Egypt, Ethiopia and the Grand Renaissance Dam

Houseboats line the Nile bank in Cairo. Some 85 million Egyptians depend on the Nile for water. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS.

By Cam McGrath

CAIRO, Mar 21 2014 (IPS) - When Egypt’s then-president Mohamed Morsi said in June 2013 that “all options” including military intervention, were on the table if Ethiopia continued to develop dams on the Nile River, many dismissed it as posturing. But experts claim Cairo is deadly serious about defending its historic water allotment, and if Ethiopia proceeds with construction of what is set to become Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, a military strike is not out of the question.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have soured since Ethiopia began construction on the 4.2 billion dollar Grand Renaissance Dam in 2011.

Egypt fears the new dam, slated to begin operation in 2017, will reduce the downstream flow of the Nile, which 85 million Egyptians rely on for almost all of their water needs. Officials in the Ministry of Irrigation claim Egypt will lose 20 to 30 percent of its share of Nile water and nearly a third of the electricity generated by its Aswan High Dam.

"Hydroelectric dams don’t work unless you let the water through.” -- Richard Tutwiler, a specialist in water resource management at the American University in Cairo

Ethiopia insists the Grand Renaissance Dam and its 74 billion cubic metre reservoir at the headwaters of the Blue Nile will have no adverse effect on Egypt’s water share. It hopes the 6,000 megawatt hydroelectric project will lead to energy self-sufficiency and catapult the country out of grinding poverty.

“Egypt sees its Nile water share as a matter of national security,” strategic analyst Ahmed Abdel Halim tells IPS. “To Ethiopia, the new dam is a source of national pride, and essential to its economic future.”

The dispute has heated up since Ethiopia began diverting a stretch of the Nile last May, with some Egyptian parliamentarians calling for sending commandos or arming local insurgents to sabotage the dam project unless Ethiopia halts construction.

Ethiopia’s state-run television responded last month with a report on a visit to the site by army commanders, who voiced their readiness to “pay the price” to defend the partially-built hydro project.

Citing a pair of colonial-era treaties, Egypt argues that it is entitled to no less than two-thirds of the Nile’s water and has veto power over any upstream water projects such as dams or irrigation networks.

Accords drawn up by the British in 1929 and amended in 1959 divvied up the Nile’s waters between Egypt and Sudan without ever consulting the upstream states that were the source of those waters.

The 1959 agreement awarded Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres of the Nile’s 84 billion cubic metre average annual flow, while Sudan received 18.5 billion cubic metres. Another 10 billion cubic metres is lost to evaporation in Lake Nasser, which was created by Egypt’s Aswan High Dam in the 1970s, leaving barely a drop for the nine other states that share the Nile’s waters.

While the treaty’s water allocations appear gravely unfair to upstream Nile states, analysts point out that unlike the mountainous equatorial nations, which have alternative sources of water, the desert countries of Egypt and Sudan rely almost entirely on the Nile for their water needs.

“One reason for the high level of anxiety is that nobody really knows how this dam is going to affect Egypt’s water share,” Richard Tutwiler, a specialist in water resource management at the American University in Cairo (AUC), tells IPS. “Egypt is totally dependent on the Nile. Without it, there is no Egypt.”

Egypt’s concerns appear warranted as its per capita water share is just 660 cubic metres, among the world’s lowest. The country’s population is forecast to double in the next 50 years, putting even further strain on scarce water resources.

But upstream African nations have their own growing populations to feed, and the thought of tapping the Nile for their agriculture or drinking water needs is all too tempting.

The desire for a more equitable distribution of Nile water rights resulted in the 2010 Entebbe Agreement, which replaces water quotas with a clause that permits all activities provided they do not “significantly” impact the water security of other Nile Basin states. Five upstream countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda – signed the accord. Burundi signed a year later.

Egypt rejected the new treaty outright. But after decades of wielding its political clout to quash the water projects of its impoverished upstream neighbours, Cairo now finds itself in the uncomfortable position of watching its mastery over the Nile’s waters slip through its fingers.

“Ethiopia’s move was unprecedented. Never before has an upstream state unilaterally built a dam without downstream approval,” Ayman Shabaana of the Cairo-based Institute for Africa Studies had told IPS last June. “If other upstream countries follow suit, Egypt will have a serious water emergency on its hands.”

Ethiopia has sought to assure its downstream neighbours that the Grand Renaissance Dam is a hydroelectric project, not an irrigation scheme. But the dam is part of a broader scheme that would see at least three more dams on the Nile.

Cairo has dubbed the proposal “provocative”.

Egypt has appealed to international bodies to force Ethiopia to halt construction of the dam until its downstream impact can be determined. And while officials here hope for a diplomatic solution to diffuse the crisis, security sources say Egypt’s military leadership is prepared to use force to protect its stake in the river.

Former president Hosni Mubarak floated plans for an air strike on any dam that Ethiopia built on the Nile, and in 2010 established an airbase in southeastern Sudan as a staging point for just such an operation, according to leaked emails from the global intelligence company Stratfor posted on Wikileaks.

Egypt’s position was weakened in 2012 when Sudan, its traditional ally on Nile water issues, rescinded its opposition to the Grand Renaissance Dam and instead threw its weight behind the project. Analysts attribute Khartoum’s change of heart to the country’s revised domestic priorities following the secession of South Sudan a year earlier.

According to AUC’s Tutwiler, once Sudan felt assured that the dam would have minimal impact on its water allotment, the mega-project’s other benefits became clear. The dam is expected to improve flood control, expand downstream irrigation capacity and, crucially, allow Ethiopia to export surplus electricity to power-hungry Sudan via a cross-border link.

Some studies indicate that properly managed hydroelectric dams in Ethiopia could mitigate damaging floods and increase Egypt’s overall water share. Storing water in the cooler climes of Ethiopia would ensure far less water is lost to evaporation than in the desert behind the Aswan High Dam.

Egypt, however, is particularly concerned about the loss of water share during the five to ten years it will take to fill the dam’s reservoir. Tutwiler says it is unlikely that Ethiopia will severely choke or stop the flow of water.

“Ethiopia needs the electricity…and hydroelectric dams don’t work unless you let the water through.”

Source: ipsnews.net

Italy Intercepts Migrants from War-Torn Countries

(ROME) -- Italian officials have rescued more than 1500 people fleeing war in overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean Sea just off the southern coast of Italy.

As many as 25 children were in the 13 boats packed with hundreds of migrants trying to make it to Europe from Syria, Somalia and other war-torn countries.

The latest rescue puts the number of migrants intercepted in the last two days at well above 2,000 -- unusual for this time of year, when weather conditions are poor and few people embark on the dangerous crossing.

Authorities have arrested eight Egyptian men for human trafficking. The men are allegedly involved in a ring that transports migrants in large boats off the coast of North Africa and then transfers them into small, rickety boats for the remainder of the journey.

Tens of thousands of people have drowned risking the crossing.

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

Religious police found in nearly one-in-ten countries worldwide

BY ANGELINA THEODOROU

As of 2012, at least 17 nations (9% worldwide) have police that enforce religious norms, according to a new Pew Research analysis of 2012 data. These actions are particularly common in the Middle East and North Africa, where roughly one-third of countries (35%) have police enforcing religious norms.

For example, in Saudi Arabia, where President Obama will meet with King Abdullah later this month, the Muttawa religious police (formally known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) impose a government-approved moral code on residents of the country. The Muttawa enforce strict segregation of the sexes, prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcohol, a ban on women driving and other social restrictions based on the government’s interpretation of Islam.

Earlier this month, Saudi religious police destroyed an ancient burial site in the southern city of al-Baha after claiming the graveyard was un-Islamic. And last month, they conducted anti-Valentine’s Day patrols, monitoring businesses that were selling chocolates, flowers and red or heart-shaped souvenirs. 

Saudi Arabia is not alone in its use of a religious police force. In the Asia-Pacific region, police enforcing religious norms are found in eight of 50 countries (16%). In Vietnam, the government’s religious security police continued to monitor “extremist” religious groups, detaining and interrogating suspected Dega Protestants or Ha Mon Catholics. And in Malaysia, state Islamic religious enforcement officers and police carried out raids to enforce sharia law against indecent dress, banned publications, alcohol consumption and khalwat (close proximity to a member of the opposite sex), according to the U.S. State Department.

And in sub-Saharan Africa, two countries in the region (Nigeria and Somalia) have religious police. In Nigeria, the Hisbah (religious police) are funded and supported by governments in several states, where they enforce their interpretation of sharia law.

As of 2012, religious police forces were not present in any country in Europe or the Americas.

The data used in this analysis relied on 18 widely cited, publicly available sources from groups such as the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Crisis Group. Although it is possible that more countries have religious police forces than are reported by the 18 primary sources, taken together the sources are sufficiently comprehensive to provide a good estimate of the presence of these forces in almost all countries.

Read more about how the Pew Research Center study measures social hostilities involving religion and government restrictions on religion. 

ISI had special desk to handle OBL: Intelligence sources refute NY Times allegations

NEW YORK- Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) had established a special desk to handle late Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during the tenure of President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, according to The New York Times.

The report states that the desk ‘was operated independently, led by an officer who made his own decisions and did not report to a superior. He handled only one person: Bin Laden.’ The report citing a Pakistani official alleges that the US had direct evidence of the then ISI chief Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha knowing of Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. The Pakistani official told The NY Times that he was ‘surprised to learn this and the Americans were even more so.’ According to the official, Pasha had been an opponent of the Taliban and ‘an open and cooperative counterpart for the Americans at the ISI.’

The New York Times report also alleges that evidence recovered from Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad residence revealed regular correspondence with Jamat-ul-Dawa’s Hafiz Saeed and Mullah Omar of the Taliban who must have known he was living in Pakistan.

Further allegations in the report state that there were cells in the ISI working against and fighting the Taliban while some cells were supporting them. The report also suggested that Bin Laden reportedly traveled to Pakistan’s tribal areas to meet with the militant leader Qari Saifullah Akhtar. Informally referred to as the “father of jihad,” Akhtar is considered one of the ISI’s most valuable assets. According to a Pakistani intelligence source, he was the commander accused of trying to kill Bhutto on her return in 2007, and he is credited with driving Mullah Omar out of Afghanistan on the back of a motorbike in 2001 and moving Bin Laden out of harm’s way just minutes before American missile strikes on his camp in 1998. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he was detained several times in Pakistan. Yet he was never prosecuted and was quietly released each time by the ISI.

At his meeting with Bin Laden in August 2009, Akhtar is reported to have requested Al Qaeda’s help in mounting an attack on the Pakistani army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Intelligence officials learned about the meeting later that year from interrogations of men involved in the attack, the report said.At the meeting, Bin Laden rejected Akhtar’s request for help and urged him and other militant groups not to fight Pakistan but to serve the greater cause — the jihad against America. He warned against fighting inside Pakistan because it would destroy their home base: “If you make a hole in the ship, the whole ship will go down,” he had said.

According to the report Bin Laden said that Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and the Indian Ocean region would be Al Qaeda’s main battlefields in the coming years, and that he needed more fighters from those areas. He even offered naval training for militants, saying that the United States would soon exit Afghanistan and that the next war would be waged on the seas. Pakistani intelligence sources termed allegations made in The New York Times report as baseless, stating that no one was aware of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts.

.nation.com.pk

Up to 20 Bundeswehr soldiers are to Somalia

 

Soldiers in Saxony are adopted for her commitment to Afghanistan. The Bundeswehr is to be equipped with up to 20 soldiers participate in a training mission in Somalia. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt Photo: AP

Berlin - The German Armed Forces will be equipped with up to 20 soldiers participate in an EU training mission in the war-torn country Somalia. This was decided by the Cabinet.

The Bundeswehr has been involved to December in the training of Somali soldiers in Uganda, but first made the move of the mission in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, not for safety reasons.

Now from April to participate again two consultants and from August also three trainers. In Somalia for more than two decades fighting the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia against the central government. When conflicts and terrorist attacks, thousands of people have already been killed; over a million have fled the country.

Stay with the mobile offerings of the evening newspaper always up to date: via the iPhone app ( available for download in the App Store ), the Android App ( available for download in Play Store ) and the mobile sitem.abendzeitung-muenchen. de

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22-year-old Somali man an asylum seeker fears being killed

An asylum seeker detained on Manus Island has told a Papua New Guinea court he fears being killed, while another says transferees have to eat bread infested with worms.

The inquiry into whether asylum seekers' basic human rights are being tended to under the controversial border protection scheme has also heard an 'angry' Immigration Minister Scott Morrison had told them to not even dream about coming to Australia.

The inquiry, in its third day, has for the first time heard from asylum seekers detained at the centre.

One, a 22-year-old Somali man, told Justice David Cannings he lived in a constant state of fear following a fatal riot at the centre on February 17.

'What do you fear?' Justice Cannings asked.

'Many people, they will kill me,' the man said.

'Who?' Justice Cannings said.

'The people who killed Reza,' the man replied.

Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati, 23, was killed following a clash between detainees, security personnel, police and locals on February 17.

Police have yet to make any arrests.

The man, who told the court he fled Somalia five years ago after being targeted for recruitment by terrorist network Al-Shabab, became upset when asked if he was given any indication of how long he'd stay at the centre.

'Every time I ask about the process, they say don't know, long time,' he said.

'I am not a criminal. Even if I was a criminal the court would sentence me for a certain time.'

Earlier, a 25-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker told the court that in his six months at the Australian-commissioned detention centre, he often had to pull apart bread to get rid of worms.

The man said 'an angry' Mr Morrison visited the centre and told asylum seekers not to dream about coming to Australia.

'Even in your dreams, you are not going to make it to Australia,' the court was told Mr Morrison said to asylum seekers.

The man, who told the court he left his wife and two children in Iraq after being targeted by a terrorist group, said toilets at the centre were a 'miserable situation'.

'Four days ago, because they had knowledge of the delegation coming to the camp, they started to clean,' he said.

Justice David Cannings, who is heading the inquiry, and a court-appointed party visited the centre on Tuesday.

Asked by public prosecutor Frazer Pitpit how he felt about coming to court, the asylum seeker said he felt human.

'For the first time I feel I am human. No one considered me an asylum seeker,' he said.

Another, a 30-year-old Afghan man, said he had no complaints about the food and only felt safe when he could see G4S guards.

Justice Cannings asked him if the court found his human rights had been breached, what order would he like it to make.

'Just freedom,' he said. 'Please, freedom.'

The man said he preferred Christmas Island to Manus. 'We could go out, go running, get exercise,' he said.

The hearings continue in Lorengau, the Manus Island capital.

Source: skynews.com.au

'Somalia suicide bomber was Norwegian': Shebab

Local security hired by international agencies in Mogadishu. Photo: EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels on Wednesday identified a suicide car bomber who struck a town recently captured by African Union troops as a 60-year-old Somali man who held Norwegian citizenship.

The attack in Buulo Burde in the south of the country on Tuesday targeted a hotel crowded with army officers and was followed by an assault by Shebab gunmen, leaving several dead, officials said.

   

"The attacker of Buulo Burde was a 60-year-old man who came from Norway to fight the enemies of Allah," Shebab military spokesman Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab told AFP, naming the attacker as Abdullahi Ahmed Abdulle, a Norwegian national of Somali origin.

 

"He paid the sacrifice in order to be close to Allah by killing his enemies. The event is showing us that there is no age limit for jihad," the spokesman said.

   

The attack is the latest by the Shebab, launched in apparent retaliation for a new offensive to root them out of areas of the war-torn country still

under their control.

   

African Union soldiers, who are fighting the Shebab alongside Somali government troops, captured the small town from the Islamists last week.

   

The UN-backed AU force this month launched a fresh offensive against Shebab bases, with the gunmen largely fleeing ahead of the assault, only to later stage guerrilla attacks. Shebab fighters once controlled most of southern and central Somalia but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago.

   

Recent Shebab attacks have targeted key areas of government or the security forces, in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities that they are winning the war.

AFP (news@thelocal.no)

20- ruux oo isugu jira mas’uuliyiin iyo saraakiil oo ku dhimatay dagaalkii Buuloburde

Waxaa soo baxaya warar dheeraad ah oo ah dagaal iyo qaraxyo ka dhacay degmada Buuloburde ee gobolka Hiiraan.

Wararka ayaa sheegaya in weerar ismiidaamin ah oo lagu qaaday xarun ay ku sugnaayeen madax ka tirsan maamulka gobolka Hiiraan iyo saraakiil dhinaca ciidamada ah.

Abaanduulihoo ii ciidamada gobolka Hiiraan Col Maxamed Amiin  iyo guddoomiyihii degmada Buuloburte ayaa la sheegay inay ku dhinteen weerarka halka saraakiil kale oo ciidamada ah isuguna jira Soomaali iyo Jabuutiyaan ay waxyeelo isugu jirta dhimasho iyo dhaawacba ay ka soo gaartay weerarkan ismiidaamiinta ah.

Guddoomiyihii hore ee gobolka Hiiraan Yuusuf Dabageed ayaa wararku ay sheegayaan in uu ka mid ahaa dadkii ku sugnaa xarunta  la weeraray, waxayna warar an la xaqiijin ay tilmaamayaan in uu ku jiray dadkii waxyeelada ka oo gaartay weerarka.

Weerarkan ayaa ahaa mid markii hore uu ahaa ismiidaamin kadibna iskahorimaad hubeysan uu ku xigay. hase yeehee dadkii weerarka soo qaaday ayaan u suurtogelin inay gudaha u galaan hotel Camalow

Dayuurado helikabtar ah ayaa gaaray maanta Buuloburte iyagoo ka soo qaaday dadkii ku dhaawacmay weerarkii lagu qaaday Buuloburde.

Illaa iyo hadda ma jiro wax war ah oo ka  soo baxay dowlada ee la xiriira weerarkii xalay ka dhacay Buuloburde

Mo Farah to Donate Funds for A New Children’s Home to be Built in Hargeisa

The Mayor of Hargeisa  laying the foundation stone at the site Where the New Children Home will be Built

By Goth Mohamed Goth

The Mayor of Hargeisa Mr. Abdurrahman Mahmoud Aideed has laid the foundation stone for a state of the art center which will shelter orphans, street and disabled children through donations made by Somaliland born British international track and field athlete

Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony the Mayor of Hargeisa said “The new children home which will be built on these land donated by a Somaliland citizens , will be fully furnished with a school, dormitories, recreation facilities and a clinic on the premises to offer primary healthcare to the less fortunate children.

The two brothers Mr. Ahmed Ali Guled and Mr. Jama Ali Guled ,who donated the land in which the future orphanage will be build said they were happy that someone had finally come forward to help in the building of the home the two brothers went on to say they donated the land so as to improve the living conditions of less fortunate children.

“This home upon completion will make a sustainable difference that will not only make a significant impact on the lives of the less fortunate children but will also benefit the society as a whole and we hope others wealth citizens shall follow suit in donating towards the home”, Mr. Ahmed Ali Guled said.

Local Councilman Mr. Abdi Ali Yusuf who was among the dignitaries  present at the ground breaking ceremony said, “I am glad to see private citizens of this nation taking the lead in helping their fellow citizens and he also applauded the siblings for their generosity.

The donated land located in Heedho in the northern fringes KM from city center.

On the other hand the Mayor of Hargeisa revealed the Mayor of Djibouti city had pledged to assist the city of Hargeisa with garbage collection vehicles during his visit to neighboring Djibouti last week  and that the fellow Mayor of Djibouti city had will be coming to Hargeisa in May to sign a memorandum of understanding which will see the two capital partner to become twin cities.

 SomalilandPress.Com

Islamic Radicals Behead Two Christian Women in Somalia

by  Dave Bohon

A radical Islamic group notorious for its cold-blooded cruelty has beheaded two Christian women in a village in southeastern Somalia, forcing the townspeople — and the daughters of one of the women — to witness the murders.

Morning Star News, which monitors the persecuted church around the world, reported that on March 4 members of the Al-Shabaab militia herded residents of the port village of Barawa into the center of the town to witness the executions of the 41-year-old mother, Sadia Ali Omar, and her 35-year-old cousin, Osman Mohamoud Moge, according to sources cited by Morning Star. Before the murders one thug reportedly announced: “We know these two people are Christians who recently came back from Kenya. We want to wipe out any underground Christian living inside of mujahidin area.”

Somalis who have spent time in Kenya, which is predominantly Christian, have been especially targeted by the gang of terrorists. Residents of Barawa said that the two murdered women had been in Kenya until early in 2013.

Morning Star reported that the eight- and fifteen-year-old daughters of Omar “were witness to the slaughter, sources said, with the younger girl screaming and shouting for someone to save her mother. A friend helped the girls, whose names are withheld, to relocate to another area.” A resident reportedly said that townspeople were “afraid that the Al-Shabaab might continue monitoring these two children and eventually kill them just like their mother.

The Islamic Al-Shabaab killers, who had vowed to exterminate Christians from the region, had monitored the two women because they had not regularly attended Friday prayers at the local mosque. “The two people who were killed … did not take Friday prayers seriously, especially Omar, who claimed that she was praying in her house,” one resident was quoted by Morning Star as saying.

Islamic extremism tied to Al-Shabaab has been responsible for many deaths in Somalia in the past several months. Morning Starreported that gunmen killed a Christian man in Mogadishu in October of last year for the crime of sharing his faith. Two men armed with pistols “shot Abdikhani Hassan seven times as he approached his home after closing his pharmacy in Dharkenley District,” reported the Christian news site. “Hassan was survived by a wife who was pregnant and five children ranging in age from 3 to 12.”

Similarly, Al-Shabaab is linked to the murder of Fartun Omar, a Christian, in April 2013, months after they had killed her husband. In June 2013 members of the murderous group killed 28-year-old Hassan Hurshe, dragging him to the center of a town in southern Somalia and shooting him in the head.

Religion Today reported that the Al-Shabaab killers have murdered dozens of Christian converts from Islam since embarking on their campaign to rid Somalia of the faith. “The extremists, variously estimated at 3,000 to 7,000, seek to impose a stricter version of sharia [Islamic law] on Somalia,” reported the religion news source.

The Al-Shabaab group is most notorious for its September 21, 2013 attack on the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people in the process.

Source: henewamerican.com

After Crimea, will Scotland be next to vote on independence?

2013: Why is Scotland seeking independence now?

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

London (CNN) -- Exactly six months from now, Scots will go to the polls to vote on the future of their country.

It's a vote that could end Scotland's 300-year union with England and Wales as Great Britain -- and see it launch into the world as an independent nation of some 5.3 million people.

Russian lawmakers have drawn a parallel between Scotland's vote and the referendum held in Ukraine's Crimea region Sunday.

But any such comparison is disingenuous: The referendum in Scotland is being held with the consent of the UK government, it will be internationally recognized, and Scotland's people have had years to consider what is a genuine choice.

By contrast, the referendum held in Crimea was illegal under Ukrainian constitutional law and took place under duress, only days after armed "pro-Russian forces" took effective control of the peninsula. Voters also did not have the option of saying "no" to cutting ties with Kiev.

What are the Scottish voting on, and why?

On September 18, voters will be presented with a simple yes/no question: Should Scotland be an independent country?

The Scottish government, led by the Scottish National Party, says this is a "once in a generation opportunity" for Scotland's people to take control of the decisions that affect them most. A "yes" vote means that "Scotland's future will be in Scotland's hands," it says, and that life will be better and fairer for its people.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wants Scotland to remain part of an undivided United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He says that it is a decision solely for the Scottish people -- but that remaining part of the United Kingdom will give them security and strength. "There will be no going back," he warns.

Because the United Kingdom has no written constitution, there's no established law to govern the process. So these are truly uncharted waters.

What's the history behind this?

Scotland has long had a testy relationship with its more populous neighbor. The Act of Union in 1707 joined the kingdom of Scotland with England and Wales, but many Scots were unhappy at being yoked to their longtime rival south of the border.

Since 1999, Scotland has had devolved government, meaning many, but not all, decisions are made at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh. In May 2011, the nationalist Scottish National Party, which had campaigned on a promise to hold an independence referendum, surprised many by winning an outright majority in the Scottish Parliament.

In October 2012, the UK and Scottish governments agreed that the referendum would be held, and the question to be put to voters was agreed on early last year.

Dauvit Broun, a professor of Scottish history at the University of Glasgow, says one driving force for the vote is the widening gulf between the policies pursued by the coalition UK government in Westminster, led by the Conservative Party under Cameron since 2010, and what the Scottish people want.

Many Scots are strongly opposed to the current Westminster government's attempts to reform -- or in their eyes dismantle -- the welfare state. Illustrating that sentiment, there's only one Conservative MP in Scotland at present.

"Since the period of Margaret Thatcher, there has been a growing divide, and a sense that what Scotland feels consensus about ... has become more and more different to England," Broun says.

Looking further back, Scotland and England have been growing apart since the demise of the British Empire, Broun says. The decline of the Presbyterian church in Scotland, which provided a sense of self-government and Scottish identity, has also played a part in fueling the desire for independence, he says.

Who can vote?

Thanks to a bill passed last year extending the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, essentially everyone living in Scotland who is 16 or older on the date of the referendum will be able to vote.

This means English or Welsh citizens who reside in Scotland can take part. But Scots who are living elsewhere in the United Kingdom or overseas will not be entitled to cast a ballot.

It also means that the residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland get no vote on a historic change to the makeup of the United Kingdom.

What currency would Scotland have if it leaves?

This is another big but unresolved question. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, has said he wants Scotland to continue to use the pound in a currency union with the rest of the United Kingdom.

But the three main parties in Westminster -- David Cameron's Conservatives, their coalition partners the Liberal Democrats, and Labour -- have all said this won't be an option. The Scottish government responded that this was "bullying" from Westminster.

A Treasury briefing paper last month warned that "currency unions between sovereign states are fraught with difficulty" and advised strongly against entering into one with Scotland, citing uncertainty and the risk of insolvency as factors.

Despite this, Scotland could decide to use sterling unofficially, Broun says. Also unclear is what would happen to Scotland's share of UK debt if it's not part of a currency union, he adds.

"The UK government doesn't want to talk about something they don't want to happen, but as a result they've created uncertainty," Broun says.

Would an independent Scotland be part of the European Union?

It's still not clear how an independent Scotland would fit into the European Union. It's an important issue because EU membership brings economic benefits, as well as greater global clout.

Panos Koutrakos, a professor of European law at City University London, says Scotland sees EU membership as indispensable, even as Cameron has promised a UK-wide referendum on the question if he's re-elected next year.

By leaving the United Kingdom, Scotland would have to renegotiate its membership in the 28-nation bloc. The big questions are: How would this be done, and how long might it take?

The heads of the European Commission and European Council, Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, have said Scotland would have to apply for membership in the same way as any other independent state. This "hard position" means Scotland would have to negotiate an accession agreement with all the existing EU members, Koutrakos said.

The Scottish government says that since it's already a member as part of the UK, and abides by EU laws, it could join through an amendment to existing treaties -- a quicker and potentially easier route. The Scottish government says this could be achieved within 18 months of a vote for independence.

Could an independent Scotland pay its bills?

The Scottish government argues the country would be better off after independence, largely based on its taking control of revenues from North Sea oil and gas found in Scottish waters.

Salmond said this month that new government figures show the underlying strength of the Scottish economy. "Over the last five-year period, Scotland would've been £8 billion better off standing on its own two feet than as part of the United Kingdom," he said. "That's about £1,600 for every man, woman and child in the country."

The Scottish government says it would manage the energy industry better, invest to boost production, and create a wealth fund, similar to Norway's oil fund, to benefit future generations.

But not everyone agrees with the Scottish government's rosy assessment.

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies this month said the latest figures showed Scotland's budget deficit had worsened relative to the rest of the United Kingdom, thanks to falling North Sea revenues and higher public spending north of the border.

The IFS warns of the dangers of relying too heavily on a volatile and ultimately finite income source. "In planning for independence, the Scottish Government should be cautious in its fiscal assessment, and avoid building its budget on the back of optimistic forecasts for North Sea revenues," it said.

The Scottish government says the economy is diverse, with other key elements including food and drink, tourism, creative industries, universities, financial services and manufacturing.

What happens if Scotland votes 'yes' to independence?

A "yes" vote would mean Scotland splits from the rest of the United Kingdom -- that is, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish government anticipates it would become formally independent in March 2016, ahead of elections in May of that year.

Once it's independent, it says, tax and social security rates will be set in line with the wishes of the people of Scotland. Decisions will no longer be imposed by parties in Westminster.

Scotland already has an independent legal system and education system. Post-independence, changes to the law would be agreed to in the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish government says it wants to remove nuclear weapons from Scotland as soon as possible -- namely, the UK Trident nuclear submarine fleet based at Faslane. It cites different priorities for spending, such as social programs.

What would it mean for visitors?

Tourism is big business for Scotland -- and the Scottish government won't want to lose out post-independence.

But what would it mean for the tourists for so long drawn to Scotland's legendary offerings -- from its castles, lochs and misty moorlands, to its whisky distilleries, Edinburgh's stately architecture and Glasgow's vibrant urban scene?

It's unclear if the uncertainty over Scotland's future currency will discourage visitors from crossing from England.

The Scottish government intends to set its own immigration policy after independence. It has said it envisages "free movement across the border between Scotland and England" for UK citizens, in the same way as they can travel freely to Ireland. But its border controls will depend in part on its accession to the European Union.

The Scottish government says it plans to cut air passenger duty, making it cheaper for international travelers to fly into Scottish airports.

It's not just tourists who may be eyeing potential changes to immigration policy. More than 30,000 international students from more than 150 countries study at institutions in Scotland.

What's the mood?

Opinion polls suggest campaigners for a "yes" vote still have some way to go. A YouGov poll in February found that 52% of those surveyed would say "no" to Scottish independence while 34% would say "yes," up one point from the previous month.

South of the border, opposition to Scotland leaving the union seems to be strengthening, according to nonpartisan research group What Scotland Thinks. Polls conducted in the past month in England and Wales, for the Sunday Times and Observer newspapers, found only a fifth of those surveyed were in favor of Scottish independence, with just over 60% opposed.

Cameron says the loss of Scotland would leave the United Kingdom "deeply diminished." While only 4 million people will vote, he says, the result will impact 63 million within the United Kingdom.

It's not just the politicians who are getting involved. Singer David Bowie, in a Brit Awards acceptance speech last month delivered by supermodel Kate Moss, pleaded, "Scotland, stay with us."

Former Manchester United football club manager Alex Ferguson also opposes a split and has backed the "Better Together" campaign. "800,000 Scots, like me, live and work in other parts of the United Kingdom. We don't live in a foreign country; we are just in another part of the family of the UK," he is quoted as saying.

The "Yes" campaign also has some celebrity backers -- including former James Bond actor Sean Connery and comedian Frankie Boyle.

Connery, who can't vote in the referendum since he lives outside Scotland, wrote in the New Statesman that "the opportunity of independence is too good to miss."

Somalia car bomb targets African Union convoy - Africa - Al Jazeera English

A convoy of the African Union's (AU) AMISOM force has been targeted by a car bomb just outside the Somali capital, witnesses and a Somali army source have said, though it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

A spokesman for al-Shabab told the AFP news agency that the group carried out Monday's attack, saying it killed seven people, including three foreigners.

The attack took place near a checkpoint on the road linking Mogadishu and the town of Afgoye, "where a suicide bomber rammed his car into an AMISOM convoy," witness Abdulahi Mohamed said.

"There was a heavy explosion at the Alamada area ... we don't know about the casualties but I saw military ambulances rushing to the scene."

A Somali military official, Omar Adan, confirmed the attack, but declined to give the number of casualties. He however blamed al-Shabab fighters.

"Al-Qaeda linked militants, who have lost ground, are attempting desperate attacks," Adan said.

Regular deadly attacks

On Saturday, a car bomb went off in central Mogadishu near a hotel popular with government officials and businessmen, injuring at least one person, though no claims were made for the attack.

In February alone, major attacks in the capital have included a car bomb at the gates of the airport, a suicide attack on the presidential palace and a car bombing on a cafe close to the intelligence headquarters, AFp reports.

Al-Shabab fighters once controlled most of southern and central Somalia, but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago.

However, the group stages regular deadly attacks in the capital, and also claimed responsibility for last year's attack in neighbouring Kenya, when fighters stormed the upmarket Westgate mall, shooting shoppers and hurling grenades.

Government and AU troops have also come under repeated hit-and-run attacks in rural areas surrounding the settlements they have captured from al-Shabab.



Somalia car bomb targets African Union convoy - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Somalia car bomb targets African Union convoy - Africa - Al Jazeera English

A convoy of the African Union's (AU) AMISOM force has been targeted by a car bomb just outside the Somali capital, witnesses and a Somali army source have said, though it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

A spokesman for al-Shabab told the AFP news agency that the group carried out Monday's attack, saying it killed seven people, including three foreigners.

The attack took place near a checkpoint on the road linking Mogadishu and the town of Afgoye, "where a suicide bomber rammed his car into an AMISOM convoy," witness Abdulahi Mohamed said.

"There was a heavy explosion at the Alamada area ... we don't know about the casualties but I saw military ambulances rushing to the scene."

A Somali military official, Omar Adan, confirmed the attack, but declined to give the number of casualties. He however blamed al-Shabab fighters.

"Al-Qaeda linked militants, who have lost ground, are attempting desperate attacks," Adan said.

Regular deadly attacks

On Saturday, a car bomb went off in central Mogadishu near a hotel popular with government officials and businessmen, injuring at least one person, though no claims were made for the attack.

In February alone, major attacks in the capital have included a car bomb at the gates of the airport, a suicide attack on the presidential palace and a car bombing on a cafe close to the intelligence headquarters, AFp reports.

Al-Shabab fighters once controlled most of southern and central Somalia, but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago.

However, the group stages regular deadly attacks in the capital, and also claimed responsibility for last year's attack in neighbouring Kenya, when fighters stormed the upmarket Westgate mall, shooting shoppers and hurling grenades.

Government and AU troops have also come under repeated hit-and-run attacks in rural areas surrounding the settlements they have captured from al-Shabab.



Somalia car bomb targets African Union convoy - Africa - Al Jazeera English

U.S. Navy SEALs Seize Rogue Libyan Oil Tanker

 

U.S. Navy SEALs have seized a North Korean-flagged tanker loaded with oil from a rebel-held port in Libya. A separatist militia took control of the oil terminal in July 2013, demanding a greater share of the country's oil wealth. The tanker, the Morning Glory, evaded a naval blockade at the eastern port of Sidra last week, embarrassing the government and spurring the dismal of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. North Korea disavowed the ship, saying it did not provide authorization. According to the Pentagon, U.S. forces boarded the Morning Glory before dawn Monday in international waters off Cyprus, and took control of the tanker, at the request of the Libyan and Cypriot governments. The move may prevent further attempts by the rebels to sell oil on the black market. Meanwhile, a car bombhit outside a military base in the eastern city of Benghazi killing at least five soldiers and wounding another 14 people.

Bill on severing diplomatic relations with Russia registered in Ukrainian parliament

The proposal includes denunciation of the friendship and cooperation deal, as well as the agreement on the stay of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, valid until 2042

ITAR-TASS/Maxim Nikitin

KIEV, March 17. /ITAR-TASS/. A bill on Ukraine’s course to sever diplomatic relations with Russia, denounce Ukrainian-Russian treaties and apply for entry to the European Union and NATO was on Monday registered in the secretariat of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on an initiative from radical MP Oleh Lyashko.

The draft law contains a demand to Rada-appointed Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov to “declare full combat alert of the armed forces, conduct the nationwide mobilization of Ukrainian nationals liable for military service and create militia units.”

The bill also urges the self-proclaimed Ukrainian authorities to ask the governments of the United States and other NATO member countries “to provide the maximum possible material and technical assistance in the form of modern military hardware and armaments,” “sever diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation” and impose a visa regime.

Crimea Supreme Council terminates Ukrainian state bodies’ operation in republic

The proposal also includes denunciation of the friendship and cooperation deal, as well as the agreement on the stay of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, which is valid until 2042. The bill says the cost of Russian natural gas transit via Ukraine should be raised twelve-fold to $500 per 1,000 cubic meters and proposes terminating the transit should Russia refuse to pay the price.

In line with the draft law, the Ukrainian law enforcement should adopt “tough measures to stop any separatist actions” in eastern Ukraine. The bill also proposes banning Russian TV broadcasts and press distribution. It proposes stripping Ukrainians taking part in “separatist rallies” of Ukrainian citizenship, bringing them to criminal account and other measures.

Western sanctions against Russia are 

a counterproductive instrument - 

Russian FM Lavrov

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych left Ukraine in February after a coup in his country. He told reporters in southern Russia last Tuesday that he remained the legitimate Ukrainian leader despite “an anti-constitutional seizure of power by armed radicals.” Russia considers Yanukovych the legitimate Ukrainian president.

The proposal also includes denunciation of the friendship and cooperation deal, as well as the agreement on the stay of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, which is valid until 2042. The bill says the cost of Russian natural gas transit via Ukraine should be raised twelve-fold to $500 per 1,000 cubic meters and proposes terminating the transit should Russia refuse to pay the price.

In line with the draft law, the Ukrainian law enforcement should adopt “tough measures to stop any separatist actions” in eastern Ukraine. The bill also proposes banning Russian TV broadcasts and press distribution. It proposes stripping Ukrainians taking part in “separatist rallies” of Ukrainian citizenship, bringing them to criminal account and other measures.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych left Ukraine in February after a coup in his country. He told reporters in southern Russia last Tuesday that he remained the legitimate Ukrainian leader despite “an anti-constitutional seizure of power by armed radicals.” Russia considers Yanukovych the legitimate Ukrainian president.