January 15, 2014| Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali MPs dismiss motion against reappointment of former ministers

14 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu- 110 words

A motion brought forward by some MPs on Sunday to vote against re-appointing former ministers to the new cabinet has been dismissed by Somali legislators on Tuesday. In a parliamentary sitting held in Mogadishu which was chaired by Somali Parliament Speaker, Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari, the legislators were asked to vote for the motion. 133 members voted for the dismissal of the motion from parliament agenda with a show of hands, while 99 voted against its removal during Tuesday’s vote. Parliament Speaker, Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari announced that majority of the MPs have voted for the dismissal of the motion.

Key Headlines

Somali MPs dismiss motion against reappointment of former ministers (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu)
Puntland President officially takes office (Somalicurrent/Radio Garowe)
Benadir regional administration downplays al Shabaab’s fresh threat against residents in Mogadishu(Radio Dalsan)
Al Shabaab officer surrenders himself to Afmadow authorities (Radio Bar-kulan)
From Leicester with love: One Diaspora Somali’s effort to put out Mogadishu’s fires (Africa Review)
A Somali refugee in Italy: ‘There’s a feeling of total disorientation’ (theguardian)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali MPs dismiss motion against reappointment of former ministers

14 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu- 110 words

Puntland President officially takes office

14 Jan- Source: Somalicurrent/Radio Garowe/Horseed Media/Hiiraan Online- 116 words

Puntland’s newly elected President Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has officially taken office, a week after he won in the hotly contested election. During a handover ceremony held at the Regional Presidential Palace, Former Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole) wished President Abdiweli all the best in moving forward with development agenda in Puntland, pledging his support for the new President. Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali thanked Abdirahman Farole’s and paid tribute to his efforts and hard work during his reign in office. President Abdiweli declared his determination to form a quality government including women representatives and develop the State.

Benadir regional administration downplays al Shabaab’s fresh threat against residents in Mogadishu

14 Jan- Source: Radio Dalsan- 182 words

Benadir regional administration has downplayed the fresh threats by al Shabaab militant group against residents in Somalia capital, Mogadishu. Deputy Governor of Benadir Regional Administration Warsame Mohamed Ahmed “Joodax” has rebuffed Al Shabab’s new threat that can hinder the improvement of security and business in the capital. Al Shabab commander has recently issued a security threat against residents in Mogadishu calling the people not to work with the international agencies and not to visit government offices. The Deputy Governor said the warning is nothing new as the group already issued such warning which did not work. “I call on the people not to listen to the nonsense warnings from the terrorist group,” Warsame Joodax said. He added, “The security forces in Mogadishu will not rest to make sure the city is secured.” The new security threat from al Shabaab come days after the militant group banned the use of the internet from the regions they control in Somalia.

Al Shabaab officer surrenders himself to Afmadow authorities

14 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 75 words

An al Shabaab officer has on Tuesday surrendered himself to the Afmadow district authorities in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia. Abdullahi Dalas was a well-known militant figure in many parts of Jubba regions. Somali military officer in Afmadow district, Aar Sheikh Ali has confirmed the surrender of the al Shabaab officer to Bar-kulan on Tuesday. Ali added that this is part of major al Shabaab militant defections witnessed in Jubba regions in recent months.

REGIONAL MEDIA

From Leicester with love: One Diaspora Somali’s effort to put out Mogadishu’s fires

14 Jan- Source: Africa Review- 434 words

On New Year’s day at 7:39pm, a call came through for Abdulahi Mohamed, better known as Saneey. There had been a blast in Mogadishu, the troubled capital of Somalia. Almost immediately his walkie-talkie also begun feverishly transmitting through messages of distress. “It was about blasts outside Jazeera Palace Hotel near the city’s international airport,” Mohamed, who is the Director of Fire and Emergency Services of Mogadishu–the first full fire brigade since the country descended into anarchy two decades ago–said calmly. Thirteen firemen and three paramedics swung into action, racing to contain the fires from twin suicide bombings at the one of the few luxury hotels in a city ravaged by years of civil war and terror couched in religious fundamentalism. “I alerted the [commander] on the evening shift about the distress,” Mohamed said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

A Somali refugee in Italy: ‘There’s a feeling of total disorientation’

14 Jan- Source: theguardian -327 words

Abubakar Mukhtar fled civil war in his country of birth only to find homelessness and indifference in Rome. He now has work and a place at university. But, he says, his journey is far from over. Dapper and cracking jokes, Abubakar Mukhtar could pass for any other gregarious young student as he sips his coffee in a low-lit literary cafe in Rome. But there is little that is ordinary about this 26-year-old’s short life; and when he laughs, it is often about things many people would find tragic. Asked about his experience as an immigrant in Italy, he chuckles. “At last I can’t hear the mortars that I used to hear; at least there’s that,” he says. “But there’s a total void, a feeling of total disorientation.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Electing Dr. Gaas indeed reverberated beyond Puntland. As one of the key leaders who had delivered the nation’s budding Provisional Federal Constitution, the end of transition and the establishment of regional states, the election of Dr. Gaas to this new presidency could signify a new dawn; one indisputable lesson is that Somalia has probably embarked on a course of no return from a unitary state into a form of what I call federal union (my emphasis).”

Winds of Change: Reading Closely Puntland’s Presidential Election

14 Jan- Source: Wardheernews-1588 Words

If Samuel Huntington employed the catch phrase, “third wave,” in his seminal but controversial book The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century to assess the transition of about 60 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin American, and Africa, to a form of democratic governance, Puntland’s election of President Abdiwali Gaas could be tantamount to “winds of change” blowing in the Somali peninsula. Due to the relatively clean and fair process, this election of Dr. Gaas has far reaching import for Somalia’s state reconstruction and social repair. On January 8, 2014, Puntland has shown to the rest of Somalia that Somalis are capable to adapt to a democratic culture similarly as they did in 1967 at the defeat of Aden Abdulle Osman. To date, the autonomous state of Puntland has successfully conducted three presidential power transfers with a credible fairness and free of corruption, thus showing a sustained electoral culture. Central to this change is Puntland’s leaders, the public at large, the long struggle the residents of the state waged for a meaningful change and its infallible council of elders.