WASHINGTON — Besieged by criminal inquiries and Congressional investigators, how could the world’s most controversial private security company drum up new business? By battling pirates on the high seas, of course. In late 2008, Blackwater Worldwide, already under fire because of accusations of abuses by its security guards in Iraq and Afghanistan, reconfigured a 183-foot oceanographic research... 

In this feature, Elizabeth Ohene, a Ghanaian journalist, considers what it might take to bring peace to Somalia. Once upon a time, former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings and I were friends. And it is for the sake of those bygone days that I have been worrying about him. Nothing to do with Ghana politics – on that we have agreed to disagree. I worry about him because he has been appointed the... 

Mogadishu 19 November, 2010 – The new Somali Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, yesterday paid a visit to AMISOM Force Headquarters in Mogadishu and was briefed on the mission’s activities by the Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Nathan Mugisha. The premier expressed his gratitude for the support that the Transitional Federal Government had received from the AU peacekeeping mission,... 

I am horrified to see on my eyes the daily brutality and mass killing by Amisom forces in Mogadishu city. On 17th November 2010 when the people of city were rejoicing the festive time of Eid and hoping for better future Amisom forces deliberately targeted most populous Bakaara Market and killed more than twenty people and wounded over Fifty people. This is not what Amisom came for and suppose to... 

(ecoterra – 14. November 2010) Please note a new additional EMERGENCY HELPLINE number: +254-719-603-176 STATUS-SUMMARY: Today, 14. November 2010, 10h00 UTC, at least 31 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 568 hostages or captives – including a South-African yachting couple and still the 5 hostages from Somaliland suffer... 

Somalia in particular and Horn of Africa in general are at such a volatile stage that any misstep — domestic or foreign — could only further exacerbate that perilous condition. One such potential misstep gathering cloud is the recently proposed US foreign policy toward Somalia known as the Dual-Track approach. First, a brief background: In 2006 — over a decade after the infamous... 

By Evelyn Kwamboka.. The High Court has deferred delivery of judgment of a case involving sale of Somali embassy building to December 7 High Court Judge, Justice Msagha Mbogoli said the judgment of the case involving the controversial sale of Somalia State land in Nairobi at the height of a civil war will be known next month. Justice Mbogholi said he will deliver the landmark judgment that will end... 

27 October 2010: Clear boundaries will have important implications for maritime security, shipping, environmental protection, fishing and offshore resource exploration The Commonwealth Secretariat is assisting the Government of the Republic of Kenya to prepare for maritime boundary negotiations with Somalia. Establishing clear maritime boundaries with Somalia will have important implications for maritime... 

Kenya’s Foreign Minister Steps Aside Over Alleged Embassy Scam… Kenya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetang’ula, was stepping aside on Wednesday, after legislators were recommending he leave his post ahead of investigations into an alleged scam, involving the purchase of foreign embassy buildings. Wetang’ula talks at a news conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi: [Moses... 

Yemen Post Staff Somalia has claimed that the islands of Yemeni Socotra Archipelago are part of it, requesting the United Nations to determine the status of the archipelago, executive director of the Saba Center for Strategic Studies said. The unstable horn of Africa country with a transitional government receiving unlimited support from Yemen said it has the right to administer the archipelago, which... 

Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya Foreign companies loot and dump toxic wastes in Somali seas in the full glare of the EU and NATO naval forces that patrol the Somali coastal lines, a Somali professor at the University of Minnesota has said. Abdi Ismail Samater, a professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota claims foreign companies poach and dump toxic waste in Somali... 

THE OIL- AND FISH HUNTERS DON’T GIVE UP (by ecop-marine) It has transpired that under the persistent covert interests of European countries (especially Spain and France) in the rich fishing grounds of Somalia and fronted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) a renewed attempt is made to strip Somalia of its 200 nm territorial waters by a double-faced approach promising assistance to... 

by Mohamed A. Mohamed 01 June 2009 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the State University at Buffalo in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Department of American Studies “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” Mahatma Gandhi Abstract This thesis examines... 

Mr Maalim accuses the US of instigating instability in Somalia mainly to create room for exploitation of mineral and marine resources on the Somalia coastline. Photo/FILE DAILY NATION | By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA gmayaka@ke.nationmedia.com and BILLY MUIRURI bmuiruri@ke.nationmedia.com Posted Saturday, October 16 2010 at 22:00 ………… Deputy House Speaker Farah Maalim is in a foul... 

Press Release October 7, 2010 The Ogaden national Liberation Front sees the so-called sale of “PETRONAS” concessions in the Ogaden to South West Energy (a Tigray TPLF owned enterprise) as a face-saving measure intended to hide Ethiopia’s incapacity to resolve the conflict in the Ogaden in a just way, peacefully through a negotiated settlement. First, this act is a continuation of the previous... 

Genuine members of families of the abducted seafarers can call +254-719-603-176 for further details or send an e-mail in any language to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org Sea-jacked British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 56, were abducted from their 38-ft yacht S/Y LYNN RIVAL, seized October 22, 2009 en route to Tanzania, and are still held in Somalia. The yacht was recovered... 

Sheikh Sharif Said: “after 65 years since the inception of the United Nations, the world was not more secure, as shown by “the rampancy of bloody and destructive wars around the world and the proliferation of extremism and terrorism” ……….. Somalia: H.E. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, President of the Transitional Federal Government… Statement Summary … VEDIO:  Here... 

I am opposed to the building of the “mosque” two blocks from Ground Zero. I want it built on Ground Zero. Why? Because I believe in an America that protects those who are the victims of hate and prejudice. I believe in an America that says you have the right to worship whatever God you have, wherever you want to worship. And I believe in an America that says to the world that we are a... 

UN refugee agency alarmed at civilian loss of life in Somalia’s capital….. 7 September 2010 – The United Nations refugee agency today voiced alarm over worsening security in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where fighting between forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and armed Islamists has killed more than 230 civilians and wounded at least 400 others during the past two weeks. An... 

SATURDAY, 04 SEPTEMBER 2010: The Ethiopian regimes Mines and Energy Minister, Alemayehu Tegenu recent interview with Reuters in which he claimed that his regime’s military is in control of Ogaden is wishful thinking and is designed to give a false sense of security to oil firms who seek to exploit the oil resources of Ogaden. The facts are that Ogaden remains a war zone between the armed forces... 

This story by Dr. Alexander Mezyaev, Head of Chair of the International Law, Governance Academy (Kazan’), Strategic Culture Foundationexpert, was published in International Affairs magazine. A new international anti-piracy plan proposed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was discussed on August 25. Russia is suggesting the establishment of an intentional court to try pirates, and the UN Secretary... 

Want evidence that the government in Somalia — a country that tops the 2010 Failed States Index — needs desperate help?  Allow me to show you the money. Literally. According to the Annual Financial Report released by the office of the Prime Minister today, Somalia’s budget in the fiscal year 2009 was just over $11 million. (The budget of Minneapolis Minnesota, by contrast,... 

ZAMBIA Revenue Authority on Monday intercepted a containerized truck carrying 30 Somali nationals in what authorities believe is a case of human trafficking. Confirming the incident to Post Online, Immigration Department public relations manager Mulako Mbangweta said her department was alerted after the ZRA impounded the truck ferrying over 30 Somali nationals with ages ranging between ages of 11 and... 

A U.S. judge has dismissed piracy charges against six Somali men accused of attacking a U.S. Navy ship off the Horn of Africa in April, although the group still faces several lesser counts. Attorneys for the men had argued the defendants’ actions did not amount to piracy because they did not board or take control of the USS Ashland in the Gulf of Aden or take anything of value from it. U.S.... 

New York Times ( By MOHAMMED IBRAHIM) Published: August 13, 2010 At least five government soldiers in the semiautonomous region of Puntland were killed Friday in a gun battle with Islamist militants near the area of Galgala, Puntland’s security minister said. In a radio interview with Horseed Media, an insurgent warlord, Sheik Mohamed Said Atom, claimed credit for the killings and vowed to “continue...