New York Times Correspondent Facing Arrest over Child Soldier Interviews Flees Somalia

New York Times Correspondent Facing Arrest over Child Soldier Interviews Flees Somalia / Even in Times of Crisis, Government Has Duty to Uphold Journalists’ Rights, Says IPI
Source: International Press Institute (IPI)
MOGADISHU, Somalia - July 5, 2010 via APO:

Mohammed Ibrahim, New York Times correspondent and Programme Coordinator at the National Union of Somali Journalists. File photo

A Somali correspondent for the New York Times, Mohammed Ibrahim, told IPI by phone on Thursday that he had fled the country following death threats and attempted arrest by government security forces.

On 15 June, the New York Times ran an article headlined “Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally, Somalia,” under the byline of the newspaper’s East Africa bureau chief, Jeffrey Gettleman. The piece included information from interviews conducted by Mohammed Ibrahim with child soldiers.

The Somali government has since denied that its army employs child soldiers.

In a later New York Times article, foreign backers of Somalia expressed concern over the allegations.

In response, the Somali government began hunting down anyone involved in the child soldier piece, said Omar Faruk Osman, who heads the National Union of Somali Journalists – for which Ibrahim also works.

Members of the Somali security services began contacting Ibrahim shortly after the story ran, he told IPI. He received an email from the director of communications at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace, asking him to appear for a meeting with security chiefs. The communications director assured Ibrahim that he would not be harmed.

“It was like a trick,” Ibrahim said. He never showed up.

On 24 June, the government held a press conference during which it again denied that it used child soldiers, Ibrahim told IPI. According to Ibrahim, the government had detained the child soldiers interviewed for the piece, and forced them to recant their story.

On the same day, security officers attempted to arrest Ibrahim while he was eating lunch in a restaurant. According to Ibrahim, he was set up by an acquaintance from the government-run Radio Mogadishu who has ties to Somali intelligence. Thanks to a tip from another source, he was able to leave the restaurant before security personnel arrived. Ibrahim reportedly later spoke to witnesses who said that over twenty police officers arrived to arrest him, some of whom were spotted with Mohammed’s name written on their palms.

On 26 June, Ibrahim said, he spotted police officers looking for him in the Trebiano area of Mogadishu, where he had gone to purchase a plane ticket.

“The guys were the same guys who attacked me at the restaurant on 24 June…. and I immediately noticed that they were in search of me and left the area immediately,” Ibrahim said in an emailed statement. He left the area immediately. Ibrahim said he realized then that he could not leave the country through the airport – which is controlled by the Somali government.

Ibrahim travelled by bus for three days to reach Nairobi. Now, he is afraid that he will not be able to return, for fear of reprisals by security officers, including arrest and brutal interrogation.

“It was horrible,” he said. “They are angry and these security forces might kill you.”

Others involved in reporting the story were also threatened, according to New York Times East Africa Bureau Chief Jeffrey Gettleman. “Somalia’s transitional government was outraged by our story on its use of child soldiers and has threatened all the local people who helped us report it, including Mohamed; another translator; and even the owner and staff of the hotel where we stayed when we reported that story,” he wrote in an email to IPI.

“I tried to tell government officials Mohamed had done nothing wrong and that there was a large body of evidence about this issue – the UN recently issued a report listing the Somali government as one of the most flagrant users of child soldiers in the world,” Gettleman wrote.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “The International Press Institute is gravely concerned at the allegations that Somali government security services threatened, and were seeking to arrest, Mohammed Ibrahim because they were angered by the interviews he conducted with alleged child soldiers in the Somali army. We urge the Somali government to respect the right of journalists to report on anything that is in the public interest, without fear of arrest and physical harm.”

Meanwhile, despite the fact that Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has announced the launch of an investigation into the possible existence of underage soldiers in the Somali army, other officials continue to deny the allegations. Government spokesperson Abdi Kadir Walayo contended that the story was fabricated, in an interview with Voice of America, published on 29 June.

The Somali government, currently locked in a violent conflict with Islamist insurgent groups in southern and central Somalia, is backed by the United Nations and is an ally of the United States in its war against terrorism.

Ethiopia-Sudan relations strengthening: Ambassador

Ethio-Sudan relations strengthening: Ambassador
Report by WaltaInfo.com - Wednesday, 09 June 2010:

Addis Ababa, June 9 (WIC) – Ambassador responsible for bilateral and regional relations at the Sudan Embassy in Ethiopia, Mohammed Yousif Hassan, said the socio-economic ties between Sudan and Ethiopia is improving from time to time.

In an exclusive interview he held with WIC, Hassen said in addition to the existing people-to-people ties, the socio-economic relations between the two sisterly countries are improving all the time following the construction of a road that linked them.

He said the two countries are registering impressive achievements in promoting legal trade, transportation and communication links through peaceful means.

A Sudanese cultural troupe recently staged performance in various towns of Ethiopia including Metema, Bahir Dar, Gondar and Addis Ababa traveling in land transport, he indicated.

The cultural shows will play a key role to further strengthen the people-to-people ties between the two countries, he said, adding an Ethiopian cultural troupe will also travel to Khartoum, Sudan soon.

He added the two countries relations in the tourism and investment sectors have shown a remarkable progress owing to the trade fairs and bazaars as well as investment forums held in both countries.

He said the bilateral trade volume between the two countries is also growing. According to him, Sudan supplies oil, gas and various industrial products to Ethiopia, while Ethiopia exports sesame and other oil seeds to Sudan.

He said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s presence at the swearing-in ceremony of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir indicates the strength of relations between the two nations.

According to Hassen, the peaceful and free elections held with a high turnout in the two countries would contribute a lot for the prevalence of peace and security in the Horn of Africa.

This report can be found online at: http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21924&Itemid=134

Al-Qaeda trained foreigners help fuel Somalia uprising

Al-Qaida trained foreigners help fuel Somalia uprising
Report by Sudarsan Raghavan, The Washington Post
Dated Wednesday, 09 June 2010:

Foreign fighters trained in Afghanistan are gaining influence inside Somalia's al-Shabab militia, fueling a radical Islamist insurgency with ties to Osama bin Laden, according to Somali intelligence officials, former al-Shabab fighters and analysts.

The foreigners, who include Pakistanis and Arabs, are inspiring the Somali militants to import al-Qaida's ideology and brutal tactics from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. A significant number of Americans are also being drawn to the Somali conflict. Two New Jersey men were arrested Sunday in New York City and charged with planning to travel to Somalia to join al-Shabab.

In April, suicide bombers drove a white truck filled with explosives into an African Union peacekeepers base, mirroring recent bombings in Baghdad or Kabul. Within hours, a grainy photo emerged on local websites of a young, gap-toothed man clutching a sign in Arabic over the words "Distributed by al-Shabab." It declared the operation revenge for the U.S.-aided killings of Abu Ayyub al Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the top leaders of the insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq.

"The foreign jihadists were once in the shadows," said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst in Nairobi with the International Crisis Group, a conflict research organization. "Now, there is no doubt they have taken control of the movement."

Foreigners are increasingly foot soldiers in Somalia as well.

The two New Jersey suspects, Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark on charges of conspiring to kill, maim and kidnap people outside the United States.

In September, a Somali American from Seattle drove a truck bomb into an African Union base in Mogadishu, killing 21 peacekeepers. In December, a Dane of Somali descent blew himself up at a hotel in the capital, killing 24 people, including three government ministers.

In February, al-Shabab formally declared ties to al-Qaida. The militia has received praise from bin Laden and radical Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who has been linked to the suspect in last year's shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, and the suspect in an attempted attack aboard a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Mr. Aulaqi has been cited as an inspiration by the Pakistani American held in last month's attempted bombing in Times Square.

Al-Shabab's main rival, Hezb-i-Islam, also has proclaimed bin Laden welcome. "We are both fighting the Christian invaders in Somalia," said group spokesman Mohamed Osman Aruz, referring to the West and to Somalia's mostly Christian neighbors who back the government.

The rise of the foreign fighters suggests a growing internationalization of the conflict, part of a trend emerging from Yemen to Mali, where al-Qaida's regional affiliates are showing increasing ambitions nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Today, U.S. officials consider the vast, ungoverned lands of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa the second-biggest terrorism threat after Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the United States focuses its military muscle in those regions, there is concern that more al-Qaeda-linked fighters could migrate to this part of the world.

"The lesson of the last 10 to 15 years of counterterrorism is that, as pressure goes on the network in one place, it moves elsewhere," former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said during a recent visit to Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.

Somalia is where the United States and the West are quietly engaged in the most ambitious effort outside the theaters of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to halt the spread of radical Islam and al-Qaida's influence. The United States and its allies are providing weapons, training, intelligence and logistical support to the fragile government.

They are also funding the African Union peacekeeping force that protects -- many say props up -- the government. Yet al-Shabab, or "The Youth" in Arabic, now controls large patches of south and central Somalia. The government, divided by political infighting, controls less than five square miles in Mogadishu.

In the capital, al-Qaida-inspired tactics have altered the landscape. Hotels are tucked behind steel gates. Peacekeepers use high-tech gadgets to frisk visitors for explosive belts. Ordinary Somalis avoid empty, parked cars.

The foreign fighters in Somalia number 300 to 1,200, according to Somali and U.S. intelligence estimates. Most are from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen and Sudan. But they include Afghans, Pakistanis and Arabs, say former al-Shabab fighters.

At least 20 Somali Americans have joined the militia, including a top field commander, Omar Hammami, an Alabama native whose nom de guerre is Abu Mansoor al-Ameriki. He has starred in propaganda videos to attract more foreign fighters.

[ Credit: This report can be found reprinted online at Post-Gazette:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10160/1064187-82.stm ]

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In Africa, 50th anniversary of independence is an occasion to celebrate, lament

Note, the following report says Ethiopia receives nearly a billion dollars a year in U.S. assistance, and Rwanda receives hundreds of millions in U.S. aid each year. And, former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan noted that:

"South Korea and Sudan had the same per-capita income in the 1960s; South Korea is today one of the world's wealthiest countries and is "a respected member" of the international community."

Also, in the past two years, there have been military coups in Niger, Madagascar and Guinea. Sudan's first multi-party elections in more than two decades were marred by vote rigging, intimidation and boycotts.

And last week, Burundi ordered a Human Rights Watch researcher to leave the country. The group had documented official inaction over political violence in the run-up to its first presidential elections after nearly 16 years of civil war next month.

Ivory Coast, once a model of stability, crumbled into civil war in 2002 and remains tense and divided.

In Africa, 50th anniversary of independence is an occasion to celebrate, lament
Report from The Washington Post
By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, May 22, 2010; 10:26 AM

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON -- Former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan stepped up to the podium to speak about rule of law and human rights, Africa's hopes and obstacles.

Behind him, seated in a row of red velvet chairs, were the leaders of Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Chad and the Republic of Congo. All had gained power through military coups, civil wars, inheritance or manipulated elections.

"It wasn't a group of the continent's biggest democrats," remarked Richard Moncrieff, West Africa project director for the International Crisis Group.

Over the past week, hundreds of dignitaries arrived in this Central African capital to celebrate 50 years of independence from colonial rule for Cameroon and 16 other African nations. But casting a shadow over the occasion was a sober acknowledgment that the actions of many of Africa's leaders were hurting the continent's image and potential, as well as tarnishing its successes.

Ahead of national elections Sunday, Ethiopia -- a close U.S. ally -- has jailed political rivals and journalists, denied food aid to opposition supporters, and even killed opposition leaders, according to human rights activists and diplomats.

Ethiopia, which receives nearly a billion dollars a year in U.S. assistance, has denied the allegations. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, once viewed as a new breed of reformist African leader, is expected to extend his 19-year rule.

"There are still too many instances of corruption, of elite capture of resources, of growing inequality in work and opportunity, abuse of electoral processes and selective adherence to the rule of law," said Annan, who is from the African country of Ghana.

The leaders behind him nodded.

U.S. and Western officials also once hailed Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni as Africa's greatest hopes. But they, too, are accused of using repression to suppress dissent and extend their rule. Rwanda goes to the polls in August, but reports of a state crackdown on opposition parties and independent journalists are already surfacing.

"There is a very serious problem of winner-takes-all politics," Moncrieff said. "That means the stakes of presidential power are so high that people are willing to use violence to get it or abuse the rule of law to keep it."

Africa vs. Asia

Many Africans lament their continent's slow progress in comparison to Asia. Africa is rich in oil, gas and minerals. Yet several Asian countries, which also gained independence from colonial rulers a half-century ago, are among the world's most advanced.

Annan noted that South Korea and Sudan had the same per-capita income in the 1960s. South Korea is today one of the world's wealthiest countries and is "a respected member" of the international community, Annan said. Despite its oil wealth, Sudan is one of the poorest countries, and its president has been indicted by a war crimes tribunal.

"If Africa is put on the right track, it could be a major player," said Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who is from Egypt.

In the past two years, there have been military coups in Niger, Madagascar and Guinea. Sudan's first multi-party elections in more than two decades were marred by vote rigging, intimidation and boycotts.

Last week, Burundi ordered a Human Rights Watch researcher to leave the country. The group had documented official inaction over political violence in the run-up to its first presidential elections after nearly 16 years of civil war next month.

Rwanda, which receives hundreds of millions in U.S. aid each year, also recently ordered a Human Rights Watch monitor to leave the country, accusing the organization of publishing "propaganda" against the government.

There have been successes. Civil wars have declined since the 1990s. There are strong democracies, such as Ghana and South Africa. Nigeria has so far smoothly managed a political transition after the death of President Umar Yar'Adua this month.

The continent has one of the highest rates of cellphone growth. Investment from Asian nations such as China is booming, fueling relatively strong economic growth rates. The region is starting to bounce back from the global financial crisis.

Still, even the strongest and most stable African economies can quickly disintegrate. Ivory Coast, once a model of stability, crumbled into civil war in 2002 and remains tense and divided.

Kenya's 2007 election violence spurred investors to pull out or postpone investments for months. "It affected the whole region," said Valentine Rugwabiza, assistant director general of the World Trade Organization.

Calculated repression

Demonstrations erupted after Ethiopia's 2005 elections, when opposition groups charged that the government had cheated them out of parliamentary seats. Ethiopian security forces suppressed the protests, killing dozens and arresting thousands. This time, the state repression appears to be a calculated strategy to erase any serious political threat and to prevent a repeat of violence, said human rights activists and diplomats.

The State Department's most recent human rights report concludes that Ethiopian "security forces committed arbitrary and politically motivated killings," and that "there were reports of politically motivated disappearances." It noted "numerous credible reports" of unlawful detention of opposition candidates and their supporters, as well as security officials who "tortured, beat, and mistreated detainees."

A recent Human Rights Watch report accused the government of politicizing the distribution of humanitarian assistance, much of it from the United States. They accused officials of withholding food aid, fertilizer and seeds from opposition supporters, in a nation where many people survive on such help.

In a telephone interview, Ethiopian Communications Minister Bereket Simon denounced both reports as "baseless."

"We are implementing democracy based on the Ethiopian context. We are not taking any prescription from any master," he said. "This is a free and fair election. You will see how Ethiopians will give their approval for this government."

In Yaounde, none of the dignitaries who discussed Africa's future on panels or in speeches mentioned Meles. But the names of Tanzania's first president, Julius Nyerere, and South Africa's Nelson Mandela were still uttered with pride, as models to emulate.

As he concluded his speech, Annan described Africa as "a sleeping giant about to be awoken." He spoke of the potential markets, the rapid spread of modern technology. He said the continent's opportunities "are real, but also under threat."

He implored leaders to respect human rights, rule of law, to be more transparent. He urged those at the helm of oil-rich nations to use their wealth to help their people. He urged leaders to address the rights of women.

"It is strong leadership and good governance that will make difference both at home and the global stage," Annan said.

Behind him, his host, President Paul Biya of Cameroon, nodded.

Biya has been in power for 28 years and wields tight control over the government and the economy. The watchdog group Transparency International describes Cameroon as among the world's most corrupt countries. There is no real political opposition. Authority and wealth is derived from loyalty to Biya.

His portrait is everywhere, including a mega-size one that hangs in the sports arena. His supporters wear shirts emblazoned with his face and burst into song in front of him. Banners on the street proclaim him "a wise man at the service of Africa."

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CTV Interview: Mo Ibrahim's search for good governance

Photo: Mo Ibrahim (Source: moibrahimfoundation.org)

Mo Ibrahim's search for good governance
From CTV News (undated report) by Gordon Pitts:

Ask Mo Ibrahim how he rose to become the billionaire superstar of African business, and he will talk about luck.

Born in strife-riven Sudan, he insists he was lucky to get an education, and to be an expert in mobile communication just as the cellphone revolution was about to sweep the world. And lucky to sell his African mobile phone company, Celtel International, in 2005 to a Kuwaiti firm for $3.4-billion (U.S.), making him one of the great success stories of today’s Africa.

For Mr. Ibrahim, 64, moving a continent from episodic luck to permanent opportunity is the role of governments, whose performance on behalf of citizens is wildly mixed in Africa. He has made the pursuit of good governance the mission of his London-based Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and the driving purpose of his post-business life.

By governance, he means government’s ability to deliver a basket of public goods to its people, things like education, health services, rule of law and gender rights. Some countries, like Mauritius, do it quite well; others like Somalia and Zimbabwe are appallingly bad.

Mr. Ibrahim’s four-year-old foundation (The Mo Ibrahim foundation) posts a score card of all 53 countries in Africa (called the Ibrahim Index), from top to bottom. But his greater purpose is to spark a conversation. “We are trying to have a debate about what exactly our governments are doing,” Mr. Ibrahim says.

Are you a role model for young Africans?

Many African people are smarter than me – kids who could have been better. I have no claim for genius.

You have to work hard and make the right decisions, but if you don’t have the opportunity, you don’t make it. So I owe something to my friends, family, my people. If I can go back and help, I must do that. That is a duty.

Is the idea of good governance progressing in African states?

We see slow improvement.

Why is it happening?

The end of the Cold War was essential for Africa. The superpowers used to have client states, to which they’d say: “It doesn’t matter if you are a dictator or not, as long as you are in my camp – in the scramble for resources or votes in the UN or whatever.” It made for bad company. I think the Cold War was worse for Africa than colonialism.

Now, we are starting to notice the rise of the civil society in Africa. And new technology: There are 450 million mobile phones in Africa now, out of 950 million people, so it has really enabled people to communicate with each other.

And what about cellphone banking?

That is happening in Africa more than anywhere else. You will see a lot of wonderful applications where Africa is leap-frogging, not because we are necessarily smarter but because we need that. Retail banking in Africa is very weak. You can’t go to a village and get money from an ATM or visit a branch of the bank. So people have to use the Internet.

Do you agree with those who say aid is the problem, not the solution?

In most part, it is a silly discussion. Whenever there is disaster or famine somewhere, we cannot stand by and watch. On HIV, malaria, Darfur, or Somalia, we need to help our brothers and sisters. So there is not much discussion about humanitarian aid.

And we must really focus on developmental aid. We need to deliver better aid and untied aid. Actually, we need to deliver aid to end aid. Nobody in Africa loves to be a beggar, or a recipient of aid. Everywhere I go in Africa, people say ‘when are we going to stand up on our feet?’

Africa as a continent is rich, but Africans as a people are poor. The answer is governance. We really need to get our act together to improve the quality of life of our people. Developmental aid will speed up this process.

What about just borrowing more capital from banks?

That is just a fantasy. Unfortunately, our malfunctioning banking system doesn’t deal with Africa. They think Africa is too risky. You cannot rely on Goldman Sachs or whoever to really help – those guys just love subprime mortgages and all the other crap.

We should also support projects that help economic integration. Africa is disconnected. Internal African trade is about 8 per cent of the trade total. In Africa, we have 53 little countries and we are intentionally determined not to communicate and trade and move goods between each other. It’s stupid.

How do you feel about the rising wave of Chinese investment in Africa?

We welcome the Chinese, we welcome the Indians, we welcome anyone who would like to trade with us. Chinese demand for our raw materials helps increase prices that have been stagnant for almost 50 years. But the Chinese need to learn from the mistakes committed in the past by the West.

Let us trade honestly and with transparency. To say ‘we don’t care what kind of government is there, we are not interfering’ – that is a little bit dodgy. If you are supporting a repressive regime, that is a political act; you cannot claim it is just trade.

When we had the military coup in Guinea last year, the African Union stood firm, and ostracized the junta. Then we had the massacre in the stadium of peacefully demonstrating people. The soldiers raped women. The same week we hear that a lifeline of $7-billion has been extended by China to the regime. What is that? Are we throwing a lifeline to a criminal regime?

So when you throw money to a regime, you can’t be considered neutral?

That is the point. I say to our Chinese friends, please be friends to us, the people, because we are there, we will be there all the time. Dictators come and go. The West learned that lesson. They supported Mobutu, Idi Amin, these other guys, for whatever short-term reasons. But we have learned this expediency doesn’t work in the long term.

Are Canadians doing enough in Africa?

They can afford to do more, although in general Canada has been a positive force. I noticed you are now declaring 20 countries as your priority [aid] countries and you have only eight sub-Saharan countries on the list. I hope you pay more attention to sub-Saharan Africa. Tell your friends: ‘Hi guys, we are here; please don’t forget us.’

How do you convince people Africa is a place to invest?

People are too shy about Africa. All you see is 10 seconds in any news bulletin. After they talk about Darfur and [Zimbabwe President Robert] Mugabe, time is up. People have the impression Africa is troublesome, all about dictatorships and bad rule, but what they see is the bad examples. Of 53 countries, there are at least 29 or 30 democracies, and we have a good work force.

Around Christmas, what you see on TV ads for Oxfam and Save the Children is famines, terrible conditions, and that creates an impression. They think we are all sick or weak, but actually we have very healthy people. Just watch the Olympics – we run faster, we jump higher, we are excellent footballers. We are good people and we can be a good place to invest. According to World Bank reports, the highest returns on investment in the last few years were always in Africa.

But what do you do about corruption?

International business carries as much or more blame. We built mobile networks in 15 countries and we did not pay bribes whatsoever. We said no one can write a cheque of more than $30,000 without going to the board. Why can’t companies do that? It is not enough for boards to say ‘we uphold values.’ You need decisions that in reality help people out there. That raises issues of corporate governance in the West. While we are fighting for governance in public institutions, we equally need to fight for good corporate governance too.

What else do you do in your foundation?

We give a prize for African leadership, the largest prize in the world. We need to celebrate success in leadership.

What do you want people to do with the prize?

What we want is to honour African leaders who come forward, do the right thing, take their country forward and leave on time. Believe me, to be a leader of an African country is a tough job.

If somebody comes and really deals with this trouble, takes half a million out of poverty and creates jobs, rules justly and equally, isn’t that wonderful? This person needs to be honoured and we need to create role models in Africa – we had [Nelson] Mandela but that is not enough. We need to produce many Mandelas.

Read a complete biography of Mo Ibrahim on his website

EU deployed its election observers mission across Ethiopia

EU deployed its election observers mission across Ethiopia
From Sudan Tribune - Thursday 29 April 2010 by Tesfa-Alem Tekle:

April 28, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — The European Union on Tuesday dispatched a first group of its election monitors throughout Ethiopia, ahead of next month’s national election.

A first phase of 90 observers unit on Tuesday left the capital, Addis Ababa, to the different regions of the country.

With a budget of eight million Euros, the EU will deploy a total of 150 monitors in Ethiopia, with 60 more observers to land in the horn of Africa’s country one week before polls open on May 23 elections. The bloc’s mission said.

The deployment comes after the Ethiopian government signed a memorandum of understanding with EU this week.

"They will observe all phases of the election from the opening of polling stations to voting, closing ad counting," said the statement.

"Their findings will be part of the overall evaluation and assessment of the process by the European Union Election Observation Mission."

Earlier this month, the head of the EU monitoring team said it will remain impartial after the bloc was accused of bias by Addis Ababa in the 2005 polls The EU observers will asses the electoral campaign, voting day, compilation of results and post-election activity, including complaints and appeals procedures.

"They will also evaluate the general political electoral context, the work of the election administration, media environment and role of civil society, the human rights situation as relates to elections, and the participation of women and minorities," the EU observer mission further said.

Ethiopia’s biggest opposition coalition, The Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Forum) last week said that it does not consider the African Union and European Union Election Observers neutral.

"We know how the AU and EU observed previous elections in Ethiopia. This time, too, we don’t expect any impartial observation from them," Beyene Petros, chairman of Forum, told Ethiopian Reporter.

Beyene added that his party had no idea as to what exactly the election observers were doing in Ethiopia and that the observers have not made any attempts to talk to any of his party members, according to Reporter.

Around 32 million Ethiopians will go to polls to cast their votes for the May 23 national polls, country’s fourth elections since the fall down of Communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. (ST)

White honey grows scarce as bees abandon Ethiopia's parched peaks

Ethiopia is Africa's biggest honey producer and the world's fourth biggest beeswax exporter.

Such is Ethiopians' love of honey that apitherapy clinics offer treatments for many ailments. The national drink is tej – honey mead.

White honey grows scarce as bees abandon Ethiopia's parched peaks
From The Observer
By Alex Duval Smith in Ethiopia
Sunday, 18 April 2010:

Drought forces bees into valleys in search of flowers, meaning they produce yellow honey

The truffle of the apiary world – rare white honey from Ethiopia's highest peaks – is in danger of disappearing, according to beekeepers in the Tigray region. "No rain for the flowers,'' said Ashenaf Abera as he stood on his rocky, parched slope in the northern Ethiopian region whose famine inspired Bob Geldof to stage Live Aid in 1985. "The bees need high-altitude flowers for the white honey. When they cannot find them, they go to other plants and produce yellow honey.''

Abera is paid £65 a month to mind 270 hives for the Asira Metira monastery, one of a dozen religious centres in an area whose 4th-century rock churches are among the wonders of the world. "We know about bees,'' said honey seller Sheikh Mohamed Ahamedin. He grips a large screwdriver with both hands to ladle a dollop of thick and lumpy white honey out of a plastic bucket. It is snow-white and tastes sweet and more waxy than yellow honey.

"The price is the highest it has ever been this year, because of scarcity,'' said Ahamedin who sells white honey for £7.75 per kilo. Last year he charged £4.50. Ethiopia is Africa's biggest honey producer and the world's fourth biggest beeswax exporter. After coffee, gold and cowhide, bee products are major contributors to the economy, especially through exports to Italy, where white honey is considered a delicacy. Bees' products are the only export item produced by Tigray's impoverished 4.6 million people, whose region is said to be one of the worst-hit in the world by climate change.

Such is Ethiopians' love of honey that apitherapy clinics offer treatments for many ailments. The national drink is tej – honey mead.

Beekeepers are increasingly scrapping traditional mud hives for square box-like hives from Europe which produce a higher yield. "The bees will not make white honey in the modern hives, but at least with them we can obtain a decent yield of yellow honey,'' he said.

The region's bee population is also in decline, with climate change and deforestation to blame. Tigray was a wealthy, lush region 150 years ago when its king, Johannes IV, brought a carpenter from Italy to fashion his imposing throne from local juniper wood. But wars with Italy, Egypt, Sudan and neighbouring Eritrea led to deforestation. '"Without the trees, the rainwater – which seems to be declining – does not run off the limestone in a useful way. That is why we end up with a landscape of rocks and little else,'' said local water expert Leul Fisseha.

Eritrean refugees have new camp in Ethiopia

Eritrean refugees have new camp in Ethiopia
From Sudan Tribune, Sunday, 18 April 2010:

April 17, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian authorities said this week they opened a new camp in the northern part of the country to meet the growing number of Eritrean refugees who arrive each month.

The new center located in Adi Harush in Tigray is the fourth to be established in the region since 2004.

The first batch of 356 people arrived on Thursday at the camp 80 per cent of this group is composed mainly of young people between 21 and 34, said a statement released by the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).

According to the ARRA, up to 2,000 mostly young men and women are now crossing the border each month to "avoid excessive repression, gross human rights violations and forced conscription into the army."

Rights groups accuse Eritrea of turning into a "giant prison" where detentions, torture and prolonged military conscription have become rife since a 2001. But Asmara rejects these accusations saying they are immigrants for economic reasons.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plans this year to resettle some 3100 Eritrean refugees to a number of western countries.

Nearly all Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia refuse home-return for safety reasons and the UN agency believes that resettlement to a third country is the appropriate option.

Since 2006, a total of 5,850 Eritrean refugees screened from different camps are resettled to different western countries. (ST)

Copy of 2 Forum messages

18 April 03:12, by visitor
We don’t want them in the West. Our countries are becoming hell-holes of tribal and religious fighting and endless neediness. A Sudanese man (Dinka) I met who had gone back to Sudan said to me "Europeans have built up their countries by themselves. We need to do the same." I agree. We can’t survive in the West if we have thousands and thousands of refugees turning up every year, costing us a fortune. The Eritrean people should stay in their countries and fight for freedom. They wanted independence; they got it. Now the UN says their problem is our problem? We can’t go on like this! Especially as they are bring too much Islam to Christian countries, and demanding that WE change to suit them.

18 April 05:07, by miss JOOK
You are absolutely right Visitor, am sudanese Dinka myself and i salute the southern who stayed and fought for their freedom. Eritreans wanted their freedom so they have it now. what else do they want?

Sudanese in Ethiopia voting for country’s presidency seat

Photo: Sudanese woman waits outside a polling station in Omdurman, west of Khartoum April 12, 2010. Sudan's elections commission on Monday announced a two-day extension to voting until April 15, after many voters experienced delays across Africa's largest country in the first open elections in 24 years. (Yahoo)

Sudanese in Ethiopia voting for country’s presidency seat
From Sudan Tribune, by Tesfa Alem Tekle, Tuesday 13 April 2010:

April 12, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) - Hundreds of Sudanese residing in Ethiopia are smoothly casting their votes in the presence of election observers here in Addis Abab since yesterday.

Voting in Addis Ababa began early on Sunday with Sudanese Ambassador to Ethiopia, Moheieddin Salim Ahmed, casting the first vote.

A according to the Sudanese embassy, there were nearly one thousand eligible Sudanese in Ethiopia however most didn’t register.

Ambassador Moheieddin affirmed that the process being going on smoothly pointing out that the number of registered voter amount to more than 230. He added that the voting process is taking place in the presence of observers.

Nevertheless, Sudanese refugees in Ethiopian refugee camps, one of the largest in neighboring countries, will not participate.

"We have talked to the UNHCR and they said the refugees cannot vote. We are convinced with their explanation," the Ambassador told reporters.

The voting here is underway with observers from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the African Union (AU) and the Arab League.

Voting in Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years is underway for a second day amid reports of confusion and delay in many regions.

The presidential, parliamentary and state polls are part of the comprehensive peace agreement that ended Sudan’s north-south civil war.

For many in Southern Sudan, these elections are a prelude to the referendum next January on self-determination.

Sudanese residing outside the country participate only in the presidential vote. They have no representatives in the national parliament.

The Electoral Commission of Sudan, voting to the presidential elections is underway in 21 countries, including in nine Arab countries, five European and four African states, in addition to the United States, Canada and Malaysia. Voters abroad are said to amount about 0.8 percent of the total Sudanese who are entitled to vote estimated at nearly 16 million.

SPLM's Kiir visits Maiwut County near Ethiopian border

SPLM's Kiir visits Maiwut County near Ethiopian border
From Sudan Tribune by James Gatdet Dak Friday 9 April 2010:

April 8, 2010 (JUBA) – Salva Kiir Mayardit, the Southern Sudan presidential candidate for the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) visited Maiwut County of Upper Nile state, on Wednesday, during his last days of campaign as the polling day is only 72 hours away.

Kiir urged the population of Gaajaak-Nuer inhabiting the County to vote for SPLM, which he said was born in their area in 1983, as he was referring to Itang where the SPLM/A was formed and historical Bilpam, which was the SPLM/A GHQrs and territory of Gaajaak-Nuer.

Bilpam, which is on the Ethiopian side of the border, is currently inhabited by the Ethiopian Gaajaak-Nuer under the administration of Gambella region in Ethiopia.

According to Biel Thich, one of the President's campaign team in Upper Nile state, over five thousand people gathered in the town to listen to the President.

Kiir promised the County citizens that his re-elected administration would construct a road connecting the state capital, Malakal to Pagak, a Payam headquarters under Maiwut County and less than one (1) kilometer away from the Ethiopian border.

The President was accompanied by the Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny and members of Campaign Management Team (CMT) chaired by Dr. Samson Kwaje.

Kiir also talked about other activities related to development, especially the education of females, and opening of healthcare centers. (ST)

EU to observe Ethiopian election

EU to observe Ethiopian election
From Sudan Tribune, Saturday, 03 April 2010:

April 1, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — After been mulling whether to observe polls in Ethiopia, the European Union has hinted sending a team of observers to monitor Ethiopia’s election.

The decision was announced by the European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, to African and European parliamentarians meeting in Tenerife on Monday.

The Union’s decision comes after an EU exploratory mission concluded assessment of the electoral environment in the country. The European Union is expected to send an official letter to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi any time now to notify its decision.

Ethiopia last polls, in 2005, drew a record number of voters, with 90% of the electorate turning out to cast their vote however the election was deemed by the European Union election observer team which alleged irregularities and the whole election process lacking international standards for fair and free election.

The EU monitor team claims then created deep divisions between the Ethiopian government and the EU.

Over 29 million Ethiopians will go to polls to cast their vote in May, the first parliamentary elections in Ethiopia since 2005, when the post-election period was marred by controversy and bloodshed

The horn of Africa’s country has drawn up a code of conduct for international election observers so irresponsible comments or possible bias won’t lead to violence.

Recently, The Carter center announced that it will not be sending an observer mission to monitor Ethiopia’s national election.

The decision comes after the Ethiopian government postponed carter center’s request of sending an exploratory team in December to February.

Carter center argued that the arrival of its exploratory team in February will be too late to study whether to accept or reject the invitation.

Despite growing accusations of harassment by some opposition groups, Ethiopian officials have repeatedly gave their words to conduct fair, free, democratic, peaceful and credible elections. (ST)

Ethiopia admits jamming VOA radio broadcasts in Amharic

Ethiopia's Prime Minister said Ethiopia had been testing jamming equipment.

Ethiopia admits jamming VOA radio broadcasts in Amharic
From BBC News Online at 08:32 GMT, Friday, 19 March 2010:

Ethiopia has admitted it is jamming the Voice of America's (VOA) broadcasts in Amharic, accusing the radio station of engaging in "destabilising propaganda".

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia had been testing jamming equipment, although there had been no formal decision to bloc the US station.

The Amharic Service has experienced interference since late February.

Mr Meles also compared the VOA's transmissions to broadcasts in Rwanda in the mid-1990s that incited genocide.

'Unfortunate' comments

"We have for some time now been trying to beef up our capacity to deal with this, including... jamming," Mr Meles said on Thursday.

In a statement, VOA director Danforth Austin said that any comparison of VOA programming to Rwandan broadcasts inciting genocide in the 1990s was "incorrect and unfortunate".

"The VOA deplores jamming as a form of media censorship wherever it may occur," he said, adding that the station's Amharic Service was required by law to provide accurate and objective information.

The VOA and other foreign media organisations say broadcasts in Amharic - the country's most widely spoken language - have been jammed around elections in the past.

The next polls in Ethiopia are in May and human rights groups say there has been a crackdown on the press.

The last elections saw opposition accusations of widespread rigging.

Thousands of opposition supporters were arrested after protests and some western countries reduced aid to Ethiopia.

Separately, Mr Meles again denied claims in a recent BBC report that he had ordered the diversion of food aid money to buy arms to fight the government in the 1980s.

"We did not need to [do it]. We were not short of ammunition or arms. That was never our problem. Our main problem was that we were operating in an environmentally very fragile area unable to feed itself," he said.

Click on labels here below to view related reports.

When feeding the hungry is political

Food aid for Africa
When feeding the hungry is political
A United Nations agency under attack
Mar 18th 2010 (NAIROBI)
From The Economist print edition

THE World Food Programme (WFP), created by the United Nations in 1962 to save lives, has since grown into the behemoth of the aid business, envied and disliked in almost equal measure by many of its smaller peers. It says it feeds 90m people a year in 73 countries. Yet some query whether it always fulfils the high ideals of its humanitarian mandate.

The WFP has had to get used to fierce criticism, particularly of its operations in Africa. The main complaint is that food aid creates a dependency culture among the poor. The WFP employs large numbers of press officers in its headquarters in Rome and elsewhere to jump to its defence. Even so, a recent scandal over its work in Somalia has pricked it. An internal UN report accuses the WFP of abjectly failing to get food to starving Somalis. The report says that systematic collusion between local WFP staffers, Islamist militants and food transporters has led to the diversion of up to half of the food it ships to Somalia, with some of it going to jihadists. The WFP has hotly denied the allegations of corruption, but it has ceased working with three transport contractors who are alleged to have been involved in arms trading.

The truth is hard to tell. Visiting Somalia is dangerous. The WFP’s operation there is run from Nairobi, capital of neighbouring Kenya. It has to contend with pirates at sea and armed groups on land. A spat with the militant Shabab group, now allied to al-Qaeda, means WFP is no longer supplying food to 1m of the 3m Somalis who need it.

The danger for the WFP is that the row over its work in Somalia will impede its massive operations in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Congo and beyond by prompting calls for extra scrutiny there too. Sudan alone accounted for $635m of WFP’s $2.2 billion spent in sub-Saharan Africa in 2008. Diplomats there have long suspected that food aid has been siphoned off by officials in south Sudan and by armed groups in Sudan’s western region, Darfur.

The whole business of food aid to Africa has come under additional scrutiny recently after a BBC report alleged that up to 95% of the cash provided to buy food for rebel-controlled areas during Ethiopia’s horrendous famine in 1984-85 was in fact used to buy weapons. The WFP says it had little involvement in that episode: it was feeding government-held areas. International charities have denied the story. Bob Geldof, a musician and anti-poverty campaigner, worries that the claim will be exploited by those who want to cut aid.

But the rebels in question, who hail from Tigray, a northern province, have run Ethiopia since 1991. And the country’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, a rebel leader in 1984, faces charges that he is using food aid now to buy support before elections due on May 23rd. Human-rights investigators, including those of the American government, say they have documented the withholding of food and other benefits from opposition supporters. The Ethiopian government denies it, and says that the BBC allegations come from a political opponent of Mr Zenawi.

The WFP says it will welcome any investigation into its activities in Somalia. “The integrity of our organisation is paramount,” insists Josette Sheeran, a former State Department official now heading the outfit. About $2 billion of its $5 billion global budget is provided by America, most of it in sacks of surplus American food. But the WFP—and Somalia’s Shabab rebels—would prefer the American government to give cash, as the Europeans do, which can then be used to buy local food, rewarding farmers who produce surpluses. George Bush’s administration agreed but could not persuade Congress to concur.

Quite apart from the allegations over its role in Somalia, the WFP is failing to meet its target for donations this year. So school meals and other programmes will be cut. America is unlikely to be as generous with cash as it is in kind. Europe’s contribution of $1 billion may be slashed too. This year’s WFP budget of $2.6 billion for sub-Saharan Africa is $1.1 billion short. And the outlook for Africa’s own production is grim. Its food output will fall by a fifth over the next four decades, reckons the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington. Climate change, it says, will make food even scarcer in semi-arid countries such as Sudan. The question of how to feed the starving will not go away.

Voice of America news broadcasts jammed in Ethiopia

Voice of America news broadcasts jammed in Ethiopia
From Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 05 March 2010 /via APO:

Voice of America (VOA) reported today that its transmissions to Ethiopia are being electronic jammed. The Ethiopian government denied responsibility.

VOA cited “international shortwave radio monitors” and complaints from listeners in Ethiopia since February 22 about static the U.S. government-funded station’s daily, hour-long shortwave broadcast from Washington in Amharic—the country’s main official language. CPJ independently collected widespread local accounts of interference exclusively on the Amharic service.

VOA’s half-hour broadcasts in the other two local languages, Afan Oromo and Tigrigna, were broadcasting normally, the sources said. David Borgida, a VOA spokesman told Bloomberg News the station had not identified the source of the interference.

“The Ethiopian government has long had a hostile relationship with VOA and that is why we view their denial of responsibility with some skepticism,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “We note that the Ethiopian government has neither offered to investigate nor fix the problem.”

In media interviews today, government spokesman Shimelis Kemal denied any government involvement. “This is absolutely a sham,” he told CPJ, adding that “the Ethiopian government does not support the policy of restricting foreign broadcasting services in the country. Such practices are prohibited in our constitution.”

Kemal was the government prosecutor who charged 21 journalists, including five Washington-based VOA journalists, with anti-state crimes over their coverage of the aftermath of disputed elections in May 2005. Under his leadership, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority, the governmental authority responsible for issuing print and broadcast licenses, in 2009 ordered private station Radio Sheger to drop VOA newscasts and briefly revoked the accreditations of two VOA stringers, according to CPJ research.

Kemal told CPJ the allegations were part of a “smear campaign” by “opposition Web sites in the diaspora” ahead of general elections in May.

VOA is one of a handful of foreign-based independent stations, including Deutsche Welle and Addis Dimts Radio, a station operated by the banned opposition movement Ginbot 7, that have reported ongoing or recurring interference of their broadcasts, according to CPJ research. Also in 2009, Meleskachew Amaha, a VOA stringer, was thrown into prison for three weeks on false tax charges that were later dismissed.

Geldof Slams BBC Over Ethiopia Weapons Claims

Geldof Slams BBC Over Ethiopia Weapons Claims
From Sky News.com at 5:05pm UK, Saturday March 06, 2010
Julia Reid, Sky News Online

Bob Geldof and the Band Aid trust are set to make an official complaint to the BBC over its claims that millions of pounds in donated aid for Ethiopia was spent on weapons.

The complaint will be made jointly with agencies including Christian Aid, and will denounce the "false and dangerously misleading impression" created by the BBC World Service's Africa editor, Martin Plaut.

His report claimed that 95% of the aid which went to Ethiopia's northern province of Tigray during the famine of 1985 was diverted for military use by rebel forces.

Paul Brannen, Head of Advocacy and Influence at Christian Aid, confirmed that the charity would be signing up to the complaint to BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons.

"This affair is a good example of the old adage that a lie can be halfway around the world while the truth is still getting its boots on," he said.

"In these days of rapid and international communications it is more important than ever that the BBC independently verifies every single fact that it intends to broadcast."

Oxfam says it will decide next week whether to sign up to the letter.

But campaigns and policy director Phil Bloomer said: "The British public, who in good faith donated money to help distressed, starving people, need to know that these allegations are preposterous.

"Aid distribution during this conflict held risks but it is indisputable that aid and the efforts of the humanitarian agencies saved many thousands of lives in Ethiopia.

Geldof, who raised $144m for Africa in the Live Aid concert in 1985, will also report the BBC to Ofcom.

Millions of pounds have been donated in aid to Ethiopia

"This story has gone around the world on the internet and created a totally false impression of what actually happened," he said.

"At the time of Live Aid we had journalists crawling all over everything we did trying to find something wrong - and they couldn't.

"And now, on the strength of one disgruntled soldier, the BBC has undermined the faith of ordinary people across the world in the effectiveness of giving to people in their hour of need.

"It is a disgrace."

The Independent newspaper claims a draft of the complaint to the BBC speaks of "disgracefully poor reporting" by the BBC and reliance on "dubious sources and rumour".

"There is not in fact a shred of credible evidence that this happened," it reads.

"There is overwhelming evidence that tens of thousands and even millions were saved by these efforts, which were in fact spurred by reporting by the BBC."

Mr Plaut's story was broadcast on the World Service, Radio 4 and via the BBC website.

It relies on accounts by two former senior Tigrean rebels, one of whom, Aregawi Berhe, was expelled from the guerilla movement in the summer of 1985.

Geldof said Berhe had a political axe to grind and could not have witnessed the alleged transactions.

There are fears that the BBC's report could undermine public generosity towards charity appeals for Haiti and Chile in the wake of the recent disasters.

A BBC spokesman says the corporation stands by the story and the documentary did not say that most famine relief money was used to buy weapons.

Coup attempt underway in Niger

See reports at Niger Watch, Thursday, 18 February 2010.

Desert trip in Yemen: Madventures road trip to the Empty Quarter / Rub' al Khali desert - Old City of Sana'a & Khat session

Here are two fascinating and amusing must-see video reports on Yemen.

Hat tip: Yam-Yam Yemeni blog Wednesday, 03 February 2010:
Some European chap on a trip to Yemen

Desert trip in Yemen - Madventures road trip to the Empty Quarter / Rub' al Khali desert



Posted to YouTube by dailypalnet on 03 September 2009 - info:

Madventures road trip to the Empty Quarter / Rub' al Khali desert
Category: Travel & Events
Tags: Madventures III Yemen Al-Siyah Al-Haima tribe Ramadan Eid ul-Fitr khat qat gat chaad farmer economics village party food Wadi Daw'an oasis Shibam Empty Quarter Rub' al Khali desert expedition road trip terrorist trek wasteland camp camel riding checkpoint Sharif bedouin country nomads sharia islam prayer song guns rifles Al-Qaeda Al-Qaida weapons blasters
(3,754 views and 12 comments, as at 12 February 2010)

This is a video response to
Old City of Sana'a & Khat session (Madventures III)



Posted to YouTube by OpenEyeVisuals on 27 April 2009 - info:
Clip from Yemen episode.
© Gimmeyawallet productions
Official chan: http://www.youtube.com/MadventuresEN

Get the dvd for full episodes and better quality.
http://www.superpirate.com/store/inde...
Category: Travel & Events
Tags: madventures III babel yemen sana'a old city market felix arabia atmosphere khat session qat qaat kat gat gathering party islam prayer muezzin mosque minaret arabian peninsula middle east southwest asia kamal sanaa travel culture english
(8,603 views and 21 comments, as at 12 February 2010)

Al-Qaeda in Yemen call for jihad

Said al-Shihri, the deputy chief of al-Qaeda's wing in the Yemen, has called for Muslims in the region to wage holy war against Christians and Jews.



Photo: A Yemen soldier stands atop a hill overlooking the capital Sanna (AFP/Getty Images)

Al-Qaeda in Yemen call for jihad
From The Daily Telegraph
Published: 6:59PM GMT Monday 08 February 2010

In an audio message posted on the internet Said al-Shihri, a former inmate of the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, urged followers "to attack the interests of America and the Crusaders."

He continued: "We advise you, our people in the peninsula, to prepare and carry your weapons and to defend your religion and yourselves and to join your mujahideen brothers."

The message is the first time that al-Shihri has surfaced since a December 24 air strike by Yemeni forces that targeted him and other al-Qaeda figures.

Yemeni authorities initially claimed that he had been killed, but this was later denied by al-Qaeda.

Yemen is in the throes of a major crackdown on the global militant network's regional offshoot, which grabbed the world's attention when it claimed a failed bomb attack on US-bound plane in December.

Al-Shihri congratulated Nigerian radical Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for his "blessed" attempt to blow up the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas.

The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed but it was posted on a website commonly used for militant messages.

Saudi Arabia has long feared al-Qaeda will take advantage of the Yemen's lawless regions to build a solid base of operations there from which it can threaten the whole peninsula. The offshoot al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula was formed a year ago, when Yemen and Saudi militant groups merged.

UK gov't job vacancy: A2 Statistics Adviser based within World Bank Nairobi Country Office, Kenya

Seen on twitter:

RT with correct link #DFIDjobs New vacancy: Statistics Adviser, Kenya. Apply now: http://ow.ly/12ExI Closing date: 27 Feb
6:29 AM Feb 5th from HootSuite
dfid_uk

Based within the World Bank Nairobi Country Office, you will support the KNBS reform process, the design/implementation of the next KNBS strategic plan, and lead the sector's donor co-ordination. The closing date for applications is 27 February 2010. LAST UPDATED: 28 JAN 2010. Click here for specific vacancy information [PDF - 88 KB] and apply online.