November 28, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somalia Denies Diplomatic Row Reports with EU over Aid

27 Nov- Source: IBTimes-357 Words
Officials deny report of a diplomatic spat that has erupted in Brussels between a high Somali official and the EU commissioner for development over the level of foreign aid given to the war-torn African country. Fawzia Yusuf Adam, Somalia’s minister of foreign affairs and deputy PM, was reportedly quoted by IBTimes saying that her country had received “nothing from the European Union – only promises”. EU commissioner for development Andris Piebalgs reacted immediately and told IBTimes UK exclusively: “I’m very upset she said that – it’s absolutely false. However, a Somali official in the foreign ministry later denied talk of the diplomatic spat in Brussels, saying Fawzia’s comments had been taken “completely out of context”.

Key Headlines

AMISOM forces provide security to conference in Baidoa (Hiiraan Online)
Somalia: Unknown disease kills 50 in Hiiraan region(Garowe online)
Somali Ambassador dismisses forced repatriation of refugees ( Radio Bar-kulan)
Sierra Leone defence ministry statement on welfare of RSLAF serving in AMISOM
(Sierra Express Media)
Somalia reels from cyclone floods and hunger – ICRC(Reuters/ICRC)
Beledhawo medics suspect cholera (Radio Ergo)
Migrants risk their lives to reach Yemen (Al Jazeera English)

SOMALI MEDIA

AMISOM forces provide security to conference in Baidoa

27 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/baidoanews/Hiiraan Online- 113 words
African peace-keeping forces in Somalia known as AMISOM have been handed over the security control of the conference site in Baidoa where elders and politicians are gathering in an attempt to form an autonomous state. Ali Abdirahman Shino, one of the elders in Baidoa told Bar-kulan that the decision was made after African Union Special Representative to Somalia Ambassador Annadif met with the community elders in Baidoa last week. Some politicians and elders from south-western regions in Somalia have been meeting in Baido to finalize the formation of a south-western autonomous state. Conference participants stated that the first phase of the conference has been concluded and the conference is entering its final stages.

Somalia: Unknown disease kills 50 in Hiiraan region

27 Nov- Source: Garowe Online- 196 words

Unknown-illness outbreak has claimed at killed at least 50 lives in Hiraan region of central Somalia, Garowe Online reports. The Director-General of Beledweyne hospital Ahmed Mohamed Khalif said “50 people died of the disease whose symptoms included high fever, paraplegia and fecal impaction,” adding that the disease sickened 15 patients in El-Ali village, 75 km south of Hiraan regional capital of Beledweyne. “50 deaths have been reported and other 15 patients are remaining hospitalized at El-Ali health facility. It is a deadly outbreak which can kill the people within one week,” noted Khalif.

Somali Ambassador dismisses forced repatriation of refugees

27 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 154 words

Somalia Ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur has Wednesday reiterated that Somali refugees in Kenya will not be forced to return to Somalia. In an interview with Bar-kulan, the Ambassador said that the tripartite agreement signed by Kenya and Somali governments with the United Nations Refugee Agency calls for a voluntary return of refugees. Amb. Nur added that the three sides agreed to form a committee to assess the safety and the living conditions inside Somalia to facilitate the voluntary return of the half a million Somali refugees in Kenya. He dismissed the claims of some media outlets which indicated that the agreement called on an immediate closure of the refugee camps. The Ambassador once again emphasized that there are international conventions on refugees which Kenyan government is expected to honor. He said his government is committed to ensuring the safety of refugees and creating opportunities should they opt to return to their homeland.

Beledhawo medics suspect cholera

27 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo- 98 words

Local doctors in Somalia’s border town of Beledhawo have warned of the possibility of a cholera outbreak, following the recent floods. Heavy downpours have worsened the already poor sanitation and hygiene conditions in the district, said one medical officer. Mohamed Ali, director of Beledhawo’s main hospital, Mohamed Ali, said there was one suspected case of cholera in the hospital. He said the patient was seriously ill and that samples had been sent to Nairobi for laboratory analysis. Local residents have often complained that they need dams and drainage channels to be constructed to prevent floods during the rainy season.

Former Somaliland parliament speaker laid to rest

27 Nov- Source: Somaliland Informer/Somaliland Press/Universal TV- 148 words

Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo has attended the state funeral held for the former Somaliland speaker of parliament Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Adam “Qaybe” who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84. Somaliland politicians, dignitaries, and hundreds of ordinary citizens attend the state funeral held in honor of the the late Qaybe. His coffin has been draped in Somaliland flag and was laid to rest at Heedho cemetery, just north of Hargeisa. Somaliland president Mr. Ahmed Silanyo who was among those in attendance has said that all Qaybe can be remembered is that he was champion of peace and left a legacy of today’s democratic institutions. Mr. Qaybe was the speaker of Somaliland’s National Assembly between 1997 to 2005 and vacated the chairmanship after the parliament elections took place in nationwide. Having worked as diplomatic for Somalia under the decesaed president of Said Barre.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Migrants risk their lives to reach Yemen

27 Nov- Source: Al Jazeera English-02:26mins
The UN says more than half a million people from Ethiopia and Somalia have travelled by sea to Yemen since 2006. Many die on the way there.Most are Ethiopians, and Somalis escaping the difficult economic situation at home and often hoping to travel through Yemen to Gulf States and beyond. It’s a journey riddled with danger and many die before reaching their destination.The North Eastern Somali port city of Bossaso is where the migrants meet the people smugglers and start their journey.Al jazeera’s Mohammed Adow travelled there to hear their stories.

Sierra Leone defence ministry statement on welfare of RSLAF serving in AMISOM

27 Nov- Source: Sierra Express Media-622 Words
It could be recalled that a certain individual claiming to have called from Somalia was captured live on the widely popular Saturday Monologue Programme where he made some allegations bordering on the “Welfare of RSLAF troops deployed on peacekeeping with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).” It could also be recalled that the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) attempted to adequately clear the air on issues raised by the caller. However, some media houses including ‘The Voice Newspaper’ still continue to publish the wrong information on the same issues without recourse to earlier clarifications and without cross-checking with us. We take this matter very seriously because it has the tendency to unnecessarily incite Soldiers against their authorities. This office therefore wishes to provide the final explanation to the public and fully hopes that this matter will now be laid to rest. The following points will serve to enlighten the public more on the issues:

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia Denies Diplomatic Row Reports with EU over Aid

Somalia reels from cyclone, floods and hunger – ICRC

27 Nov- Source: Reuters/ICRC-359 Words
Tens of thousands of vulnerable Somalis have been left destitute after losing their homes and livestock in twin natural disasters, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday. On Nov. 10, a cyclone struck the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland, killing at least 140 people and up to a million head of livestock. The government has declared a state of emergency. Further south, the River Shabelle has flooded the town of Jowhar and surrounding areas. “Hundreds of families have been rendered homeless and the economy – highly dependent on livestock farming – has been shattered through the loss of so many animals,” Abshir Omar Jama, who is coordinating the ICRC’s relief effort in Puntland, said in a statement. High winds and heavy rains caused flash floods and cut off roads, making it difficult to deliver aid. “In some places, we had to swim across flooded roads to get to the affected areas,” Jama said. The second disaster zone is Jowhar in Middle Shabelle. Some 10,000 people have fled the town because of flooding caused by two months of heavy rains in the highlands that feed the River Shabelle. “They are living in wretched conditions,” the ICRC said. On top of that, ethnic clashes have displaced 5,000 people, who are camped out near the airstrip 13 km north of Jowhar.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“How do you interpret your home/identity to the world? How/do you conceptualize/fetishize your identity? Do you tell lies about your people? Do they tell lies about you, and the pain done to you? What the hell is a Somalia?”

What’s a Somalia?

27 Nov- Source: Idaly Bilan Blog-670 Words

I work with ‘at-risk youth’, a pejorative white folks use to deduce the realities/identities of racialized and gendered youth. Ughh, ok before I go gently into that tangent, I’ll segue into my intended, yet-to-be made point. Recently, one of my youth asked me a predictably common question that threw me in a deeply terrifying, existentialist wormhole filled with conflating ideas and images of Somalis/Somalia. He asked, “Idil, What’s a Somalia?” in response to my response to his “what are you?” question. And of course I replied with an answer that points to Somalia as that thing hanging on to the rest of Africa like an unwanted, red-headed stepchild- Kinda looks like an upside down/sideway saxophone, eye-grilling the shit out of the Indian Ocean. He seemed pleased with my answer. Somalia, not so much. But yo, it had me thinking. How does one begin to interpret one’s national abode to the world? I mean Somalia has many prolific descriptors, ranging from ‘world’s most dangerous place” to “where pretty ass people who’ll gladly cut your esophagus, and trade it for a semiautomatic weapon live” to the much loved and cliched “failed state”. We also wear many monikers like ‘civil war space’, and ‘famine place’, and a favourite of the EU, ” wretched waste” ( ok no one in the EU actually said this, but they want to sooooo bad). Anyway, All those descriptors are underwhelming, ahistorical, and kinda problematic. We need more!