February 11, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somalia Navy celebrates its 49th anniversary

10 Feb- Source: Radio Dalsan/Universaltv/SNTV/Radio Mogadishu- 131 words

The newly re-established Navy of Somalia celebrated its 49th anniversary during well organized event in Mogadishu. Defense Minister, the Commander of the National Army, Commander of the navy and other senior commanders of the security forces have attended the event in which the navy marched to show its performance. Addressing the event Monday, the new commander of Somalia Navy Admiral Abdikadir said the navy is ready to defend the country’s coastal area from the illegal fishing and waste dumping as well as the pirates. The Navy Chief has thanked the Turkish Government and the UAE for supporting the navy since its re-establishment started. The Defense Minister Gen Mohamed Hamud has made clear that the national army including will be the defenders of the Somalia’s territorial sovereignty from any enemy.

Key Headlines

Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle injured in Mogadishu explosion (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somalia Navy celebrates its 49th anniversary (Radio Dalsan/Universaltv/SNTV)
Somali Foreign Minister meets Japanese Ambassador in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu)
Security operation will persist in Mogadishu minister says (Radio Dalsan)
Political will key in repatriating refugees – Kenyan Interior minister (Capital News)
Police officer shot AK-47 stolen by gunmen on a motorbike in Kwale (Standard Media)
8 al Shabaab fighters die after Somalia car bomb blast: witnesses (Shanghai daily/Xinhua)
Police: Car bomb explodes outside Mogadishu hotel (AP)

SOMALI MEDIA

Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle injured in Mogadishu explosion

10 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mustaqbal/Kulmiye- 115 words

The deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region has been injured in an explosion in Mogadishu, reports say. Ahmed Omar Mudane is now being treated in Madina hospital where he was rushed to immediately after the blast. The blast happened Monday near Ambassador Hotel after an explosive device apparently attached to his car exploded. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. However, a similar tactic was previously employed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants to target officials in Mogadishu.

Somalia Navy celebrates its 49th anniversary

10 Feb- Source: Radio Dalsan/Universaltv/SNTV/Radio Mogadishu- 131 words

Somali Foreign Minister meets Japanese Ambassador in Mogadishu

10 Feb- SOurce: Radio RBC/Radio Mogadishu- 159 words
The Foreign Affairs Minister of Somalia Government Dr Abduraham Duale Beileh has received the Japanese Ambassador to Kenya Tatsushi Terada together with the Deputy of the UN Special Envoy to Somalia Atsushi Yonezawa visiting Mogadishu. According to a press statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the meeting took place in the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Mogadishu on Sunday. The meeting addressed the bilateral relations between the two countries as Japanese Government continues to support the peacebuilding and statebuilding efforts ongoing in Somalia. Japanese Ambassador stressed the importance of Japanese role in the development of Somalia as well as the interest of Japanese business sector to invest Somalia in this post-conflict period. This meeting came hours after a large donation from the Government of Japan reached Mogadishu to equip the administration offices of Somalia Police Force.

Security operation will persist in Mogadishu, minister says

10 Feb- Source: Radio Dalsan- 105 words

Security operations will continue in Somalia capital, Mogadishu until the city is secured enough, the Deputy Security Minister announced Monday. The Deputy Security Minister Ibrahim Isak Yarow has mentioned that operations are aimed at ensuring that bad elements can not infiltrate to derail the security of Mogadishu. The Minister, who was accompanied by several top security officials, toured parts of the capital on Sunday night to observe the situation following heavy search operations in the past nights. Mr Yarow said the security forces apprehended dozens of suspected individuals during the operation and that anyone found not guilty will be released after investigating them.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Political will key in repatriating refugees – Kenyan Interior minister

10 Feb- Source: Capital News- 139 words

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku says there is need for political goodwill in the repatriation exercise of refugees from the Dadaab camp. Speaking during an African Union high level roundtable discussion on Monday, Lenku stated that this will ensure that a durable and long lasting solution is achieved in the exercise. The move is part of the tripartite agreement signed between Kenya, Somalia and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the repatriation. “It is a fact that we have these refugee problems because of political differences and political conflicts and therefore without resolving them it is not possible to say goodbye to the displaced person or refugees,” the Interior Secretary said. He further emphasised the need for the refugees to have an open mind and return to their country voluntarily since most parts have achieved peace.

Police officer shot, AK-47 stolen by gunmen on a motorbike in Kwale

10 Feb- Source: Standard Media- 163 words

A traffic police officer was Monday morning shot and wounded in the head before he was robbed of his AK-47 rifle by gunmen on a motorbike in Kombani, Kwale County. Police suspect the attackers were followers of Somalia’s al Shabaab gang. Another female officer was slightly injured after she was wrestled by the gunmen who escaped after the incident along the Lunga Lunga highway.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

8 al Shabaab fighters die after Somalia car bomb blast: witnesses

10 Feb- Source: Shanghai daily/Xinhua- 227 words

At least eight al Shabaab fighters were killed and five others injured after a car bomb they were making accidentally went off in the central Somali town of Bulo-Burte, witnesses and officials said. The explosion was heard around Bulo Burte close to the main town of Beledewyne, which is controlled by government forces and African Union (AU) troops. “The explosion was very huge and I saw people fleeing from the area. Eight dead men were taken out of the house where the vehicle was constructed. Five more severely wounded fighters were also taken away,” Ali Muse, a resident, told Xinhua.

Police: Car bomb explodes outside Mogadishu hotel

10 Feb- Source: AP- 104 words
A police officer in Somalia’s capital says that a car bomb exploded outside a Mogadishu hotel as senior police officers were meeting inside. The police officer, Capt. Mohamed Hussein, said that at least four people were wounded in the remotely triggered blast on Monday. Hussein said that Mogadishu’s police chief was among the senior officers meeting inside the hotel. Another police officer, Mohamed Abdi, said the hotel blast came a few hours after one person was wounded by a bomb concealed in his car and detonated by remote control. Such terror attacks in Somalia’s capital are typically carried out by the al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Somaliland, the self-declared republic, is desperate for someone to find vast mineral reserves under its soil. But without international recognition – and the probability of legal battles in the future – it’s a big risk for any company to take. Somaliland too should be careful. Having dodged the aid curse, will it fall victim to the resource curse instead?”

Investing in a country that doesn’t exist: Somaliland’s hard sell

10 Feb- Source: Daily Maverick-961 Words

At the recently concluded Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Somaliland’s energy minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh had possibly the hardest sell of all. It was his job to convince the assembled mining bigwigs that his country was a viable, risk-free environment in which to invest millions and millions of dollars – all on the hope that there might be base and precious metals hidden somewhere under its drab scrubland. He tried hard. “We have also a unique geographical location,” the minister said in his speech at the conference. “If you have a mineral deposit and if you exploit it, it will be very cheap to take to market…it’s definitely much less costly than a really getting fantastic deposit the middle of continent, which will cost you really huge amount of money to export it…even the small deposit is commercially viable considering the logistics involved in taking the minerals to market.” It was a good effort, but will it be enough? There are, after all, a few other factors which mitigate against Somaliland becoming Africa’s next mining hotspot. The biggest problem is that Dualeh’s country is not actually a country. Officially, legally, Somaliland is a territory of the Republic of Somalia.