The World's Most Dangerous Place

by James Fergusson - review James

The outlaw state: Somali government soldiers in northern Mogadishu, 11 March 2010. Photograph: Mustafa Abdi/AFP/Getty Images

Fergusson's reports of life in conflict-ridden Somalia make for sobering reading

General quiz time: which country tops the global corruption table? Which country is the worst for piracy? Which country lost more than 29,000 children under five to famine in 2011? The answer is Somalia, a country of such horror that it has fallen from sight.

James Fergusson, freelance journalist and author of several books on the Taliban, has a talent for shedding light in dark places. None is darker, or more dangerous, in his view, than Somalia, the "outlaw state". While most reporters – and some two million Somalis – have opted to stay away, Fergusson has risked his life to cover the ground and, an even greater achievement, succeeded in making the Somali mess understandable and relevant.

Somalia was two countries during the colonial period and one of the more hopeful African states at independence in 1960. But a military coup at the end of the 60s led to two decades of misrule and corruption, and then to civil war. Much of the tension was caused by inter-clan rivalries. As if that wasn't bad enough, the country then became a happy hunting ground for radical Islamist groups. In southern Somalia, the Salafist Islamic Courts Union imposed a strict sharia. When they were expelled by a liberating Ethiopian force, much of the country then fell even further.

The al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabaab organisation turned the country into "a zone of total grief", a place where life was short and brutal and where one's brightest hope was martyrdom, although even that prospect was tainted. Islamic martyrs die in the belief that they will be pleasured by 72 virgins in paradise. Fergusson reports that al-Shabaab manipulated this hope by showing recruits films that they claimed were recordings made by martyrs already in heaven, but which were shot in Bollywood. It is this sort of insight, alongside his harrowing account of life in the grief zone – a description of Mogadishu hospitals sticks in the mind – that gives Fergusson's book its power.

Even more troubling, in some ways, is the fact that the grief did not stay at home. Fergusson tracks the Somali diaspora across four continents in an attempt to understand their sense of identity and the ways in which they are led astray. The British ambassador in Somalia talked of "a kind of threat we haven't seen before", a threat beyond borders, with disaffected Somalis involved in many international terror attacks, including the July 2005 London Underground attempts. The more than two million Somalis in Kenya seem particularly vulnerable. As chaos spreads across Africa, from conflict in Mali to hostage-taking in Algeria, and as our prime minister talks of a "large and existential threat¦ a generational struggle" against jihadis, Fergusson's portraits seem all the more terrifying. But there is hope.

Fergusson's introduction, written as the book went to press last autumn, reports the unexpected retreat of al-Shabaab, whose units had pulled out of Mogadishu. Since then, they have lost their other stronghold of Kismayo to a combined force of Kenyan, Ethiopian and Ugandan-led African Union soldiers.

The threat of piracy has also reduced. And Somalia has a new president, elected by MPs and promising to broaden the country's democracy. Trouble continues – there was an assassination attempt on the new president even before he had been sworn in. And it remains to be seen whether the rump of al-Shabaab hardliners continue to fight in Somalia, or whether they unite with other al-Qaida affiliates, Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. But the one thing Fergusson's book makes very clear is that unless the country's – and the region's “ underlying problems of poverty and lack of education are addressed, David Cameron's prediction of a generational struggle might come to seem optimistic.

Somaliland, Troupled Times Ahead By Mohamed Abdillahi Omar, the Current Somaliland Foreign Minister

source: http://www.lughaya.com/?p=16950

Responsible Government: “A government of the day must explain itself and be accountable to the people and have the confidence of the elected representatives otherwise must be removed from power!” If an administration cannot perform and act like a government it is not a government!

Mr. Omar, the current Somaliland foreign minister was a member of Diaspora and extreme vocal critic for change during the Rayale administration, but failed Somaliland people in his lack of experience, lack of vision and his unknown and fraudulent credential.

Mr. Omar accused the previous foreign minister Mr. Duale of being outsider and not listening the outcry of the international communities such as EU and Britain. Can Mr. Mohamed A. Omar step aside this time around as he advocated during his campaign against Rayale and Du’ale?

Mr. Mohamed Omar mentioned two main points in his article in 2008:

“The two most crucial goals that are indispensable for Somaliland’s political future are:

1- The country’s democratic process and
2- Putting the Country’s international standing at risk”

In his article also, he did talk about a young women called Hanna Hassan Jama, who where shot by government soldiers during Rayale’s time; did he talk about Jimcale and the young boy who severely wounded by government soldiers and helplessly sitting under a tree a broad day light in downtown Borame?

Late HanaHassanJama

What a shame and hypocritical and lack of moral campus; this constitutes a pure greed and failure. He must resign if he is true to his word and his academic claim.

Even Britain cannot trust him and Ahmed Siranyo’s team. Is it therefore a clear embarrassment to Mr. Mohamed Omar? This brash of failure is another set back to Somaliland’s international standing. Recently, President Sherif Sheikh Hassan said also there will be no front seat and especial treatment for Somaliland as it is another semi-regional autonomy administration such as AwdalState, Galmudug or Puntland. The international donors will not also have a direct communication with Somaliland anymore. Meaning, Somaliland will not therefore receive direct donor funding; it will get the funding through greater Somalia and under the blue flag.

Did Mr. Omar for see this failure when he was advocating for change?

Read his article below:

As Dahir Rayaale hangs on to power beyond his presidential term and delays elections, Somaliland sleepwalks into a political crisis. This puts the country’s democratic process and its international standing at risk – the two most crucial goals that are indispensable for Somaliland’s political future.

Although the president’s term of office ends on 15 May, the country’s Upper Chamber, unelected body known to be close to the President, has unilaterally extended his tenure by one year recently, thereby ignoring the election plans agreed by all political parties and the National Election Commission (NEC). It is widely believed that Rayaale was behind this move, in a bid to extend his time in office.

In Somaliland, the move has caused widespread political furore. The opposition parties, the elected Lower Chamber of the Parliament, civil society and members of the public have expressed their objections to this unconstitutional step.

From the international community, the reaction was loud and clear too.The European Union, a key partner in Somaliland’s democratisation programme, articulated their concerns on the decision and called on all political groups in Somaliland to stick with the original election plans agreed by all stakeholders.

The government’s initial response to the public challenge was militaristic. The capital city of Hargeisa was put on curfew and armed military men are now patrolling the main streets. On 26 April, Hana Hassan Jama, was shot dead in Hargeisa by patrolling soldiers, and became the first victim of Rayaale’s stop-and–search orders. She was an innocent young girl who poses no threat to the national security.

To the outside world, the government’s reaction was equally shocking.In an astonishing statement, the Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdillaahi Du’ale, accused the European Union of interfering in Somaliland’s affairs, and told the EU that his government does not need their financial and technical support to Somaliland’s democratisation programme.

This statement is damaging to Somaliland’s international position andcan negatively affect the search for recognition. One could actually argue that the Minister and the President, who has supported his Minister’s statement in a speech at the Parliament, have both shamelessly failed to serve Somaliland’s national and long-term interest in favour of their personal short-term political aims.

This comes from a government, which is supposedly promoting thedemocratisation process and the country’s relations with the international community – the two most important strategic objectives of Somaliland.

There are some possible explanations for the government’s behaviour.One explanation may be that Rayaale is trying to repeat what his predecessor, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, did in 1994, when the Guurti, (the current Upper Chamber) controversially extended his term of office. Egal then found himself embroiled in a range of conflicts with opposition forces, which lasted until October 1996.

It is also possible that Rayaale and his associates might have accepted the notions of multi-party democracy on paper only, and having won the 2003 election by a dubious small margin, are not ready to risk losing power, particularly, in the context of increasingly popular and incredibly powerful and united opposition, ready and eager to take overpower. Rayaale seems to be feeling the heat already. Another explanation could be that Rayaale is modelling ideas he borrowed from his peers in the region. Ethiopian Miles Zinawe has been in power since 1991, killing and detaining opposition figures during the 2005 parliamentary election. The Ethiopian Parliament still has empty seats, as detained MP did not take their seats.

In Eritrea, Isaias Afworki has nothing better to offer. He was elected as president by a transitional legislation in 1993, and he cancelled indefinitely the parliamentary election that was planned to take place in December 2001. The Eritrean constitution was ratified in May 1997but has not yet been put into effect.

In Somalia, Abdillahi Yusuf, whose term of office will finish soon,does not appear to be preparing his country for the scheduled multi-party elections in the next year.

Yet, unlike Rayaale, Zenawi, Afworki and other leaders in Africa such as Mugabe offer historical narratives to justify their attempts to stay in power. Their desire to rule originates from their status as leaders of national liberation movements. They have liberated their countries either from colonial powers or oppressive regimes. Therefore, they perceive themselves as the heirs of their people’s freedom and feel connected with the grassroots through this history.

Interestingly, the above examples make Somaliland an odd one. In Somaliland, there is situation now in which the leader of the country’s popular liberation movement, Ahmed Siilaanyo, is an opposition leader,and all that he is asking for is a fair and timely election. This is in contrast to the mainstream political reality in Africa, which Somaliland should be proud of.

Somalilanders are not alone in taking their democracy serious. Mostnotable, president Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria was forced out when his term finished. In Kenya, people have attempted similar approaches. And, increasingly, other African nationals are demanding for their voices to be heard.

With the public fiercely opposing the controversial power extension,there is bound to be a political crisis in Somaliland after15 of May,the day the presidential term officially runs out. Forming a transitional administration, that would lead the nation to an election,is the most urgent political question Somaliland has to address. The Lower Chamber, the only democratically elected body in the country after the 15 of May, must fill in the vacuum and help the country get through these worrisome days. It needs to provide an interim leadership, uphold the rule of law, offer a level playing field for the competing political parties, and above all, avoid conflict. This could be a defining moment for Somaliland’s House of Representatives.

Mr. Mohamed Abdillahi Omar

Source: American Chronicle

[net] A few myths answered

I thought the direction of the following article is toward looking at the reality rather than the hype. I disagree with the implication that the net can protect itself from the corporate corruption without meaningful and public serving regulation by government bodies all over the world. I am forwarding it from the Universal Access mailing list: UA...@CCEN.UCCB.NS.CA

                                                ---------- Forwarded message ---------- 

                          Five Myths of New Media 

Mark Twain once said "It's not the things you don't know that will hurt you, it's the things you think you know that ain't so." The Internet explosion has spawned quite a few popular myths. In this article we'll take a look at what may be the top five. 

1. Business use is driving the growth of the Internet.

Don't you believe it. Business use of the Internet is important, sure, but the Internet has always been led and is still by social and expressive use. For every two corporate types soberly exchanging business data there are ten swapping personal email and twenty hanging out in Usenet forums or IRC. The ratio of corporate to personal web
pages is similarly lopsided. 

These ratios are well known to every ISP and form the basis of their cost structure; $19.95/month flat rate pricing simply wouldn't fly economically if most customers weren't occasional social users.  

Then there are the long-term residents. Many people don't realize that the standards that define the Internet, and a lot of the software that embodies those standards, are maintained by a cadre of long-term volunteers. These people, the Internet hacker cadre, have engineering-driven ideas of their own about where they want the Internet to go. While most are not hostile to commercial use of the  Internet per se, they have no intention of letting corporate America control its future.

These facts have implications about the culture of the Net. It's not an unformed void waiting to turned into a cyberspatial shopping mall by eager entrepreneurs. It's already got a large native and transient population with their own agendas, habits, and history. Business is finding it has to adapt to that, not the other way around. 

2. The Internet is the future of mass entertainment and news.

Of all the myths surrounding the Internet this one is probably both the most amusing and the most thoroughly exploded. There's a certain kind of media mogul that can only comprehend the Internet as a mass medium with accidental interactivity, cable television's smarter brother, a stronger opiate for the couch potatos of America. 

Every year or so since 1985 this kind of myopia has spawned yet another grandiose media consortium intenting to turn the Internet into a money-spinning bundle of pay-TV channels -- HBO and MTV on steroids. Or else into a captive news outlet a la CNN (MS-NBC is the latest example of this thinking). 

Trouble is, nobody's buying. Every market test of the video-on-demand concept has crashed and burned. Net-based news operations have a history of hemhorraging red ink to collapse. Their putative customers have simply never found continuing value they can't get from older media -- the neighborhood video store, the music CD-ROM, the news magazine. 

3. The techno-literacy problem can be solved in isolation.

There's been a great deal of viewing-with-alarm lately about the "technology gap" -- the fear that the Internet is going to widen an achievement divide between educated white and Asian haves and disadvantaged black and Hispanic have-nots. This is generally followed in the next breath by a demand for specific government interventions to get Internet access into the hands of disadvantaged kids.  

The trouble with this kind of thinking is that the "technology gap" is a consequence, not a cause. If we can solve the larger problem, which is the near-complete breakdown of education and civil society in the inner cities, this specific illiteracy problem will go away. If we can't, the kids who won't bootstrap themselves out using the Internet are probably going to be the same ones who wouldn't have had the brains and drive to do it without the Internet.  

The "technology gap" crusaders are earnest and well-intentioned, but their plans have a potential to do little good and grave harm.

Commercial Internet access now costs less per month than a meal at a medium-priced restaurant; it just doesn't make any sense to crank up the engines of bureacracy, raise taxes, and issue another long ton of regulations in order to try to mandate Internet access from the poor from the top down. Not when the real problems are welfare dependency, schools that don't teach, drug addiction, and pervasive crime.

In fact, most Internet old-timers are frankly terrified at the thought of seeing the Internet co-opted by the public-education and social-welfare crowd. And well they might be. If those people did the same job of good management recommended by the state of our public schools and minority neigbhorhoods, they'd destroy the network infrastructure and have the rest of us reduced to a virtuous equality of paper cups and string before long.

4. On-line magazines can make money.

Well, perhaps they can -- but nobody's done it yet, and not for any
lack of trying. Since Internet magazines can be and are carried by the
net's present bandwidth, this is not quite the pipe dream that
video-on-demand has been. But the fact remains that attempts like
Slate don't even seem to be making enough subscription revenue to pay
even a decent fraction of their operating costs, let alone to amortize
their startup costs.

Nor is there any reason to believe this will change in the near future
soon. The brutal truth is that the Web 'zines, requiring as they does
the specialized high context defined by you sitting at attention at
your computer, cannot replace the experience of leafing through a
magazine with your feet up. It's not as comfortable, the graphics and
fonts are poorer, and you can't take them with you (at least not
without an absurdly expensive and fragile combination of laptop and
radio modem).
5. Paper will be history soon.


Myth #4 is often considered a consequence of this one; paper-media
types are rushing to the net because they fear onrushing obsolescence.
But because familarity with technology breeds taking it for granted,
people tend to undervalue some of the things paper can do better.

It's a safe bet that paper will never be obsolete until we have
computers or network terminals as inexpensive, light, robust, and high
in display resolution as a paperback book. And we're still a very long
way from that point technologically.

It may sound like I am saying the Internet isn't really good for
anything older media can do. That's not true; rather, I am asserting
the Internet (like other media) has a natural ecological/economic
niche which it fills better than its competitors, but that said niche
is different from any of its competitors. We won't serve anyone by
trying to fit the Internet on a Procrustean bed of old-media forms,
nor by assuming any of them is inevitably going to be completely
subsumed by the Internet.

Historically, all of the media revolutions since the Industrial
Revolution have supplemented older media rather than supplanting them.
The telephone didn't kill off the postal service and television failed
to do in either radio or the movies; and none of these media, despite
predictions, have smothered the printed word. With this perspective it
seems silly to wax apocalyptic about the Internet.

The best way to get beyond the mythology is to look at the media
channels invented by the Internet culture itself. Electronic mail;
Usenet news; Internet Relay Chat; personal pages on the World Wide
Web. These are the things people actually use and the things customers
pay for. They're not much like comfort to anyone who believes our five
myths of new media, but they are the future.

Irish general warns on security of EU training mission in Somalia

Thursday, February 14, 2013

JUDITH CROSBIE

An Irish brigadier general leading an EU training mission in Somalia has warned the operation will not move to the capital, Mogadishu, until enough staff to protect instructors and medical facilities are in place.

Ten Irish defence force personnel are in the core 87-strong mission. Most of the training of Somalia’s defence forces takes place in Bihanga, Uganda, because of the security problems in Somalia, but the aim is to move when possible.

“The duty of care incumbent on me as mission commander towards the personnel of EUTM [EU training mission] Somalia provided by the member states will be adhered to and respected prior to making the definitive decision to move the operation to Mogadishu,” said Brig Gen Gerald Aherne yesterday, after he briefed EU defence ministers in Dublin on the mission.

Security situation

The decision to move to Mogadishu would also be based on the security situation, said Gen Patrick de Rousiers, chairman of the EU’s military committee. “There is no timeframe, there is no decision. There is a willingness, an objective but there is no firm date,” he said.

The EU mission has since 2010 trained 3,000 members of the Somali defence forces who will be sent back to Somalia to help the government establish control over the country and stabilise the war-torn state. “They could be very significant players in the Somali national armed forces,” said Brig Gen Aherne.

The EU mission is also giving specialised training to 300 personnel from the 3,000 already trained. This would involve training for company commanders and military police, said Brig Gen Aherne. The training will also involve human rights training and protection of civilians.

The mission will provide strategic advice to Somalia’s defence ministry and army as well as advice on training.

Extended mandate

Last month the EU extended the mandate of the mission until March 2015 with funding of €11.6 million provided. On February 1st, Brig Gen Aherne took over command of the mission from Col Michael Beary, also Irish.

Personnel from 12 EU member states and Serbia are involved in the mission.

The EU also ha

INTERVIEW: UN agencies begin relocating to Somalia to increase accountability and improve activities

Justin Brady

Justin Brady interviewed by RBC Radio in Mogadishu on 11th February, 2013. (photo credit; Abdalle Ahmed)

Mogadishu (RBC) The head of Somalia office for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Justin Brady has emphasized the need for relocating UN agencies from Nairobi to Mogadishu in order to increase accountability and improve humanitarian activities within Somalia, a country that has been wracked by civil wars and extremism for more than two decades.

RBC’S Abdalle Ahmed has interviewed Justin Brady in Mogadishu, where he is now serving as the first head of office for UNOCHA based in Mogadishu for more than eight months.

Here is a full, lightly edited transcript of the interview conducted on Monday.

RBC Radio: There was a call recently that the UN agencies were planning to move back to inside Somalia and particularly to Mogadishu, can you just tell what are the reasons for such relocation at this time?

Justin Brady: Sure.  First we should clarify that it is not that UN solely based in Nairobi trying to work in Somalia and relocating into Somalia. The UN has been present in Somalia all along, in some places with only national staff but there was always international staff somewhere based in Somalia.  The push now is to relocate more people and high level into Mogadishu [the capital] but also into the regions,.. and I came here in the beginning of June 2012 as the first head of any UN agency based here in Mogadishu and others have planed to move. Why are we doing that?

I think, that is almost should be an obvious question;  You know it is so difficult to work on a country from far and you need to be here to understand the problems, concerns and to engage with all stakeholders be it government, be it local partners.

RBC Radio: You said you came here before eight months as first head of any UN agency based in Mogadishu and it seems that is a good example and you are going to be a role model for other UN senior staff who are insisting to be in Nairobi. But as UNOCHA, a humanitarian coordination body also responsible for gathering humanitarian information and data, can you tell me what are the near future plans for the humanitarian activities inside Somalia in this period of recovery after the end of emergency period?

Justin: Sure, First no one is insisting on staying in Nairobi. Nairobi has been necessary due to security situation and infrastructure we have here and we now have an opportunity given an improvement of security situation to bring more colleagues here and to have the decision makers here and I think everybody who works for UN agency is looking forward to that opportunity. I find frustration with my colleagues in Nairobi who are still trying to find opportunity to come here.

The plan for this year, as you say is we have had a good during season and good harvest and nothing improves the situation in Somalia unlike a good rain. We can do a lot as humanitarians and as government officials, but the rain drives everything- If there is a good rain things could be good and if there is not enough rain we see the situation like in 2000 and 2011. So we do see this as a window of opportunity getting beyond just life saving is still fundamental work.

We have now two operation objectives; one is to increase our accountability- being here allows us much better oversight and understand better the impact of intervention we have. The other objective we have is to link together our activities.

RBC Radio: The interior minister of Somalia government is planning to move the IDP populations from inside Mogadishu to the outskirts of the city, are you involved in this relocation, and what is your role?

Justin: It is interesting the Federal Government in Somalia when we interacted with them about the situation of the IDPs [Internal Displaced People] in the city. It was offering the impression of the job of the UN and the NGOs was something to do with about them, the government coming with the plan and saying this is our responsibility please assist us. First and foremost it is the responsibility of the government. The government’s objectives are two; to improve security and to improve the humanitarian situation.

The [relocation] plan has a lot bit of opportunities into it but also there are a lot of threats. It is very ambitious timeline and so I think as we engaged with them on how we might assist, we are trying look ways of  that we can improve the plan with them so that those are voluntarily movements by the IDPs and their situation does not improve. We have a situation right now where we have nearly hundreds of small settlements within the city and inefficient to try and provide them assistance so there are opportunities of having larger settlements where we could provide services.

RBC Radio: We have some IDPs complaining that the identified areas are far away from the city and will be difficult to earn for their living and also some fear of insecurity activities in the outskirts of the capital, so why don’t you think relocating IDPs to their home region instead of Mogadishu outskirts?

Justin: A lot of people think Mogadishu as a home. To ask to go back to farmers they ay they were never been farmers but their parents were or their parents herded livestock but they have lived and grown in the city.  A lot of areas that people might go back remain insecure, they have very little assets to take back back with them so that they could build their lives. We want to look how things might be.

RBC Radio: There was about US$1.3 billion humanitarian appeal launched in December last year and there was a report from your office indicating that the overall humanitarian situation in the country has improved. Does this mean the reported improvement change your overall humanitarian strategy and priorities for 2013?

Justin: If we go back to the plan. The plan is not simply like life saving. Safety is building resilience, We have a population of a good number of people have moved out of crisis but they still need assistance to build their resilience. So the targets have changed quite bit I think from those needed life saving has immediate intervention to having a focus more on people requiring resilience and safety assistance.

RBC Radio: Recently when I interviewed  the social development minister of Somalia and she suggested that UN and other agencies should follow the rules of the country and to address more on what the government demands to do instead of doing their own plan, so how do you see this suggestion?

Justin: The government is the serving government of Somalia. But surely we need to recognize that there areas that are currently still not the control of the government and there are situations where we have to be flexible, I think we are working with the ministry to establish norms that should followed by everybody whether you are in or part of Somalia. One of the biggest and tough conditions we are facing as humanitarian community is that some areas that are referred as “recovered areas” we are facing some local administrations demanding taxation on humanitarian assistance and that is essentially taking food out of the mouth the needy children and putting into the pockets of local administrations and I see that Something unacceptable.

RBC Radio

Iran denies shipping arms to Islamist militants in Somalia

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:07am EST

 (Reuters) - Iran has denied allegations that it has been supplying Islamist militants in Somalia with weapons, describing the charges as "absurd fabrications," according to a letter obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

As the United States pushes for an end to the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia, U.N. monitors following Somalia sanctions are warning that Islamist militants in the Horn of Africa nation are receiving weapons from distribution networks linked to Yemen and Iran, diplomats told Reuters.

According to the latest findings by the U.N. Security Council's monitoring group, which tracks compliance with U.N. sanctions on Somalia and Eritrea, most illicit arms are coming into northern Somalia - that is, the autonomous Puntland and Somaliland regions - after which they are moved farther south into strongholds of Islamist al Shabaab militants.

"The allegations of arm transfers from Iran to Somalia are absurd fabrications and have no basis or validity," Iran's U.N. mission wrote to the U.N. Security Council in a letter obtained by Reuters. "Thus it is categorically rejected by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"It is unfortunate that the Monitoring Group has, in an obvious irresponsible manner, put such unfounded allegations and strange fabrications in its report, without first bothering itself to communicate them to my Government," Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee wrote to the council.

"It is further regrettable that the content of the report is leaked to the media for propaganda purposes," he wrote. "This malicious campaign, which is done in the name of the United Nations, endangers the credibility of the Security Council along with that of the United Nations."

SOMALI NETWORKS

The monitoring team's concerns about Iranian and Yemeni links to arms supplies for al Shabaab militants come as Yemen is asking Tehran to stop backing armed groups on Yemeni soil. Last month the Yemeni coast guard and the U.S. Navy seized a consignment of missiles and rockets the Sanaa government says were sent by Iran.

According to the monitoring group, the supply chains in Yemen that provide al Shabaab with arms are largely Somali networks, council diplomats said on condition of anonymity.

Yemen is just across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia's northern coast, making it easy to move all kinds of goods - legal and illegal - from the Middle East into Somaliland and Puntland.

Iran's U.N. mission also wrote to the council regarding the allegations about the ship containing arms bound for Yemen. It denied responsibility for those weapons.

"It has been further claimed that the items seized on board ... the ship were produced in Iran," Khazaee wrote in a separate letter to the council. "Even if some of these items were made in Iran, this does not provide any evidence that Iran was involved in the shipment of arms to Yemen."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the 15-nation council should consider lifting the arms embargo to help rebuild Somalia's security forces and consolidate military gains against the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants.

It is a position that has the strong backing of the United States, which is pushing for an end to the 21-year-old U.N. arms embargo. The Security Council imposed it in 1992 to cut the flow of arms to feuding warlords, who a year earlier had ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and plunged Somalia into civil war.

France and Britain oppose lifting the arms embargo for the government, U.N. diplomats say, and would prefer a more gradual easing of the restrictions on arms sales to Somalia's government.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by Patrick Graham)

Mustaqbal burbur soo food-daaray xaasaska maxaabiista lagu tuhunsan yahay al-Shabaab

Waxa kaliya ee ay sameeyn karaan haweenka ku sugan bannaanka Xarunta Hay'adda Nabadsugidda Qaranka waa in ay ka war sugaan maxkamadeeynta dadkooda ay jecelyihiin. Xagga sare, laba haween Soomaali ah oo jooga Puntland. [Roberto Schmidt/AFP]

Waxaa qoray Cadnaan Xuseen oo Muqdisho jooga

Maalin walba kudhowaad 60 haween ah ayaa isugu soo urura bannaanka Xarunta Nabadsugidda Qaranka (NSA) ee Muqdisho ku taala si ay u ogaadaan bal waxa uu noqdo xaalka dadka ay jecelyihiin oo lagu eedeeyay argaggixisanimo, khaa'innimo iyo in ay ka tirsan yihiin al-Shabaabnimo.

Inta badan haweenkan, waxa kaliya ee ay ku citaabi karaan ayaa ah, in dambiyada ay raggooda iyo wiilashooda u galeen al-Shabaab darteed ay burbur u horseedday nolosha qoysaskooda.

"Waxaan cadeynayaa in alshabaab ay duleysteen dhalinyarada iyo dadka waxgalka u ah umadda oo ay u adeegsadaan colaada iyo qaraxyada," ayay tiri Laylo Aadan Caaggane, oo ah 25-jir ahna xaaska Yoonis Saciid, oo xabsi ku jira tan iyo 11-kii October, walina xukun suge ah.

Waxa ay sheegtay in saygeeda lagu xiray Degmada Hodan howlgal xili aroor ah dhacay. "Waxa uu haystay seddex xabo oo bamba-gacmeed iyo bistoolad. Wxaa lagu eedeeyay inuu qorsheynayay fal argagaxiso ah," ayay u sheegtay Sabahi.

"Sidaas awgeed waxaan qirayaa in al-Shabaab ay kala dhantaaleen qoyskeyga kadib markii ay hubeeyeen ninkeyga oo ay kaga faa’ideysteen shaqa la’aanta heysay," ayay Caaggane tiri. "Waxaan cod dheer ku sheegayaa inaan ka shalaayayo , waxaana ka codsanayaa waalidiinta Soomaaliyeed inay carruurtooda ka ilaashadaan inay ciidameysato al-Shabaab oo ah dilaaga rajada qoysaska Soomaaliyeed."

Hibaaq Cabdiraxmaan, oo 29 jir uur sideed bilood ah leh, islamarkaana hooyo u ah seddex caruur ah, dambiga ninkeeda waxa uu gayaysiiyay rajo xumo.

"Waxaan dalbanayaa in [saygayga] lasii daayo, maxaa yeelay waxa uu masruufi jiray qoyskayaga, anigana macaawin karo caruurtayda iyo hooyaday, walaakaygana cudur xagga maskaxda ayaa haya, mana [awoodo] in aan isbitaal geeyo," ayay u sheegtay Sabahi.

Hibaaq waxa ay sheegtay in saygayda uu dukaan yar oo Bakaaro ku yaala uu ka shaqaynayay. Ciidamada Ammaanka ayaa ka xiray Degmada Hodan isaga iyo tobonaan kale oo maleeshiyada ah xili habeen ah, ayay tiri.

"Magaranayo waxa ku dhacay, balse waan tebay," ayay tiri.

Faisa Ibraahim, oo 27 jir ah ayaa sheegtay in saygeeda la xiray 7-dii November markii uu bam ku tuuray bilayska Soomaaliya oo gaaf wareegayay degmada Hiliwaa, oo waqooyi-bari kaga taala Muqdisho, halkaasi oo ah meel ay al-Shabaab ku xoogganaan jireen.

Maalin walba xabsiga ayaya booqataa si ay saygeeda ugu gayso cunno, balse looma oggolaan in ay aragto ama la hadasho isaga. Waxa kaliya ee ay Faisa sameeyn karto waa in ay iska mala'awaasho.

"Waxaan maxaabiis hore ka maqlay in boqolaal maxaabiis ah lagu xiro meel dhulka hoostiisa ah oo daaqado la'aan ah, oo aanan leheeyn nal sariir ama bustayaal lagu seexdo," ayay Sabahi u sheegtay. "Waxaa cunada laga siyaa duleed ku yaal albaab bir ah [...] waxa ayna qoraxda arki karaan kaliya 10-ka subaxnimo."

Shukri Yuusuf Cumar, oo 49 jir ah, daggan xaafadda Yaaqshiid ee Muqdisho, ayaa sheegtay in wiilkeeda iyo xaaskiisa ay xireen ciidamada sirddoonka afartii todobaad ee lasoo dhaafay. Waxaa loo haystaa dacwado la xiriira in ay gabbaad siinayeen argaggixisada iyo sidoo kale in mid kamid ah qolalkooda ay ku qarinayeen hub iyo walxaha qarxa, ayay tiri.

Shukri ayaa sheegtay in madaxda ay ka codsatay in ay sii daayaan wiilkeeda iyo gabadha ay sodohda u tahay ama ay maxkamad saaraan iyadoon wax dib u dhac ah jirin.

"Waxaan ballan-qaadayaa in midkoodna aannu ku laaban doonin wixi ay sameyn jireen, maxaa yeelay xabsiga ma ahan meel loo dalxiis tago," ayay u sheegtay Sabahi.
Xarunta xabsiga Nabadsugidda Qaranka

Xarunta Xabsiga nabadsugidda Qaranka, oo horey loogu yaqaanay Xarunta Baarista Xisbiga, waxa ay garabka ku haysaa xarunta madaxtooyada ee bartamaha Muqdisho.

Dhismaha ayaa ka kooban laba dabaq, oo mid kamid ah lagu xiro maxaabista dumarka ah, islamarkaana xafiisyo u ah saraakiisha dambi baarista, halka kan kale uu yahay hool wayn oo lagu xiro maxaabiista ragga ah, ayuu yiri Ciise Cali, oo ka shaqeeya macluumaadka NSA iyo qeybta dhiraandhirinta xogta iyo muuqaallada.

Cali ayaa sheegay in dambi baarayaasha aanay jir dil u adeegsan maxaabiista, balse ay ka ilaaliyaan in ay la kulmaan qoysaska iyo saaxiibada inta ay su'aalo waydiintu socoto.

"Bilowga marka la soo xiro, muddo mucayan ah ayaa maxaabiista waxaa laga mamnuucaa in ay arkaan qoysaskooda, waxaana gabi ahaanba laga gooyaa caalamka dibadda," ayuu Cali u sheegay Sabahi.

Dambi baarayaasha waxa ay ururiyaan macluumaad dheeri ah iyagoo adeegsanaya saraakiil dhar-cad ah oo iska dhiga maxaabiis, ayuu yiri.

Marka baarista ay dhamaato, maxaabiista waxaa loo diraa xabsiga dhexe ee u dhow Maxkamadda Banaadir si ay xukun u sugaan, ayuu yiri.
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xigasho: http://sabahionline.com/so/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/12/18/feature-01

Halkan ka Dhagayso Shirkii Jaraa'id oo uu qabtay Afhayeenka Saaxil ee Xisbiga UCID ka hor intii aan Xabsiga loo Taxaabin

Bootaan Guuleed Axmed

Afhayeenka Xisibga UCID Ee Gobalka Saaxil Bootaan Guuleed Axmed, ayaa maalintii lixaad ku xidhan magaalada Berbera, Difaacayaasha Madaxabanaan ee Xuquuqda Aadamiga Somaliland waxay halkan idiinku soo gudbinayaan shir jaraa’id oo uu Afhayeenku qabtay ka hor intii aan la xidhin, kaasoo uu kaga hadlay awood sheegasho askarta ilaalada u ah Maareeyaha Guud ee Dekeda Berbera Eng. Cali XorXor. iyo arimo kale.

http://www.berberanews.com/halkan-ka-dhegayso-shir-jaraaid-oo-uu-laba-maalmood-ka-hor-qabtay-afhayeenka-xisbiga-ucid-ee-gobolka-saaxil-oo-saddex-maalmood-u-xidhan-maareeyaha-dekedda/

xigasho: Berberanews.com

Announcing The Ibsen Scholarships 2013

Scholarship funds amount to NOK 1,000,000,- (approx. 135.000 Euro/180.000 US Dollars) will be awarded projects worldwide.

The Ibsen Scholarships award innovative projects in the field of drama and performing arts that act as incentives for critical discourse in regards to existential and society-related subject matters concerning Henrik Ibsen and his plays.

Scholarships are applicable to individuals, organizations or institutions within the artistic and cultural community.

The Ibsen Scholarships are awarded annually and the applications are subject to scrutiny by an appointed jury.

The Ibsen Scholarships were initiated by the Norwegian government and will be handed out for the 6th time in 2013.

Ibsen Awards has till now handed out 19 scholarships to projects in 15 different countries.

The application deadline for The Ibsen Scholarships is April 30th 2013.

The winners of The Ibsen Scholarships 2013 will be presented at Skien International Ibsen Conference on September 16th and 17th in Skien, Norway.


For further information, statutes and application form, kindly visit our website www.ibsenawards.com


Contact: Hilde Guri Bohlin
E-mail: hildeguri.bohlin@teateribsen.no
Phone: +47 35 90 50 50
Cell: + 47 917 67 903

About International Ibsen Scholarships The International Ibsen Scholarships were initiated in 2007 by the Norwegian government and handed out for the first time in 2008.

Scholarships are awarded innovative projects in the field of drama and performing arts and projects that act as incentives for critical discourse in regards to existential and society-related subject matters concerning Henrik Ibsen.
Statutes of the International Ibsen Scholarships

STATUTES OF THE INTERNATIONAL IBSEN SCHOLARSHIPS
The statutes below were determined by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture on January 18th 2012

1. The International Ibsen Scholarships were established by the Norwegian parliament in relation to the central government budget for the fiscal year of 2007.

2. The amount of the scholarship provision is established by the Parliament.

3. Scholarships are awarded to individuals, organizations or institutions.
Scholarships are awarded innovative projects in the field of drama and performing arts and projects that act as incentives for critical discourse in regards to existential and society-related subject matters concerning Henrik Ibsen.

4. In cooperation with Skien municipality, the Norwegian Ministry of Culture appoints a jury responsible for awarding the scholarships. Jury members are appointed for four years. The jury members can be reappointed.

5. The presentation of the scholarships is an integral part of Skien International Ibsen Conference.

6. Scholarships are awarded based on a written application, which should arrive no later than the predetermined deadline, and which must abide by the rules set for the application procedure.

7. Skien municipality administers the scholarships and facilitates the jury’s work.

8. The manner in which public funds are used, is annually reported to the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.

APPLICATION FORM

Scholarships are awarded innovative projects in the field of drama and performing arts and projects that act as incentives for critical discourse in regards to existential and society-related subject matters concerning Henrik Ibsen.

Application deadline for the Ibsen Scholarships are April 30th 2013.

Budget estimate must be in Euro or USD. Please specify.

Applications must be written in English.

For questions due to the application, contact:
Hilde Guri Bohlin at
hildeguri.bohlin@teateribsen.no
ph: +47 91767903

http://www.ibsenawards.com/scholarship/application

Chinese New Year 2013 – The Year of the Snake

Good wishes for the Year of the Snake. The snake pattern symbolizes good fortune, the fireworks represent wishes for peace, and the fish stands for abundance. (S. M. Yang/The Epoch Times)

By Lily Choo

While saying farewell to the celestial dragon, we welcome the intelligent snake. Chinese New Year in 2013 falls on Sunday, Feb. 10— it is the Year of the Snake.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, starts on the first day of the first Chinese month (and ends with the Lantern Festival, which is on the 15th day) and is the most important festival for the Chinese people).

The Chinese New Year is celebrated by eating special New Year food, setting off fireworks, visiting friends and relatives, delivering red packages as good wishes, and hanging lanterns. Many Chinese people regard 2013 as a good year because it is right after the auspicious Year of the Dragon.

The Chinese calendar differs from the Western (Gregorian) calendar so the beginning of the Chinese New Year falls on a different day every year, with dates ranging between late January and late February. The Chinese zodiac is a rotating cycle of 12 years, with each year being represented by an animal.

The Snake, also called Junior Dragon by Chinese people, is the sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Characteristics of the Snake

People born in the Year of Snake share certain characteristics: intelligent, cute, charming, aware, elegant, mysterious, cunning, and passionate. They may also be proud, vain, vicious. It is said that they are great mediators and good at doing business, which is fortunate, since snakes place a lot of weight on the finer things in life.

At home, snakes prefer quiet and relaxing environments and prefer subdued colors and good decor. In love, the snake has high standards for romantic partners and places a weight on intellect and personality. Physically, a snake is beautiful and alluring, but prefers to be the pursuer in any romantic situation. Once she is settled, she may become possessive and aloof, but with a patient and calming partner, a happy union is possible.

Depending on the year of birth, one may be a metal snake (1941, 2001), water snake (1953, 2013), wood snake (1905, 1965), fire snake (1917, 1977), or earth snake (1929, 1989). It is said that metal snakes are stubborn and ambitious; water snakes are motivated and adept managers; wood snakes are grounded and enjoy the company of a small group of friends; fire snakes are opinionated and relentless debaters; and earth snakes are down to earth and prefer to lead calm lives.
Snakes in a Snake Year

Generally, big things are meant to happen to you in the year of your sign—they may be good events or bad events, but they will be major. So it is generally advised to tread carefully in the year of your animal sign.

In this year of Water Snake, snakes can expect to achieve some longstanding career goals with hard work and perseverance.

Snake qualities, both positive and negative, will be magnified in this year, so it is essential to keep balanced and take extra care in your health.

The same applies in romance. Your natural charms are more potent than ever, so control yourself in this area. Keep a level head and proceed carefully with any potential partner.

Please read more about the characteristics of the people born under this Chinese zodiac sign in a subsequent article “What Chinese say about people born in the Year of the Snake.”

With the arrival of the Year of the Snake, many people will post a variety of New Year wishes. The most popular ones are “Keep good health in 2013” and “Gathering with family in 2013,” among others.