August 8, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Technical Select Committee receives names of over 70% members

07 Aug – Source: Radio Risaala – 149 words

The technical committee that is selecting members of the next Somali parliament say they have received 70% of the total number required to form the next parliament.The head of the technical selecting committee Abdullahi Ismaan Hireey who spoke to Radio Risaala in Mogadishu said their work is progressing well and they expect to conclude soon. He said the have only just received the lists and they have not confirmed if due process has been followed but he said they will check if all the rules has been followed during the selection. The committee also said they will check criminal records of the selected members and if they find any member with misconduct will be removed from the list.

Key Headlines

Government says elections to be held after parliament selection (Source: Radio Risaala)
Somali Prime Minister declares his candidacy (Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online/Hiiraan Online/Radio Dalsan)
Technical Select Committee receives names of over 70% members (Radio Risaala)
Uganda deploys air force to pursue militants in Somalia (New Vision)
Director Generals of Somali ministries meet in Mogadishu (Radio Bar-kulan)
Puntland passes Local Gov’t Electoral Bill (Bar-kulan/Raxanreeb Online/Garowe Online)
Africa Union says AMISOM faces financial constraints (Xinhua )

SOMALI MEDIA

Government says elections to be held after parliament selection

07 Aug – Source: Radio Risaala – 143 words

Somalia’s president Shariif Sheikh Ahmed said that all the selection processes are about to finish, praising the elders for doing good job. The president said once the members of the next parliament are selected the country will go into an election. President Shariif said the country has moved step forward to democracy since now selections for leaders are done properly. He said the coming four years are very crucial to the country and citizens will work on all sectors. The president added that the country is in a good position now. The cultural elders are selecting members of the next parliament and once they are through, the country will go to elections with government officials repeatedly emphasizing that everything is going as planned.

Somali Prime Minister declares his candidacy

07 Aug – Source: Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online/Hiiraan Online/Radio Dalsan- 89 words

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has on Tuesday declared his interest in the country’s top seat ahead of the forthcoming presidential election scheduled before the end of his month. According to his campaign team, a ceremony to popularize his candidacy was held in Mogadishu to woo votes and supports for his campaign trail. He joins the growing list of presidential aspirants eying for the country’s top sear. This comes a time when the country is marking the first anniversary of al Shabaab’s pull out from Mogadishu in 2011.

Director Generals of Somali ministries meet in Mogadishu

07 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 119 words

Director Generals of all ministries today held a meeting to thrash out possible impacts of the ongoing political process on civil servants. The meeting which was also meant to make sure that the political changes does not affect the work of civil servants in the country. Director General in the Ministry of Transport Mohamed Osman Dagah-tur who organised the meeting said their meeting is aimed at safeguarding the rights of civil servants and strengthening the co-operations between ministries.He said all Director Generals noted the importance of civil servants in running the affairs of ministries.Somali is scheduled to enter a new era once the current ten year old transitional period comes to an end on 20 August 2012.

Somaliland journalists protest against police brutality

07 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press – 94 words

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) protests police brutality against a female television reporter in Somaliland, while the journalist was doing her professional work. On Saturday, 4 August 2012, police in the town of Borama in Awdal region attacked Hodan Abokor Afi, a female reporter for Somaliland National Television (SLNTV), leaving her traumatised and scarred. The police assaulted her physically by slapping and beating her. The incident left her face severely damaged, in addition she was verbally harassed her. The suspected attacker is the deputy commander of Borama’s central police station.

Technical Select Committee receives names of over 70% members

07 Aug – Source: Radio Risaala – 149 words

The technical committee that is selecting members of the next parliament say they have received 70% of the total number required to form the next parliament.The head of the technical selecting committee Abdullahi Ismaan Hireey who spoke to Radio Risaala in Mogadishu said their work is progressing well and they expect to conclude soon. He said the have only just received the lists and they have not confirmed if due process has been followed but he said they will check if all the rules has been followed during the selection. The committee also said they will check criminal records of the selected members and if they find any member with misconduct will be removed from the list.

Puntland passes Local Gov’t Electoral Bill

07 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Raxanreeb Online/Garowe Online – 126 words

Puntland parliament today passed Local Government Electoral Bill after a month of debates. The Bill sailed through the flour of the house when 42 out of 56 MPs present voted in favour of it by show of hand while the remaining 14 rejected it. Puntland’s speaker of parliament Abdirashid Mohamed Hirsi said the Bill recognizes only 21 districts where elections of local government can be held.He said difference over the number of districts that can take part in the elections have now been settled and 21 were agreed up while the remaining districts will have to wait till their boundaries are marked.The issue of number of district has been in the public domain for the last one month, with MPs dived on the issue.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Uganda deploys air force to pursue militants in Somalia

07 Aug – Source: New Vision – 307 words

The Uganda People’s Defence Air Force has for the first time sent a contingent of ace pilots to support the ongoing African Union (AU) peace operations in Somalia. The air force will provide aerial escort for convoys, reconnaissance operations along the supply routes, medical evacuation, air search and rescue as well as aerial combat against the al Shabaab in Mogadishu.

Somali army marches towards Buurhakaba and Diinsoor

07 Aug – Source: Sabahi Online – 883 words

Somali Transitional Federal Government forces are marching towards the towns of Buurhakaba and Diinsoor in the Bay region, and expect weak resistance from al Shabaab members hiding in surrounding villages. Security sources say Somali and Ethiopian forces have moved from Deeynunay military base and have already reached the outskirts of Buurhakaba, 60 kilometres southeast of Baidoa, the region’s capital. Eyewitnesses told Sabahi that joint forces have 10 kilometres remaining to reach central Buurhakaba.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Africa Union says AMISOM faces financial constraints

07 Aug – Source: Xinhua – 809 words

Africa Union troops which have launched a major onslaught on al Qaeda allied group, al Shabaab in Somalia are facing a serious financial crisis that may jeopardize its operations to wipe out the militia in the Horn of Africa nation. AU Deputy chairperson Erastus Mwencha said the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)’s venture into Horn of Africa is expensive affair and appealed for more international aid to enable the troops complete their mandate of pacifying the country. Mwencha who was speaking during African Leadership Conference in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa late on Monday said the pan African body spends about 45 million U.S. dollars per month.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“It was a moment to celebrate London’s diversity and to provide a dramatic reply to those who question migrants’ contribution to Britain. Who couldn’t watch Mo Farah’s 53 second last lap and say that they don’t merely benefit us, they glorify us too?”

Let’s celebrate Mo Farah

07 Aug- Source: New Internationalist Blog-423 Words

He was born in Mogadishu and came here as a child, able to do so because his Somali-born father was already a resident. He came to escape from the mounting problems in Somalia, arriving via Djibouti, but like some other Somalis already had the family connections that enabled him to enter Britain.