HARGEISA-— Somaliland authority under the new leadership led by President Hon. Musa Bihi is due to introduce new measures aimed at reducing the inflation which impacted the standard of living in the country. The new president announced recently that his administration will apply new steps in order to curb the skyrocketing food prices and the decline of Somaliland Shillings in terms of the Dollar. The Head of State has said that the measures will be a lasting solution to the long standing issue of inflation in Somaliland. Somaliland’s Central Bank in conjunction with telecommunication firms have held serious of discussions in order to ease the rise of food prices and the decline of Shilling. The following points have been agreed in order to reduce the inflation:- Firms in charge of Mobile money have been apprised not to circulate more than 100 dollars in Zaad accounts but they agreed that Somaliland Shilling must be widely used for circulation. The Central Bank will have the powers to monitor the movements of rate of exchange of local currency in terms of the dollar. The ministry of treasury used to do that. All money exchange firms will be closed while the central bank will do the money exchange. Taxes imposed on Khat importing firms will be increased. The new government is due to impose these policies in order to curb the rising inflation which impacted Somaliland’s cost of living. Silanyo’s administration failed to tackle the inflation which became out if control due to lack of remedies from his government.

Jowhar - A new agreement seeking to streamline the justice and corrections systems in Somalia has been endorsed by the country’s Federal Government and Federal Member States. Source: Hiiraan Online

WASHINGTON — When Afkab Hussein decided to tell a room packed full of House and Senate staffers Thursday how the 2017 Muslim and refugee bans affected him, the Somali native brought with him a translator to help tell his story. Source: Hiiraan Online

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia - Somalia on Friday expressed its support for Turkey's military operation in Syria's Afrin. Source: Hiiraan Online

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has disparaged Nasa leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka's planned swearing in. Source: Hiiraan Online

Golaha Amniga Qaramada Midoobay ayaa khamiisti so dhoweeyey horumarka ka socda Soomaaliya,wuxuuna xukuumadda Federaalka iyo maamul goboleedyada ku boorriyey in sannadka 2018 uu noqdo,sannadkii fulinta isbeddelo kala duwan. War-saxaafadeedka uu soo saaray Golaha Amniga ayaa sidoo kale lagu soo dhoweeyey ballanqaadkii xukuumadda Soomaaliya ee dhinacyada amniga,dib u-habeynta dhaqaalaha iyo siyaasadda. Golaha ayaa walaac ka muujiyey khilaafka siyaasadeed ee ka jira Soomaaliya,wuxuuna adkeeyey muhiimadda ay leedahay in la helo xasilooni siyaasadeed oo loogu diyaar garoobo doorashada sannadka 2020/2021. PUNTLANDPOST The post Golaha Amniga Qaramada Midoobay oo war ka soo saaray Soomaaliya. appeared first on Puntland Post.

Wasiirkii Wasaaradda Beeraha iyo Waraabka dowladda Puntland,Cabdinuur Cilmi Maxammuud(Biindhe) ayaa goor dhoweyd ku geeriyooday magaalada Muqdisho ee caasimadda Soomaaliya. Geerida Wasiirka waxaa PUNTLAND POST u xaqiijiyey xubno ka tirsan qoyskiisa iyo qaar kamid ah shaqaalaha Wasaaradda,waxaana sida ay sheegeen Wasiirku u dhintay xanuun soo wajahay,inkastoo aan faahfaahin laga bixin. Marxuun Biindhe ayaa kamid ahaa wasiiradii ugu horreeyey ee lagu as-aasay dowladda Puntland,isagoo xilal ka soo qabtay xukuumadihii kala dambeeyey ee soo maray Puntland. Biindhe ayaa sidoo kale xilal ka soo qabtay maamulkii burburay ee Khaatum. Wasiirka geeriyooday ayaa muddooyinkii dambe ku maqnaa magaalada Muqdisho halkaasoo u tegay baaritaan caafimaad,sida ay sheegeen eheladiisa. Faahfaahin kala soco:puntlandpost.net The post Wasiirkii Beeraha iyo Waraabka Puntland oo geeriyooday. appeared first on Puntland Post.

Wasiirkii wasaaradda Beeraha iyo waraabka ee dowladda Puntland Cabdinuur Cilmi Qaaje “Biindhe” ayaa goor dhowayd ku geeriyooday magaalada Muqdisho. Wasiirka beeraha ayaa muddo xanuunsanaa, isagoo dhawaan loo qaaday magaalada Muqdisho, si xaaladiisa caafimaad halkaas loogusoo dabiibo, Waxaana uu la dhibaataysnaa cudurka macaanka. Waxaa geerida wasiirka warisdaha Puntlandi u xaqiijiyay xildhibaan Sharmaarke Garaad Saleebaan oo katirsan barlamaanka Soomaaliya. Puntlandi.com

Mubarak Farah was eight years old when he began teaching himself to play the piano. A refugee who came to Ottawa with his family when he was three, Farah listened to the Somali folk music played from his family’s cassettes, matching the notes on his keys and eventually figuring out the chords being played. Source: Hiiraan Online

Mubarak Farah was eight years old when he began teaching himself to play the piano. A refugee who came to Ottawa with his family when he was three, Farah listened to the Somali folk music played from his family’s cassettes, matching the notes on his keys and eventually figuring out the chords being played. Source: Hiiraan Online

Addis Ababa (PP) ─ Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibadda Somalia, Axmed Ciise Cawad ayaa kulankiisii ugu horreeyay kula yeeshay Xarunta dalka Itoobiya ee Addis Ababa Dhiggiisa dalkaas, Workneh Gebeyehu, waxayna ka wada hadleen xoojinta xiriirka laba geesoodka iyo iskaashiga dhinacyada badan leh ee u dhexeeya labada waddan. Danjire Cawad iyo Gebeyehu ayaa si qoto-dheer u Fallanqeeyay Arrimaha ammaanka, ganacsiga , maal-gashiga iyo suuro-galnimada xiriir furan oo u dhexeeya labada shacab ee Soomaaliya iyo Itoobiya. Sidoo kae, Waxaa lagu wadaa in bisha March ee sannadkan 2018 markii ugu horreysay labada dowladood ay yeeshaan guddi heer wasiir ah oo Qaadaa-dhiga halwo badan oo halbowle u noqon kara iskaashi sal adag oo labada dal ay yeeshaan. Ugu dambeyn, Wasiirka Arrimaha Diabdda Somalia Danjire Axmed Ciise Cawad ayaa xilka loo magacaabay horraantii bishan lagu jiro ee Jannaayo, kaddib markii xilka laga qaaday wasiirkii jagadan uga horreeyay Yuusuf Garaad Cumar Axmed. PUNTLAND POST The post Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibadda DF oo kulankiisii ugu horreeyay la yeeshay Dhiggiisa Itoobiya appeared first on Puntland Post.

Ururka Al-shabaab ayaa gacmaha ka jaray laba qof oo shacab ah,kadib markii lagu eedeeyay xatooyo. Maxkamadda Al-shabaab ee degaanka Kuunya-barrow oo ka tirsan gobolka Shabeellaha Hoose ayaa goob fagaare ah gacmaha kaga jartay,Maxamuud Maxamed Xassan iyo Xassan Maxamed Yuusuf oo lagu eedeeyay in ay lacag ka badan 17 malyan oo shiling Soomaali ah ka xadeen dukaan ku yaalla degaanka Ambareeso oo hoostaga degmada Baraawe ee gobolka Shabeellaha Hoose. Garsooraha Maxkamdda Al-shabaab ee xukunka fulisay ayaan gebi ahaanba soo bandhigin wax caddeyn ah ama markhaatiyaal qiray in labada nin ay xatooyo geysteen,taasoo shaki gelinaysa sax ahaanshaha xukunkaan. Fagaaraha gacmaha looga jaray raggaan ayaa waxaa daawanayey boqollaal shacab ah oo ay ku jiraan haween iyo carruur aad u da’yar,sida ka muuqata sawirro lagu baahiyey baraha bulshada. PUNTLANDPOST The post Al-shabaab oo gacmaha ka jaray laba qof oo shacab ah. appeared first on Puntland Post.

US President Donald Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, only to back down when his own White House lawyer threatened to resign, US media claim. Source: Hiiraan Online

MOGADISHU (HOL) - Al-Shabaab militants amputated the hands of two men accused of theft in Kunya-Barow town of Lower Shabelle region on Thursday evening. Source: Hiiraan Online

MOGADISHU (HOL) - Alshabaab militants amputated hands from two men accused of theft in Kunya-Barow town of Lower Shabelle region on Thursday evening. Source: Hiiraan Online

Ethiopia's Mosinet Geremew set a new Dubai Marathon record when he sprinted clear from a large group of his compatriots to claim victory in the 10th fastest time over the distance on Friday. Source: Hiiraan Online

MOMBASA - Human rights organization in Mombasa has called for withdrawal of Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) from Somalia. Source: Hiiraan Online

Somalia’s minister for foreign affairs and international co-operation Ahmed Isse Awad on Thursday met with his counterpart Ethiopian foreign minister, Workneh Gebeyehu in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Source: Hiiraan Online

Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu met with Somalia’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad on the sidelines of the 32nd ordinary session of the Executive Council’s Meeting of the AU. Congratulating the FM for the new post, Dr. Workneh underlined Ethiopia’s principled position towards invigorating the ties to a higher gear. Recalling President Mohammed Abdulahi’s recent visit to Ethiopia, Dr. Workneh noted since then the bilateral ties have enhanced significantly. The Foreign Minister has also underscored the benefits the two countries would garner if they can speed up the launch of the Joint Ministerial Commission sooner. Dr. Workneh has also extended his invitation to Somali Elders to make a visit to Ethiopia to further cement the strong people to people ties. The new Somali Foreign Minister on his behalf stressed his Government’s commitment to further take the cooperation between the two countries to another level. He has commended Ethiopia for its exemplary roles towards ensuring peace and stability to the region in particular and the world in general and its principled diplomatic moves both on bilateral and multilateral fora. The two countries have scheduled to launch their first Joint Ministerial Commission in early March 2018. MOFA

ISTANBUL–Ethiopia inaugurated its consulate general offices in Istanbul in a ceremony on Thursday. Delivering an opening and welcome speech during the ceremony, Consul General Wondimu Gezahegn said Ethiopia and Turkey had a longstanding relationship of more than a hundred years. “The diplomatic relationship between Ethiopia and Turkey began in 1896 with the exchange of delegates, during the rule of Sultan Abdulhamid II and the Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II,” Gezahegn said. He said this symbolic relationship had grown through high-level visit exchanges, outbound Turkish investment to Ethiopia, as well as through trade volume and technical cooperation, particularly in human resources development. Ethiopia is located in East Africa, with a population of 100 million. It is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, according to the IMF. Turkey and Ethiopia are key economic partners in many areas. Trade cooperation between the two countries is on the rise. Turkish firms continue to invest in various sectors in the country. “If you look at the Turkish investment in Ethiopia, currently more than 165 Turkish companies with a capital of more than $2.5 billion are investing in Ethiopia. And some others are in the process,” Gezahegn said. Fight against FETO The consul general said the office in Istanbul was opened to respond to a request of Turkish companies, Ethiopian business travelers as well as Ethiopian nationals residing in Turkey. “I candidly would like to extend my invitation to all Turkish businesses, communities, to which my country is opening its arms and [stands] ready to welcome you to do business together in all sectors[…],” Gezahegn added. The consulate general office will also provide visa services for all Turkish citizens. Former Turkish Ambassador to Kuwait Salih Murat Tamer also delivered a speech during the ceremony, thanking the Ethiopian government for supporting Turkey’s fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). Tamer said Addis Ababa had handed over the FETO-linked schools to Turkey’s Maarif Foundation. The foundation was established in 2016 to take over the administration of overseas schools linked to FETO. It also establishes schools and education centers abroad. To date around 30 African countries have handed over FETO schools to Maarif or closed them at Ankara’s request. FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary. FETO also has a considerable presence outside Turkey, including private educational institutions that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group. AA

In early October a federal policeman stands guard between the Oromo regional flag (left) and Ethiopia’s national flag at the ceremony marking the opening of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway. Credit: James Jeffrey/IPS ADDIS ABABA, Jan 26 2018 (IPS) – Ethiopia’s most notorious prison lurks within the capital’s atmospheric Piazza, the city’s old quarter popular for its party scene at the weekend when the neon signs, loud discos and merry abandon at night continue into the early hours of the morning. The troubling contrast is one of many in this land of often painful contradictions. The Ethiopian Federal Police Force Central Bureau of Criminal Investigation, more commonly known by its Amharic name of Maekelawi, has for decades been associated with torture and police brutality—a symbol of the dark underside of the authoritarian nature of the so-called Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The EPRDF has long been criticised for using draconian anti-terrorism charges to detain political prisoners, and then in true Orwellian fashion arguing those charges mean there are no political prisoners in Ethiopia. But this January 3, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced the government would close the detention centre and release prisoners, including those from political parties. An unprecedented action by a government not known for compromise rather for its stubborn intransigence to criticism of its oppressive methods, it took most by surprise, resulting in guarded praise from even the government’s staunchest critics such as international human rights organisations. Since the announcement, though, subsequent proclamations from the government have muddied the issue and led many to question the government’s sincerity amid general confusion on all sides regarding the practicalities and terms of prisoner release. What most observers seem more sure of is that the episode illustrates the speed and scale of change occurring among the four parties that constitute the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party. “The decision was a concession to the very strong demand made by the Oromo People Democratic Organisation (OPDP) which governs the Oromia regional state,” says Awol Allo, an Ethiopian lecturer in law at Keele University in the UK, who can’t return to Ethiopia for fear of arrest. The EPRDF was the brainchild of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a Marxist-Leninist movement that spearheaded the defeat of Ethiopia’s former military dictatorship the Derg to liberate the Tigray region, whose Tigrayan ethnic group constitute only about 6.5 percent of Ethiopia’s more than 100 million population today. In the final days of Ethiopia’s civil war, the TPLF orchestrated the creation of three satellite parties from other elements of the rebel force: the OPDO, the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM) to ostensibly represent their respective ethnic groups but which enabled the TPLF to consolidate its grip on power after the Derg fell in 1991. That grip became vice like over the years—the TPLF dominates business and the economy as well as the country’s military and security apparatus—much to the consternation of Ethiopia’s other ethnic groups, especially the Oromo. Constituting 35 percent of Ethiopia’s population, the Oromo are its largest ethnic group. They also constitute the largest proportion of inmates at Maekelawi and in the rest of country’s federal and regional prisons. This, Allo notes, cannot be explained simply by the numerical size of the Oromo population. “There is a disproportionate and indiscriminate repression of the Oromo because they are suspected to pose a threat by virtue of their status as the single largest ethnic group in the country,” Allo says. That perceived threat has only increased in the government’s eyes—as well as among some of the other ethnic minorities in the country such as the Somali—since November of 2015 when Oromos took to the streets at the start of a protest movement that continues to this day. And since the protesting Oromo were joined by the Amhara in 2016—the two ethnic groups representing 67 percent of the population—the government has had to recognise the depth and scale of anger against it. Hence it is now trying to appease the groundswell of discontent in the country that poses the greatest threat to the country’s stability—perhaps even the survival of the Ethiopian nation state itself—since 1991; the risk of state failure in Ethiopia saw it ranked 15th out of 178 countries—up from 24th in 2016—in the annual Fragile States Index by the Fund for Peace. The problem, though, with such mollifying efforts by the government, as with the current announcement, is they usually don’t go the necessary distance. “The EPRDF has taken responsibility for the political crisis in the country and has apologised for its leadership failures and undemocratic actions,” says Lidetu Ayele, founder of the local opposition Ethiopia Democratic Party. “But it has not accepted the presence of political prisoners in the country. These are contradictory outlooks and a clear manifestation that the ruling party is not ready to make genuine reform.” The EPRDF has long been criticised—domestically and internationally—for using draconian anti-terrorism charges to detain political prisoners, and then in true Orwellian fashion arguing those charges mean there are no political prisoners in Ethiopia. Human rights groups have estimated political prisoner numbers in the tens of thousands. The Oromo are proud of their cultural traditions and enjoy opportunities to celebrate that heritage. They also share a common language, Afaan Oromoo, also known as Oromoiffa, which belongs to the Cushitic family, unlike Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, which is Semitic. A different language is only one of many sources of tension the Oromo have within the Ethiopian federation. Credit: James Jeffrey/IPS With the announcement about Maekelawi and the prisoner release, however, it initially appeared the government was making a clear break with the past and acknowledging the existence of political prisoners. But soon afterwards it tried to backtrack, with government spokespersons vacillating about what had been meant by political prisoners. “The announcement of the release of prisoners is highly symptomatic of the disorganization, if not the cacophony, among the leadership,” says René Lefort, who has been visiting and writing about Ethiopia since the 1974 revolution that ended emperor Haile Selassie’s reign and brought in the Derg military dictatorship that would fall to the EPRDF. “This decision could have been the most resounding proof of the sincerity of the EPRDF to launch a democratizing process. But as it has been announced in successive versions lacking essential points—who exactly is effected; when will they be freed, and will it be unconditionally or, as in the past, only having apologized—this decision has largely lost the impact it could have had.” Related IPS Articles Ethiopia’s New Addiction – And What It Says About Media Freedom Ethnic Violence in Ethiopia Amid Shadowy Politics “We Can’t Protest So We Pray”: Anguish in Amhara During Ethiopia’s State of Emergency Such political flip-flopping and indications of infighting in the government leave some with little confidence about the significance of the promise to end Maekelawi’s history of torture and ill-treatment, as documented in chilling detail by Human Rights Watch. “The closure of the torture chamber does not signify anything because the government will undoubtedly continue the same practise at other locations,” says Alemante Selassie, emeritus professor at the William and Mary Law School in the US. Others are less sceptical of the government’s motives. “It’s not a smokescreen, it’s been under discussion within the context of the interparty dialogue ever since the parties stated their wish lists of issues at the beginning of 2017,” says Sandy Wade, a former European Union diplomat in Addis Ababa. “It is a necessary step in the run-up to the 2018 and 2020 elections—and for the future of the country—if [the government] wants opposition participation, which they do.” On Jan. 15, Ethiopian Attorney General Getachew Ambaye gave a briefing saying that charges at a federal level brought against 115 prisoners had been dropped as part of the first phase to release jailed politicians and other convicts. Although the attorney general did not mention names of prominent political figures imprisoned, Merera Gudina, leader of the Oromo Federalist Party arrested in 2016, is expected to be among those released by Jan. 17, according to local media. The attorney general added that the Southern Ethiopia Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State—a region of more than 58 ethnic groups—had dropped charges against 413 inmates also, and that other regions would follow suit in the next couple of months, with political figures in jail who have been “convicted” of crimes given amnesty. At the same time, though, it appears the jury remains very much out on whether the government is genuinely committed to democratization and achieving a national consensus in the longer term. “If they are, this would be a transformative moment for Ethiopia,” Awol says. “Either way, Ethiopia cannot be governed in the same way it has for the last 26 years.” Which leaves the big—possibly existential—question facing Ethiopia: whether the government can and will come up with the necessary strategy and then implement it successfully in time for the 2018 local and 2020 national elections. “If the EPRDF wants to rescue itself and the country from total collapse, what we need is genuine and swift political reform that will enable the country to have free and fair elections,” Lidetu says. “Anything less than that will not solve the current political crisis.” IPS

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - The largest Somali community in the United States is centered just blocks from the site of this year's Super Bowl, but that is too close for comfort for some of the mostly Muslim residents of the "Little Mogadishu" neighborhood in Minneapolis. Source: Hiiraan Online

Faahfaahin dheeri ah ayaa ka soo baxaysa diyaarado la sheegay in dowladda Kenya ay ku joojisay Garoonka diyaaradaha magaalada Nairobi oo lagu eedeeyay in ay badeeco sharci-darro ah u sideen dalka Soomaaliya. Wargeeska Daily Nation ee ka soo baxa magaalada Nairobi ayaa ka soo xigtay guddoomiyaha ururka ganacsatada Qaadka Miroowga,Kimathi Munjuri in 3o tonne oo Qaadka Miraa uu ku xannibanyahay Garoonka diyaaradaha Jomo Kenyatta ee magaalada Nairobi,kadib markii dowladda Kenya diidday in loo dhoofiyo dhinaca Soomaaliya. Guddoomiyaha ayaa sheegay in Qaadkaan loo waday magaalooyin ku yaalla Soomaaliya oo ay kamid yihiin;Garoowe,Gaalkacyo,Muqdisho,Jowhar Laascaanood iyo Hargeysa,wuxuuna intaas ku daray in ganacsatadu ay halis ugu jiraan in ay lumiyaan malaayiin shilin-ka Kenya ah. Mas’uuliyiinta Duulista Hawada dalka kenya ayaa khamiistii maanta joojiyey laba diyaradood oo lagu eedeeyay in ay badeecooyin sharci-darro ah u dhoofinayeen dhinaca Soomaaliya. Agaasimaha guud ee Hay’adda Duulista Hawada Kenya,Gilbert Kibe ayaa sheegay in sidoo kale rukhsaddii laga qaaday labadii shirkadood ee lahaa diyaaradahan oo aan magacooda la shaacin. Dhinaca kale faahfaahin lagama bixin badeecooyinka sharci-darrada ah ee shirkadahan lagu haysto,balse arrintaan ayaa ku soo beegmatay xilli Hay’adda Qaramada Midoobay u qaabilsan Duulista Hawada ee(ICAO) ay baarayso awoodda dowladda Kenya u leedahay bad-qabka duullimaadyada. Wixii ka soo kordha kala soco:Puntlandpost.net The post Faahfaahin: Dowladda Kenya oo joojisay Mirow loo soo waday Garoowe. appeared first on Puntland Post.

Somalia's government says it will send 35 children rescued from an Al-Shabab camp last week to rehabilitation centers for ex-militants before reuniting them with their families. Source: Hiiraan Online

Several tonnes of miraa (khat) destined for Somalia are grounded in Nairobi as Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) cracked down on passenger aircraft operating as cargo planes. Source: Hiiraan Online