February 13, 2014 | Morning Headlines.
I am well and never had any health problem, says Somali President
12 Feb- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somalicurrent/SNTV/
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has rebuffed reports published online, saying that he was admitted at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. A number of Somali websites and social media circulated that the President’s health is very critical, with some saying that he has died on Wednesday. Speaking to the state owned radio, President Hassan criticized the reports, which he described as an attempt to spoil the countries security. “I am well and never had any health problem, I went to Turkey to visit my family, and had the chance to have general health check up, but I had no health problem at all,” the president said. Government Spokesman, Abdirahman Omar Osman Yarisow, termed the reports a misleading information. “Somalia President is well and never had any health problem or concerns. It is impossible for us to comment on deliberate misleading information that is not true at all,” Yarisow posted on his Facebook account.
Key Headlines
- I am well and never had any health problem says Somali President(SNTV)
- Ethiopian forces pour into Guriel town central Somalia(Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somalia: Spanish Navy delivers Medical Assistance to local people in Puntland(Horseed Media)
- Polio Vaccination Campaigns to commence in Somaliland( Hon Cable TV)
- Kenya: Director of Public Prosecutions blocks bail for JKIA blast suspects(Capital News/AFP)
- Official: Somali man plotting to attack Uganda(AP)
- Kenyan court charges 70 people with being members of al Shabaab(The Guardian/Reuter)
SOMALI MEDIA
I am well and never had any health problem, says Somali President
12 Feb- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somalicurrent/SNTV/
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has rebuffed reports published online, saying that he was admitted at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. A number of Somali websites and social media circulated that the President’s health is very critical, with some saying that he has died on Wednesday. Speaking to the state owned radio, President Hassan criticized the reports, which he described as an attempt to spoil the countries security. “I am well and never had any health problem, I went to Turkey to visit my family, and had the chance to have general health check up, but I had no health problem at all,” the president said. Government Spokesman, Abdirahman Omar Osman Yarisow, termed the reports a misleading information. “Somalia President is well and never had any health problem or concerns. It is impossible for us to comment on deliberate misleading information that is not true at all,” Yarisow posted on his Facebook account.
Ethiopian forces pour into Guriel town, central Somalia
12 Feb- Source: Radio RBC/Radio Bar-kulan/Shabelle/Kulmiye- 127 words
Hundreds of Ethiopian forces have poured into Guriel town of central Somalia’s region of Galgadud, according to residents of the town. Ethiopian army were officially integrated into the African Union in Somalia to help the fight against the al Qaeda linked group of al Shabab. According to residents, the Ethiopian forces entered the town and stationed at former Somalia military camp outside Guriel town early Wednesday. The town is administered by the moderate Sufi militia known as Ahlusuna which has been an active ally for both Somali government and the Ethiopian army. The move came as AMISOM and the government of Somalia both declared the start of a joint operation to eliminate the militant group from Somalia territory within this year.
Somalia: Spanish Navy delivers Medical Assistance to local people in Puntland
12 Feb- Source: Horseed Media- 153 words
Spanish Navy with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta delivered medical assistance to local people in Northeastern Somalia. Doctors from the Spanish team part of the Anti piracy operation moved to the coast off Bandar bayla district which lies on the Indian Ocean. The mayor of the town Saeed Adan Anteno told Horseed Media that 21 people were able to be treated, adding that Spanish navy pledged to train local navy forces to tackle any piracy threat. “We are pleased with the medical assistance provided by the Spanish navy team, they treated men and women whom some of them are suffering from diabetes and hypertension,’’ said the Mayor. It was not the first time International forces in the Somali Sea had provided medical assistance to the local people.
Polio Vaccination Campaigns to commence in Somaliland
12 Feb- Source: Somaliland Informer/Honcabletv- 136 words
Somaliland Minister of Health Hon. Suleiman Isse Ahmed has officially announced on Wednesday that on 14thFebruary a nationwide polio inoculation is to kick off all regions of the country and awareness raising campaign will also commence on the same date. Large well organized ceremony was held at Mansoor Hotel whereby the Director General Mr. Abiib was among the attendees. He told that first round of the polio vaccination along with breast feeding raising awareness campaign will go under way on 14th Feb. 2014. Somaliland Minister of Education Hon. Zamzam Abdi Adam reiterated that students will take advantage of the polio inoculation which will kick off across the nation. Health minister has urged all parents and the vaccination staffs must do all they can to benefit for the young children who are about to receive the inoculations.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya: Director of Public Prosecutions blocks bail for JKIA blast suspects
12 Feb- Source: Capital News/AFP- 146 words
Four Somali men charged in Kenya in connection with a blast last month at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were denied bail on Wednesday after the country’s top prosecutor appealed a lower court’s decision to release them. A magistrate ruled that the four could be bailed if they paid a bond of Sh20 million each, but the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko made a fast-track application to the High Court to have the bail decision overturned. High Court judge Msagha Mbogholi ordered the suspension of the decision to grant bail, until Tobiko’s application could be heard in full. The explosion took place on January 16 at a cafe adjacent to one of the terminal buildings in JKIA, the region’s busiest transport hub. There were no casualties.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Official: Somali man plotting to attack Uganda
12 Feb- Source: AP- 129 words
A Kenyan official says security agents are looking for a Somali national believed to be part of a terror group plotting an attack in Uganda. A senior security official, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with the press, said Wednesday that intelligence reports show that Omar Khalid, believed to be a leader of a militant cell, is in Nairobi and plotting an attack in Uganda. The official said that information may have led the U.S. Embassy in Uganda to issue an alert Tuesday warning of a terror plot. Ugandan police have issued many terror alerts over the past year warning that the al Qaeda-linked Somali militants may be plotting an attack similar to the September assault on an upscale mall in the Kenyan capital.
Kenyan court charges 70 people with being members of al Shabaab
12 Feb- Source: The guardian/Reuters- 278 words
A Kenyan court charged 70 people with being members of Somali militant group al Shabaab on Wednesday, after they were arrested during a police raid on a mosque that sparked days of rioting in Mombasa. The 70 denied being members of the Islamist group, which is linked to al Qaeda, and other charges relating to terrorism, possession of arms, robbery and incitement to violence in a crowded courtroom six miles outside the port city. They were arrested when armed policemen swooped on the Mussa mosque in Mombasa on 2 February saying they had information that Muslim youths were being recruited there for militant attacks.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Traditional Scandinavian sport forms bond between Swedes and Somalis as refugees skate to the World Championships.”
A sporting way to welcome migrants
12 Feb- Source: Al Jazeera English-800 Words
A minivan crunches to a stop on the frozen gravel and players get out to unload ice skates, helmets and sticks, before walking to the changing rooms, glancing at the rink where two Swedish teams are playing under floodlights and falling snow. The scraping glide of the skates is accompanied by shouts calling for a pass, the crack of a shot on goal, or a grunt as one player bodychecks another and sends him sprawling out of the rink, set on the edge of a forest in Borlänge, a couple of hours north of Stockholm. The uniforms immediately bring to mind the NHL. But this isn’t ice hockey, this is bandy, an older sport than the one played by Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, and in which professionals from Scandinavia and Russia can earn huge contracts. It’s played on a rink the size of a football pitch, with a ball instead of a puck, and with 11 players on each side. In Europe, it’s also played almost exclusively by Swedes, Finns, Norwegians or Russians. Now, thanks to the young men in the minivan, we can add Somalis to that list as well.