November 4, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Since publishing the story titled “Attacks By Al Shabaab Cause Casualties To Kenyan Forces”, this morning, we learnt that there has been no fight between Kenya Defense Forces and Al- Shabaab in Qoqani. Therefore, we are retracting that story.
Key Headlines
- Commission To Harmonise Tariffs And Taxation In The Country Federal Government And Regional States Agree (Goobjoog News)
- Over 80 People Hospitalized After Outbreak Of Diarrhoea (Goobjoog News)
- Somali PM Expected To Make ‘A Mini Reshuffle’ In His Cabinet (Shabelle News)
- WFP Seeks 12 Million USD For El Nino Mitigation In Somalia: UN
- Amanda Lindhout Preparing For The Trial Of Alleged Somali Kidnapper (Ottawa Citizen)
- Cyclone Leaves Thousands Homeless In Somalia (News24)
- Seawater Greenhouses To Bring Cultivation To Somalia ( E&T Magazine)
- The Day They Came To Kill Me (Al Jazeera)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Commission To Harmonise Tariffs And Taxation In The Country, Federal Government And Regional States Agree
03 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 270 Words
The Federal Government and regional administrations have agreed to form a national commission to oversee the harmonisation of tariffs and taxes in the country. The two levels of government have also agreed on implementation of a modernised financial management system to streamline public resource management and curb pilferage and mismanagement.
The agreements are contained in a communiqué following a conference in Mogadishu that brought together the Federal Government Finance Minister and Finance ministers from the regional administrations. Speaking after the Inter-governmental Conference on Fiscal Federalism, the Finance Minister, Mohamed Adan Farkeeti, said the meeting was a step forward in harmonising public finance management and ensuring transparency at both levels.
“It’s a pleasure for me today that after three days of meeting, we have agreed on very important points regarding public finance management in the country. These points are critical in working out a clear development policy for the country,” said Farkeeti. The conference also agreed on equitable sharing of foreign aid, a thorny issue which has been a source of constant friction between the Federal Government and the regional Administrations. However the conference did not come up with an agreeable formula on the sharing out of such aid.
Somali PM Expected To Make ‘A Mini Reshuffle’ In His Cabinet
03 November – Source: Shabelle Media – 154 Words
The Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke is expected to make a mini reshuffle in his Cabinet, the first since he took office in December, 2014, reliable sources have confirmed to Radio Shabelle. According to a reliable source, who spoke to Radio Shabelle on condition of anonymity, the reshuffle is expected to particularly affect the ministries of Home Affairs, Internal Security and Foreign Affairs. the current holder of the Internal Security docket. The Cabinet reshuffle, which will be the first by PM is anticipated to bring into the council of the ministers individuals “who are friendlier” to the Federal Government administration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Over 80 People Hospitalized After Outbreak Of Diarrhoea
03 November- Source: Goobjoog News – 230 Words
More than 80 patients have been hospitalized for diarrhoeal disease over the past one week, this is according to local medical officers. Luul Mohamed Mohamud, a pediatrician working at Benadir Hospital said the patients who are mostly children had come from parts of Mogadishu and surrounding areas .The outbreak has already caused the death of two children.
Twenty children had been admitted to the hospital with suspected acute watery diarrhea: “We are experiencing the hot season where diarrhea is common. Many people get infected by the disease after drinking unclean water. Most of them are children,” she said. Among those hospitalized were Ali Omareey Shaan, a two year old from one of city’s districts. He has been under treatment for last two days and seems to be recovering from the disease.
Mumino Abdirahman, whose two -year old son had been admitted with severe signs of vomiting and diarrhea, is now feeling better. She is relieved that after two sleepless nights her son has quickly recovered. Luul urged residents to pay attention to basic hygiene: “I see in the market places food being sold in the open air – it is not good to consume such foods. Parents should always take charge of the hygiene of their children, including frequent hand-washing. Children with a weak immunity are more prone to diarrhoea,” she said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
WFP Seeks 12 Million USD For El Nino Mitigation In Somalia: UN
03 November – Source: Xinhua News – 531 Words
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said Tuesday it requires 12 million U.S. dollars to help it mitigate effects of El Nino phenomenon in Somalia. The UN agency said in its latest report that between 500,000-900,000 people are likely to be affected by the El Nino floods in low lying areas of the southern and central parts of Somalia: “WFP has pre-positioned logistical assets, such as helicopter and boats in strategic locations to complement the existing logistical footprint,” the agency said in the report.
The heavy rains have destroyed several makeshift shelters, latrines and swept away belongings for thousands of people across the Horn of Africa nation. About 200,000 people are expected to be assisted by the WFP, the report says, noting that total resource needs for immediate El Nino response up tot the end of this year is 16 million dollars but only 4 million dollars has so far been received,
“WFP is facing shortfalls of over 84 million dollars through March 2016 and has been forced to significantly reduce its assistance by cutting rations and suspending activities,” it said. The UN agency said the new emergency caseloads are of a magnitude that the operation will not be able to accommodate with current resources.
“The food security and nutrition situation in Somalia continues to be extremely fragile; 855,000 people ar acutely food insecure and require assistance and an estimated 214,700 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished,” WFP said. Overall, 3.2 million people are in need of life-saving and livelihood support. The UN agencies recently ramped up efforts to mitigate the impact of floods and droughts in Somalia driven by the El Nino phenomenon until December, which may worsen the food security and humanitarian situations.
In Somalia, a country which is still recovering from a catastrophic famine, large scale flooding will have a devastating impact and lead to a further deterioration of the fragile food security and nutrition situation. According to the UN, light rains spread across many southern and central parts of Somalia are expected in the next three days.
Amanda Lindhout Preparing For The Trial Of Alleged Somali Kidnapper
03 November – Source: Ottawa Citizen – 536 Words
Journalist and humanitarian Amanda Lindhout says she’s bracing herself for the psychological fallout from the trial of her alleged Somali captor, who was arrested in Ottawa earlier this year. In a personal essay published in Flare Magazine, Lindhout reveals that she’s scared by the prospect of Ali Omar Ader’s hostage-taking trial. She knew him as “Adam.”
“Knowing that the details of my captivity are likely to emerge in the headlines once more, I’ve had to start preparing to go through the experience,” she writes. “I’ve thought about it every day since Adam’s arrest.” Lindhout said Ader’s surprise arrest in June was a welcome development, “but it rattled something open inside of me, a part yet unhealed, still angry and confused.”
Now 34, Lindhout was kidnapped in August 2008 while working as a freelance journalist in Somalia. An Australian photographer, Nigel Brennan, their translator and driver were also abducted. She was beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted during 15 months of captivity — she detailed the experience in her bestselling memoir, A House in the Sky — before a ransom was paid for her release.
The RCMP launched a criminal investigation into the case that featured undercover operations, wiretaps and surveillance, much of it inside Somalia. In June, after years of police work, the RCMP announced that it had arrested one of the men allegedly involved in Lindhout’s kidnapping, a Somali citizen named Ali Omar Ader. The RCMP described Ader as “one of the main negotiators” for the Islamist group that seized Lindhout. Ader was apparently lured to Canada by undercover agents who convinced him that he had won a book deal to write about Somali history.
Ader, she Lindhout, was not one of the men who assaulted her in Somalia: “But he was a leader; he knew about what was happening and allowed it to continue.” Lindhout says those men continue to haunt her dreams. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, the symptoms of which — flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, nausea, hyper-vigilance — were made worse by news of the arrest.
The abuse she suffered in Somalia has affected other important aspects of her life, Lindhout reveals. “I’ve spent most of the past six years single. Relationships with men are still complicated, and scarily, most of the relationships I’ve been drawn into haven’t been healthy. It’s like some part of me has become familiar with mistreatment; it feels normal, somehow.” In 2011, Lindhout returned to Somalia one year after founding the Global Enrichment Foundation, a non-profit organisation aimed at improving education and leadership training in the war-torn African country.
Cyclone Leaves Thousands Homeless In Somalia
03 November – Source: News24 – 119 Words
A cyclone has hit the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland, leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said on Tuesday.Cyclone Chapala generated large waves that hit the coast, destroying dwellings and fishing boats and cutting off roads, local official Abdullahi Hashi said.
He said nomads staying in eastern Puntland were the worst affected by the storm, which hit the region beginning Sunday and is continuing.No deaths have so far been reported. Hashi called for emergency aid for the victims.Chapala originated in the Arabian Sea and has been battering Yemen.Cyclones are rare in Somalia, but Puntland was also hit by the nation’s deadliest cyclone, which killed at least 300 people in 2013 and left hundreds more missing.
Seawater Greenhouses To Bring Cultivation To Somalia
03 November – Source: E&T Magazine – 380 Words
Greenhouses that utilise seawater to cultivate crops in hot, arid climates are being introduced to help tackle food insecurity in Somaliland. In recent years, growing concerns over lack of fresh water, combined with an increasing population, has become a serious issue for global food production. Current population growth trajectories suggest that global agricultural output will need to increase by 60 per cent by 2050 in order to meet global food demand.
As a solution to this, British company Seawater Greenhouse – in collaboration with researchers from Aston University, Birmingham – have developed greenhouses capable of growing crops in some of the earth’s most inhospitable climates, using recycled water from the sea: “The greatest debilitating factor for farmers trying to grow crops in the Horn of Africa is that evaporation is much greater than precipitation,” says Charlie Paton, managing director of Seawater Greenhouse. “The Seawater Greenhouse process overcomes that by using seawater to produce cooler, cleaner and more humid air.”
The greenhouses are run using photovoltaic technology, which pumps saltwater from the sea, producing freshwater via a process of reverse osmosis. The remaining water is then trickled over a specially designed cardboard structure, positioned adjacent to the wind direction, to create a cool, humid breeze that reduces transpiration. The methods used will enable salt extracted from the seawater to be reserved for use in cooking and preserving, while seaweed and kelp can be extracted to aid in fertilisation of the greenhouses and surrounding areas.
“Seaweed is well known to be a good fertiliser as it contains all the macro and micro elements needed for crop cultivation,” says Paton. The company will carefully extract the seaweed before blending it with other materials, such as composted animal and plant waste to make a balanced fertiliser.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Somalia has always been a dangerous place for reporters. This reputation was cemented in the early 1990s when several international journalists were killed covering the US-led invasion of Somalia. But the job has always been far more perilous for Somalis, who actually live amid the chaos as they dodge crosshairs, political agendas and clan animosities.”
The Day They Came To Kill Me
01 November – Source: Al Jazeera – 2,470 Words
Abdalle Mumin is still looking over his shoulder, even after months spent in what he calls “exile”. The Somali journalist rarely leaves his safe house. He checks his phone constantly. Sometimes he turns it off or switches sim cards, just to make sure. Sitting stone-faced in a darkened office – blinds drawn on a sunny Nairobi afternoon – he reflects on the past year of his life.
“If you ever asked me when I was in Mogadishu in 2013 or 2014 ‘would you like to go outside Somalia or would you like to quit journalism?’ I would simply say to you, ‘no’. I was really very much proud to be in my country and to see that my country was changing.” But now, he is alone: away from his home and his wife and his six young children. For their safety, he arranged for them to go into hiding in Somalia. He says he only speaks to them every few weeks. For him, that’s the hardest part.
Before he was forced to flee Somalia, it did seem as if things were finally improving in the country after more than two decades of war. In 2011, the joint African Union and United Nations forces wrested control of Mogadishu from Al-Shabaab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda that had seized large swaths of southern Somalia since their emergence in 2006. At the end of 2012, the coalition forces also took Kismayo, a port city on the southern coast that served as a stronghold and major source of income for the group.
In recent years, Mogadishu residents said they felt safer. Public services – post offices, rubbish collection, schools, banks – were coming back. Mumin felt that, in his way, he was part of the transformation. “Reporting from Somalia, reporting about human rights issues to the wider world is part of helping my people; I was helping my people.” That ended on January 26, 2015, when two armed men tried to kill him.