July 11, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali interior minister meets with Turkish counterpart
11 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ al Shahid/Radio Kulmiye – 134 words
Somalia’s Minister of the Interior and National Security Abdikarim Hussein Guled on Wednesday met with his Turkish counterpart Muammar Guler. The two officials discussed during their meeting with regard to strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in the common interest of the two countries.
The two officials discussed particularly Turkish assistance to Somalia in the field of training police and intelligence services, and government officials and the development of Somali administrations in the provinces.
Minister Guled praised Turkey’s role to help Somalia in the field of reconstruction and development. This meeting comes during a visit by Somali Interior Minister to Turkey, after the conclusion of the talks between the Somali government and Somaliland in the Turkish city of Istanbul last Wednesday.
Key Headlines
- Somali interior minister meets with Turkish counterpart (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ al Shahid/Radio Kulmiye)
- Puntland Ministry of Education unveils secondary school exam results (Garowe Online)
- Police arrest three suspected terrorists in Malindi (Standard Media)
- Somalia’s Media Revival Means Braving Old Dangers (VOA/Reuters)
- Looking back at the July 11 2010 Kampala twin bombings (Daily Monitor)
- In Somalia Muslims kept busy as Ramadan comes (Xinhua)
- “Moment of hope” as U.N. to help 60000 Somali refugees go home (Reuters)
- Barclays account shutdown raises Somali fears (BBC)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali interior minister meets with Turkish counterpart
11 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ al Shahid/Radio Kulmiye – 134 words
Somalia’s Minister of the Interior and National Security Abdikarim Hussein Guled on Wednesday met with his Turkish counterpart Muammar Guler. The two officials discussed during their meeting with regard to strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in the common interest of the two countries.
The two officials discussed particularly Turkish assistance to Somalia in the field of training police and intelligence services, and government officials and the development of Somali administrations in the provinces.
Minister Guled praised Turkey’s role to help Somalia in the field of reconstruction and development.
This meeting comes during a visit by Somali Interior Minister to Turkey, after the conclusion of the talks between the Somali government and Somaliland in the Turkish city of Istanbul last Wednesday.
Puntland Ministry of Education unveils secondary school exam results
10 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 136 words
The Puntland Ministry of Education has unveiled the secondary schools exam result on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports. 
The exam results were released in a meeting held at the Ministry headquarters in Garowe, where Puntland’s Deputy Minister of Education Jama Yasin Jama told to the media that out of 2,316 students who sat for PNEB (Puntland National Examination Board) exams, 2,199 students in which 613 of them are girls passed and 117 students failed to pass PNEB exams.
“This year (2013), we have 308 grade A students, 607 grade B students, 825 grade C students, 450 grades D students and 117 grades E students,” the Deputy Minister said.
Continuing, Mr. Jama declared the top ten students by name. “Annually, we publicly present the first ten students who show great efforts in accordance to their grade.”
President Silanyo announces another round of reshuffle
10 Jul – Source: Somaliland Press – 41 words
President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo)has announced another round of reshuffle this time affecting departmental heads in ministries and governmental agencies alike .
The new Appoints are as follows:
1. Mr. Abdirizaq Jama Nuur Director General in the Ministry of Water Resources.
Puntland president hosts delegation from Mudug region
10 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 137 words
The president of Somalia’s Puntland government Abdirahman Mohamed Farole met a delegation from Mudug region at Rugsan Square Hotel in Garowe on Tuesday morning, Garowe Online reports.
The delegation who attended a state funeral for the late Puntland traditional elder Bogor Abdullahi Bogor Muse (King Kong) in Qardo and led by Islan Bashir Islan Abdulle consisted of Mudug Governor Mohamed Yusuf Jama Tigey, Deputy Governor of Mudug region, Galkayo Mayor Ahmed Ali Salad, and Mudug traditional elders.
Also in attendance were Puntland government officials from Mudug region, including State Minister for Planning and International Cooperation Sayid Mohamed Abdulle, and former Puntland politicians including former Finance Minister Mohamed Ali Yusuf (Gaagaab), who has been public and vocal opponent of President Farole’s efforts to transition Puntland from clan-based system to a multiparty political system, in accordance with the constitution.
REGIONAL MEDIA
UNHCR wants forced repatriation halted
11 Jul – Source: NTV – 2:30 min
The UNHCR has proposed a phased approach in repatriating Somali refugees to their home country. The aid organization has been advocating for a humane and voluntary transition of the refugees to Somalia, ever since the Kenyan government expressed plans to repatriate them. Though thousands of Somalis have already crossed the border to a slowly stabilizing Somalia the UNHCR believes the country is not ready for a mass repatriation.
Police arrest three suspected terrorists in Malindi
11 Jul – Source: Standard – 173 words
Police arrest three suspected terrorists in Malindi. Updated Wednesday, July 10th 2013 at 22:50 GMT +3. By Willis Oketch. Three suspected jihadists from Belgium and France have been arrested in Malindi after entering Kenya from Somalia. They are believed to have fallen out with the al Shabaab militia.
Reports show that the three who are also wanted over terrorism charges in France were arrested in Malindi on Tuesday. French and Kenyan officials in Mombasa declined to provide their names and identities but The Standard established that they are Smait Ben Abdallah, Bouya Baren Mustapha and Hussein Omar.
“They are wanted in France,” said an official of the French consulate in Mombasa, Mohamed Ramadhan who added that France wants to question the men over terror links. It is not clear when or if the three men will be charged in Kenya at all given that following their arrest, they were brought to the Mombasa High Court yesterday evening but were not committed to trial. No sooner had they been brought to court under heavy guard with French consulate officials on tow than they were driven back to Malindi. According to Elijah Rop who heads the Anti-Terror Police Unit at the Coast, the suspects will be charged today “over terrorism activities.”
Looking back at the July 11, 2010 Kampala twin bombings
11 Jul – Source: Daily Monitor – 313 words
Spain and Holland are two of the world’s football giants. Before 2010, none of them had ever won the World Cup. A final between the two countries that were hungry for the glory of lifting the cup was a must-watch. The opportunity presented itself on July 11, 2010. The venue was Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Many football fans believe that the bigger the company with which one is watching a game, the more enjoyable it is. So, on the fateful night, those who subscribe to this belief flocked different joints around the country to watch the match in company of others. In Kampala, Kyadondo Rugby Ground stood out. To attract more spectators, the night was spiced up with performances by artistes such as Bebe Cool, free beers were served and large screens were used to telecast the match.
Ten minutes after the match’s kick off, the much anticipated display of flair from Spain and Holland, was fast turning into a battle for foul bookings. Players from the two teams seemed nervous. Fifteen minutes later, the game started getting interesting. Spain was showcasing titbits of its prowess at possessing the ball. When the half-time whistle was blown, there was hope for a more entertaining second half.
Somali 53rd Independence day celebrations in Mombasa
10 Jul – Source: Star – 199 words
The Federal Republic of Somalia recently celebrated its 53rd Independence Day worldwide. In Somalia the ceremony was hosted at the Konis Stadium, Mogadishu with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud presiding.
“I’d like to congratulate all Somali people, everywhere, on the 53rd anniversary of our independence and unity. It’s the day when the name of Somalia was established in the world,” he said.
The Somalis are a very patriotic group and those who are members of the Mombasa community were not left behind in the celebrations. They gathered at the Tononoka Social Hall to sing, dance and make merry. Women adorned buibuis and henna as the young men draped the Somali flag around themselves.
Somali refugee return must be voluntary, United Nations agency says
10 Jul- Source: Sabahi Online – 187 Words
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres visited Mogadishu Tuesday(July 9th) to express support for the Somali people and stress that refugee repatriation should be voluntary. Guterres said he was cautiously optimistic that refugees could begin returning to their homes in Somalia, but warned that many Somalis remain in need of asylum.
“UNHCR likes nothing more than to help people go back home, based on their own free will and when the conditions are met for a safe and dignified return,” he said. “UNHCR will be working with Somalia and the host countries to be prepared when the time arrives and peace prevails.”
An estimated 1.1 million Somalis are displaced within the country, and more than 1 million are living in neighbouring countries, according to the UNHCR.
Although the security situation is improving, Somalis continue to flee their country. About 21,000 Somali refugee arrivals were reported in the region in the first six months of 2013, although this is significantly fewer than in previous years. About 12,000 refugees returned to Somalia, mostly from Kenya, which has stated its desire for refugees to return home.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia’s Media Revival Means Braving Old Dangers
10 Jul – Source: VOA/Reuters – 151 words
Experience has taught Somali journalist Mohamed Hassan how to spot a suicide bomber, which neighborhoods to avoid and how to cope with the loss of colleagues – his own brother was killed.
Although Islamist militias were driven from Mogadishu about two years ago and media are flourishing as never before, those lessons are just as relevant in what is one of the world’s most dangerous cities for journalists or anyone else.
“Reporters can freely cover the daily mood,” radio journalist Hassan told Reuters. “Still, for journalists, there are no-go areas. And we cannot avoid explosions.”
In more than two decades of conflict, last year was the deadliest on record for journalists in Somalia, with 18 killed, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists. It blames lax security during a year of political transition, when Islamist militants carried out revenge attacks after their al Shabaab fighters were driven out by African peacekeepers.
“Moment of hope” as U.N. to help 60,000 Somali refugees go home
10 Jul – Source: Reuters – 422 Words
Tens of thousands of Somali refugees have returned home as security in their homeland has improved, the United Nations said on Wednesday, saying it would support a further 60,000 refugees who are ready to go back.
The number of refugees from Somalia – 1.1 million – is third to those from Afghanistan and Syria. Around half of them live in squalid, overcrowded camps in neighbouring Kenya’s arid north. Kenya is keen to repatriate them because it believes that militants have used refugee camps as bases to launch attacks since it sent soldiers to Somalia in 2011 to drive out Islamist rebels linked to al Qaeda.
Alongside other African troops, the military push drove the al Shabaab group out of major centres, although it still controls swathes of countryside. At least 20,000 Somalis have returned from neighbouring countries this year, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said, although it warned that some returns may be temporary. The UNHCR has also helped more than 16,000 internally displaced Somalis get home this year.
“This is a moment of hope for Somalia,” UNHCR head Antonio Guterres said. “Tens of thousands have indeed spontaneously returned to Somalia. And this is something we cannot ignore and this is something that requires from us an adequate response.”
In Somalia, Muslims kept busy as Ramadan comes
10 Jul – Source: Xinhua – 433 words
In Somalia, business is booming, prices are rocketing and people are busy shopping as Islam’s holiest month of fasting Ramadan is expected to start this week.
Muslims in this Horn of Africa country are preparing for the 30- day abstinence by buying staples from the markets in the capital Mogadishu.
Bakara Market is the biggest of its kind in Somalia, and both shoppers and traders are busy buying and selling the essentials for getting through the fast during the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. Ramadan starts following the sighting of the moon’s crescent in any place in the country or in other Muslim nations.
Barclays account shutdown raises Somali fears
10 Jul – Source: BBC – 420 Words
Barclays bank is closing about 100 UK accounts held by cash transfer businesses, over fears they are being used for money laundering. The businesses are vital for Somali expatriates sending remittances back home, where banking facilities have collapsed.
Aid workers say the service is a “lifeline” for 40% of the Somali population, who rely on the transfers. It is feared that the cash transfer business could now go underground. Several money transfer businesses – including Dahabshiil, the largest such business providing services to Somalia – say Barclays has given them a temporary reprieve of one month.
Dahabshiil says it is urgently trying to meet the bank’s criteria to keep its account open. Abdirashid Duale, chief executive officer of Dahabshiil, has said Barclays’ decision could see money transfers pushed underground into the hands of “unregulated and illegal providers”.
Barclays is the last major UK bank that still provides such money transfer services to Somalia, which has an estimated 1.5 million of its nationals living overseas. The UK Serious Organised Crime Agency has identified money service businesses generally as a potential money laundering risk.
Abdi to run for Somalia
10 Jul – Source: The Lowell Sun – 177 Words
Omar Abdi of Roxbury will represent his native Somalia in two events at the 2013 IAAF World Track & Field Championship, Aug. 10-18 in Moscow.
Abdi, who will compete for UMass Lowell as a fifth-year senior, will compete in the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters. He is the third UMass Lowell distance runner to qualify for a world class competition in four years, joining Ruben Sanca (2010), who ran the 5,000 meters at the London 2012 Olympic Games; and Nate Jenkins (2004), who competed in the marathon at the 2009 IAAF Championship in Berlin.
The IAAF 800 meters heats are slated for Saturday, Aug. 10. The 1,500-meter trials are scheduled forWednesday, Aug. 14. Michael Pino of Tewksbury, a sophomore at Lasell College, represented the United States at the HEADstrong Foundation Lowlands Lacrosse Games in Amsterdam recently.
Pino, a Central Catholic grad (2011), joined players from six other states representing 20 colleges and universities. The mission of the trip was to increase blood cancer awareness. Pino is the son of Arthur and Sharon Pino of Tewksbury.
MV Albedo Lifeboats Spotted on Beach, No Signs of Missing Crew
10 Jul – Source: Captain – 275 Words
Two lifeboats from the pirated MV Albedo have been found washed up on a Somali beach just north of where the ship sank, but there are still no signs of the 15 missing crew members, the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) reported Wednesday.
The MV Albedo, which was pirated in the Indian Ocean in November 2010 and held at an anchorage close to the Somali Coast, sank on Monday in rough seas, sparking fears over the fate of the 15 crew members still being held as hostages.
Following the ship’s sinking, an EU Naval Force warship and Maritime Patrol Aircraft responded and closed the scene to search for survivors, but the 15 crew members remained unaccounted for, according to an EU NAVFOR statement Tuesday.
But an update Wednesday said that during a recent aerial search, EU Naval Force Maritime Patrol Aircraft sighted two life boats on a Somali beach approximately 14 miles north of the position of the sunken MV Albedo. No members of the MV Albedo crew or pirates were sighted in or near the lifeboats, the update added.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“As we are in bound with the time, as we are unsure about what tomorrow holds for the entire nation, if the current rate of deforestation keeps unchanged in Somalia, for how long it could take Somali forests to completely vanish?”
Somalia: Arabian Shisha Addiction; the hidden Scythe for Deforestations in Somalia
10 Jul – Source: Somaliland Press – 874 Words
Kismayo, a port city with a very small population strategically rests on the peninsula of the Indian Ocean coast in the lower Juba state in Southern Somalia. Kismayo corridor, which was built in the early 1960s for Somali-navies, today acts as a key business causeway between Somalia, the Gulf and the East African countries.
After the collapse of the central government of Somalia, this resourceful town had unfortunately fallen into the hands of various malicious headed by some of the most notorious warlords before the up to date Kenyan backed forces who took the control from Islamist sect “al Shabaab”. This town had since became one of the worst gateways for Somali natural resources outflow, where much of the intangible wealth had been shipped away, like mammalian-livestock and the living trees.
The climate deteriorations have touched the world at large, but the western countries in particular. Kyoto Protocol was therefore held in Japan on 11 December 1997 and came into force on February 2005, where several unanimously agreed pre-emptive measures were made. Many prominent countries worldwide were the official signatories of this environmental pact, as it has invited a contentious ecological, economic and political argument among the world’s industrialized countries whose major concern was seeking a mutual policy on cutting the green-house-emissions in an attempt to promote a healthy green environment for better living conditions.
“As Somalia also experiences a cultural and economic revival, I look forward to seeing new fiction from Mogadishu, Baidoa, Kismayu and other southern cities. Crossroads by Nuruddin Farah presents the most contemporary depiction of a Mogadishu plagued by criminality and violence, but I hope that with the din of guns quieted for the moment other stories will also emerge.”
Nadifa’s Flights of the Imagination Goes on a Literary Tour of East Africa
10 Jul – Source: Telegraph/Somaliland Sun – 772 Words
Having just returned from Nairobi, my curiosity about life in Kenya has deepened; the frenzy of the capital conflicts with the quiet, pastoral towns I have read about in Dreams in a Time of War by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Unbowed by Wangari Maathai.
It is easy to understand why both writers have such an attachment to the land when the earth spits out palms, fruit trees and crops at every turn – even in urban Nairobi there are quarters with more greenery than I had ever expected: sitting in the outdoor study of Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina, I wanted to remain for days picking through the piles of books I saw dotted around, listening to the songs of birds I didn’t recognise.
I was unable to visit the decidedly non-idyllic neighbourhood of Eastleigh – the heaving, mercantile, Somali district of Nairobi – but I heard tales of the enormous economic success exiled Somalis have found in Kenya, to the point where they are seen as the “new Gujaratis”. The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by MG Vassanji describes the “old Gujaratis”, the Indians who were brought to Kenya as indentured labourers by the British and who became the country’s middlemen – politically, commercially and even spiritually. The marginal status of both Somalis and Indians seemed underscored by the adverts lining the walkways in Nairobi airport, which celebrated every other “tribe” but them.
Top tweets
@melissarfleming Somali Refugee Return Must Be Voluntary,@refugees chief says #Somalia http://mobst.ac/12o0zpN.
@ferigom69 MV Albedo Lifeboats Spotted on Beach, No Signs of Missing Crew | @scoopit http://sco.lt/8bGAZF #somalia#piracy.
@KweschnMedia Qat (khat, cha’at), stimulant leaf consumed in#Ethiopia #Somalia #Yemen #Djibouti, listed here as harmful drug: pic.twitter.com/84Y0uIn2Pk.
@t_mcconnell Relative peace but life and work remains deadly dangerous for #Somalia‘s journalists http://reut.rs/16r5LXy via@ReutersAfrica.
@UKinSomalia UK funding 2 Explosive Ordinance Disposal police teams & establish 2 police armouries for the safe storage/handling of weapons & ammunition.
Image of the day
Malaysian flagged, MV Albedo, held by armed Somali pirates since November 2010 sunk close to the Somali Coast. Photo: EU NavFor.