December 18, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somalia parliament postpones vote to authorize Prime Minister

17 Dec- Source: Somali Current/Hiiraan Online/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV- 117 words

Somali parliament has postponed a vote to approve the newly nominated Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, which was previously planned to be held on Wednesday. General Secretary of the parliament Abdikarim Haji Abdi (Buh) who addressed to the media on Tuesday stated that the leading committee of the parliament has decided to postpone the date due to technical challenges. Buh stated the approval of the Prime Minister will be held on Saturday (December 21 2013). President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud nominated Abdiwali as the country’s Prime Minister last week, after the outgoing PM lost the confidence of parliament earlier this month. Designate Prime Minister was due to appear before parliament on Wednesday, as part of the approval procedure.

Key Headlines

New Mission Commander for EU training mission in Somalia (Council of the European Union)
Diarrhoea outbreak in Galkayo (Radio Ergo)
Semi-autonomous state formation conference in Baidoa enters second phase (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somaliland:Ethiopia Donates Towards Cyclone Victims (Radio Bar-kulan)
Banned charcoal still finds ways into Gulf (Arab News/ AP)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somalia parliament postpones vote to authorize Prime Minister

17 Dec- Source: Somali Current/Hiiraan Online/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV- 117 words

Diarrhoea outbreak in Galkayo

17 Dec- Source: Radio Ergo- 145 words

Around 45 people have been treated in hospital for diarrhoea over the past month in Galkayo, doctors reported. Ahmed Diriye Sugule, the director of Galkayo’s main hospital, said most of the infected people are children and some elderly patients. The hospital is giving them free health services. The outbreak is thought to be directly linked to the poor sanitation and hygiene conditions in the town following the Deyr rains. Hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in overcrowded camps are most vulnerable. Radio Ergo’s reporter, who visited several camps in the town, said the heavy rains and wind, combined with the poor shelters and sanitation in the camps, could have severe negative impacts on health. Diarrhoea, malaria, and respiratory diseases were prevalent in the camps. The hospital director urged the IDPs to bring their children and sick family members to the hospital for free treatement.

Semi-autonomous state formation conference in Baidoa enters second phase

17 Dec- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 143 words

The second phase of the state formation conference has on Tuesday opened in Baidoa, the provincial capital of Bay region. Somali parliament members, traditional leaders, intellectuals and politicians are currently in Baidoa to take part the second phase of the conference. Sheikh Aden Mohamed Noor Madobe who is a member of the federal parliament said that the conference enters its final phase and is hopeful that a semi-autonomous state would be formed before the end of the conference. He expects that the semi-autonomous state would consist of five regions of Bay, Bakol, Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba, Lower Shabelle and Gedo. However, Sharif Hassan Sheikh who is also a Somali legislator and former parliament speaker believes that the delegates should focus on forming a three-region semi-autonomous state consisting of Bay, Bakol and Lower Shabelle regions.

Somaliland:Ethiopia Donates Towards Cyclone Victims

17 Dec- Source: Somaliland Informer/Horn Cable TV- 235 words

Victims of the recent heavy rains in the country that flooded their homes and killed livestock are to benefit from Ethiopian largesse as three truck loads of relief items were availed by the government of the neigbouring country. According to Gen Berhe Tesfaye, Ethiopian envoy to Somalialnd, the relief items which are composed of one hundred tons of rice, assorted nutritional supplements, milk for infants and breastfeeding infants and other materials were donated by Ethiopian people as a gesture of friendship to disaster afflicted citizens of Somaliland. “It is important for our two friendly peoples to aid each other during times of difficulties” said the Ethiopian envoy as he revealed while the current donation is the first of its kind from his country a similar one has been dispatched to neigbouring South Sudan and the Somalia regional administration of Puntland as well. Thanking the Ethiopian government for being first to respond to a relief appeal, the minister of Resettlement and Rehabilitation Mr. Ahmed Abdi Asood said that the gesture is a mark of the brotherly and friendly relations that exist between Ethiopia and Somaliland. “We thank our Ethiopian brothers for their support during our time of need and promise to utilize the donation appropriately for the benefit of the flood victims most of whom are currently displaced in various parts of the country” said Minister Asood as he officially assumed possession of the Ethiopian donation.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Banned charcoal still finds ways into Gulf

18 Dec- Source: Arab News/AP- 233 words

Charcoal from Somalia, which was banned nearly two years ago by the United Nations, is still making its way to markets in the Middle East, frustrating international efforts to cut off a major moneymaker for Al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants in the Horn of Africa nation. UN inspectors in recent weeks have sent letters to the governments of Oman and the UAE raising concerns about continued shipments of suspected Somali charcoal into their countries. Inspectors say Somali charcoal shipments have increased since the ban was imposed by the UN Security Council in February 2012.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

New Mission Commander for EU training mission in Somalia

17 Dec- Source: Council of the European Union- 183 words

Brigadier General Massimo Mingiardi was today appointed new Mission Commander for
the EU training mission in Somalia (EUTM Somalia). General Mingiardi, from Italy, will take up his duties on 15 February 2014. He will succeed Brigadier General Gerald Aherne, who had been in the position since February 2013. EUTM Somalia, launched in spring 2010, has contributed to training about 3,600 Somali troops so far, with a special focus on officers, specialists and trainers. It is part of the EU’s comprehensive approach for a stable, democratic and prosperous Somalia and embedded in the EU strategic framework for the Horn of Africa.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Time will tell whether the Prime Minister sticks to his own independent premier whim; and gets a free hand appointments into sensitive chambers of our national political and bureaucratic establishment, or turns out to be a fraudulently minted Prime Minister.”

Political Uncertainty and the New the Prime Minister

17 Dec- Source: Hiiraan Online- 1313 words

Clearly the end of transitional governance period unbolted with a collective sigh of relief and another cycle of assessment and reflection.
But, did we really achieve what we hoped from this most stirring event since the collapse of the state twenty some years ago? Naturally, people would differ on interpretations, and when someone writes something, he or she does so in a context. This context includes the writer’s feelings, beliefs, past experiences, goals, needs, and physical environment.
Henceforth; sincerely speaking, I have no political ax to grind, or harbor resentment unto the establishment; I am simply longing for the government to get ahead and our nation to stand proper on its feet.