regions.
Key Headlines
- Somali president back to Mogadishu after two days official visit to Baidoa (Radio Mogadishu)
- Somali Police get hold of two vehicles laden with explosives(Radio Goobjoog)
- Kenya Police Arrest 650 After Eastleigh Blast (VOA)
- Ambassadors from Australia Netherlands Norway arrive in Somaliland on working visit (Somaliland Informer)
- President Abdiwali Gaas discusses with UNSOM on democracy in Puntland (Puntland TV)
- 25 arrested as Garissa put on high alert over terror attacks (Daily Nation)
- US judge awards $957m to East Africa bomb victims (Africa Review)
- Prominent cleric killed on Kenyan coast: witnesses (Reuters)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president back to Mogadishu after two days official visit to Baidoa
01 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog – 71 words
The president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came back to Mogadishu after three days official visit to Baidoa, the headquarters of Bay region. The president had meeting with politicians who hail from the region, elders and the elect leaders of the parallel regional states established in Baidoa. They discussed ways of ending the political tension in the region. He asked the community in Bay region to co-operate with the federal government of Somalia.
Somali Police get hold of two vehicles laden with explosives
01 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 106 words
Somali security forces after conducting operations between Mogadishu and Afgoye corridor presented two vehicles laden with improvised explosive devices, weapons including 4 AK47 and four men who were manning illegal checkpoints. Security spokesman Mohamed Yusuf Omar “Madale” told the media that the security forces in a careful operation arrested four men who were giving tough time to the passengers on the highway linking Mogadishu and Afgoye and weapons. Madale added that they seized a man who is accused of minting fake Somali shillings in Mogadishu and nearby regions.
Ambassadors from Australia, Netherlands, Norway arrive in Somaliland on working visit
01 Apr – Source; Somaliland Informer – 92 words
A delegation consisting of ambassadors from the Netherlands and Norway, Australia and accompanied by United Nations office of Drugs and Crime on Tuesday arrived in Hargeisa, Somaliland capital city. The higher level delegation has been received by the Minister of Justice Hon. Hussien Ahmed Aidid who told the media that the delegation will hold talks with government officials on development projects that they are about to implement. They toured Madheera prison where the delegation inspected development projects that are being implemented by them.
http://www.somalilandinformer.
President Abdiwali Gaas discusses with UNSOM on democracy in Puntland
01 Apr – Source: Puntalnd TV – 78 words
The President of Puntland state of Somalia Abdiwali Mohamed Ali Gaas has met with UNSOM officials at the presidential palace of the state. Dr Abdiwali Gaas accompanied by some of his government cabinet members discussed with UNSOM officials on democratizations process in Puntland. Minister of
Constitution, Federalism and Democratization Sahra Said Nur stated that Puntland and its people are equipped to work on the realization of multi-party elections and function of full democracy in the region.
REGIONAL MEDIA
25 arrested as Garissa put on high alert over terror attacks
01 Apr – Source: Daily Nation – 103 words
Authorities in Garissa on Monday arrested 25 people in a sting operation targeting public service vehicles as the area was put on high alert over possible terror attacks. Security personnel launched the operations targeting the PSVs operating from Garissa and Wajir to Mombasa and Nairobi. Police in Garissa launched the crackdown on possible terrorist activities following numerous security breaches at the coast. The suspects who included men and women allegedly had fake identification document. Garissa County Commissioner Rashid Khator termed the operation successful noting that those arrested were in possession of fake ID cards and could not give satisfactory explanations upon further questioning.
US judge awards $957m to East Africa bomb victims
01 Apr – Source: Africa Review – 165 words
A federal judge in Washington has ruled that the governments of Iran and Sudan must pay a total of $957 million in the cases of 23 Tanzanians and Americans killed or injured in the attacks on the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. But the ruling by Judge Thomas Bates does not ensure that the specified sum will be paid to the victims any time soon — or ever. “Judgments are notoriously difficult to collect in state-sponsored terrorism cases,” noted a US law journal’s report on the case on Monday. Mr Thomas Fortune Fay, an attorney representing the Tanzanians and US citizens, said on Monday that efforts will now begin to identify Iranian and Sudanese assets that can be seized to pay the damages awarded by Judge Bates. Mr Fay had noted earlier that Sudan did pay $13.4 million in damages in 2009 to the families of victims of a bomb attack in 2000 on a US destroyer docked in Aden, Yemen.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Prominent cleric killed on Kenyan coast: witnesses
01 Apr – Source: Reuters – 186 words
A prominent Kenyan cleric, accused by the United States and U.N. Security Council of supporting the Somali militant group al Shabaab, was killed on Tuesday, a police officer at the scene and a witness said. An officer pointed to a dead body a few km (miles) from the port city of Mombasa and said it was that of Abubakar Shariff, also known as Makaburi. “Our brother Abubakar Shariff Makaburi has left us. He is dead,” a preacher at a mosque in Kisauni, a Muslim-dominated area near Mombasa, said through a loudspeaker. “May his soul rest in peace. He has died a brave death.” There was no immediate official police comment. A Reuters witness at the site identified the corpse, which appeared to have bullet wounds to the body and head, while dozens of Makaburi’s supporters gathered nearby demanding police hand over the body. Makaburi’s death could stir fresh unrest in the coastal area, where most of Kenya’s Muslims live. Muslim youths clashed with police for three days in February after a man was killed during a police raid on a mosque used by firebrand preachers.
Kenya Police Arrest 650 After Eastleigh Blast
01 Apr – Source: VOA – 94 words
Kenyan officials say they have arrested more than 650 people in an ethnic Somali part of Nairobi, following explosions Monday that left six people dead and more than 20 injured. In a statement, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said a thorough security operation has been launched aimed at arresting the perpetrators of the Monday attack. Ole Lenku termed the attack against civilians barbaric and an act of cowardice against innocent and peace-loving Kenyans. Late Monday, Nairobi police chief Benson Kibui assured Kenyans they are safe, and he said the attackers will be found.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Just as Somali migrants may be caught between two worlds, the old and the new, Somalia itself is caught between its reliance on the global diaspora—for crucial remittances and political guidance—and the destabilising perils that come with such heavy dependence on foreign flows of money and people.”
From Mogadishu to Minneapolis, and back
01 Apr- Source: GGA-1358 Words
Hail a taxi in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and you are likely to find a Somali refugee behind the wheel. The twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul are one of the largest Somali municipalities outside of Somalia. About 32,000 citizens of Somali origin are living in Minnesota, a state in the American Midwest, according to 2011 figures from the US Census Bureau. Community leaders suggest there may be as many as 50,000. The Somali diaspora is a potent political force, driving local politics in Minnesota and in Somalia. Abdi Warsame was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in November 2013, making him the top Somali-American elected official in the United States. Like Mr Warsame, many Somali-Americans are focused on their new lives, building a future outside the Horn of Africa. “Many of us left fighting in Somalia,” explained Jamal Abdulahi, a political activist, while looking at icy streets from a warm Minneapolis café. “Now we’re fighting for better snow removal.” The Somali diaspora—in Minnesota and around the world—is crucial to Somalia’s political future. Remittances boost Somalia’s struggling economy. Somali migrants educated abroad also occupy many top-level positions in Somalia’s government.