August 15, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

AMISOM forces seize several villages in Hiran region

14 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 113 words

Ethiopian forces serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Thursday seized three villages in Hiran region from al Shabaab militant group. The three villages, Bardere, Berhano and Tare-jante, situated between Beledweyne and Bulo-burte, the two major towns in Hiiran region were previously controlled by al Shabaab militant group. Reports from the region indicate that the Ethiopian forces are furthering their operation in the area and are said to be heading to Nur Fanah village. Eyewitnesses in the area also said that another Ethiopian forces battalion arrived in Luq-jenow and Baar villages on Thursday, west of Beledweyne, the provincial capital of Hiran region.

Key Headlines

AMISOM forces seize several villages in Hiran region (Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan)
500 guns seized: Somalia tries to disarm Mogadishu (AP)
Puntland president returns to Garowe ( Puntland TV)
ICRC: Still Time to Avert Somalia Famine (VOA)
Banadir Governor urges Somalis in Sweden to invest in the country (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Goobjoog)
Kenya police say trail gone cold in ‘White Widow’ hunt (Star News)
Former Somali PM elected regional state president (Hiiraan Online)

SOMALI MEDIA

AMISOM forces seize several villages in Hiran region

14 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 113 words

Puntland president returns to Garowe

14 Aug – Source: Radio RBC/PLTV/Radio Garowe – 141 words

The president of Somalia’s semi autonomous state of Puntland Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas has returned back to the capital Gorowe from Bossaso, the region’s commercial town. Punland deputy president Abdihakin Abdullahi Haji Omar Amey, minister and senior government officials have welcomed the president on his arrival at the Garowe airport where the president was later escorted to the Presidential Palace of Puntland in the capital. President Gaas has travelled to the port city of Bossaso on 8th this month where the president has met United Arab Emirates ambassador to Somalia Mohamed Al-Othman, and senior heads from Dubai Port Wall (DP).

Banadir Governor urges Somalis in Sweden to invest in the country

14 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Goobjoog – 99 words

Banadir Governor who is also Mogadishu Mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab has met with Somali business community and diaspora members in Sweden. The governor and the Somali business community in Sweden discussed on investment opportunities in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The business community promised to contribute to the peace and the development of the country. Mungab urged Somali business community to invest in Somalia saying the country now needs rebuilding and investment following years of turmoil and devastating civil wars. He added the government is ready to welcome anyone who wants to invest in the country through right channels.

Former Somali PM elected regional state president

24 Aug– Source: Hiiraan Online/Somaliland Informer/Radio Dalsan – 153 words

Former Somali Prime Minister and current parliament member Dr. Ali Kahlif Galeyr has been elected president of the semiautonomous regional state of Khaatumo at a conference held in the Saax-Dheer village in the Sool region, north of the Somalia. Dr. Galeyr accumulated 21 votes defeating his predecessor Mohamed Yusuf Jama Indha-Sheel who got only 10 votes. After the electoral committee announced the result of the election, the former president Mr. Indha-Sheel congratulated his successor Ali Khalif on his victory promising to work with the new president. The new elected president who held several governmental posts since 1980s is a veteran politician who once served as the Prime Minister of Somalia of the transitional national government early in 2000.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya police say trail gone cold in ‘White Widow’ hunt

14 Aug – Source: Star-Kenya – 369 words

Kenyan detectives told a court Thursday they had lost the trail of terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, known as the “White Widow”, suggesting the fugitive may have taken another identity. Detectives hunting Lewthwaite were ordered to appear in court Thursday in the port city Mombasa after failing to heed previous summons to provide updates on their search. “We have tried to arrest her, but she keeps on changing her identity and location,” said Abednego Kilonzo, a police chief inspector, said in a statement. “She must have a new name from the previous ones,” the statement added, read to the court by lawyer Eugene Wangila. Lewthwaite is the subject of an Interpol “red notice” warrant for her detention, issued at Kenya’s request. She is wanted in Kenya on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

500 guns seized: Somalia tries to disarm Mogadishu

14 Aug – Source: AP – 127 words

An official says that Somalia’s government has launched a new disarmament campaign that has netted some 500 guns during four raids. Mohamed Yusuf, the spokesman for Somalia’s national security ministry, said the campaign is being carried out because officials fear that weapons could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked fighters. Gun markets have a long history in Mogadishu, a city once overtly ruled by clan warlords. A proposed disarmament law has been approved by the government’s cabinet but hasn’t yet been voted on by parliament.

ICRC: Still Time to Avert Somalia Famine

14 Aug – Source: VOA – 436 words

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says there still is time to avert a potentially catastrophic famine in Somalia — but only if donors act now to support critical humanitarian operations. Mogadishu officials have declared drought in seven regions and warned of a possible repeat of the 2011 famine in which more than one-quarter of a million people died, half of them children, unless urgent measures are taken to head off the worst. Eric Marclay, ICRC head of operations for East Africa, tells VOA that although specialists on the ground in Somalia do not yet see signs of widespread famine, they warn the situation could change.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“The humanitarian, academic, and political outcry all reiterate—“Somalia is different.” The country cannot afford to lose the Barclays partnership. Barclays, and other enormous institutions are positioned to promote transparency and stability in the Somalian financial system. With the cooperation of many African nations and Western governments, these banks have the opportunity to not only strengthen money transfer channels and bolster the African financial system. Achieving that would ensure the livelihood of an estimated 40 percent of Somalians who rely on MTOs as the country “begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

International Finance: “Somalia is Different”

14 Aug – Source: cfr.org – 587 words

In December 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice levied a $1.9 billion fine against HSBC Holdings PLC. The bank’s failure to enforce money laundering controls had allowed illegal organizations to maneuver around U.S. banking laws to launder money for decades. HSBC’s fine and the recent tightening of international finance restrictions have led several financial institutions to reevaluate the security of accounts (many in Latin America and Africa) that do not have the “proper checks in place to spot criminal activity and could therefore unwittingly be facilitating money laundering and terrorist financing,” according to a Barclays’ statement. This development will have a particularly serious impact on Somalia. Money transfer operations (MTOs) and access to accounts held with multinational banks are particularly important in Somalia, where MTOs are used for remittances, the “financial lifeline” for many Somalians. Remittances in Somalia channel almost $2 billion, making up over a third of the counry’s GDP with 80 percent of new business ventures in Somali territories funded or supported by remittances.