November 7, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

More than 130 MPs table a motion of ‘no confidence’ against PM Abdiweli

06 Nov – Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Goobjoog/Radio RBC – 197 Words

Somali Parliamentarians have tabled a fresh motion against Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed on Thursday calling the Speaker of the Parliament to allow to open a parliamentary session to review the house’s confidence on the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

According to sources who spoke with Radio Dalsan, 131 Parliamentarians have signed the draft of the motion which was handed to the Speaker of the Parliament on Thursday. Dalsan Radio has learnt that the Speaker has accepted the motion to be put into the Parliament’s agenda on the coming week, probably on Saturday.

According to the agenda of the parliament, the new motion will go into debate and then will proceed into voting session where the legislators will be asked about their confidence on the cabinet and the premier. One of the lawmakers endorsed the draft of the motion told Radio Dalsan that they are hopeful they will oust the premier through vote of “no confidence” which will open the door for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to appoint a new Prime Minister within 30 days.

Key Headlines

More than 130 MPs table a motion of ‘no confidence’ against PM Abdiweli (Radio Dalsan/Radio Goobjoog/Radio RBC)
IGAD envoy meets PM and Parliament Speaker amid infighting (Garowe Online)
Security forces shot and kill a civilian in Mogadishu during an overnight operation (Radio RBC)
Deputy UN envoy meets IJA leaders in Kismayo (Radio Goobjoog)
Garowe to clinch sister city partnership with Turkey’s Gebze (Garowe Online)
High level meeting agrees support for journalists and their union in Somalia (Shabelle Media Network)
Uganda sends 16 officers home over sex abuse (Daily Nations)
Somali brothers among 3 killed in fire (Arab Times)
Bahrain scientific complex in Somalia inaugurated (Bahrain News Agency)
Somali Presidential PM spat imperils war-torn nation’s recovery (Bloomberg)
12 Somalis acquitted of piracy in Mauritius (News 24)

SOMALI MEDIA

More than 130 MPs table a motion of ‘no confidence’ against PM Abdiweli

06 Nov – Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Goobjoog/Radio RBC – 197 Words

IGAD envoy meets PM, Parliament Speaker amid infighting

06 Nov – Source: Garowe Online – 193 Words

IGAD special envoy to Somalia Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Afey has held talks with Federal Government of Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari amid political infighting on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. Ambassador Afey said on his twitter feed, he hopes that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Mohamed will put an end to their differences, stressing the need for Somali-driven solutions to the standing dispute. “Hopes are high that FGS leaders will resolve the difference. IGAD encourages Somali-driven solutions to the crisis,’ noted IGAD envoy who has been in Mogadishu for mediations. On his talks with speaker Jawari, Afey told that parliament speaker and IGAD are on the same standpoint on the possible solutions to the bickering.

Security forces shot and kill a civilian in Mogadishu during an overnight operation

06 Nov – Source: Radio RBC – 198 Words

The security forces of Somali government accidentally killed a young cleric in Mogadishu’s Dharkenley neighborhood on Wednesday during an overnight operation, locals told RBC Radio. The security forces from the National Intelligence and Security Agency stormed a Quranic School in Abba Gedo area on the south of Dharkenley district where they firstly arrested the victim who later died of his injuries.

The victim named as Sheikh Hassan Ahmed was a young teacher and who used to teach the Islamic books to the fellow students. Dharkenley district commissioner Adan Dhere mentioned the security forces conducted the operation to secure the area but he said “unfortunately there was an accident in which the security forces shot and killed a civilian”. He described the killing as accidental and that the police detectives were investigating the case.

Deputy UN envoy meets IJA leaders in Kismayo

06 Nov – Source: Source: Radio Goobjoog – 125 Words

UN officials led by deputy UN envoy to Somalia fatixa saruur visited the port city of Kismayo today. Mrs Fatiha and her delegates were warmly welcomed by senior IJA officials at presidential palace and finally met with IJA leader Ahmed Madobe.

After the meeting Fatiha and held press conference and talked the reconciliation conference in Kismayo and the security in the region. Ahmed Madoobe, the interim leader of Juba administration said he is delighted with the visit of UN officials adding their discussions focusing promoting the reconciliation conference and fight against Al-shabab in Juba regions. She urged Juba administration to strengthen to unity of the people and speed up the reconciliation process between the communities in Juba.

Garowe to clinch sister city partnership with Turkey’s Gebze

06 Nov – Source: Garowe Online – 172 Words

Puntland capital of Garowe in northeastern Somalia has been poised to enter into sister city agreement with the Turkish city of Gebze according to official, Garowe Online reports. Addressing reporters during a press conference on Thursday, Garowe Mayor Mr. Abdiasis Nur Elmi unveiled that they the matters pertaining to the anticipated municipal collaborations between the Somali town and Gebze began on 25th of June 2012.

“This would create a platform on which Garowe and Gebze will share culture, beautification and educational and economic infrastructure fields,” said Garowe Mayor. Continuing, Elmi indicated that he will be traveling to Turkey in a bid to forge better cooperation with Gebze Municipal authorities and put the bilateral deal into effective. On the other hand, he welcomed the recent sister city agreement that was brokered between Minneapolis and Bossaso city councils.

High level meeting agrees support for journalists and their union in Somalia

06 – Nov – Source: Shabelle Media Network – 372 Words

A delegation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), including its president Jim Boumelha and Executive Committee member Franco Siddi, today met Somalia’s Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs, Abdullahi Godah Barre, at the International Conference on the challenges to human rights and security in the Arab Region held in Doha.

The meeting, the first by the IFJ with a representative of the Federal Government of Somalia, took place in the presence of Omar Faruk Osman, the secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists, an affiliate of the IFJ. The delegation exchanged views with the minister on the difficult safety and security situation facing journalists in Somalia as well as the concerns of the IFJ over the urgent need to tackle impunity, improve working conditions of journalists, and deal with the lack of professionalism of the media industry.

“As our first meeting with the Federal Government of Somalia, we were encouraged by the frankness of our discussion. Although the situation of journalists continues to be critical, we were pleased to meet a government official who is willing to help improve the situation and ensure that journalists are protected,” said Boumelha. One of the main themes also under discussion was the independence of the IFJ affiliate, the NUSOJ, and the need to respect its integrity as the authoritative voice of Somali journalists. NUSOJ leaders, who have been at the forefront of the defense of Somali journalists against attacks on freedom of assembly and expression, have, as a result, been targeted by hostile elements in government.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Bahrain Scientific Complex in Somalia inaugurated

06 Nov – Source: Bahrain News Agency – 287 Words

In line with the royal directives to extend a lifeline to drought-hit Somalia, Royal Charity Organisation (RCO) Secretary General Dr. Mustafa Al Sayed inaugurated Bahrain Scientific Complex-Mogadishu National University. The inauguration, held under the auspices of RCO Board of Trustees Chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, was attended by Advisor to Somali President Dr. Taher Ghili and Mogadishu Deputy Mayor Ismail Moalim Abdi Gure.

Shaikh Nasser extended heartfelt thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the RCO Honorary President, for his humanitarian gesture in ordering the construction of the pioneering educational edifice in Somalia and providing relief aid for the Somali people. Shaikh Nasser pointed out the role of Bahrain’s aid projects in benefiting the Somali people, stressing that construction of disaster-hit countries and grooming individuals is the core of RCO’s humanitarian and relief strategy in brotherly and friendly countries.

Somali brothers among 3 killed in fire

06 Nov – Source: Arab Times – 156 Words

Three people, including two Somali brothers, suffocated to death in a fire that broke out Thursday in a poor Jeddah neighborhood, said Col. Saeed Sarhan, Makkah Civil Defense spokesman. Ironically, the fire broke out near the Red Crescent station in the Nazla Yamani district.

The flames got bigger when they caught onto sponge-based furniture in the hall, emitting thick toxic fumes in the ground floor apartment of a three-story building. The brothers were aged six and 10, while the third victim, whose relation to the other two has yet to be ascertained, was 28. Ali Al-Ghamdi, Makkah Red Crescent spokesman, confirmed that two Red Crescent teams were sent to the accident site, where they found three bodies.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali Presidential, PM spat imperils war-torn nation’s recovery

06 Nov – Source: Bloomberg.com – 446 Words

A dispute between Somalia’s president and prime minister over powers of appointment has split lawmakers into factions, with the United Nations and European Union warning it’s jeopardizing efforts to rebuild the war-torn country. Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed last week overturned President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud’s choice of justice minister, only for Ahmed to reinstate his candidate. More than 100 lawmakers agreed yesterday to support the prime minister’s right to appoint his cabinet, Abdiweli Mohamed Qanyare, a member of parliament, said in an interview in the capital, Mogadishu.

Ali Nuur, a lawmaker who sides with Mohamoud, said Ahmed had “deliberately avoided” consulting the president on the change. Members of parliament have the right to hold a vote of no confidence in the prime minister if the president requests it, he said. The disagreement sparked warnings by the UN and EU that it is undermining efforts to rebuild the Horn of Africa nation’s institutions. Somalia has been mired in civil war since 1991, when the dictator Mohamed Said Barre was removed from power. The government is using its recent military advances against the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab to try to attract investors to help reconstruct its economy.

12 Somalis acquitted of piracy in Mauritius

06 Nov – Source: News 24 – 209 Words

Twelve Somali men tried for piracy were acquitted on Thursday in Mauritius for lack of evidence, court officials said. “The prosecution did not provide enough evidence to prove the guilt of the accused”, magistrate Wendy Rangan said, ending a year-long trial that began in October 2013.

The 12 men, aged between 20 and 45, were accused of attacking the Panamanian-flagged container ship MSC Jasmine in the Indian Ocean in January 2013, before being captured by European naval forces and transferred to Mauritius for trial. Pirate attacks off Somalia have been slashed in recent years, with international fleets patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, as well as armed guards being posted aboard many vessels.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Top leaders’ political wrangling is good thing for us. Leaders who agree on everything is not good for the country. The politics itself is about people with different views coming together, but when there is a division, then a solution has to be found to solve the differences.”

No end in sight for Somali political bickering

06 Nov – Source: VOA – 516 Words

Somalia’s political leaders are at loggerheads once again over the reorganization of the cabinet, prompting a warning from the United Nations to focus on building credible institutions to move the country forward. Analysts say the next year will be crucial for solidifying Somalia’s recent gains after decades of lawlessness.

The political bickering between the president and Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed began two weeks ago after the premier made a cabinet reshuffle. Among those affected was the president’s close ally and Minister of Livestock and Husbandry Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir. The president termed the changes null and void, setting off an increasingly public dispute between the two leaders and their supporters in the parliament.
This is the kind of division that has plagued Somali politics for years. But Somali lawmaker and former constitution minister Abdirahman Hosh said it is good for Somali leaders to negotiate, calling it part of the democratic process. He added that ultimately, the politicians must settle their disputes.