Save The Children Wake Up Bob Marley to Save Starving Children in Africa

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Millions of children are facing starvation right now -- this doesn't have to happen. Save The Children has launched an emergency aid response in Africa. Please watch this video, share with friends and download Bob Marley's single 'High Tide or Low Tide' with all proceeds going to the East Africa food crisis appeal. YOU CAN HELP NOW.


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London is burning, but children are still dying in Somalia

London riots. Photo Credit: The Telegraph


Is the Arab Spring of Blood spreading to the UK as London is engulfed in the inferno of arsonists and looters on rampage? But as London is burning hundreds of children are still dying in the famine ravaging Somalia.

Who was the 29 years old bloke that was killed in exchange of gunfire with police in Tottenham in the twilight of last Saturday?

Would the death of that man be enough to enrage the hundreds of lunatics burning and looting in Birmingham, Canning Town, Manchester, Salford and still spreading?

Well, the pangs of dying children are echoing from Somalia.

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
8 Aug 2011
14:58	Dr. Jill Biden Arrives in Kenya to Visit Dadaab Refugee Camps, Highlight the Need for Aid in the Horn of Africa
05:41	Somalia / Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) welcomes news of Al Shabaab vacating Mogadishu
5 Aug 2011
13:38	Somalia / Radio Simba presenter gunned down in Mogadishu
13:08	Helping Somalia recover and develop: European Commission to invest extra €175 million in governance, education and food security
13:21	IOM Appeals for US$ 26 Million to Assist Victims of Famine and Drought in the Horn of Africa
12:35	One African voice call on the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa
4 Aug 2011
15:15	Famine in Somalia Ignites Parliamentary Action
13:06	Sweden / An additional SEK 50 million in humanitarian aid to Somalia
11:48	Somalia: emergency relief for over a million people
08:41	Pledging conference for the Horn of Africa / African Union stands in support for the victims of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa
3 Aug 2011
06:14	Background Briefing on Somalia and Delivery of Humanitarian Assistance
11:00	Humanitarian Emergency, Horn of Africa - Italian Cooperation aid
2 Aug 2011
20:53	AmeriCares Emergency Aid Shipment Headed for Somalia
12:23	Horn of Africa - Italy to step up aid to Somali refugees
12:08	Drought in Horn of Africa / AUC Deputy Chairperson calls for coordinated efforts in Mogadishu and conveys AU's commitment to support afflicted populations and states
07:01	Somalia / Website reporter pardoned and freed in Puntland

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UNICEF: Horn of Africa is a "Crisis for Child Survival"

Hunger is eating up the poor children in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya while children in America and other developed nations are over fed and obese.

~ Orikinla Osinachi, Nigerian poet and blogger



22 Jul 2011 16:15 Africa/Lagos


UNICEF: Horn of Africa is a "Crisis for Child Survival"
Children's agency massively scaling up operations to respond to urgent needs

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, July 22, 2011

NEW YORK, July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With famine now declared in two regions of Southern Somalia and malnutrition rates at emergency levels in arid and semi-arid regions across the Horn of Africa, nearly 720,000 children are at risk of death without urgent assistance. In total 2.23 million children in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are estimated to be acutely malnourished.

"This summer has been an unspeakable nightmare for millions of children in the Horn of Africa," said President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl Stern. "We cannot control the weather patterns that have led to drought and famine, but we can do something about helping those who suffer from it. The sooner we act, the more children's lives can be saved. As little as $10 can feed a child for 10 days."

So far this month, by plane, truck and ship, UNICEF has delivered 1,300 metric tons of life saving supplies to some of the hardest hit areas in southern Somalia, including enough therapeutic supplies to treat over 66,000 malnourished children. In the next few months, UNICEF will expand supplementary feeding to reach 240,000 children and expand as quickly as is possible to reach more children and their families. $1.2 million in UNICEF emergency supplies have been dispatched to the Somali region of Ethiopia, and UNICEF has provided partners in Kenya with $1.4 million in supplies for children in camps and drought-affected pastoral areas.

Supplies prepositioned within the region had already been used to reach children in remote drought-affected communities, as well as children in camps for refugees and internally displaced people. UNICEF is working with partners in the field to see how it can expand existing operations and build on opportunities like Child Health days that happen on a regular basis in many parts of the region.

"We are gearing up our logistics to deliver unprecedented supplies of therapeutic and supplementary foods across the Horn," said Shanelle Hall, Director of UNICEF's supply division. "If we are to save lives, we need to act now – to bring in massive quantities of medicines, vaccines, nutrition supplies into the region as quickly as we are able and then get them out to the children who need it most."

"UNICEF is using every means possible to reach every child. There simply can be no compromise on the objective to keep children and their families alive," said Elhadj As Sy, Regional Director for UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa. "Every life must count, and we cannot afford to lose more lives to this crisis."

Insecticide-treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria and essential medicines, including vaccines, are being airlifted to support massive vaccination campaigns that will be conducted over the coming weeks to prevent the outbreak of disease. To expand provision of safe water and access to sanitation, boreholes will be drilled and rehabilitated; water trucking and hygiene activities will be expanded.

"We appreciate the generosity of the international community and those contributions are already making a difference. We urgently need more funds to meet the enormous need. Every minute that they are without lifesaving support is the difference between life and death," Sy said.

UNICEF estimates it will need $100 million over the next six months for a massive scale up of operations to reach children in the drought affected areas with emergency and preventative assistance.

For more information or to make a tax-deductible contribution to relief efforts in the Horn of Africa, please contact the U.S. Fund for UNICEF:

Website: www.unicefusa.org/donate/horn
Toll free: 1-800-4UNICEF (1-800-486-4233)
Text: Text "FOOD" to UNICEF (864233) to donate $10
Mail: 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038

About UNICEF

UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Working in more than 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.

UNICEF is at the forefront of efforts to reduce child mortality worldwide. There has been substantial progress: the annual number of under-five deaths dropped from 13 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2009. But still, 22,000 children die each day from preventable causes. Our mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

SOURCE U.S. Fund for UNICEF

CONTACT: Susannah Masur, +1-212-880-9146, (m), +1-646-428-5010, smasur@unicefusa.org, or Kini Schoop, +1-212-922-2634, kschoop@unicefusa.org, both of U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Web Site: http://www.unicefusa.org

Alleged Somali Pirates Indicted for Attacks On Navy Ships

23 Apr 2010 20:30 Africa/Lagos



Alleged Somali Pirates Indicted for Attacks On Navy Ships

NORFOLK, Va., April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Federal grand juries in the Eastern District of Virginia have returned two separate indictments charging 11 men from Somalia with engaging in piracy and related offenses pertaining to attacks on two Navy ships. The indictments charge separate attacks by separate groups on the U.S.S. Nicholas and the U.S.S. Ashland.



Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; George Venizelos, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Russ, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Norfolk, made the announcement.
"Since the earliest days of this country, piracy has been a serious crime," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "Piracy threatens human lives and disrupts international commerce. When pirates attack U.S. vessels by force, they must face severe consequences."


"The Naval Criminal Investigative Service provides unique forward deployed law enforcement capabilities to the U.S. Navy's Maritime Strategy," said NCIS Special Agent in Charge Russ. "This case demonstrates the working relationship between uniformed military forces and NCIS - which is a civilian agency - and our federal partners to ensure cooperative security and stability across the maritime domain."
The two indictments were returned earlier this week and remained sealed until the defendants made their initial appearances before a magistrate judge in Norfolk.


According to the first six-count indictment returned on April 20, 2010, five men - Mohammed Modin Hasan, Gabul Abdullahi Ali, Abdi Wali Dire, Abdi Mohammed Gurewardher, and Abdi Mohammed Umar - left Somalia in search of a merchant ship to pirate. They allegedly used two smaller vessels loaded with assault weapons and a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) that served as attack boats, along with a larger ship full of supplies.
This indictment alleges that on March 31, 2010, Hasan, Ali, and Dire boarded one of these smaller vessels and set out to pirate and plunder what they believed to be a merchant ship. Ali and Dire each allegedly carried an assault weapon, and Hasan allegedly carried an RPG. The indictment charges that they opened fire on the ship, which they later discovered was the Nicholas.


The remaining two individuals charged in the indictment - Gurewardher and Umar -remained onboard the large ship to maintain that ship during the alleged attack.


In a second five-count indictment, six men - Maxamad Cali Saciid, Mohammed Abdi Jama, Jaamac Ciidle, Abdicasiis Cabaase, Abdirasaq Abshir and Mahamed Farraah Hassan - were charged with piracy-related offenses involving the U.S.S. Ashland on or about April 10, 2010.


All 11 men were charged with piracy, which carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison. In addition, the indictment also charges them with the following:


-- Attack to plunder a vessel, which carries a maximum of 10 years in
prison.
-- Assault with a dangerous weapon in the special maritime jurisdiction,
which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
-- Conspiracy to use firearms during a crime of violence, which carries a
maximum of 20 years in prison.
-- Use of a firearm during a crime of violence, which carry a mandatory
minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison if
convicted of one count. The five men charged in the indictment
involving the U.S.S. Nicholas face two firearm counts, which would
carry an additional minimum of 25 years - to equal 35 years - in
prison if convicted of both counts.

The U.S.S. Nicholas is an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate homeported in Norfolk, Va. The U.S.S. Ashland is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship homeported in Little Creek, Va.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI's New York Field Office and Norfolk Field Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.


The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin L. Hatch and Joseph DePadilla, from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The public is reminded that an indictment only contains charges and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.


A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice

CONTACT: Peter Carr of the Office of U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride,
Eastern District of Virginia, +1-703-842-4050
Web Site: http://www.justice.gov/

Journalist Beaten By Guards in Semi-Autonomous Somalia Region of Puntland

2 Mar 2010 12:32 Africa/Lagos

Journalist Beaten By Guards in Semi-Autonomous Somalia Region of Puntland / IPI Calls on Puntland Authorities to Punish Anyone who Assaults a Journalist

MOGADISHU, March 2, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- A Somali correspondent was allegedly beaten by court security guards last Wednesday in Puntland, the semi-autonomous region of Somalia, according to a 25 February statement by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).

Ahmed Ibrahim Nor from Mogadishu-based Radio Simba was recording proceedings in the high court of Bosaso, capital of Puntland, when he was allegedly attacked by the court's chief security officer and other guards, NUSOJ reported. Nor and other journalists were reportedly told to stop recording, but were attacked even after they had turned off their equipment.

“IPI condemns the attack on Ahmed Ibrahim Nor,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “The Puntland authorities must take action against anyone who attacks a journalist. In doing so, they will be ensuring that no one is above the law. If security guards are found to have been involved in an assault on a journalist, they should be prosecuted. Attacks on journalists should never be tolerated.”

This is the second courtroom attack on a journalist in Puntland in a year. Last July, Aweys Sheikh Nur, a reporter for the Netherlands-based broadcaster, Horseed Media, was allegedly attacked by five guards at a Bosaso courtroom, who beat the journalist with the butts of their AK-47 rifles. Nur was beaten for having taken photographs despite an order not to do so, which was reportedly given while the journalist was outside the courtroom. The judge and other guards failed to intervene during the beating, and Nur subsequently checked himself into a local hospital for treatment.

“The problem in Puntland is that the armed forces have absolute protection,” NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman told IPI by phone. “They do whatever they want, and no one talks to them,” he added, citing as an example an attack on a senior Radio Galkayo reporter that occurred in December, when a well-known Puntland police officer allegedly fired shots at Hassan Mohamed Jama as he arrived at the local airport to pick up a friend.

Jama managed to escape unharmed. The police officer has not faced any disciplinary proceedings for his actions.

Several Puntland journalists were attacked, arrested, jailed or suspended last year under criminal defamation and other laws, as a result of their critical reporting. In November 2009, Voice of America (VOA) reporter Mohammed Yasin Isak was shot in the shoulder in Galkayo while exiting a Puntland police checkpoint, IPI reported at the time.

Elsewhere in Somalia, kidnapped radio correspondent Ali Yusuf Adan, who was detained on 21 February by Al Shabab militia soldiers, continues to be held incommunicado.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Mills
Press & Communications Manager
International Press Institute (IPI)
Tel: + 43 1 512 9011
Fax: + 43 1 512 9014
E-mail: amills@freemedia.at

Source: International Press Institute (IPI)

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
2 Mar 2010
12:32
Government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement Negotiate Agreement
12:32
Transition Government in Guinea
12:32
Darfur / UNAMID Daily Media Brief
12:32
Journalist Beaten By Guards in Semi-Autonomous Somalia Region of Puntland / IPI Calls on Puntland Authorities to Punish Anyone who Assaults a Journalist
12:32
European Commission allocates more than €375 million in humanitarian aid to help vulnerable people from Afghanistan to Sudan

IFJ Calls for the Release of Radio Journalist in Somalia

24 Feb 2010 12:54 Africa/Lagos

IFJ Calls for the Release of Radio Journalist in Somalia


MOGADISHU, February 24, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned about the security and safety of journalists in Somalia following the arrest of Ali Yusuf Adan a Radio journalist in Wanlaweyn who was detained on Sunday, 21 February 2010, in the district of lower Shabelle region, controlled by the Al Shabaab Administration.


“We firmly condemn this arrest which adds to our concerns for the safety of our colleagues in Somalia . This climate of terror against the journalists is unacceptable,” declared Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “Urgent measures are needed urgently to address the situation in this country where journalists continue to pay a heavy price only for doing their work”.


The arrest of Ali Yusuf Adan, a correspondent of Radio Somaliweyn for Lower Shabelle region, came shortly after he had published a report about the Al-Shabab militias who shot a man over prayer delay in Wanlaweyn. On 20 February, he was arrested by the Al-Shabaab administration in the region and was later transferred to a prison in Merca town, headquarters of Lower Shabelle region. Local sources say this report might be behind his arrest but Al-Shabaab has not disclosed their reason for the journalist's detention.


According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), despite the censorship imposed by the Al-Shabaab on the media which led many journalists to flee the territories under their control, some journalists are still working in these areas under these harsh conditions.


“We are concerned about the safety of Ali Yusuf Adan. We demand the safe return of the journalist. Al-Shabaab must stop their repressive actions,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.


IFJ demands the immediate and unconditional release of Ali Yusuf Adan and call for an international action for Somalia . IFJ renews also its firm demand to Somali authorities to give top priority to the safety and the security of Somali journalists in order to guarantee press freedom in this country.


For more information, contact +221 33 867 95 87 +221 33 867 95 87


The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide


Source: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

UN expert condemns series of stonings in Somalia, urges religious groups to reflect on their actions

The above video of a 13 year old girl stoned in Somalia caused uproar in the world.

30 Nov 2009 12:14 Africa/Lagos

UN expert condemns series of stonings in Somalia, urges religious groups to reflect on their actions


MOGADISHU, November 30, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, Dr. Shamsul Bari, on Friday condemned the series of stonings that have been taking place in Somalia, and called on all parties to immediately refrain from and abolish the practice of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments, including stoning, amputations, floggings, and other unlawful acts of torture and murder.

“I would like to extend my solidarity and sympathy to the Somali people in view of the deteriorating human rights situation in the country including the summary executions, floggings and stoning to death carried out in public by Islamist armed groups in South and Central Somalia,” Dr. Bari said.


Photo Credit: Pleion.

On November 18, 2009, according to reports from a village near the town of Wajid, 400 km north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, a 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery was killed by Islamists in public. The woman was taken to an open area where she was buried up to her waist. She was then stoned to death in front of a crowd of about 200 people.

Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for rape in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu, and in October two men are reported to have been executed after being accused of spying. Similar executions took place earlier in the year.

Under the Al Shabab group's interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been married – even a divorcee – who has an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery and punished by being stoned to death.

"I strongly condemn these recent executions by stoning in Al-Shabab-controlled areas of Somalia, including that of the woman accused of adultery in the Wajid area, and of Abbas Hussein Abdirahman in the town of Merka," Bari said.

He urged all Islamist groups, including Al Shabaab and other armed groups and religious leaders to abide by their international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations.

"I call on all relevant parties to immediately refrain from and abolish the practice of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments, including stoning, amputations, floggings, various other corporal punishments, and further unlawful acts of murder and torture which amount to crimes under the International Law," Bari said. "Today is the start of the Eid Al Adha, an extremely important event in the Muslim calendar. It is a good moment for all those in power who are inflicting suffering on individuals and, indeed, on the population in general, to reflect on how they can help people, in accordance with religious principles, rather than harm them."

He also urged the International Community to engage with Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to identify priorities in terms of security, humanitarian and human rights and to strengthen the capacity of the Government to investigate human rights abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable.

"On the occasion of this important religious feast, the Eid Al Adha, I express my solidarity to all the victims and their families," Bari said. "This should be an occasion of piety and celebration. Instead, for them, it is marked with great sadness and loss."


Source: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Nigerian Ship Still Held By Somali pirates

9 Apr 2009 20:32 Africa/Lagos

Somali Justice Advocacy Center Expresses Deep Concern Over Al Qaeda Involvement in Piracy in Somalia and Cautions U.S. to Not Exercise Military Force

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Somali Justice Advocacy Center has been in contact with Somali pirates in the northeastern region of Somalia and is currently talking to them about the release of a Nigerian ship that has been held hostage for a couple of months. The Nigerian ship captain's brother is a resident here in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Somali Justice Advocacy Center, while on the phone yesterday with pirates in Somalia, asked about Captain Phillips' condition and will talk to them further today.


The Center further expresses a concern over huge amounts of ransom cash (in U.S. dollars) changing hands without any proper institutional supervision and is afraid it might end up in the hands of extremists.


The Center is deeply troubled by the lack of proper action from the international community against the piracy issue and the increasing influence of extremists in the region.


"This is not about piracy, but rather the absence of an effective governance in Somalia," said Omar Jamal, Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.


"We caution the U.S. not to exercise the military option against piracy, which would further complicate the issue," Jamal continued.


www.somalijustice.org


Source: Somali Justice Advocacy Center

CONTACT: Omar Jamal of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center,
+1-612-715-1221, Info@somalijustice.org


Web Site: http://www.somalijustice.org/