PRESS RELEASE (For Immediate Release) AU Special Representative prepares to leave Mogadishu, June 19th 2014: The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif will be leaving the mission on July 2nd, 2014. Yesterday he held separate meetings with the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Federal Republic of Somalia and formally introduced the Deputy Special Representative, The Honorable Lydia Wanyoto Mutende and the recently appointed Police Commissioner, Mr. […]

S. Africa formally apologises for Mandela signer In Summary Enraged sign language experts said that Thamsanqa Jantjie’s signing in front of US President Barack Obama and other world leaders gathered at Soweto’s Soccer City stadium had amounted to little more than “flapping his arms around”. JOHANNESBURG, The South African government formally apologised Friday for any offence caused by the sign language interpreter it hired for Nelson Mandela’s memorial, later exposed as a fake. “We sincerely apologise to the deaf community […]

Establish own media network, Africa urged Africa should establish its own continental media network run by its own media professionals to counter the legacy of information dependency on the West, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has said. “The African story needs to be accurately told in a way that reflects our challenges and aspirations,” Mr Hailemariam told the largest industry gathering of African media in Addis Ababa Thursday. “By and large coverage of unfolding media events by the hegemonic world […]

Next year, the Somalis must get it right IN SUMMARY What will 2013 hold in store for the world’s most infamous country? Will it be another successful year where the Somali military and Amisom regain more territory from al-Shabaab or will the militant group have another chance of taking over control of strategic locations such as Aden Adde Airport and Kismayu? Needless to say, the greatest wild card in predictions will be al-Shabaab. Will the violent al Qaeda-linked group regain […]

Why does the Western world feed Africa with one hand while taking from it with the other?   The world’s wealthy countries often criticise African nations for corruption – especially that perpetrated by those among the continent’s government and business leaders who abuse their positions by looting tens of billions of dollars in national assets or the profits from state-owned enterprises that could otherwise be used to relieve the plight of some of the world’s poorest peoples. Yet the West […]

Police who shot and killed 34 striking miners say they fired in self-defence. The South African police have confirmed that its officers shot and killed 34 striking miners and injured 78 near a platinum mine in North West province. The officers shot at the workers who were protesting on Thursday afternoon over pay at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, some 100km northwest of Johannesburg. The incident is being described as one of the bloodiest police operations in the country […]

NAIROBI — Somalia’s transitional government ends its mandate next week after eight years of infighting, little progress and rampant corruption, but the process to replace it is “deeply flawed”, analysts warn. Set up in 2004, the Western-funded Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has already extended its mandate twice, and international backers have been determined it ends by an August 20 deadline. But analysts are gloomy that a United Nations-backed selection process will usher in nothing more than a reshuffle of leaders […]

Clinton to visit South Sudan, Kenya on Africa trip WASHINGTON, Jul 31 – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit troubled South Sudan on an 11-day Africa trip starting this week aimed at spurring economic growth, peace and security, a US official said on Monday. Clinton heads first on Tuesday to Senegal before travelling on to the world’s newest nation on a trip which will also take in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.In Senegal, […]

AFM special duties company deployed to Somali training mission Fourth successive deployment since 2009 for Armed Forces of Malta in EU efforts to train Somali soldiers within newly established security forces. The Armed Forces of Malta have deployed a three-person infantry training team consisting of members of C (Special Duties) Company to the European Union Training Mission to Somalia (EUTM Somalia) in Uganda. This is the fourth successive deployment since 2009 that the Armed Forces of Malta have been involved […]

  U.S. is the driving force behind the fighting in Somalia Washington has been quietly equipping and training thousands of African soldiers to wage a widening proxy war against the Shabab, the Al Qaeda ally that has sparked alarm as foreign militants join its ranks. The soldiers stood at attention, rifles at their sides, as U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Hogg walked down the ranks, eyeing the men heading off to fight in Somalia. “You will push … the miscreants […]