it is not long time when their deeds turned to be different from their words. It was not even political drama, where whips of the ruling and opposition parties were showcasing their controversial positions over the newly-introduced changes on the road taxation. But, it was manipulative pretentions designed to squeeze the government in to narrow corner, forcing it to extend its hand under the table. As Somalis say, you cannot do massaging with dry palms, so the government was too smart to read the signs without words. Sorting things out with the defying members, it had succeeded to get this tax-increasing bill go through parliament.
To see the shifting positions of the MPs, or hardline critics thumping up later to the government, is not a surprise to public, though it could be a political suicide to Wadani Party when its Mps found themselves melted in the lines of Kulmiye party. When there is no fundamental ideological division, and sense of conscience, political chameleons are common. That is why the spectrum colours of the representatives is bound to match the dominant paint of the background.
Following that approval, the credibility of the representatives turned out nothing more than a fading perception. When their hot debate and critics on the increasing rate of road tax, proved to be a hollow drama.
It is the dhameel time; when the Yes-of parliamentary members has a dollar value. It is what the noise and quarrel raging in the representative house is all about. I do not know whether Abdirahman Irro got jealous of the men who used to share the stage with him, or whether, putting the deputies in the audience floor is intended to be first maneuvers of his political experiment. If that is that, he made a big mistake, because only fools start the action at their homes.
If the whole thing depends on changing the rules of the house, others can do it too. It is too early for Irro to celebrate. While Bashe and his friend want to tell the boss that game is not over yet, as defeated members are struggling to get in to their feet again. Nothing will satisfy them, till the badge is being stripped off from the chairman. In this regard, Kulmiye party should help their colleagues step up to the podium of the house.
If you look the other side, Wadani Party has voiced their apprehension on the prospects of the game. Their big fish is struggling for his political life as the water level is getting down, when out-letting taps of the pool are switched to the hands of government-backed members. Responding to that threat, Mr. Buba, who thinks himself as one of the most active figures in the orange shirts, is now pleading to Silanyo. With soft tone, Mr Buba has chosen the right words to persuade Kulmiye’s Khomeini in to stopping the backfire of his party.His message was direct,as he singled out Hirsi as the source of the trouble.
I am not sure whether Guurti got fed up with the noisy neighbourhood,or afraid of being the victims of this epidemic. They did not show up, when Irro was doing what he did to his chairmates. So they better stay away from this pointless hassle, and let the other side finish what Irro had started. They should let the rules decide the results, instead of attempting to make compromises outside the formal system.
We, the people have nothing to fear. Because we have nothing to do with the ongoing squabbles. No one is fighting for us or speaking about the problems we share as a society. With one voice, we should tell them to keep their troubles from the streets.
For two decades, Somalia has been war torn. Lawlessness has permeated the country, where the AK-47 determines who has power and who doesn’t. The country has been a chronic victim of unbridled decentralization, a disease so toxic that it has replaced society with chaos. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I believe that Penn suffers from a similar disease. It is decentralized to an extreme, with each academic department and social organization living in its very own universe, each vying for attention at the expense of the others, rendering the school essentially cultureless.
One of most decentralized aspects of Penn is its arts scene, which ironicallyhappens to also be a major contributing factor to the community’s general lack of culture. Art is not the first or even 40th word that comes to most people’s minds when thinking about Penn, largely due to the lack of a central home for the arts at Penn. Since there is no arts center, the various sources of art on campus are lost in their own nebulousness. The overwhelming effect is one of white noise, an indistinct din in the background. The arts at Penn are spread out so low to the ground that they are simply not noticed and gettrampled on.
That shouldn’t be the case, though. Penn has played host to many artistic visionaries like Eadweard Muybridge, who produced his pioneering photographs of animal locomotion at Penn in the 1880s, and Andy Warhol, who held his first solo show at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1965. The artistic value of campus landmarks like the LOVE statue and the Button are often overlooked — they were designed by Robert Indiana and Claes Olderburg, respectively, who were major figures in the pop art movement.
Given Penn’s historic artistic presence and the many resources available to students now — including the ICA, the School of Design, a music program, arts residential programs, the Kelly Writers House, the ARCH building and countless other arts-related activities and places — it’s truly remarkable that art is so overlooked.
Fortunately, art history professor Karen Beckman recognized the lack of focus on art at Penn and established the Art and Culture Initiative. The program seeks to make art more visible on campus while improving communication between all of the art resources in the surrounding area. While the initiative is an important first step, it does not go far enough. It fails to realize that Penn needs a physical structure to serve as an arts center on campus.
In an issue of the Penn Arts and Sciences Magazine last May, Beckman said, “Many of our peers are developing expensive arts centers on campus in order to attract top students. … We embrace independent thinkers and decentralization here. So [our] goal … is to collaborate, not to homogenize.”
The problem with this statement is that it assumes a central building and independent thinking cannot coexist. This supposition is simply wrong. A central building does not synchronize thinking — it synchronizes location and collaboration. It tells the world, “Look, art exists at Penn, and here is a place where you can find it!” It tells current students and, more importantly, prospective students that Penn is invested in the arts and embraces the arts as its culture. A central building calls art out of the shadows, raising it up so that it can be seen again. A building gives the arts verticality, a requirement for being noticed in a city.
The lack of culture at Penn is a big problem and, as with every big problem, a big, expensive solution is necessary. The United States did not overcome the Great Depression by talking its way out. Instead, the country constructed a pathway out of the ruts of disaster, recognizing the need for expensive solutions. In 2012, Somalia established its first permanent central government in over twenty years. This government is now trying to gain control of the country, putting an end to lawlessness. Likewise, Penn must end its artlessness by constructing a central home for the arts. Penn too must turn chaos into culture.
Sam Sherman is a College sophomore from Marblehead, Mass., studying fine arts and chemistry. His email address is samsherman6@gmail.com.
A mission consisting of the Minister of National Planning and Development, Minister of Justice, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, State Minister of Education, Deputy Minister of Health, Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, Director General of the Ministry of Education, Deputy Chairman and current acting Chairman of the Good Governance Commission, Director General of the Presidency, Director of the Civil Service Institute, the Coordinator of Public Finance Reform, the Planning Department heads of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade, and advisers to the Civil Service Commission and Civil Service Institute held a meeting in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia from 10 – 13 February.They were joined by representatives from UK Department for International Development (DFID), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the World Bank, the European Union and UNDP.
The meeting was organized and supported by DFID and was facilitated by experts from the UK National School of Government International.
The purpose of the meeting was to assess progress of the Civil Service Reform, learn from the experience of other countries and accelerate the pace of the reform. Following two days of intensive discussion, the key decisions made include:
1.To set up a Secretariat to support the Civil Service Reform Committee appointed by the President.
2.To create a National Reform Committee that is responsible for coordinating the various public sector reforms underway including Justice Sector Reform, Public Sector Reform, Civil Service Reform, Decentralisation, Security Sector Reform, and Public Finance Reform.
3.To amend and apply the Civil Service Law and use Presidential Decrees to fill gaps until amendments are approved by parliament.
4.To develop a human resources development plan which involves regular functional-based training for all public servants from ministers to junior staff.
5.To assign the Good Governance Commission the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the Civil Service Reform.
6.To appoint and Preparatory Committee to act immediately on the decisions taken at the meeting.
Somali women and women from all communities in the UK and around the world are outraged and condemn the speech made by Somaliland Minister of Presidency Hersi Ali Hassan at a public gathering in Liverpool on the evening of Saturday 1st February 2014.Somali women activists urge the British government and the international community to condemn the Minister’s statements.
In front of Somaliland’s President Ahmed Siilaanyo, and of hundreds of people from the Diaspora community and the UK, the minister bragged about how he would make his political rivals ‘’cough up goat’s milk’’.
His exact words were: “I come from a goat herding family.A man in my family who was a goat herder used to practice his wrestling skills on his two wives and two children after he drank a lot of goat’s milk. He would have one wife on each side of him, and a child on each leg, and then he would throw them to the ground”. The implication of his story is that each woman is worth only a half of a man, and each child worth only a leg.
After Hersi had received loud cheers from his audience he continued: “One day the man went to the city and wrestled with a lion man. He lost the wrestling match and coughed up goats milk”. His words were directed at the Speaker of the House Abdirahman Cirro who recently dismissed his two deputy speakers. Hersi was comparing the two dismissed deputy speakers to the two wives and comparing himself to the lion man.After more loud cheers Hersi concluded: “We shall see who coughs up goats milk.”The Minister’s reference to “coughing up goat’s milk” is a common way of issuing a threat, and adds to the many threatening phrases used against women and children in a conflict region where the risk of sexual attacks and violence is high.
The statistics on violence against women and children in Somaliland are disturbing. The Somali Human Development Report 2012 describes Somalia as “one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman”.Female genital mutilation/cutting is commonplace; domestic violence is a serious problem; and 70% of reported cases of rape and sexual violence occur in internally displaced populations. The Minister of Interior Ali Mohamed Waran-Ade reported on Friday 27th September 2013 that rape cases are on the increase in Somaliland.
According to Abdikadir Ahmed Mohamed, programme manager of the Baahi Koob Centre in Hargeisa, rape is on the increase in Somaliland. 104 cases of rape were reported in during the first four months of 2013. In 2012, out of 195 rape cases reported to the police, 67 were children. 30% of reported cases were gang rapes and 55% of the victims were under 15 years old.According to the United Nations, there were at least 1,700 cases of rape in IDP Camps alone in 2012 in Somalia.In Somaliland women and girls do not go out to get bread from the corner shop after 6pm.57% of women do not feel safe from violence in their communities. 47% of women believe that insufficient victim support and access to justice discourages reporting of sexual assaults and violence against women and children.
Only two days after the minister made his ‘’goat’s milk’’ threat, his government banned Universal TV Channel from Somaliland for broadcasting Faaliyaha, a comedy show ridiculing Somaliland President Siilaanyo. But to this day the government has failed to condemn the actions of Minister Hersi.
The Minister’s ‘’goat’s milk” threat is real, and it incites hatred against women and children. His words violate their human rights. In light of this, we call urgently for his resignation to protect women and children from further violence.
The UK, the EU and the International Community place great importance on improving conditions for Somali women. They seek to promote gender equality, to empower Somali women, and to reduce the levels of violence they face.
Somali women in the UK therefore urge the British government to condemn the statement by Minister Hersi, who frequently comes to the UK.We call on the British government to make it clear that Minister Hersi’s inflammatory, dangerous and sexist language has no place in democratic politics.
Teachers are probably the most valuable resource in education. Even in most adverse condition, a committed teacher can make a huge difference to students ‘future.Roofscanleak, text bookscan fail to arrive, chairs and desks may be lacking; even so, a determined and competent teachercan make up for it.Without a teacher, however, education will simply not take place.
A teacher is a role model by transcending values such as impartialityand fairness, children will feel that their talent is valued and their efforts arevalued are honored.A teacher shapes attitudes if He/she respects children in their diversity, students will learn that all humans have equal rights at the side of education regardless of their gender, ethnicity, class or caste. By taking principled decision and displaying integrity in his/her relations with students, colleagues and community, teachers promote ethical values and behavior that are fundamental for a society that doesn’t tolerate corruption.
As in all spheres of society, however, the position of power can be abused for personal gains. Teachers can exploit their position by biasing towards a certain group of students, or negligent, or undisciplined. In a corrupt classroom, students will learn less, and they will learn wrong things. There are specific risks of corruption in the class in our poor education control system includingsome teachers may selladvance information aboutexaminationsome othersmay force students to take private tutoring, through coercion or persuasion by not teaching the curriculum in the classbut only in supplementary private lessons. Misuse of school property for private purpose is another form of teacher corruption. In Somaliland where there is low payment and weak supervision, teachers may not show up for work or may be present at school but not teaching.
All in all classroom corruption is more acceptable in our societies with weak norms of meritocracy; in other words, in a corrupt environment in our country there is a higher chance that will be corruption including: to sell advance information about examination; forcing students to take private tutoring, through coercion or persuasion by not teaching the curriculum in the class but only in supplementary private lessons and Misusingof school property for private purpose is another form of teacher corruption.
On the Otherhand Where teaching conditions are poor as in rural areas in our countrythat lack of teacher districtsand have a poor sanitation,therisk of absenteeism are highbecause teachers are more likely to act as power brokerswhere the community lacks statusand knowledge andgovernment doesn’t dare to challenge corrupt establishment. In our country the most enable factor for corruption and unethical behavior are lack of supervision, lack of public awareness and lack of sanction against them. So let us work together to correct our education systems.
My name is Habo Marwo. After years of giving my nieces and nephews and then their friends matrimonial advice and with a little encouragement from my family I have decided to join the 21st century and start an advice blog. This way I can reach all my nieces and nephews all over the world who are in need of guidance. If you have a question you would like to ask feel free to e-mail at habaryarmarwo@gmail.com or leave a comment on my blog http://habaryarmarwo.wordpress.com/
Here are two e-mails I have previously received.
Dear Habaryar Marwo,
Lately, I have felt a great deal of pressure to settle down and get married. To tell you the honest truth I’m a little worried about getting married. From what I’ve seen of my friends marriages and other relatives around my age most Somali marriage are far from tranquil, let alone ideal. You know how close our family is and how much hooyo and abo sacrificed to help me achieve everything I have today. I have found, however, that most Somali girls today seem to despise their in-laws and do everything in their power to pull their husband away from his family and make him a part of her family. Currently, there is a girl I’m interested in but before things become too serious I was wondering if you there was any advise you could give me on choosing the right wife for me. More than anything in a girl I appreciate her diin and behavior.
Your nephew,
Ali
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Dear Habo,
MashAllah, I am so proud of you. You are a successful young man ready to embark on married life Insha-Allah! Although it is heartbreaking how many young people in our community get divorced in a very short time, it is not a reason to not to get marriage.
Marriage should be an occasion which brings two families together and not one which takes a child away from their family. Any girl who doesn’t respect your parents does not respect you. Your parents raised you from when you were a baby in diapers, supported and encouraged you and with the help of God made you the young man you are today and any young woman who can’t appreciate this is not worth your time.
The problem with most of these girls is that they are as sweet as honey when you first meet them and only show their true colors once you’re married. Although, there is no 100% sure way to tell whether a girl will get along with your family, there are some red flags you should look out for.
Beware of the Gold-digger: Most of these girls are Golddiggers and are only after you for your money. She excepts you to take care of not only her but her entire family.
Is she friends with your sisters? Usually most girls can be pleasant to your parents when she first meets them but the people they have the most difficulty being nice to is your sister. Sisters are an excellent judge of another girls character and if she can’t get along with your sisters from the beginning, she won’t be able to get along with your mother eventually.
Let her know that your parents are going to live with you once you’re married. If you sense any hostile or negativity to this idea or if you find that she is gently trying to persuade you to think otherwise take it as a sign of future things to come.
Always remember the old Somali saying “A girl is like her mother”. If you want to know how you’re potential will be like in the future just look at her mother. Somali girls are strongly influenced by their mothers and it is actually wise in my opinion to have your mother find out about her mother.
But the most important advice I can give you with regards to getting married is to first turn to God and ask him to guide you to the best spouse for you and your family. So I’ll end this e-mail with a prayer…May God bless with good, pious wife that will fill you and your family’s life with enjoy. Amen.
It’s your favourite niece! Ali told me he asked you a question on matrimony and I thought why not give it a shot-you give great advice. So you know my situation-done school, dream job but oh no-no husband! Hoya thinks this is some kind of crises (which I somewhat agree with since you may not be aware that I am actually 33 not 25 like Hoya has been telling everyone) so she has taken it upon herself to introduce me to a whole array of what you might call “interesting characters.” Now, you know I spent years in school getting my 2 undergraduate degrees and masters but everyone Hoya has been introducing me to has had at best a high school diploma (one of them I was actually unsure of whether he was literate). Am I being too picky to expect a husband with whom I can have an intellectual conversation? Or one whose English vocabulary consists of more than the word “passport”?
Your exasperated but not ashamed of being 33 niece,
Amina
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Hello Habo,
Habo, let me let you in on a little secret in the Somali community since you were born and raised aboard—no single Somali woman ever admits to being over 25 whether she is really 25 or 55, so please stop telling people your true age. We Somalis hate age, and we live be the philosophy of “You’re as young as you feel” and we all feel like we’re in our 20’s or 30’s.
Anyway, you seem to be in the same situation as so many of our bright, and beautiful educated Somali girls. It is one of the side effects of the war that unfortunately for your generation, there seems to be an imbalance. You ladies view yourselves as the complete package and you naturally set high standards. You all carry around this image of your ideal husband…or the 6,6,6,6,6 man as I call him–he’s 6 foot 6, makes a 6 figure salary, has 6 university degrees, drives a $60,000 car and owns a $600,000 home. Although, these things might seem nice they are not what makes a happy marriage. You are a strong independent woman, you are very successful (Masha’Allah), you make that 6 figure salary yourself and can afford to buy that $600,000 home yourself. What you need in a marriage is someone to share your life with, so, my advice to you and other young ladies like you is to throw away that list and stick to the basic essentials for a happy marriage.
What are the basic essentials, you might ask–well they’re kindness, compassion and respect–the three basic elements required in any happy marriage. So, don’t over look a young man just because he’s not 6 foot or doesn’t make a great deal of money, judge him not by his material possession but by his character.
Here are so questions you should ask yourself:
Does he give charity? It doesn’t matter if he works on Wall Street and makes over a million dollar, if he doesn’t feel grateful for what he has and gives charity. Being tied to a wealthy scrooge for the rest of our life will be far from the fairytale you have envisioned. But I promise marry a poor generous man, and you’ll feel a like Queen, and your home will always be blessed by God.
Is he a narcissistic? Marrying a handsome man might seem like a story book romance but if he’s in love with himself more than he cares about you, you’ll soon realize that looks, aren’t truly everything. It’s always better to marry someone who’s more in love with you that you are with them. In his eyes you’ll always be the most beautiful woman in the world.
Does he respect you as a person? Does he acknowledge your accomplishments and recognize you and your families sacrifices?
Think of the Somali young men as fixer-uppers and remember the saying” behind every great man there is a greater woman”. Find a young man with the essential qualities and with a little work and encouragement I’m sure it won’t be long before you have shaped him into your ideal. I am not saying find someone lazy who hopes to live off you, just someone who does not realize their own potential but is willing to work hard.
Kulmiye Leadership is reducing the Country into failed state
What is happening in Somaliland today is utterly shocking. Corruption is becoming rampant; a million dollar was spent to oust the current speaker of the parliament. Clans are made hostile and suspicious of each other. Our traditional system is exploited and manipulated by the current government. Some clans are favored by the president and allocated most of the top 100 government positions. Other clans are left in the cold. They are given very few or no ministerial positions, general directors or army generals, because they have leaders who are critical to president Silaanyo and his political affairs. Government power is shared unfairly, by any parameter, geographically or clan. The top senior ranking officers of the armed forces are chosen from favored clans of president Silaanyo. Under his direction, Somaliland is tearing apart.
Social mobility and equal opportunities are becoming unusual. In order to fill civil servant positions, members of his clan are head hunted from far afield, such as Western Europe and North America. Land conflicts are plotted by his ministers in places like, Kalshaale area in the south, Berbera area in the north and the fertile Elbardale area, in the west of Somaliland. Animosity between two neighboring communities is engineered with the intention of securing the votes of one of them. And then take hold of whatever resource on and under that particular place.
Freedom of speech is suffering from a great blow. Young journalists are assaulted by the police frequently. License of broadcasting TV corporates are revoked, simply because they present prank entertainment programs about the president. Demonstrations are collided with the newly created rapid reaction force (RRU) under the pretext of security reasons. Casualties are reported often.
World Bank report documented recently that the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. Wealth and the resources of the country are not distributed justly. Tribalism has come back to the national politics, something we have almost succeeded to eradicate. The current president, Siilaanyo Is taking Somaliland 15 years back. His government is undermining the principles and the pillars of our young and fragile democracy. Our people are losing confidence in the government system.
Politics of “the winner takes all” is applied by his clan ministers. Indhodeero business group, which is owned by his kinsmen were given the go ahead, to build, their own private veterinary Centre at Berbera port. Nobody else could have secured such lucrative deal. We remember also how this government gave concession (100%) for the cement factory in Berbera, without the consultations of the local communities, the parliament and the wider civil society. Kuwait donated us 10 million to build the Hargeisa and Berbera airport. The contracts were given close kinsmen of president Siilaanyo .
Hersi, the chief cabinet (a type of prime minister Position) managed Genel Energy resources, the jobs negatively. The contracts were all assigned to his sub clan members. Local communities started demonstrating to express their dissatisfaction and president Silanyo’s government answered by firing at the demonstrators. The situation became dangerous. Shortly after, Genel Energy stopped its operations in Somaliland. Nepotism is getting practiced so evidently in our little country that could have done wonders for all of us.
National political parties are approached autocratically by President Siilanyo’s inner circle group. It is becoming a disaster for Somaliland future. Foosiya H Yuusuf became so bitter, that made her shift to the enemy camp. Dr. Gaboose, the oxford trained Lawyer, Mr.Hassan Isse And Ibraahim Dhagaweyne the military commander are even more bitter. They cannot hear anything to do with president Siilaanyo. UCID party leader, F. A. waraabe was told uf uf through the national TV. Presidential candidate of UCID, Mr Jamaal A Husein was physically blocked by using the army. A public figure was deprived from his basic right to be able to travel to Gabiley and interact with his supporters. People in Somaliland could not believe what they witnessed on the TV and tablet screens. It was horrifying and a reminder of Siyaad Barre ruling style.
Abdirahman Abdiqadir was a senior Kulmiye politician. He worked so hard and invested so much, even selling his families properties for the sake of Kulmiye party. Unfortunately, we remember, how he was dumped, humiliated publicly in a very unprofessional and undemocratic manner. His cry at the Kulmiye confession It was shocking to everyone in Somaliland. . Michiavelism based on divide and rule is the philosophy that is reducing Somaliland into banana republic
The current president, Siilaanyo reshuffled his cabinet several times, but never replaces ministers from his clan. We remember, the summer when his minister of aviation closed single handedly the Berbera International airport. Hundreds of the diaspora, and business men were stranded. There was neither satisfactory explanation nor compensations for those people who were delayed to attend to their schools and jobs. No other minister could have secured the trust and the support of the president despite his/her shortcomings.
International community is given mixed signals by president Siilanyo’s government. One day they are defending Somaliland, the next day, our president is in somalai conference. One day they tell us, recognition is paramount, the next day; our foreign minister is in the middle of Somalia’s investment conference in Nairobi. Our man in South Africa, the professor has been alienated. Our representative in Sweden was highly respected by the Swedish government, yet he was replaced. Our relationship with Ethiopia was put in a big question mark from the beginning of this Kulmiye government.
This week, President Siilaanyo informed us that the parliament is separated from the government by law. Yet, in the same night, he gave the instructions to bribe members of the national assembly so hugely, to the point, they wouldn’t resist. His plans to oust the current speaker of the lower house, honorable Abdirahman Irro are worrying. It is creating outrage in the public. This issue has been the headline news of Somaliland news outlets. The nation was shocked and disappointed by president Siilaanyo’s deeds and michiavelism tactics.
His ultimate goal is to delay the coming presidential elections and electoral registration. In order to achieve this goal he needs yes men in the most senior positions of the parliament. Then he will get extension for his presidential term. More than fifty news outlets in Somaliland confirmed differently and independently, the amount of money spent to change the standing point of members of the parliament. The most reported figure was a million US dollar to oust Abdirahman Irro, The speaker of House of Representatives. Public funds are used for his own gains. Our institutional building process is disrupted. This is going to be a deep scar on our national image.
The contrast with the previous governments is clear. We remember the joy, when Somaliland was liberated under President Abdirahman Tuur. We remember the joy, happy faces and the celebrations of our people the day our constitution was pu to the referendum under the leadership of president Egal .We remember the day multiparty elections took place and our dream of democratic Somaliland was realized under President Riyaale leadership. Today there is great concern for Somaliland under the leadership of Siiilaanyo. Our country is getting in a mess and reduced into a banana state.
By M. Sc Ahmed Muuse Ismail
E. mail: waaqeel@hotmail.com
By Goth Mohamed Goth
The first Jumbo class airplane operated by Daallo Airlines Airbus 321 carrying more than 250 passengers on board has for the first time ever made a maiden touchdown at the newly renovated runway at the Egal international airport carrying.
The pilot of the Airbus 321 and the flight engineer said, “Although this is our first time to land in Hargeisa we were astonished to see the new and modern runaway which is suitable for landing and also makes it easier and safer for planes in accordance with international standards set by ICAO.
The managing director of Daallo Airline Mr. Mohamed Sheik speaking to the media moments after the maiden landing of the Airbus 321 which is operated by Daallo Airlines is part of the company’s modernization and expansion scheme which includes the introduction of new routes such as direct flights to Paris and London which has been made possible by the acquisition of the new planes by the company.
Present at the time Somaliland Minister of Aviation and Air Transport Hon Mahmoud Hashi said we are gathered here today to witness the historic maiden flight by Airbus 321 JUMBO CLASS Airplane carrying more than 250passengers, he added that the newly renovated Egal International Airport has the capabilities to handle any type or class of Aircraft and that such flights have been made possible by the recent renovation done on the runway at the airport.
“We have to put into consideration expanding the apron (aircraft parking) in the summertime so it will accommodate more & large passengers & cargo airplanes, we have expanded the space needed for a cargo terminal & a Cargo ramp or apron”, He stated .
The extended terminal carried out by a qualified and experienced craftsmen, that ensured the quality of finished products and the same has exceptionally pleased by most of true somalilanders in view of the airport new structure and re-arrangement, as this the gate way of Somali-land and the newly airport could influence and attract more air traffic from the region and possibly many more from elsewhere in the near future.
The airport was serving approximately 4,000 passengers monthly prior the new facilities was completed, which was coming from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and the Middle East. Subsequent receiving funds from Kuwait, the contract for the new runway was awarded to China Hino group, which have a record of 21 years’ experience after successful bidding in the amount of US $ of 4,436,000 to extend the terminal up to 2.4 kilometre, which can now host large carriers of different categories such as Boeing 737, Airbus 320 and other aircrafts of equivalent sizes.
About AIRBUS
The A320 single-aisle jetliner family (composed of the A318, A319, A320 and A321) is the undisputed best-selling aircraft product line of all time. It is used in a full range of services from very short-haul airline routes to intercontinental segments, on operations from challenging in-city airports to high-altitude airfields and an Antarctic ice runway, and on VIP and government missions with the most discerning passengers.
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Attacks on the Press: Surveillance poses global challenge for free flow of news
New York, February 12, 2014-Digital surveillance, the unchecked murder of journalists, and indirect commercial and political pressures on the media are three of the primary threats to press freedom highlighted in the Committee to Protect Journalists annual assessment, Attacks on the Press, released today.
“The primary battlegrounds for press freedom used to be contained within the borders of authoritarian states. While those battles continue, new technologies have made it possible to realize the right to freedom of expression regardless of frontiers,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Attacks on the Press describes the threats and explores strategies to safeguard the free flow information.”
Three pieces in this year’s Attacks, including a foreword to the print edition by Jacob Weisberg, analyze the damaging effects to press freedom caused by the U.S. mass surveillance programs. Governments’ capacity to store transactional data and the content of communications undermines journalists’ ability to protect sources. The scope of the NSA’s digital spying raises doubts about the U.S. commitment to freedom of expression and strengthens the hand of China and other restrictive nations in their calls for more government control over the Internet.
A separate essay in Attacks argues that the international community should put press freedom at the heart of a new anti-poverty strategy as the 2015 target nears for the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. Meanwhile, if transparency in the financial sector is not improved, more global financial crises can be expected.
Attacks also explores how the inability to solve journalist murders feeds an atmosphere of intimidation, compounded by the targeted killings of witnesses in many cases.
Along with the print edition of Attacks on the Press, CPJ published online a snapshot of conditions and data in close to 60 countries. Syria remained the most deadly place for journalists on the job in 2013, while Iraq and Egypt each saw a spike in fatal violence. In total 70 journalists lost their lives. For the second consecutive year, Turkey was the world’s leading jailer of journalists, followed closely by Iran and China.
The print edition with foreword by Weisberg, chairman of the Slate Group and member of CPJ’s board of directors, is published by Bloomberg Press, an imprint of Wiley, and is available for purchase.
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Sterling Energy has completed a second farm-in deal covering an onshore block in central Africa’s Somaliland.
The company said it now has government approval for the second farm-in to acquire a total of 25% equity in a production-sharing contract (PSC) for the onshore Odewayne block. Last November Sterling completed the first farm-in with Petrosoma to acquire 10% in the Odewayne PSC, paying US $10 million conditional upon certain work milestones being completed.
A few days later Sterling signalled the second deal to acquire a further 15% interest in the PSC from Jacka Resources, involving the payment of $15 million, which is also conditional on certain work obligations being met.
As a result Sterling now holds 25% in the block, which is operated by Genel Energy with 50%. Petrosoma now holds 10%, and Jacka Resources 15%.
The Odewayne PSC covers a total of 22,840 sq km (8,816 sq miles), and aeromagnetic and gravity surveys were carried out over the area in 2013. Oil seeps have also been discovered during field work, adding to belief that there is a working petroleum system in the area.
