School enrolment up in Somaliland

 School enrolment up in Somaliland

HARGEISA, 31 December 2009 (IRIN) - School enrolment has risen sharply in Somalia's self-declared independent region of Somaliland since 1991, raising the literacy rate from 20 percent to 45 percent, education officials have said.

 "School enrolment [in primary and secondary schools] has increased dramatically. In 1991, we had only 1,019 students enrolled in schools but by the year 2009 some 45,223 students were in school," Abdi Abdillahi Mohamed, the director of planning in Somaliland's ministry of education, told IRIN.

 Somaliland declared unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991.

 Ali Abdi Odowa, director-general in the education ministry, attributed the increase to rising awareness and the construction of many primary schools.

 "Hundreds of schools have been built both in urban and rural areas and adult education has also started," he said.

 Somaliland, he said, plans to ensure that at least 75 percent of the population is able to read and write by 2015.

 According to Mohamed, 225,853 students attended primary school and 21,331 attended secondary school in 2008/2009, while 26,156 were in adult education.

 Some 6,820 students are currently enrolled in technical colleges and vocational schools.

 "We have also added two social science subjects in high school - business and agriculture - which we hope will encourage high school leavers to be self-employed," Mohammed said.

 Pastoralists complain

 However, the ministry had received complaints from displaced persons and pastoralists about school fees and the lack of access by their children to schools.

 "Somaliland's constitution stipulates that all elementary and secondary education is free; there are no fees paid by students but of course there is what we call contributions paid by parents to support voluntary teachers and teachers' salaries," he said.

 In remote areas, the ministry has established a pilot project where teachers follow pastoralists and teach in mobile schools.

 "This project is in Togdheer region... Teachers and the school follow the pastoralists wherever they go, and we pay such teachers more than the others," Mohamed said.

 "We have also started school feeding centres: Pastoralists' children are fed in boarding schools in villages when their families are on the move in search of pasture."

  

Bombs Kill 8 Americans, 5 Canadians in Afghanistan

Bombs Kill 8 Americans, 5 Canadians in Afghanistan

VOA News30 December 2009

 

U.S. officials say a bomber detonated his explosive vest inside the Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province. The military said no U.S. or NATO troops were killed or wounded in the blast, but few other details about the incident were released.

U.S. media reports quote unnamed officials who said the eight Americans killed were working for the CIA.

Khost borders Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, where Taliban militants and their allies launch cross-border attacks. 

In a separate attack, the Canadian defense ministry says four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist were killed Wednesday when their convoy hit a roadside bomb while on patrol just outside the southern city of Kandahar.  

The journalist was identified as 34-year-old Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang.  A Canadian civilian official was wounded in the blast.

The Canadian newspaper says Lang is the first Canadian journalist to die in the Afghan war since Canada joined the international mission in 2002.  

In other news, a spokesman for international troops in Afghanistan says NATO so far has no direct evidence to back up Afghan government claims that foreign troops killed 10 civilians in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday. 

Colonel Wayne Shanks told reporters Wednesday that NATO has requested an immediate joint investigation into the incident.

Afghan government investigators earlier concluded that foreign troops killed civilians - including school children - during Sunday's operation in the Narang district of Kunar province. 

NATO released a statement Wednesday saying its forces were targeting insurgents when troops came under fire. The alliance says nine people were killed when NATO forces returned fire.

Hundreds of university students took to the streets in Kabul and in the eastern city of Jalalabad Wednesday to protest the killings.  

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Five Canadians killed in Afghan bomb attack: military

Five Canadians killed in Afghan bomb attack: military

(AFP) – 

MONTREAL — Five Canadians -- four soldiers and a journalist -- were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan by a bomb that exploded as their armored vehicle passed by, a Canadian general announced Wednesday.

General Daniel Menard, the head of Canadian forces in Afghanistan, announced the deaths on Canadian television without naming the victims.

Public television station CBC identified the journalist killed as Michelle Lang, a reporter with the Calgary Herald, who was on her first trip to Afghanistan and was the first Canadian reporter to die in the country's conflict.

"Yesterday Canada lost five citizens," Menard said. "Four soldiers and one journalist were killed as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on their armored vehicle during a community patrol in Kandahar City."

Menard said a Canadian civilian official was also injured in attack.

The soldiers were patrolling "to gather information on the pattern of life and maintain security in the area," he said.

"The journalist was travelling with them to tell the story of what Canada's soldiers are doing in Afghanistan," he said.

"On behalf of all the soldiers, airmen, sailors and special operators of Joint Task Force Afghanistan I offer our sincere condolences to the families and friends of our fallen," he said.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper also offered his condolences to the families of the Canadian soldiers who he said had "paid the ultimate price while courageously serving their country."

"Their sacrifice will not be forgotten," he said.

"Also fallen is a brave reporter, Michelle Lang, who lost her life reporting on the invaluable work being done by Canadian soldiers, aid workers and diplomats in Afghanistan," he added.

"While not regularly the subject of news, those journalists who risk their lives reporting alongside the men and women of the Canadian Forces in one of the most dangerous regions in the world should not be forgotten."

The deaths, which raised to 138 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, came just hours before a suicide attack that killed eight US civilians at a military base in eastern Afghanistan.

Canada has some 2,800 troops deployed in the Kandahar region, a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. They are supposed to return home in 2011.

Afghan suicide bomber attacks CIA base

Times Online

The US military base in Afghanistan that was targeted in a suicide attack on Wednesday was being used by the CIA, according to US media.

Most of the eight Americans killed in the attack on the base in the eastern Afghan province of Khost were CIA agents, the Washington Post reports.

If true, the attack is the single deadliest attack on US intelligence personnel in the eight years since US-led invasion of Afghanistan began.

The agency has acknowledged the deaths of four CIA officers in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion, according to the Post.

Meanwhile, in a separate attack four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist were killed when their armoured vehicle was hit by a bomb in southern Kandahar province on Wednesday.

It remains unclear how the Khost bomber was able to evade security at Forward Operating Base Chapman, which the Post said serves as an operations and surveillance centre for the CIA near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

He made it into a room being used as a fitness centre, where he detonated his explosive belt. The blast also wounded eight people several of them seriously, the Post reported. At least one Afghan civilian was also killed.

At least one Afghan civilian was also killed.

"It is the nightmare we've been anticipating since we went into Afghanistan and Iraq," John E. McLaughlin, a former CIA deputy director told The Post.

"Our people are often out on the front line, without adequate force protection, and they put their lives quite literally in jeopardy," he said.

U.S. military officials and diplomats confirmed Wednesday's attack and the eight civilian deaths. "We mourn the loss of life in this attack," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

Kingdom’s Islamic TV channels fulfill world demand

Kingdom's Islamic TV channels fulfill world demand P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has launched two satellite TV channels to spread the messages of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah (life and teachings) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) throughout the world. Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said Tuesday that the two channels could be viewed by people in Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, North Americas and Hawaii. The channels were officially launched Dec. 18 covering the Arab region while their programs were telecast on most international satellites on Dec. 24. The coverage of the remaining areas will be completed on Jan. 21. Khoja said the two channels were established by the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, adding that they were a gift from the king to the Islamic world. "King Abdullah wanted the two channels to reach all Muslims in the world," he added. Prince Turki bin Sultan, assistant minister of culture and information, said the launch of the two channels reflected the Kingdom's efforts in the service of Islam and Muslims. Referring to the ministry's plan to launch an economic channel, Prince Turki said the new channel would highlight the Kingdom's position as the world's 19th largest economy. Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East with the biggest stock market. There will be a fourth channel for culture and dialogue, he said. "King Abdullah considers dialogue a human, cultural and religious necessity in this world where all barriers have been broken down and the interests of people and countries are intertwined," he added. The ministry will also launch five FM radio stations shortly. It has already short-listed 15 companies to operate the stations.

BURUNDI: UN HELPS DISTRIBUTE FREE IDENTITY CARDS FOR NEXT MAY’S POLLS

BURUNDI: UN HELPS DISTRIBUTE FREE IDENTITY CARDS FOR NEXT MAY'S POLLS
New York, Dec 29 2009  9:10AM
One million Burundians old enough to vote next May will receive a free <"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2009/december/la-carte-didentit-pour-un-million-de-burundais-supplmentaires.en">national identity card, thanks to a campaign supported by the United Nations Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) and other agencies.

Previously, administrative costs and delays made it almost impossible for poor people to obtain the card needed to vote, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Executive Representative Youssef Mahmoud recently warned that a lack of funding was challenging the "significant advances" made in the small Central African country after decades of ethnic and factional war.

The campaign is especially targeting women living in the countryside and groups that are underprivileged or isolated. It will take only one day to create and deliver the cards, and UNDP has provided assistance to card issuance centres in 129 municipalities, which now have the necessary equipment.

The year 2010 will be a watershed for Burundi as it will be the first time that an election cycle has come to a conclusion without disruptions.

In his most recent report to the Security Council, Mr. Ban noted that while Burundi had witnessed significant progress in recent months, it needed help both to ensure successful elections and tackle challenges such as human rights abuses, corruption and weak institutions.

He said he remained concerned about reports of restrictions to the freedom of assembly and expression of opposition parties imposed by local authorities, and of militant activities of youth groups allegedly associated with certain political parties that were generating fear and suspicion.

Mr. Mahmoud said Council President Pierre Nkurunziza and the Interior Ministry last month urged political leaders to put an end to "these potentially destabilizing practices. While these statements seem to be heeded, the situation bears continuous scrutiny by the Minister of the Interior, all political parties and civil society organizations," he added.

At the time he said the UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) and UNDP were looking, as a matter of urgency, into practical ways to help potential voters who could not afford the administrative costs of acquiring a national identity card.

Culture clash tears Somali family apart

Culture clash tears Somali family apart

Six children taken by Social Services Buffalo News By Jay Tokasz NEWS STAFF REPORTER Malaika Sabtow, 28, holds photos of her six children, taken from her by Social Services. Somalian immigrant Malaika Sabtow raised five children in African refugee camps, surviving for 14 years without electricity, amid persistent drought and regular outbreaks of malaria and tuberculosis. But none of those 14 years, she said, was as bad as the past five months in Buffalo. That's how long it has been since the Erie County Department of Social Services took all of her children —she now has six, including a nursing 2-month-old daughter — and placed them in a foster home for reasons Sabtow doesn't understand. Sabtow, 28, wishes she were back in Africa. "At least I had the kids there," she said through a translator, Imam Yahye Omar. "Here everything is good, but if they are taking the kids from you, Africa is better." Supporters of Sabtow claim the county was overzealous in taking away her children and are concerned she and her husband, Madhey A. Khamis, are being treated unfairly because they are new to the country and don't speak English. Social Services Commissioner Carol Dankert said she could not comment on why the children were removed or whether they would be returned. "We do want kids to be with their families whenever possible," she said. The case is tied up in Erie County Family Court, where Sabtow is being represented by Buffalo attorney Oscar Smukler. "I think the kids have suffered immeasurably," said Smukler. "We're making a concerted effort to get the children back to their parents." Khamis received a letter in September from a county caseworker explaining that a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment had been "indicated" — meaning credible evidence had been found to support "the determination that you maltreated or abused the child(ren) named in the report." Child Protective Services became involved following a July 30 incident in the rented family home on Chenango Street, in which Khamis allegedly beat his 8-year-old son, Abdi Abdi, with a belt and tied the boy's hands and legs with rope after he misbehaved at school, according to friends of the family. Corporal punishment is acceptable in Somalia, according to friends, who said Khamis didn't intend to hurt his son. "They already understand that what the man did is a no-no here," said Osman Dualeh Abdullah, a longtime Buffalo resident who is from Somalia. Abdullah and others, including Omar, imam of the Islamic Cultural Association of Western New York, which runs a mosque on Connecticut Street, have tried to intervene on behalf of the family. "Child Protective Services, they don't know the culture. They need to be educated," said Omar. "There is a lot of abuse going on in America, but not with these people. Kids are the most valuable thing they have in the world." Dawoud S. Adeyola, vice president of the Connecticut Street mosque, wrote a letter to Dankert saying the family has been subjected to "brutal punishment" by the department and urging the placement of the children either with their mother or with a family that understands their language and culture. Muslim community leaders can assist with having the children returned to their mother and keeping the father away, if Child Protective Services still has concerns about him, said Abdullah. At the very least, the kids should be placed in homes more sensitive to their cultural needs, friends of the family said. The parents have told friends and others that the children appeared ill in their few supervised visits with them. The baby girl, Shamia, who is now 6 months old, has rashes on her body and constantly cries during the visits, according to Sabtow. Shamia was being breast-fed at the time she was taken from Sabtow. Shamia and her brother, Hassan, 5, were recently hospitalized in Women & Children's Hospital — and their parents were told by county staff not to visit. "We're afraid of the psychological damage to the children. Every time they go see them, the kids are crying, sick or suffering," said Abdullah. The children have been split among three foster homes — none of which is a Muslim family, said Omar, the imam. One of the boys, Mustaffa, 12, was pulled out of an Islamic boarding school and placed in School 19, even though his parents paid $3,600 in advance for the boy to attend the private school. According to Omar, Mustaffa told his mother that the people he was living with would not allow him to practice Islam. A daughter, Fatuma, 11, also has not been allowed to wear the traditional Muslim head scarf, Omar said. And none of the children was able to participate in Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, he said. Child Protective Services works closely with the area's four refugee resettlement agencies to make sure staff members understand cultural differences, said Dankert. "Certainly there are different beliefs held by different cultures, and we have to work to navigate those," she said. But the aim of the department is child welfare, and "if there [are] grounds for removing the children we always have to have our work scrutinized by the courts," she said. jtokasz@buffnews.com

Prince Alwaleed gets progress report on Eritrean charity work

Prince Alwaleed gets progress report on Eritrean charity work

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, receives at his office Eritrean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammed Omar Mahmoud. (AN photo)   Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), has received a progress report on his charity project in Eritrea. Eritrea's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Omar Mahmoud, met with Prince Alwaleed at his office in Riyadh to present the progress report from Eritrean Labor and Human Welfare Minister Askalu Menkerios. Alwaleed had contributed US$150,000 for the rehabilitation of children with physical disabilities in the north African country. Earlier this year, Alwaleed visited Eritrea upon the invitation of President Isaias Afwerki. Afewerki hosted a luncheon in honor of the prince and accorded him the Presidential Coat of Arms of Eritrea, which is a first class decoration. During the meeting in Riyadh, Alwaleed and the ambassador discussed general issues related to their respective countries and the prince's philanthropic contribution to Africa. Ambassador Mohammed commended the prince for his efforts in playing a vital role in economic and social development, referring to his investments in the local, regional and international arena. The ambassador also cited Alwaleed's generous contributions to people in need all over the world. The meeting was also attended by Dr. Nahla Alanbar, personal executive assistant to Alwaleed.

TACSI: MARXUUM MAXAMUUD SAALAX NUUR

Anigoo ku hadlaaya magaca Somaliland Democracy Shield waxaan tacsi u dirayaa xaaska, ehelka, qaraabada, xigaalka, iyo asxaabta uu marxuumku ka tegay meel kasta oo ay joogaanba . Sidoo kale waxaan tacsi u dirayaa Shacbiweynaha Soomaliland, gaar ahaan Gobalada Sool iyo Sanaag ee uu ka soo jeeday.

Alle ha u naxariistee MARXUUM MAXAMUUD SAALAX NUUR (FAGADHE), Safiirka Somaliland ee Frans waxuu ku dhintay magaalada Paris 27/12/2009 isagoo muddo isbitaal ku jiray.

MARXUUM MAXAMUUD SAALAX NUUR, waxuu ahaa aqoonyahan muddo dheer ka soo shaqeeyey safaradihii Soomaliya, waxuu ahaa Wasiirks arrimaha debedda ee Soomaliland dawladdii Cigaal. Waxuu Muddo dheer ahaa Guddoomiye xigeenka 1aad ee KULMIYE, isagoo hawshaas ka fadhiisatay kal hore dabadeedna loo magacaabay Safiirka Soomaliland ee Frans.

Waxaan Illaahay uga baryayaa inuu u naxariisto oo uu janatal fardows ku abaal mariyo, innagana dhammaan inaga siiyo samir iyo Iimaan.

Axmed Carwo

President

Somaliland Democracy Shield

Cardiff UK

samotalis@gmail.com

http://samotalis.blogspot.com/

AFRICA: Treatment failure going undetected

AFRICA: Treatment failure going undetected

JOHANNESBURG, 28 December 2009 (PLUSNEWS) - Too many HIV-infected patients in Africa are dying due to the difficulty of diagnosing and managing antiretroviral treatment (ART) failure in resource-limited settings.

 According to an opinion piece co-authored by several AIDS experts, which appears in the latest issue of British medical journal, The Lancet, the current criteria for detecting ART failure in Africa are "unreliable", with many patients going undetected and others being switched to more expensive second-line treatment unnecessarily, "at great cost to individuals, and to programmes".

 Most low-income countries lack the resources or the manpower to monitor patients on ART through the use of regular laboratory testing as is standard practice in high-income countries. In Malawi, for example, where only about one in four ART clinics have facilities to conduct CD4-cell counts (a measure of immune system strength) and even fewer can do viral load testing (a measure of the amount of HI virus in the blood), health workers mainly rely on clinical symptoms to detect treatment failure.

 But as the authors note, "ART clinics are usually busy and understaffed...In these circumstances, thorough clinical assessment is often impossible and new clinical conditions might be missed."

 Out of nearly 200,000 patients initiated on ART in Malawi by the end of 2008, 12 percent were known to have died and a further 12 percent were "lost to follow up", meaning they had not returned to a clinic for at least three months. Although nearly two-thirds of the deaths occurred within three months after starting ART as a result of starting treatment too late, the authors note that an increasing proportion of patients were dying later, most likely after developing resistance to first-line drugs and contracting HIV-related diseases.

 Clinical assessment can also be misleading, with symptoms of drug toxicity easily confused with those of certain opportunistic infections. Several recent studies have found that many patients are incorrectly diagnosed as having treatment failure and needlessly put on second-line ART.

 Commenting on recent results from the Development of Antiretroviral Therapy in Africa (DART) trial, which found that laboratory monitoring provided little additional benefit compared to clinical monitoring alone for patients in their first two years of treatment, The Lancet authors argue that the findings "do not take into account the poor performance of current clinical monitoring in routine practice".

 They write that there is an urgent need for a tool to diagnose ART failure that would be simple for staff at busy, undermanned clinics to use. One solution could be a rapid, viral-load test similar to that used for diagnosing HIV that relies on finger-prick blood sampling. The development of such a test could revolutionise ART management.

 The authors' second recommendation is for simpler, second-line ART regimens that could be administered by the lower-cadres of health workers who will be needed to manage an ever growing number of patients on life-long treatment.

 One possibility already being tested in several clinical trials, is to use a single class of antiretroviral drug known as a boosted protease-inhibitor. Monotherapy for second-line ART would minimise drug costs, reduce health-care provider error and improve adherence, but needs further testing.

 The authors conclude that building on the enormous progress made in scaling up ART in sub-Saharan Africa will require "simple, robust systems...to protect health services from being overwhelmed".

 ks/go[END]

Hawa Siyaad, "They killed my hope"

Monday, December 28, 2009 MOGADISHU, 28 December 2009 (IRIN) - Twenty-three people were killed in Mogadishu on 3 December 2009 when a blast ripped through a graduation ceremony. Among the dead was a 24-year-old final year medical student whose mother, Hawa Siyaad, spoke to IRIN about that fateful day. "My son asked me not to be late so I was one of the first to arrive. I closed my business [selling fuel] to be there. I was happy because I knew that my boy, Mohamed, would be going through the same ceremony next year. As the ceremony was in progress a huge explosion ripped through the hotel. Hawa Siyaad, the mother of a medical student who was killed in a recent suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia "All of a sudden, everything was in darkness. For what seemed like a long time I could not see or hear anything. I was dazed but everyone around me was scrambling to get away. I followed the crowd and then realized that my son was at the front. I started looking for him. There were dead and injured people everywhere. I finally found my son underneath an injured person. At first I thought he was also injured but quickly realized that he was dead. "I tried to pick him up but could not. I just sat there next to him until someone helped me carry his body. You cannot imagine the pain of holding your oldest child, dead. That day they broke my heart and took away my hope and dreams. "I worked so hard to put him through university. Every day, no matter how difficult - even with bullets flying around - I sat and sold fuel to make sure he got an education. He was our future and our hope. That day they killed my hope and the future of our family… He and his friends did not deserve to die like that before they had even begun their lives. "I know of no religion - not mine or anyone else's - that condones what they [the perpetrators] did. I will never forget or forgive what they have done to us." Source: IRIN, December 28, 2009

SOMALIA: Hawa Siyaad, "They killed my hope"

SOMALIA: Hawa Siyaad, "They killed my hope"

MOGADISHU, 28 December 2009 (IRIN) - Twenty-three people were killed in Mogadishu on 3 December 2009 when a blast ripped through a graduation ceremony. Among the dead was a 24-year-old final year medical student whose mother, Hawa Siyaad, spoke to IRIN about that fateful day.

 "My son asked me not to be late so I was one of the first to arrive. I closed my business [selling fuel] to be there. I was happy because I knew that my boy, Mohamed, would be going through the same ceremony next year. As the ceremony was in progress a huge explosion ripped through the hotel.

 "All of a sudden, everything was in darkness. For what seemed like a long time I could not see or hear anything. I was dazed but everyone around me was scrambling to get away. I followed the crowd and then realized that my son was at the front. I started looking for him. There were dead and injured people everywhere. I finally found my son underneath an injured person. At first I thought he was also injured but quickly realized that he was dead.

 "I tried to pick him up but could not. I just sat there next to him until someone helped me carry his body. You cannot imagine the pain of holding your oldest child, dead. That day they broke my heart and took away my hope and dreams.

 "I worked so hard to put him through university. Every day, no matter how difficult - even with bullets flying around - I sat and sold fuel to make sure he got an education. He was our future and our hope. That day they killed my hope and the future of our family. He and his friends did not deserve to die like that before they had even begun their lives.

 "I know of no religion - not mine or anyone else's - that condones what they [the perpetrators] did. I will never forget or forgive what they have done to us."

 ah/cb[END]

somalia's chaos spreading far beyond its frontier and coastline

Tristan McConnell in Nairobi http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6964496.ece

On the first Thursday in December a young Danish-Somali man in women's clothes blew himself up in a suicide attack in Mogadishu. Four days earlier, Somali pirates had hijacked a 300,000-tonne supertanker 800 miles out to sea. Somalia's abject failure does not end at its own borders: the chaos is spreading far across its frontiers and beyond its coastline.

Al-Shabaab Islamist insurgents denied responsibility for that suicide bombing. No one believed them. Civilians braved the streets of Mogadishu to protest against the attack that killed dozens of medical students and marked a new low in the country's violent history.

"It was unprecedented even by Somalia's bloody standards," said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst at the International Crisis Group. "They knew the civilian casualties would be massive and they didn't care."

Mr Abdi said that the attack, which killed three Cabinet ministers, underlined al-Shabaab's increasing thrall to al-Qaeda and its ability to attract recruits from Somali communities abroad. The bombing was "a classic al-Qaeda tactic. They don't give a damn what Somalis think. They don't care how many bones they break in achieving their aims," he said.

RELATED LINKS

• Warning that Somalia is becoming a terror haven

• Classic case of what not to do — but the West did

At al-Shabaab training camps in Somalia, new recruits are taught guerrilla techniques and bomb-making, and are indoctrinated into the ideology of martyrdom and suicide bombing by experienced foreign and local jihadis.

Young recruits from within Somalia are, commonly, paid gunmen who have few alternatives in their shattered country. Others come for ideological reasons either from the Somali diaspora in Europe, the US and the Middle East, or from elsewhere in Africa, South Asia and the Arab world.

Fears are growing that diaspora Somalis who come to fight will gain skills that can later be deployed in their host countries when they return. Bruno Schiemsky, a Somalia expert and former head of the UN arms embargo monitoring group, calls these young men "future time bombs". Already it is clear that the traffic is not one-way.

In March, a Yemeni extremist trained in Somalia blew himself up in the mudbrick city of Shibham, killing four South Korean tourists and their Yemeni guide. In Australia, some of those arrested in August and accused of planning to launch an al-Qaeda type attack on a military base in the country had allegedly travelled to Somalia for training.

Somalia's Government is under siege and its people are under threat of humanitarian catastrophe and arbitrary murder, but neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa are also increasingly embroiled in the conflict.

Observers agree that were it not for the protection of 5,000 African Union peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi, the UN-backed Government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed would collapse. Al-Shabaab has threatened attacks on both countries and one intelligence source told The Times that the group came close to carrying out a "Mumbai-style" attack on Kampala late last year. Peter Pham, associate professor at James Madison University in Virginia, believes that such an attack remains a real possibility: "The game-changer in 2010 might be al-Shabaab trying to launch an attack in Uganda or Burundi to get [the peacekeepers] out of Mogadishu."

As the insurgency gathered momentum, Kenya declared its 400-mile border with Somalia closed and its security agencies keep a wary eye on the frontier region and its own Somali communities. But the boundary is so remote and poorly patrolled as to render the closure meaningless.

Reports suggest that not only is al-Shabaab sourcing recruits among refugees and Kenya's ethnic Somali population but that Kenya — a strong backer of the Somali Government — has begun to press-gang young Somali refugees into a militia to combat al-Shabaab. Human Rights Watch says that since October, recruiters have paid Somali refugees to join a military training programme in Manyani, near Mombasa. The Kenyan Government has denied the claims but one analyst insisted: "Hundreds of Manyani graduates are now ready for deployment."

Kenya and Uganda risk being sucked into Somalia's war but Ethiopia and Eritrea are deliberately involved. Christian Ethiopia has long been an enemy of Muslim Somalia: apart from the religious differences, the two countries fought a bitter war over the disputed Ogaden territory in the 1970s. It took little coaxing from the US to encourage an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006 to oust the Union of Islamic Courts.

Eritrea, always keen to give its bitter enemy Ethiopia a bloody nose, has offered al-Shabaab training and hardware. Eritrea's denials are given little credence. "Eritrea is clearly responsible for a great deal of what Shabaab is doing," said Dr Pham.

After a call from the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a Horn of Africa regional grouping, the UN Security Council is this week considering imposing an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on Eritrea.

The aftershocks of Somalia's total lack of law and order are being felt beyond the region. In recent months, Somali pirates have launched attacks and hijacked ships more than 1,000 miles from their coastal bases.

Both are products of Somalia's chronic lack of governance, but there are no known ties between the alQaeda-linked Islamists and the pirate gangs. While the former wage an ideological battle, the latter are ruthless capitalists in it for the money.

After pirates kidnapped the British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler in October it was reported that Islamists, far from working with the pirates, were ready to launch an assault against them to seize the hostages.

Imams in al-Shabaab territory have declared piracy unIslamic. Its continuation indicates the weakness of al-Shabaab's grip on the Somali people. Far from garnering support for its extremist ideology, al-Shabaab "operates on the basis of intimidation and fear", said David Shinn, a Horn of Africa specialist and former US envoy in Africa.

The Middle East Looks Ahead: 2010 Predictions..Richard Cornwell on SOMALIA.

The Middle East Looks Ahead: 2010 Predictions

  The Media Line Staff  http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017362045#ixzz0aowoQUTs

Wajiha Al-Huwaidar - Saudi women's rights advocate "Over the coming year I think women will get the right to drive and start driving cars in Saudi, of course with certain restrictions. I also predict we will have another woman as a minister and a new law will end child marriages. As for female education, physical education will be introduced in government schools and we'll start to see sport clubs for women. In the political arena, I think Prince Khalid al Faisal [governor of Makkah Province] will take on a very important position in the government. He will play a crucial role in bringing real reforms to the Kingdom. Maybe all that is more of a wish list, but let's just call it a prediction (she said laughing). The point is I see some serious changes coming to Saudi over the coming year."

Dr Mehrdad Khonsari - Senior Research Consultant, Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies "I think there is going to be a major internal change in Iran, if not in the next year certainly in the next few years. If that takes place, as I think it is bound to, it will affect the entire region in a very positive way."

Dr Seyed Mohammad Marandi-Lecturer at the University of Tehran, Iran "Afghanistan is going to be big, both globally and as a domestic issue in Iran. The Americans are going to have a lot of trouble there, and just like Iraq a few years ago, I imagine that accusations from the U.S. on Iranian involvement in Afghanistan will gradually increase and cause a lot of tension between the two countries."

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi - Founder of Barjeel Securities and based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates "The five northern emirates of the UAE will be directly affected by any slow down in Dubai. Traditionally any projects launched in Dubai would have a direct positive impact on the northern emirates to varying degrees. Sharjah, Ajman and Um Al Qaiwain, served as less expensive lodging destinations for the latter's booming expat community. Ras Al Khaima and Fujairah, greatly benefited from a tourist influx because of their strategic and remote locations. So there is no doubt that Dubai's boom for the past decade has greatly benefited the entire country and that many of these emirates' inhabitants will be hoping that Dubai will be able to overcome the current financial crisis soon."

Yadullah Ijtehadi - Managing Editor, Zawya, a MidEast business news source Anyone who writes off Dubai, does so at their own peril. The city has never had much oil, but has always had lots of gumption. If Dubai can pacify investors over its various debt challenges, then the emirate can certainly benefit in the long run. For all its issues, the city has the region's best infrastructure; it remains the best city in the Middle East to live in. However, other cities such as Abu Dhabi and Doha are fast catching up and Dubai's advantage may not remain for long... Abu Dhabi is intent on making its mark and coming out of Dubai's shadows. Some might say it already has with the launch of the Yas Island Grand Prix circuit which spectacularly hosted Formula 1 to worldwide acclaim. Its purchase of high profile assets such as Manchester City Football Club also shows that the emirate is keen to announce itself to the world. Don't expect that to change anytime soon as long as oil prices hover well over $75 a barrel."

John Norris - Executive Director, Enough, the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity "Clearly, 2010 is a 'make or break' year for Sudan. I don't think we'll see a lasting resolution to the conflict in Darfur but what we will see in 2010 is whether the likelihood of the country splitting in two will be peaceful and well managed or whether it will be accompanied by wholesale bloodshed... This is going to be a seismic change. It will involve redrawing the borders and will involve wholesale movements of populations. So I think the north-south conflict will eclipse the situation in Darfur. Both sides are arming themselves and both sides seem to be preparing for war. Hopefully, the international community and the parties will get their act together. If not, Sudan will be in the headlines in an unfortunate way in 2010."

Richard Cornwell - Independent consultant and former fellow at the Institute for Security Studies "What we will see in Somalia is more or less violence. But it's highly unlikely that Al-Shabaab will stick together as an organization, never mind take over the country. We tend to have a very Western idea of what a state is, instead of understanding that the concept 'state' covers a very wide menagerie. To talk about some African states as failed is like saying that a dog is a failed horse. So Somalia is facing a long and protracted process and the Somalis are consistently able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A lot will depend on how the clans settle their problems, whether or not the Darood and Hawiye sit at the same table. Somalia will be impacted by how the international community, in particular the Americans and the Ethiopians, react to things. As unlikely as it seems, rapprochement between Eritrea and Ethiopia would have a very strong effect on the future of Somalia."

Dr Eckart Woertz - Program Manager Economics, Gulf Research Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Not everything is doom and gloom, there are some well positioned companies like DUBAL and Emirates Airlines and I think Dubai will recover. If Dubai cuts back decisively on debt and ill fated real estate investments and refrains from leveraged foreign acquisitions, then it will reemerge. Abu Dhabi will meanwhile continue to diversify its economy with petrochemicals, heavy industries and tourism."

Dr Jack Kalpakian - Political Expert, Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. "Unfortunately, there is going to be a lot more tension in the relations between Algeria and Morocco in the dispute over Western Sahara. Both sides have upped the ante discursively and are engaging in a small arms race. So I'd be very surprised if there is something resolved in 2010 because the discourse is getting harder on both sides and that's always a bad sign. On the domestic front in Algeria I think we will see many more attempts at using foreign policy to unite the country and as a way to create an Algerian body politic that can stand up to Morocco and Al-Qa'ida in Algeria. In Morocco I expect to see a period in which there is a stocktaking of the reform program and maybe even some consolidation - three steps forward and one step backwards. Some will see it as regression but it won't necessarily be so."

more:http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017362045#ixzz0awJUCt1B

Mousavi nephew killed

Mousavi nephew killed Ali Akbar Dareini | AP

SAVAGE ATTACK: Opposition supporters beat up policemen during clashes in central Tehran on Sunday. (Reuters)   TEHRAN: Iranian security forces on Sunday killed at least five people, including a nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, during the fiercest clashes with anti-government protesters in months, state television and witnesses said. English language Press TV said Mousavi's 35-year-old nephew Ali Mousavi was killed by "unknown assailants." Amateur video footage purportedly from the center of Tehran showed an enraged crowd carrying away one of the casualties, chanting, "I'll kill, I'll kill the one who killed my brother." In several locations in the center of the capital, demonstrators fought back furiously against security forces, hurling stones and setting their motorcycles, cars and vans ablaze, according to video footage and websites. Demonstrations also took place in at least three other cities. A close aide to Mousavi, a presidential contender in a disputed June election, said Ali Mousavi, died of injuries in a Tehran hospital. Mousavi's website and another reformist website, Parlemannews.ir, also said Ali Mousavi died during clashes in which security forces reportedly fired on demonstrators. The protesters in Tehran tried to cut off roads with burning barricades that filled the sky with billowing black smoke. One police officer was photographed with blood streaming down his face after he was set upon by the crowd in a blazing street.

Muslims will remain strong despite conspiracies: Kin

Muslims will remain strong despite conspiracies: King Arab News

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah receives Sheikh Arshad Madani at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA)   RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said on Sunday that Islam and Muslims would remain strong despite enemy conspiracies, including those by Muslim extremists. "I would like to tell you that the Islamic world today is strong by the Grace of God," said the king while receiving guests attending the Prince Naif International Prize for Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies. "Whatever the enemies do, including some Muslims who are enemies of Islam, would not affect the Islamic faith and Muslims. Muslims would remain strong with their slogan of monotheism, Lailaha Illallah Muhammadan Rasulullah (There is no god but God and Muhammad is His Prophet)," said King Abdullah. He further wished Muslim leaders, who came from across the globe, every success in their endeavors and urged them to become good messengers of Islam wherever they are. Sheikh Arshad Madani, president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and professor of Hadith at Darul Uloom Deoband, thanked the Saudi government for the warm welcome it accorded to the participants of the Prince Naif Award ceremony. Madani, the son of the renowned Indian Islamic scholar and famous freedom fighter, Sheikh Hussain Ahmed Madani, commended the Saudi leadership for winning a leading position for the Kingdom in the comity of nations and making the Qur'an and Sunnah the basis for governing the country's affairs. Sheikh Madani also noted Saudi Arabia's efforts in serving religion and supporting Muslim communities around the globe. "The good works of Saudi Arabia are not limited to Saudis or to Muslim countries but cover the whole world," he pointed out. The meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace was attended by Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif and top officials. Crown Prince Sultan also received the foreign guests and praised Prince Naif's efforts in the service of Islam and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He also underscored the great role being played by the Prince Naif award in promoting studies and research on the Sunnah. Speaking at the occasion, Yemeni Minister of Endowments and Guidance Hamoud Al-Hattar said the Prince Naif Prize was instrumental in encouraging Muslim researchers around the world to focus on the Sunnah. He praised the authorities for presenting a posthumous award to Sheikh Ahmed Shakir, a great scholar of Hadith who died 50 years ago, in appreciation of his contributions. The secretariat of the prize had received 420 research works relating to the four categories of the prize and rejected 138 of them for not fulfilling the set conditions.

Nigerian Charged with Trying to Blow Up Airliner

Nigerian Charged with Trying to Blow Up Airliner

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab read charges in a hospital where he is being treated for burns

Nico Colombant | Washington26 December 2009

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

News media pool reporters Peggy Agar, center, and Corey Williams, right, brief the media after witnessing the arraignment of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor


US to Review Security Procedures After Detroit Airline Incident

U.S. authorities have charged a Nigerian man with trying to blow up a plane on its descent into the city of Detroit on Friday.  The man, who comes from a prominent Nigerian family, was read the charges in a hospital Saturday, where he is being treated for burns.  

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman read the 23-year-old his charges in a room at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was asked if he understood the charges against him, and he answered in English that he did.

Witnesses reported he was in a wheelchair with a blanket over his lap.  

The U.S. government accuses the Nigerian national of bringing an explosive device onto Friday's Northwest Airlines Flight 253 plane from Amsterdam.  A preliminary analysis by federal authorities indicates he used a syringe to detonate a highly explosive substance, identified as PETN.

Passengers have told investigators the man went into the bathroom for 20 minutes before landing, and then when he went to sit down, said he had stomach problems, and pulled a blanket on himself.

Just as the plane was getting ready to land, they heard a pop, smelled smoke and then saw the man on fire. 

A Dutch passenger jumped on the Nigerian to subdue him, and blankets were used to put out the fire.  

The House Committee on Homeland Security chairman, Bennie Thompson, said it was a very close call. "We're just fortunate nothing happened. This was a serious situation," he said. Thompson said Congress will look into the matter as soon as possible. "As soon as we reconvene from the holiday recess, we will start looking into the circumstances around the Northwest flight incident."

Nigeria's acting ambassador to the United States, Babagana Wakil, immediately issued a statement, which he read to VOA over the phone. "Expectedly, the embassy is already in contact with relevant U.S. authorities over the incident to facilitate any preliminary investigations to get to the bottom of this unfortunate development. Officers from the embassy have already flown to Michigan to gain consular access to the individual under investigation, and to offer the mission's cooperation to federal and local authorities," he said.

The suspect's family members in Nigeria said they were shocked.  The suspect's father, an accountant and businessman,  was previously a very well known banker in Africa's most populous nation.  Friends and family said Adbulmutallab had studied in Togo and London, and that he had recently made several trips to Yemen.  

Friday, the White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism. U.S. media reports say the suspect told interrogators he had affiliations with al-Qaida.

The charges that were read against him Saturday carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
 

Somali Pirates Release Chinese Ship

Somali Pirates Release Chinese Ship

The official Chinese news agency says vessel under protection of the Chinese naval escort fleet


The official Chinese news agency says a Chinese cargo ship seized two months ago off Somalia has been released by its hijackers and its crew of 25 is safe.

Xinhua quotes the Chinese Marine Search and Rescue Center as saying the vessel (the De Xin Hai) is under protection of the Chinese naval escort fleet.

The report made no mention of the payment of a ransom of nearly $4 million.  The money was said to have been dropped by helicopter on the deck of the ship.

Th vessel, carrying some 76,000 tons of coal from South Africa to India, was seized in mid-October about 650 kilometers northeast of the Seychelles islands and 1,300 kilometers off Somalia's coast. 

The October hijacking was the first of a Chinese freighter since China deployed three warships to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa.

Somali pirates in recent years have seized dozens of ships, often getting muti-million ransoms for their release.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

VOA

An American Millionaire Becomes Muslim

Posted by: KING-slave of ALLAH ! on: December 24, 2009

An American Millionaire Becomes Muslim

Mark Shaffer, an American attorney and millionaire has declared his Islam in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, 17th October 2009. Mark was at that time on a holiday in Saudi Arabia to visit some famous cities like Riyadh, Abha and Jeddah for 10 days.

Mark is a well-known millionaire and also a practiced lawyer in Los Angeles, specializing in cases of civil laws. The last big case he handled was the case of the famous American pop singer, Michael Jackson, a week before he passed away.

A tourist guide who accompanied Mark for 10 days in Saudi Arabia, Dhawi Ben Nashir told: Since he set foot for the first time in Saudi Arabia, Mark already started to ask question about Islam and Solat. As soon as he arrived in Saudi, Mark stayed in Riyadh for two days. While in Riyadh, Mark was very interested in Islam. After moving to Najran, we went to Abha and Al-Ula. There, his fascination on Islam grew more obvious, especially the time when we ventured out into the desert.

Mark was amazed to see three Saudi youths who were in our group in Al-Ula, performing solat in the expanse of the very wide desert. A very fantastic panorama indeed.

After two days in Al-Ula, we went to Al-Juf. As soon as we arrived in Al-Juf, Mark asked if I could get him some books on Islam. I then obtained some books on Islam for him. Mark read all those books. The next morning, he asked me to teach him how to perform solat. I then taught him how to pray and take wudhu (ablution). Then, he joined me and performed solat beside me.

After solat, Mark told me that he felt peace in his soul. On Thursday afternoon, we left Al-Ula heading for Jeddah. He looked very serious throughout the journey reading those books about Islam. On Friday morning, we visited the old town of Jeddah. Before the time for the Friday prayer approached, we went back to the hotel and I excused myself to go for the Friday prayer. Then, Mark told me: I would like to join you for the Friday prayer so that I can witness myself how the Friday prayer is like. So I answered: welcome…

We then went to a masjid which was not far from the hotel where we stayed in Jeddah. Since we were quite late, I and many other jamaah had to pray outside, as the number of jamaah was overflowing. I could see Mark observing the jamaah, especially after the Friday prayer was completed, when everybody was shaking hands and embracing each other with radiant and happy faces. Mark was very impressed with what he saw.

When we return to the hotel, Mark suddenly told me that he wanted to become a Muslim. So I said to him: Please have a shower first. After Mark took the shower, I guided him in saying the kalimah of shahadah (declaration of faith) and then he prayed two rakaah. Later on, Mark expressed his desire to visit the Masjidil Haram in Makkah and perform solat there before leaving Saudi Arabia.

In order to fulfill his wish, we went to the Da'wah and Irshad office in the area of Al-Hamro', Jeddah, to obtain a formal proof of his conversion to Islam, so that he would be allowed to enter the city of Makkah and Masjidil Haram. Then, Mark was given a temporary certificate of his conversion to Islam. As a number of group members who participated in Mark's visit to Saudi Arabia had to go back to America on Saturday afternoon, Al-Hamdulillah, Ustadz Muhammad Turkistani was willing to send Mark to the Holy Land of Makkah that same morning.

Regarding Mark's visit to Masjidil Haram, Ustadz Muhammad Turkistani narrated: After Mark obtained his temporary certificate, we straight away departed heading for the noble Masjidil Haram. When he witnessed the Masjidil Haram, he face looked radiant and it emanated an extraordinary happiness. When we entered the Masjidil Haram and witnessed the Ka'bah for ourselves, his happiness increased. By Allah, I could not express that scene with words. After performing the tawaf around the noble Ka'bah, we performed the sunnah solat and went out of Masjidil Haram. I could see Mark very reluctantly wanting to leave Masjidil Haram.

After Mark declared his Islamic faith, he had the chance to express his happiness in Al-Riyadh Newspaper saying: I could not express my feeling at this time but I am being reborn and my life has just started… then he added: I am very happy. This happiness that I am feeling could not be expressed in words especially when I visited the Masjidil Haram and noble Ka'bah.

Regarding his next step after his conversion to Islam, Mark explained: I will learn more about Islam, I will delve deeper into this religion of Allah (Islam) and come back to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj.

As to what impelled him into converting to Islam, Mark explained: I have already had information about Islam, but it was very limited. When I visited Saudi Arabia and personally witnessed the Muslims there, and saw how they performed the solat, I felt a very strong drive to know more about Islam. When I read true information about Islam, I became confident that Islam is a religion of haq (truth).

Sunday morning, 18th October 2009, Mark left the Airport of King Abdul Aziz Jeddah heading for America. When filling in the immigration form before leaving Jeddah, Mark wrote ISLAM as his religion.

http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/an-american-millionaire-becomes-muslim/