September 5, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali PM in Baidoa to assess the ongoing state formation process

04 Sept – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 109 words

A delegation led by Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed has arrived in Baidoa, the provincial capital of Bay region. Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and his delegation are expected to hold talks with Somali parliamentarians and ministers who have been staying in the city according to Bar-kulan correspondent in the region. The visit of the prime minister which was not announced previously is believed to be related to the ongoing efforts on the formation of a regional state for south western Somali regions. The prime minister is also expected to visit Tiyeglow district of Bakol where Somali and AMISOM forces recently liberated from al Shabaab militant group.

Key Headlines

Somali PM in Baidoa to assess the ongoing state formation process (Radio Mgogadishu/Bar-kulan)
Parliament postpones the opening of its 5th session (Radio Mogadishu/RBC)
US EUand UK Welcome Security Advances by Allied Forces (Radio Goobjoog)
Nairobi Westgate attack: Suspects ‘beaten’ in prison (BBC)
Somali government delegation arrives in Buloburde town (Bar-kulan/RBC)
Germany donated 1.5 M Euro for mine clearing in Somalia (Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Battle against al Shabaab heats up in Somalia (Al Jazeera)
The Chairman of Somali Independent Media released from prison (Somali Current)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali PM in Baidoa to assess the ongoing state formation process

04 Sept – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 109 words

Parliament postpones the opening of its 5th session

04 Sept – Source: Radio Mogadishu/RBC – 117 words

The Chair of Somalia’s Parliament on Thursday announced that the opening ceremony of its 5th session was postponed due to tough tasks by the chair of the house. The Deputy Parliament Speaker Jeylani Nur Ikar has announced the postponement of the session during a press conference in Mogadishu. The 5th session of Somalia’s Federal Parliament was due to open on September 10th, but the Deputy Speaker said the opening ceremony of the session will take place on September 10th. “Today, I declare that the opening ceremony of the parliament’s fifth session due to the more tasks we are doing especially the chair of the house. I want to share this with the parliamentarians.” Mr Ikar said.

US, EU,and UK Welcome Security Advances by Allied Forces

04 Sept – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 119 words

United States Representative for Somalia James P. McAnulty, European Union Ambassador Michele Cervone d’Urso, and British Ambassador to Somalia Neil Wigan congratulate the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for the latest security advancements made during the recently-launched AMISOM/Somali Security Forces offensive “Operation Indian Ocean.” The liberation of the key towns of Jalalaqsi, Bulo Mareer, and Kurtunwaray delivered significant blows to the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, al Shabaab, denying al-Shabaab critical recruitment and staging grounds for future attacks. The European Union, United Kingdom, and United States remain fully committed to support the Federal Government of Somalia and African Union in their joint efforts to restore stability, prosperity, and quality governance in the newly-liberated areas.

Somali government delegation arrives in Buloburde town

04 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan/RBC – 144 words

A Somali government delegation led by Somalia’s deputy prime minister, Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed has visited Buloburde town, one of the major towns in Hiran region. The deputy prime minister and his delegation are assessing the living conditions in the district and other areas in the region that are on the verge of a devastating famine if not addressed soon. The town was blockaded by al Shabaab militant group after the group lost control of the town to the allied forces nearly six months ago. The government delegation is due to hold talks with senior district officials and the community leaders over the living conditions of the people in Buloburde and its environs.

The Chairman of Somali Independent Media released from prison

04 Sept – Source: Somali Current – 101 words

The Chairman of Somali Independent Media Houses Association (SIMHA) Hassan Ali Gesey who was detained in Somali capital Mgadishu has been released. Mr. Gesey was arrested on Wednesday by Somali intelligence agency in connection to an interview he gave to voice of America Somali services on Tuesdaynight concerning the outcome of a meeting between the independent media houses in the country and the government security agencies. Somali intelligence agency has earlier this week ordered the independent media in the country to stop broadcasting or publishing stories related to Al Shabaab offensive unless press briefing provided by the Somali security agencies.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Battle against al Shabaab heats up in Somalia

04 Sept – Source: Al Jazeera – 163 words

Drones, Americans, French, South Africans, Fijians, Burundians and private security contractors are all on the march deep in the sand-covered shrub lands of southern Somalia alongside the Somali national army. They are on the hunt for al Shabaab fighters. This is an offensive like no other, military officials say. The unarmed drones fitted with high-tech cameras – part of a secret security project hidden from the public and even the soldiers on this mission – beam pictures back to a makeshift base between the farming town of Jowhar, the provincial headquarter of Middle Shabelle province, and the strategic town of Fidow which is in the hands of rebel fighters and the next target of the offensive. Al Jazeera and the soldiers set off from Jowhar at the crack of dawn in a convoy of dozens of armoured personnel carriers, water and petrol tankers and lorries laden with ammunitions and long-life food rations to last for several days.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Nairobi Westgate attack: Suspects ‘beaten’ in prison

04 Sept – Source: BBC – 129 words

Four Somalis being held in prison in Kenya on terrorism charges linked to last year’s Westgate shopping centre attacks, say they have been beaten for refusing to wear prison uniforms. Nine other Somali suspects facing different terrorism charges also claim they were seriously beaten by guards. Lawyers want the men’s injuries to be seen independently. At least 67 people died when suspected militants attacked the mall in the capital Nairobi last September. Last week’s incident happened when the suspects refused to wear uniforms normally required for convicted inmates serving a prison sentence in Kenya, the BBC’s Dennis Okari said. A defence lawyer for the men told the BBC that, following the complaints, he was now concerned for their health and about the risk of physical abuse from other inmates.

Germany donated 1.5 M Euro for mine clearing in Somalia

04 Sept – Source: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany – 124 words

Germany continues its support to humanitarian mine action in Somalia with 1.5 million Euro. The contribution will finance the clearing of minefields in northern Somalia. The project will be implemented by HALO Trust, a non-governmental organization that Germany has already partnered with in the past. In addition to mine clearing activities, HALO will be enabled to identify future mine clearing areas along the Ethiopian border. Another important component of the project is to build capacity in Somalia by training local authorities to conduct mine clearing operations by themselves. German Ambassador to Somalia, Andreas Peschke, said: “This project is very important to enhance stability and peace in Somalia. Germany is proud to support Somalia to overcome remnants of war and destruction, such as mines.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Since declaring independence in 1991, Somaliland has sought international recognition and the funding and foreign investment it would bring. It has held a raft of elections judged reasonably fair by international observers, but is little-noticed.”

An inspiring book fair, a raft of challenges

04 Sept – Source: Tge Economist Blog – 785 words

IN a scruffy hall off the dusty main thoroughfare of Somaliland’s capital, Nuruddin Farah, a Somalia-born novelist, is berating the audience at the Hargeisa International Book Fair over what he sees as the inherent cruelty of Somali society. Somali history, he says, “is a consequence of this cruelty…we can never be a democratic society until we change our behaviour towards those we consider lesser.” Despite being born in the south of Somalia and living in Cape Town Mr Farah, probably the most well-known Somali writer, feels quite at home in the internationally-unrecognised state in Somalia’s north: “I have come to start a debate with my community”. Debate permeated the fair in August and is now in its seventh year. Jama Muse Jama, formerly an Italy-based academic and businessman and now a Hargeisa-based publisher founded the fair in 2008 as a means to allow Somalilanders “to regain their public space… to sit down and simply debate”. Alongside authors including Nadifa Mohammed, a much-lauded young British-based author born in Hargeisa, topics including the preservation of Somali heritage, mother and infant mortality, female genital mutilation, Somaliland’s own state-building and western stereotypes of Africa exercised hundreds of attendees. Poets, including the incomparable Hadraaawi, Bob Dylan-like here, declaimed sonorously, dervish-like female sitaad dancers whirled.