In advance of the tenth anniversary of the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, Chairman of the Senate African Affairs Subcommittee, reiterated his call on the Bush administration for a comprehensive policy to address the terrorist safe haven in Somalia. In a speech from the Senate floor this morning, Feingold warned that failed states “breed insecurity and conditions favorable to terrorism.” Somalia, which has been labeled the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis by U.N. officials, is currently home to 2.6 million people in need of aid. That number could grow to 3.5 million – one-half of Somalia’s population – by the end of the year.
Mogadishu residents are celebrating the sacking of the Somali capital’s controversial but powerful mayor Mohamed Dheere. Dheere was reportedly fired after he allegedly embezzled funds amid heightened insecurity in the capital. Some political observers believe Dheere’s sacking exposes a possible rift at the top of the Somalia’s embattled interim administration. Dheere, who is a former warlord, has been the city’s mayor since early last year and is perceived to be a close ally of President Abdullahi Yusuf. More on Sacking of Mogadishu Mayor Draws Mixed Reaction
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to end UN monitoring of the festering border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia but urged the bitter rivals to refrain from any use of force. More on Security Council ends UN monitoring of Eritrea-Ethiopia row
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said on Tuesday he was worried about a possible plan to send U.N. troops to Somalia when it is unclear who controls militants on the ground.
Fighting in the lawless Horn of Africa country between government forces and Islamist insurgents has left more than 8,000 civilians dead over the past year and forced 1 million from their homes.
READ MORE http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN026070.html
While the world looks elsewhere, Somalia is in flames. The nation just topped a list of the world’s most unstable countries by Foreign Policy magazine, and the United Nations has declared the humanitarian situation there “worse than Darfur.” More on Somalia: Time to Pay Attention
NAIROBI, 29 July 2008 (IRIN) – The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s pastoral regions of Afar, Amhara, Somali and Tigray is likely to deteriorate because seasonal crops have failed and livestock numbers have fallen, according to preliminary findings of a recent assessment mission.
Widespread crop failure had led to critical food insecurity, prompting increased migration, the findings of the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA)-led multi-agency mission show.
READ MORE http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79492
More than 14.5 million of the world’s poorest people living in five countries across East Africa need immediate help, the United Nations said, 3.6 million more than during the last food crisis of 2006.
July 28, 2008
Somalis replace Hispanic workers at Iowa plant
POSTVILLE, Iowa – Scores of Somali immigrants are taking jobs at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, replacing Hispanic workers arrested in a huge immigration raid and forcing a remote Iowa town to make another cultural shift.
READ MORE http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25891320/
Beirut – In Somalia, there are no diplomatic superstars like Condoleezza Rice or Kofi Annan, who rushed to Kenya to settle its election crisis; there are no celebrities like Mia Farrow, Stephen Spielberg, or Jim Carrey to urge international action and awareness as they did in Sudan and Burma. More on The US Needs to Better Grasp What Went Wrong in Somalia
Africa (MNN) ― Up to 14 million people are facing a dire sitution. The people of Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Northern Kenya have little or no food, and it’s creating potential calamity for the region. More on Food crisis hits Food for the Hungry
