July 12, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali businesses close after looting

11 Jul- Source: Iol- 710 words

Somali shopkeepers in Winterveld kept their doors closed on Wednesday following a night of looting and attacks. Police, community members and a ward councillor expressed shock about the events, saying the Somalis were unfortunate to have fallen prey to a group of disgruntled residents. A leader of the Foreign National Association in Pretoria said the attacks had been politically motivated. This follows an attack two weeks ago on foreign shopkeepers in Hammanskraal by residents giving vent to their anger about poor service delivery. On Tuesday evening, a group of about 200 people ransacked a number of tuck shops in the Winterveld area after metro police demolished shacks they had erected despite stern warnings by the ward councillor.

Key Headlines

Somali president receives EU delegation in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ Universal TV)
Somalia to rebuild its national army- defense minister says (Universal TV/ Somali Channel)
Somalia: Oman food aid reaches vulnerable communities in Kismayo (Somali Channel/ Dhanaan Online)
UNESCO urges investigations into killings of journalists in Russia Somalia and Mexico (UN News Centre)
Report suggests Somalia not safe for Journalists (Hiiraan Online)
Landmine explosion targets military vehicle in Mogadishu ( Radio Dalsan)
Lifeboats spotted after Somali pirate-held boat sinks (Capital News/AFP)
Fact about the July 11 2010 bomb blasts (New Vision)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali president receives EU delegation in Mogadishu

11 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ Universal TV- 122 words

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamed on Thursday received EU delegation led by Erik Solheim at presidential palace, in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Somali president spokesman Abdirahman Osman Omar (Yarisow) said that the president and delegation discussed a conference on Somalia which is due to be held in Brussels EU headquarters on 16thSeptember. The conference is aimed to provide further international support for Somali Federal government. Yarisow added that the European Union is determined to make that conference fruitful in order to help Somalia emerge from two decades of civil-war and lawlessness. The conference which is expected to be held in Brussels will be co-chaired by Somali president Hassan Sheikh and EU officials on political affairs.

Somalia to rebuild its national army- defense minister says

11 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Shabelle/Universal TV/ Somali Channel- 139 words

The defense minister of Somalia Federal Government Abdihakin Mohamud Haji Fiqi has said that the country needs strong army to safeguard from extremists and pirates. Speaking to military officers in Mogadishu, the defense minister noted down that the government was struggling to reform its security forces and to maintain law and order. “The government is willing to see a Somali army that is strong and can defeat the extremists.” Fiqi said. The minister repeatedly rejected the recent media speculations which claim that the government was willing to open dialogue with al Shabaab commanders as he vowed that the government with the backing of the African Union Forces will never negotiate with al Shabaab. “We will not open negotiation with al Shabaab. We won’t sit with them.” he added.

Somalia: Oman food aid reaches vulnerable communities in Kismayo

11 Jul- Source: Garowe Online/Somali Channel/ Dhanaan Online- 190 words

Food aid from the Gulf nation of Oman reached hundreds of vulnerable communities in the southern Somali port of Kismayo on Wednesday. The humanitarian aid which consisted of food items such as rice, sugar, pasta, wheat flour and vegetable oil was distributed to around 1,500 IDPs and vulnerable families in Kismayo and it was intended to help those vulnerable communities face the food shortage during the holy month of Ramadan.

Report suggests Somalia not safe for Journalists

11 Jul- Source: Hiiraan Online- 985 words

A report released on the 20th of June 2013 by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) suggests that countries in the Horn of Africa are among the worst culprits in stifling press freedom. Based on a survey of 55 journalists who CPJ have assisted in leaving their home countries due to threat of violence, death and imprisonment in the past year, the report states “Journalists in the East African nations of Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Rwanda fled in high numbers over the past 12 months, making this region responsible for the highest number of exiled journalists for the sixth consecutive year”

Landmine explosion targets military vehicle in Mogadishu

11 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan- 102 words

At least one soldier was reportedly wounded after a vehicle belonged to Somali military was targeted with landmine explosion in Heliwa district, north of Mogadishu. The explosion also destroyed the vehicle, witness told Radio Dalsan. There were no other casualties reported despite the area was very populated. The district security officials did not comment on the explosion but sources said the police were investigating the explosion. It was unclear who was behind explosion but al Shabaab fighters usually attack government bases and military vehicles since they were ousted from the capital, Mogadishu and many other urban areas in August 2011.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Lifeboats spotted after Somali pirate-held boat sinks

11 Jul- Source: Capital News/AFP- 354 words

Lifeboats from a hijacked ship held by Somali pirates that sank last week have been spotted onshore, naval officials said Thursday, raising hopes that some of the 15-man crew may have survived.
The Malaysian flagged MV Albedo container ship, seized by Somali pirates in November 2010, sank in rough seas on Saturday night, where it was moored a short distance from the coastline. John Steed, head of the Secretariat for Regional Maritime Security, said it was believed pirates from another nearby hijacked fishing boat tried to move the hostages from the sinking Albedo.

Fact about the July 11, 2010 bomb blasts

11 Jul- Source: New Vision- 670 words

Exactly 3 years ago, the Somali-based al Shabaab militants, who have close links with the world’s leading terror group, al Qaeda, attacked Uganda, killing 76 people who were watching the final of the FIFA World Cup. The bombs went off almost simultaneously at the Kyaddondo Rugby Grounds at Lugogo and the Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala, Kampala. al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombings. The Somali-based al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the explosions, saying it was avenging the presence of Ugandan peacekeepers in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali businesses close after looting

11 Jul- Source: Iol- 710 words

UNESCO urges investigations into killings of journalists in Russia, Somalia and Mexico

11 Jul- Source: UN News Centre – 440 words

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has called for the recent killings of journalists in Russia, Somalia and Mexico to be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. “Journalists must be able to carry out their work safely as they play an essential role in ensuring that a well-informed public can exercise its democratic rights,” stated Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), who deplored the killings and voiced deep concern about the safety of media professionals in these countries.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“With the ongoing blame game over Kismayo, the stand-off has the potential to destabilise southern Somalia and re-invigorate al Shabaab. It can also undermine Somalia’s state-building process and relations with neighbouring states.”

A new solution that brings new problems for Somalia’s Jubaland

11 July- Source: ISSAfrica-905 Words
On 15 May 2013, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam, aka Madobe, a former warlord and the leader of the Ras Kamboni Movement (a Somali militia group), was elected president of Somalia’s strategic region of Jubaland. In a move that conjured up images of Somalia’s separatist northern regions of Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug, the election of Madobe, an ally of the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF), has raised questions about legitimacy and federal jurisdiction in Somalia and stirred fears of renewed fragmentation and loss of influence by the nascent regime in Mogadishu. In turn, it is alleged that the Somali federal government in Mogadishu covertly supported other candidates such as former warlord Colonel Barre Hirale in order to undercut Madobe and improve the political fortunes of the Mogadishu-based government.