Jamming in Ethiopia Virtually Silences Free Voice, Experts SayJamming in Ethiopia Virtually Silences Free Voice, Experts Say

Technology experts in Washington, DC say the recent blocking of Voice of America radio and Internet broadcasts by the Ethiopian government is likely to have a negative long term impact.

The Ethiopian government recently began jamming VOA radio and Internet broadcasts in the lead up to the 23 May national elections."If the government wants to remain accountable to its people, it has to lift its hand from suppressing independent media outlets," said Getachew Gebretsadiq, a software engineer from Emerging Media Group.

The prime minster of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, accuses VOA of broadcasting destabilizing propaganda and he has said publicly he is seeking ways to completely block it.

Voice of America recently invited a panel of technology experts to discuss the jamming of VOA broadcasts. Tigrigna`s People to People program host Tewelde Weldegebriel asked them to explain how Internet blocking and radio jamming works.

"Nowadays, there are expensive softwares that can prevent internet blockage, but big organizations like VOA may not want to engage in such war games," said Semere Taezaz, a former private newspaper editor in Eritrea, now a senior IT technician in Washington DC area.

The panelists agreed jamming radio broadcasts by Ethiopian government is "a severe act of censorship" which can only serve to increase the outrage of people in that country.

Battle for mogadishu

The U.S., European Union and their African allies are training and equipping the security forces of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government to try to take back the parts of Mogadishu now under the control of an Al-Qaeda affiliate. Large portions of the city, known to most Americans as the site of the 1993 ambush that prompted the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country, is controlled by the al-Shabaab terrorist group. Should Al-Qaeda and its allies succeed in seizing Somalia, they will be able to resurrect the network they lost in Afghanistan and activate their Somali networks in the West to deadly effect. Recent incidents show the terrifying reach of al-Shabaab. An individual in Virginia named Anthony Joseph Tracy that admits having contact with the terrorist group is known to have smuggled 270 Somalis into the U.S., all of whom are believed to remain in the country and have proven extremely difficult to identify. It is improbable that al-Shabaab would use its resources to sneak random Somalis into the country. The odds are that these are their recruits and they are being used to establish sleeper cells in our midst. Considering that less than 20 terrorists were needed to execute 9/11, the number of nearly 300 could have catastrophic consequences. A law enforcement report reveals that 23 Somalis suspected of being connected to al-Shabaab were arrested in Mexico early in the year as they planned to enter the United States. The Mexican authorities released the group on January 21, despite the fact that only 16 had been identified. One of those arrested was Mohamed Osman Noor, a member of al-Shabaab. It is not clear why the Mexicans released them but it is more than likely that the Somalis made their trip to the U.S. as they intended, albeit a little later than they had hoped. Read here

Human rights watch urges upcoming meeting to end Somali conflict

A global rights group on Wednesday called on participants to this week's international meeting on Somalia to press for an immediate end to abuses against civilians by militia and authorities in the East African nation.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the intervention of foreign governments in Somalia, including some represented in the contact group, has often proved counterproductive to promoting the security of civilians.
"The Cairo meeting is an important opportunity for the key international players to begin to fix their broken policies on Somalia," said Georgette Gagnon, HRW Africa director.

"The place to start is to support an international commission of inquiry into abuses by all sides," Gagnon said. She said abuses by Somalia's transitional government, African Union forces, and armed opposition groups should be stopped.

The International Contact Group, which brings together governments and intergovernmental institutions including the United States, European states, the African Union, the Arab League, and the United Nations to coordinate policy on Somalia, will meet on April 21-22 in Cairo, Egypt.

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Thai Fishermen Seized by Somali Pirates in Long-Distance Hijacking

Somali pirates hijacking vessels at sea have become an almost daily occurrence. But the latest incident is raising the alarm far from the East African coast.
It is a scenario that has become all but routine – an act of piracy on the high seas by Somalis. This time the pirates have hijacked three fishing vessels from Thailand (and operating from Djibouti) with a total crew of 77 Thais aboard the ships. But what is unusual is that it has taken place more than 1,900 kilometers east of the African coast.

Commander John Harbour is at the European Union's Naval Force Maritime Security Center in London.

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Turkey to host conference on SomaliaTurkey to host conference on Somalia

Turkey plans to hold an international conference on the political situation in Somalia in which measures to fight piracy off the coast of the African country will be discussed.

According to Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Losada, the international conference on Somalia is scheduled to be held in Istanbul in mid-May.

The Spanish foreign minister said on Tuesday that the conference would also be examining the effects of international assistance to the interim government of Somalia, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Losada also stated that the idea of an international conference on Somalia was first put forward last year by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Somalia has been beset by unrest since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

In addition, the Somali coast has been infested by piracy in recent years.

Attacks by heavily-armed Somali raiders in speedboats have prompted foreign navies to patrol the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and to provide escorts for commercial vessels travelling in the area.

Goldman Sachs implicated in shorting Lehman shares

The Wall Street behemoth is already being investigated by a number of financial regulators around the world in addition to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud charges over derivatives mis-selling. It has now been named in a court filing seeking information about short-selling Lehman shares.

Goldman has been subpoenaed to hand over documents to Lehman’s Bryan Marsal, the man responsible for winding up the bank’s affairs and repaying creditors. Goldman was named in the court filing along with four other firms, including hedge funds SAC Capital and Citadel. Goldman declined to comment on the Lehman case.

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Sniper funny iraq sniper training gone wrong

How’s That Appeasement Working Out?

The international community has rendered its judgment on the elections just completed in Sudan -- and it's painstakingly mild and conscientiously balanced. The European Union noted "important deficiencies against international standards," but nevertheless deemed them a "crucial" step toward national reconciliation. Major donors Britain, Norway, and the United States, known as the Sudan Troika, likewise took "note" of "initial assessments ... including the judgment that the elections failed to meet international standards." The Carter Center commended the "increased political and civic participation" surrounding the ballot.

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PM: Stop refined oil exports to Iran

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on the United States and the international community Monday to halt Iran’s nuclear program by refusing to export refined petroleum to that country.

If the United Nation’s Security Council fails to impose this kind of “crippling sanction” on Iran, then the US and the international community should take this step on their own, Netanyahu said, in a lengthy interview with ABC.

“If you stop… Iran from importing refined petroleum – that’s a fancy word for gasoline – then Iran simply doesn’t have refining capacity, and this regime comes to a halt. I think that’s crippling sanctions,” the prime minister said.

“Now if the UN Security Council doesn’t pass it because they’ll dilute the resolution to get acquiescence of their members, then certainly the United States and other willing partners in the international community can enforce these sanctions outside the Security Council,” he went on.

“There is a way to deliver these crippling sanctions. This should be done now,” Netanyahu asserted.

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Ottoman dreaming

MBOMBO IBRAHIM MOUBARAK, an Islamic cleric who runs Cameroon’s Islamic humanitarian-assistance programme, has a dream. “Turkey must reclaim its mantle as leader of the Islamic world,” he said on March 17th, as Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish president to visit Cameroon and Congo. Mr Moubarak believes that Turkey’s brand of moderate Islam, which embraces Western-style democracy and the free market, offers a model for Africa’s Muslims. He sees nothing sinister about the mosques, madrassas and schools built, restored or run by Sunni Turks across the continent.

Mr Gul’s African expedition was more about finding new markets than new converts, which helps to explain the presence of some 140 Turkish businessmen in his entourage. The economic crisis has hit Turkey’s trade with the rest of Europe. So the “Anatolian tigers”—small-and medium-sized entrepreneurs from Turkey’s conservative heartland—are eyeing opportunities in Africa. And Africans are responding with enthusiasm. In Yaoundé your correspondent was approached in the loo of a five-star hotel by a Cameroonian lady saying “I want to sell timber to Turkey.”

The Turks in turn want to sell Africans a range of finished goods, from washing powder to jeans. Turkish contractors are angling to build airports, housing and dams. Turkish Airlines now has regular flights to Addis Ababa, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi. Mehmet Buyukeksi, president of Turkey’s exporters’ association, says that Turkish exports to Africa have leapt from $1.5 billion in 2001 to over $10 billion in 2009. “We believe in the future of Africa,” he declares.

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What's the matter with the world today?

People like me tend to focus on problems, mostly because we are interested in finding ways to address them and thereby improve the human condition. Nonetheless, we should occasionally remind ourselves that all is not doom-and-gloom. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the state of the world today, and maybe even about the future. The overall level of global violence is at historic lows (despite some tragic conflicts that still defy solution), the world economy has done very well over the past half-century (despite its recent problems) and life expectancy, public health, and education levels have risen dramatically in many parts of the world (though conditions in a few places have deteriorated badly).

So Cassandra-like pessimism may not be appropriate, even for a realist. Nonetheless, I am beginning to wonder if our

ability to deal with various global problems is decreasing, mostly due to the deterioration of political institutions at both the global and domestic level. Here are some tentative thoughts in that direction.

One way to think about the current state of world politics is as a ratio of the number of important problems to be solved and our overall "problem-solving capacity." When the ratio of "emerging problems" to "problem-solving capacity" rises, challenges pile up faster than we can deal with them and we end up neglecting some important issues and mishandling others. Something of this sort happened during the 1930s, for example, when a fatal combination of global economic depression, aggressive dictatorships, inadequate institutions, declining empires, and incomplete knowledge overwhelmed leaders around the world and led to a devastating world war.

Human society is not static, which means that new challenges are an inevitable part of the human condition. New problems arise from the growth of societies, from new ideas, from our interactions with the natural world, and even from the unintended consequences of past successes. As a result, policymakers are always going to face new problems, even when the old ones remain unresolved.

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Before Kyrgyz Uprising, Dose of Russian Soft Power

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Shortly before the uprising in Kyrgyzstan two weeks ago, online news sites posted a series of hard-hitting exposés accusing the family of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of skimming money from the public coffers, an allegation that touched a nerve in this poor country and galvanized opposition to his government.
When the authorities responded by blocking the Web sites on local servers, complaints came in from the usual places — the Committee to Protect Journalists and Freedom House — but also from an unlikely advocate for free media in the wired world: the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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Ousted Kyrgyz present takes refuge in

INSK, Belarus — Kyrgyzstan's ousted president was in exile in Belarus on Tuesday, as the interim authorities controlling the Kyrgyz capital warned he would be imprisoned if he tried to return to the Central Asian country.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who fled the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek after an April 7 protest rally that exploded into gunfire and left 85 people dead, had taken refuge last week in neighboring Kazakhstan, then left Monday for an unannounced destination.

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that "Bakiyev and his family are in Minsk under the protection of our state and me personally."

His presence, however, could exacerbate Belarus' tensions with both the West and neighboring Russia, as well as with Kyrgyzstan itself.

"We have a mutual obligation to extradite criminals," said Edil Baisalov, chief of staff for interim Kyrgyz leader Roza Otunbayeva. "We expect Belarus to provide protection and security for Bakiyev until he faces justice in Kyrgyzstan for his bloody crimes."

He accused Bakiyev of being responsible for the Bishkek bloodshed

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The Search for White Jihadists

CAIRO — Al Qaeda and its ideological allies are using English-language Web sites and forums to encourage non-Arabic speakers to make war on the West as terrorists seek the next Fort Hood shooters and “Jihad Janes.”

Their goal to widen the pool of prospective terrorists beyond traditional Middle Eastern and Asian sources is part of a search for “white Al Qaeda” activists who could foil racial profiling and initiate attacks, according to Evan Kohlmann, a consultant with FlashPoint Partners, a security research company based in New York. The effort is consistent with the gradual decentralization of Islamic-inspired holy war, he said in a telephone interview.

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Footage of alleged vote rigging in Sudan

Kenyan official warns over political infighting in Somalia

A Kenyan assistant minister warns that the current political squabbling in Somalia parliament would lead to collapse of the fragile Un-backed Somali government if not addressed urgently.

Aden Barre Duale, Kenya's assistant minister for livestock, has called on the top leadership of the Somali TFG to take control of the situation and help mediate between the feuding political opponents in the parliament.

"The TFG leaders should urgently intervene between lawmakers to stop the dispute, if they fail to do so, then the government would certainly collapse," he said

"The lawmakers should go back to the law, because arguing about the expiry of the term of the parliament would not be a good idea. It is best for them to go back to the law that they set, and follow it," he added.

Duale said Kenya, like any other Somalia’s friend, would play its role in making sure that the current transition administration would not be another failed attempt to bring peace and stability to the war-torn country.

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Uganda to Spend $26 Billion on Development, Monitor Reports

April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Uganda intends spending 54 trillion shillings ($26 billion) on a five-year national development plan expected to raise citizens’ wages to middle-income levels by 2015, the Daily Monitor reported.

The plan may enable the country to increase average annual salaries 1.8 million shillings from 1 million shillings, the Kampala-based newspaper reported, citing President Yoweri Museveni. The plan will focus on investing in the energy, railway, water, air transport, health and education industries, it reported.

Uganda launches national development plan

News round-up: Museveni hopes NDP has set Uganda on the path to become a middle-income country; Uganda maternal mortality rates among highest in world; religious leaders caution over condoms; farmers urged to go organic

President Yoweri Museveni yesterday outlined a series of proposals intended to firmly set Uganda on the path to becoming a middle-income country.

Unveiling the country's five-year National Development Plan (NDP), Museveni put infrastructure and the private sector at the heart of his proposals to increase the country's earning capabilities between now and 2015.

According to reports, the NDP aims to increase the annual earning potential of all Ugandans by around UShs 800,000 a year (around $380), from the UShs 1m to UShs 1.8m, over the next five years.

The Daily Monitor said the implementation of the plan will see the proportion of people living below the poverty line will fall from 31% to 25%.

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Ethiopia - Djibouti: Row erupts over new port directive

A row has erupted between Ethiopia and the government of Djibouti over the latter’s promulgation of a new directive, issued last week, that will see Ethiopia lose millions of dollars in port operations.

The directive establishes a monopoly, in favor of Maersk Djibouti Freight Station, over operations involving the stuffing and unstuffing of containers at the Djibouti port.

The operation, which was hitherto handled by all forwarding companies, could cost Ethiopia some 9 million dollars per year.

Talking to a local newspaper, Fortune, Mekonnen Abera, director general of Ethiopian Port Affairs Authority said the directive violates a 2002 bilateral agreement between the two countries.

Under the agreement, Djibouti is expected to provide Ethiopia with a 60 day notification prior to price increments or actions that affect the port’s operations.

“It is a huge decision. We need to talk and want the case to remain pending in the meantime,” Mekonnen said ahead of a planned official visit to Djibouti, next week, to closely examine the issue with his Djibouti counterpart.

Ethiopian Freight Forwarders and Shipping Agents Association have also complained about the directive.

In a letter addressed to Aden Ahmed Dualeh, board chairman of Djibouti port authority, the association argues that third party handling in what concerns container stuffing and unstuffing operations could lead to a confusion over who should bear responsibility in case of damage, shortage or mixing of cargos.

In line with the directive, Maersk has already imposed a 100 dollar tariff per container that enters its premises for stuffing or unstuffing.

Ethiopia has an average of 100,000 in-bound containers unstuffed and an average of 30,00-40,000 out-bound containers stuffed at the Djibouti port per

Egypt warns against Nile Basin pact

CAIRO — Egypt insisted Monday on its traditional share of the Nile river and warned basin countries against signing a water-sharing agreement in which it is excluded.

The warning came days after Nile basin countries meeting in Egypt failed to agree on a framework to reallocate shares from the river, a longstanding demand by several up-stream countries.

"Egypt's share of the Nile's water is a historic right that Egypt has defended throughout its history," Mohammed Allam, minister of water resources and irrigation, told parliament.

Allam added that Egypt saw the matter as a national security issue.

"Egypt reserves the right to take whatever course it sees suitable to safeguard its share," he said.

"If the Nile basin countries unilaterally signed the agreement it would be considered the announcement of the Nile Basin Initiative's death," Allam added.

The Nile Basin Initiative, the World Bank funded umbrella group of Nile basin countries, has put off signing a water sharing pact over objections from Egypt and Sudan.

At the heart of the dispute is a 1929 agreement between Egypt and Britain, acting on behalf of its African colonies along the 5,584-kilometre (3,470-mile) river, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects.

An agreement between Egypt and Sudan in 1959 allowed Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres of water each year -- 87 percent of the Nile's flow -- and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic metres.

Some of the Nile Basin countries, which include Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, say past treaties are unfair and they want an equitable water-sharing agreement that would allow for more irrigation and power projects.

Egypt, a mostly arid country that relies on the Nile for the majority of its water, argues up-stream countries could make better use of rainfall and have other sources of water.

Ethiopia accuses Egypt of delaying Nile treaty

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia said Tuesday that it would go ahead with a new deal with six other countries on sharing the waters of the Nile and accused Egypt of "dragging its feet" on a more equitable treaty.

The new agreement replaces a 1929 colonial-era treaty between Egypt and Britain, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects. The country also has access to most of the water from one of the world's longest rivers.

"Ethiopia and six other countries in east and central Africa will sign on May 14 a framework agreement on the equitable utilisation of the Nile river," Ethiopian government spokesman Shimelis Kemal told reporters.

"It's a deal based on international customary law, but Egypt is dragging its feet. All seven countries have rejected the previous agreement between Egypt and colonial Britain," he said.

Egyptian Water Resources Minister Mohammed Allam on Monday warned Nile basin countries against inking the deal which excluded his country.

Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda agreed to the new deal on April 13, only to be shunned by both Egypt and Sudan -- the river's two largest consumers.

At the heart of the dispute is the 1929 agreement between Egypt and Britain, acting on behalf of its African colonies along the 5,584-kilometre (3,470-mile) river, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects.

An agreement between Egypt and Sudan in 1959 allowed Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres of water each year -- 87 percent of the Nile's flow -- and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic metres.

Some of the Nile Basin countries say past treaties are unfair and they want an equitable water-sharing agreement that would allow for more irrigation and power projects.

Egypt, a mostly arid country that relies on the Nile for the majority of its water, argues up-stream countries could make better use of rainfall and have other sources of water.

Pentagon to boost Yemen's special operations forces

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon plans to boost U.S. military assistance to Yemen's special operations forces to lead an offensive targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, officials said on Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates in February authorized $150 million in security assistance for Yemen for fiscal 2010, up from $67 million last year, but the Pentagon has offered few details about the highly sensitive program.

Officials briefed on the matter said the Pentagon informed Congress that it would provide $34 million in "tactical assistance" to Yemen's special operations forces.

"Special Operations forces are uniquely qualified for counterterrorism missions," a U.S. defense official said of the funding. "The United States wants to work with partners in the region to address their terrorist threats."

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Israelis Debate Striking Iran Without U.S. Consent

ERUSALEM—The Israeli security establishment is divided over whether it needs Washington's blessing if Israel decides to attack Iran, Israeli officials say, as the U.S. campaign for sanctions drags on and Tehran steadily develops greater nuclear capability.

Some officials here fear that Washington is willing to live with a nuclear-armed Iran, an eventuality that Israel says it won't accept. Compounding Israeli concerns were U.S. statements this past weekend that underscored U.S. resistance to a military option. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday discussed a memo to National Security Adviser James Jones warning that the U.S. needed new strategies, including how to contain a nuclear Iran—suggesting that Iran could reach nuclear capability without any foreign military force trying to stop it.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated Sunday the U.S. position that a military strike against Iran is a "last option."

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Turkey offers to mediate on Iran's nuclear programme

Turkey has offered to mediate between Iran and the West in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.

The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, announced the offer after talks with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.

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Obama affirms 'unbreakable' US-Israel ties

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has said on the Jewish state's 62nd anniversary that the United States shares an "unbreakable bond" with Israel and he was confident the relationship "will only be strengthened" into the future.

Despite tensions between Obama and the government of hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US leader stressed that he looks "forward to continuing our efforts with Israel to achieve comprehensive peace and security in the region, including a two-state solution."

On the anniversary, Obama said in a statement released by the White House that "we once again honor the extraordinary achievements of the people of Israel, and their deep and abiding friendship with the American people."

On Sunday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States "will not waver in protecting Israel's security and promoting Israel's future," while noting while the Jewish state is "confronting some of the greatest challenges in its history, but its promise and potential have never been greater."

Clinton also pointed out that in 1948 it took President Harry Truman just 11 minutes to recognize the state of Israel.

"And ever since, the United States has stood with you in solidarity."

Ties have frayed this year, however. In March, during a visit to the country by US Vice President Joe Biden, Israeli officials announced plans to build 1,600 Jewish settlements in annexed east Jerusalem.

Clinton later called the Israeli move "insulting."

Just days ago Clinton called on Netanyahu to prove his commitment to a Palestinian state, warning that prolonged conflict only strengthened extremists.

Are pirate ransoms legal? Confusion over US order

NAIROBI, Kenya — Shipping companies with U.S. interests don't know if they are allowed to pay ransoms to Somali pirates anymore after President Obama declared them an "extraordinary threat," even as pirates extended their reach farther than ever toward Asia, hijacking three Thai vessels, officials said Tuesday.

A total of 77 crew members were taken Sunday in the hijackings 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) east of Somalia in the Indian Ocean — the farthest from the Somali coast pirates have ever attacked, the EU Naval Force said. Pirates now hold 14 vessels and 305 hostages, the International Maritime Bureau said.

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ICG: Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents

This report from the International Crisis Group examines the potential for conflict in Ethiopia ahead of the June 2010 elections as ethnic tensions and dissent rises. The report urges the international community to encourage more meaningful democratic governance in the country.

The Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by its chairman and prime minister, Meles Zenawi, has radically reformed Ethiopia's political system. The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the Federal Democratic Republic and also redefined
citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds. The intent was to create a more prosperous, just and representative state for all its people. Yet, despite continued economic growth and promised democratisation, there is growing discontent with the EPRDF's ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued interethnic conflict. The international community should take Ethiopia's governance problems much more seriously and adopt a more principled position towards the government. Without genuine multi-party democracy, the tensions and pressures in Ethiopia's polities will only grow, greatly increasing the possibility of a violent eruption that would destabilise the country and region

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How Iceland's volcano sears Kenya's crops

When the Iceland volcano with an unpronounceable name erupted last week, most Kenyans must have reacted in more or less the same way as they did when a massive earthquake hit Haiti in January. They viewed it as another sad phenomenon affecting a faraway land. Other than in pictures, most have never seen a volcano erupt anyway and, therefore, the Icelandic phenomenon was nothing more than a spectral enactment of one of nature's wonders.

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With Flights Grounded, Kenya’s Produce Wilts

NAIROBI, Kenya — When Kenneth Maundu, general manager for Sunripe produce exporters, first heard about a volcano erupting in Iceland, he was excited. “I thought, ‘Oh, wow, a volcano,’ ” he said.
And then reality hit him in the face like a hurled tomato.

Because Kenya’s gourmet vegetable and cut-flower industry exports mainly to Europe, and because the cloud of volcanic ash has grounded flights to much of northern Europe since Thursday, its horticultural business has been waylaid as never before.

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New Strategy to Resolve the Somali Conflict

I hereby forward to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) institutions, wider Somali public and the international community an alternative strategic plan to resolve the catastrophic situation and leadership paralysis long prevailing in Somalia. The current TFG whose term expires August 2011 has totally failed due to lack of national vision, poor leadership and systemic corruption. This government continues to cling to the erroneous opinion that it can implement its mandate by end of its term. It fails to recognize at a great peril to the future of our people the realities on the ground that demand swift and concrete changes of mandate, strategy and the entire modus operandi. TFG’s long publicized military offensive to rout the armed opposition, dubious peace deals and the illegal process of writing new constitution for the country in neighboring countries’ five star hotels are empty measures designed to deflect public opinion so to prolong its stay in office which means continuation of the status quo.

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Ethiopia’s May election – Is it an ‘Election in Name Only’?

Every year the US State Department releases its annual Human Rights Report. The report lists and condemns countries whose governments allegedly abuse the human rights of their citizens.
This Year’s “2009 Human Rights Reports: Ethiopia” by the US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was unlike previous ones harsh – in tone and substance - to the government of Ethiopia. The report accuses the Ethiopian regime of engaging in widespread human rights abuses such as “unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees,” and host of other horrible crimes. In the Somali Regional State (aka Ogaden),

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Harsh War, Harsh Peace Abuses by al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government, and AMISOM in Somalia

Somalia remains mired in a brutal conflict between the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG), which holds only a sliver of the capital, Mogadishu, and armed opposition groups that
control most of the country. Over the past year hostilities have raged in strategicallyjavascript:void(0)
important areas, including Mogadishu, while much of the rest of Somalia has enjoyed
relative peace.
Both the inhabitants of the shattered capital and those living in more peaceful areas have
endured devastating patterns of abuse. In much of the south, which is largely controlled by
the armed Islamist group al-Shabaab, the population is subject to targeted killings and
assaults, repressive forms of social control, and brutal punishments under its draconian
interpretation of Sharia (Islamic law). Meanwhile, in Mogadishu, mortars fired by al-Shabaab
and African Union troops deployed to protect the internationally-backed TFG continue to kill
civilians and ravage the city. All sides have violated the laws of war by conducting
indiscriminate attacks and other abuses.

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Somali govt tells radio to defy Islamist music ban

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two Somali radio stations say the government has ordered them to close for obeying a week-old order by an Islamic militant group to stop playing music.

Officials at Somaliweyn and Tusmo radio stations say they won't obey the government order to resume playing music and shut down Tuesday.

Abukar Mohamed Hassan Kadaf of Somaliweyn says the National Security Agency called the station executives to a meeting and later sent them a letter with the order.

Hizbul Islam ordered more than a dozen stations to stop playing music on April 13. The stations have had to re-record their ads. Some are using gunfire, car horns and animal cries to act as a bridge between programs.

Somalia has not had an effective government for 19 years.

Islamists claim victory over fighting in gal,ad district

The rival Islamist fighters of Al-shabab Mujahideen and Ahlu Sunna Waljama’ claimed victory over fighting between the two sides that continued in Galgudud region in central Somalia, officials said on Tuesday.

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17th International Contact Group on Somalia meets in Cairo

Cairo, 20 April – The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, is in Cairo to chair the 17th meeting of the International Contact Group from 21 to 22 April 2010. In addition to the founding members, Norway and the US, representatives from more than 50 countries and international organizations are attending

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Ethiopian Opposition Confront PM in Parliament

Ethiopia's heated election campaign has spilled onto the floor of parliament, with bitter and at times personal exchanges between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and opposition leaders. The prime minister was forced onto the defensive on issues from the economy to allegations of political dirty tricks.
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US Issues Travel Alert to Ethiopia

The United States is warning Americans to exercise caution when traveling to Ethiopia before and after national elections in May.

The U.S. State Department noted Tuesday that past elections in Ethiopia have turned violent, especially in the days after poll results are announced.

It urged U.S. citizens to avoid political rallies, polling places on election day, and demonstrations.

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Ethiopia: The Voodoo Economics of Meles Zenawi

“There are lies, lies and implausible lies,” to quote Meles Zenawi, the dictator-cum-economic spinmeister of Ethiopia. Last week, Zenawi told a snickering Parliament a story that is the equivalent of the proverbial bull that gave birth to a calf (or in Amharic “bere welede”): “We will be seeing an economic growth rate of 10.1 percent this year, while inflation will fall to 3.9 percent. This is the result of sound economic policy." (Sorry, but this is the result of voodoo economics!)

Egypt and Ethiopia Lock horns over Nile water deal

Egypt’s fight to hold on to its monopoly over the Nile’s water resource has split the Nile dependent countries into two groups with Sudan supporting the north African country. But notwithstanding the northern African country’s claim to veto power, by virtue of an 80 year old treaty signed with Great Britain, and attempts to get Ethiopia, which leads the upper riparian countries, to soften its position, Ethiopian Water Resource Minister has announced that the signing of a Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) that seeks a fairer use of the Nile’s water resource will go ahead, with or without Egypt and Sudan’s agreement.

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3 killed as Somali forces clash in Mogadishu

At least 3 people, two of them soldiers have been killed and over 5 others injured in gunfire exchange between two Somali government troops in the restive capital Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said.

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Somalia violence kills 14, parliament fails to meetSomalia violence kills 14, parliament fails to meet

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A land mine blast in the Somali capital Mogadishu killed eight people, and mortar rounds fired by insurgents at the city airport as the president returned killed six, eyewitnesses and medics said Sunday.
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Somalia Islamists al-Shabab ban BBC transmissions

The Somali Islamist movement al-Shabab has banned the BBC and closed down transmitters broadcasting the Somali language service inside the country.

Al-Shabab accused the BBC of fighting against Islam and supporting the transitional federal government, which the rebels are fighting to overthrow.

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Somalia's Al Shabab Recruits 'Holy Warriors' with $400 Bonus ‎

When Dahir Abdi joined the Somali extremist group Al-Shabab early last year, his motive had more to do with money than with God.
Back home in the Barawa district of southern Somalia, his parents and younger brothers and sisters were living on less than a single meal per day. His mother was too weak to fetch firewood to sell in the market, and too poor to buy the all-covering veil that was now required by Al-Shabab.
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