Wednesday 20,Nov, 2024 {HMC} Prominent Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has been kidnapped in neighbouring Kenya and taken to a military jail in Uganda, according to his wife.

Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of the United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), called on the Ugandan government, in a post on X, to release her husband immediately.

He was kidnapped last Saturday while he was in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to attend a book launch event of another politician, according to Byanyima.

“I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala,” she wrote. “We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?”

The Ugandan government and military have not commented on the incident.

“The latest information we have is Besigye is in military cells in Kampala and the army is planning to produce him in the General Court Martial today,” Erias Lukwago told the AFP news agency, quoting sources within the military.

“We are yet to establish the charges against him,” he added.

Ugandan police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told the Reuters news agency that the police do not have him and cannot comment on his whereabouts.

Korir Singoei, Kenya’s foreign affairs principal secretary, told local media that Kenya was not involved in the alleged incident.

Source Al-Jaziira News

Wednesday 20,Nov, 2024 {HMC} U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced late Tuesday his selection of Linda McMahon as his nominee to lead the Department of Education.

McMahon served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s previous term in office, and was well known for her decades-long role in helping lead World Wrestling Entertainment.

“Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World,” Trump said in a statement. “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

Earlier Tuesday, Trump nominated Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary in his new administration.

The 63-year-old billionaire is co-chair of Trump’s transition team, helping to consider and vet numerous people to assume top-level government jobs after Trump takes office on January 20. Lutnick has been an outspoken Trump supporter in recent months.

The CEO and chairman of the Cantor Fitzgerald global financial services firm, Lutnick was reported to be in contention to become Treasury secretary, another top job Trump has yet to fill. But Trump associates say Lutnick fell out of favor for the Treasury job amid conflicts with another leading candidate, investor Scott Bessent.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick could play a leading role in implementing the president’s economic and trade policies.

Trump has proposed widespread increases in tariffs on imported goods, an effort to boost American manufacturing of the same products but one that in the near term threatens to increase prices for American consumers and disrupt the global economy.

The Commerce Department oversees an array of federal business policies, including on semiconductors, cybersecurity and patents, and helps promote new businesses and economic growth in the United States, the world’s biggest economy.

Lutnick has donated to Democrats and Republicans in the past. He also once appeared on Trump’s NBC reality TV show “The Apprentice” before Trump was first elected president in 2016.

The Cantor Fitzgerald firm that Lutnick heads lost more employees — 658 out of 960 — than any other business in the September 11, 2001, al-Qaida terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Another 46 contractors and visitors who were in the Cantor Fitzgerald offices that day were killed when the towers collapsed.

Lutnick’s brother Gary was among those killed when hijackers flew commercial jetliners into the skyscrapers, hitting the North Tower just below where Cantor Fitzgerald occupied floors 101 to 105. Howard Lutnick would have been there as well but was taking his son Kyle to his first day of kindergarten.

Back at the site, Lutnick survived the collapse of the South Tower by taking cover under a nearby car. He later created the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund to assist families of victims of the attacks and natural disasters.

On Tuesday, Trump also named Dr. Mehmet Oz, a longtime television show host, as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees the government’s two key health insurance programs for older Americans and impoverished people. Trump backed Oz’s failed attempt to win a Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022.

Source VOA NEWS

Wednesday 20,Nov, 2024 {HMC} Donald Trump is poised to recognise a former British protectorate as an official country, according to a former UK defence secretary who lobbied the president-elect.

Sir Gavin Williamson told The Independent he has held talks with Trump’s team about the official recognition of Somaliland, which holds a crucial strategic position on the Red Sea.

He said he was confident Mr Trump would take up the issue once he assumes office in January.

The former Tory cabinet minister has been the leading advocate for official recognition of the ex-British protectorate, which has in effect been independent from Somalia since 1991.

It is uncomfortable for Labour that a senior Tory figure is seeking to influence US foreign policy, and potentially bounce the UK government into changing its stance on the issue.

“They should agree to it, though when he assumes office it will probably all take a little longer than we hope,” he said. “But had really good meetings with his policy leads so fingers crossed.”

He added: “One of Trump’s last orders as president was to withdraw troops from Somalia but then Biden countermanded that order. There is nothing that Trump hates more than someone overruling him so I used that to push the argument.”

It comes after Somaliland recently successfully held free and fair elections which the opposition leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi won on a 53 per cent turnout.

While Somaliland has close links with the UK as a former part of the empire, the only country which recognises it is Ethiopia which signed a deal for access to the sea at the port city of Berbera.

The agreement, signed on 1 January this year, caused an international row with Somalia which still lays claim to the territory after the two countries united in 1960.

Previous attempts to recognise Somaliland were effectively blocked by former US president Barak Obama who supported Somalia’s claim. President Joe Biden supported this position even though Somalia is a centre for international piracy and terrorism; US intelligence flagged possible discussions with the Houthis – who are attacking shipping in the nearby Gulf of Aden – to provide weapons to the militant al-Shabaab in Somalia.

The first Trump administration came close to recognising the tiny de facto state before Mr Trump lost the election in 2020. If he were to go ahead with recognition, it would put pressure on the UK to follow suit.

News of Somaliland came as Sir Keir’s government has attracted pressure over its deal with Mauritius to give them sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The Independent recently revealed that Mr Trump is looking at vetoing foreign minister David Lammy’s recent deal because of concerns over China getting access and security around the UK/US Diego Garcia airbase.

Sir Gavin began his interest in Somaliland when he was defence secretary between 2017 and 2019 and visited the breakaway country. He has since become a leading advocate in parliament and a regular visitor to Somaliland, even receiving honourary citizenship for his efforts on their part.

There are hopes that official recognition will allow a deal for Western allies to use the Berbera port to help with operations in the Red Sea, which has become a major international flashpoint.

There was disappointment before the election when David Cameron, as foreign secretary, agreed to demands from the Biden administration to continue to support Somalia’s claim, even though Somaliland is a stable country that runs free and fair elections.

Earlier this year, Liverpool City Council became the first British body to formally recognise Somaliland, in the hope it would raise the issue’s profile and put pressure on Mr Lammy.

Meanwhile, sources in Washington DC have told The Independent that the State Department “has warmed up” to the idea of supporting Somaliland’s claim in the days following Mr Trump’s victory.

Peter Pham, a former US special envoy to the Sahel region and a senior official in the last Trump administration, also noted: “I am sure this will be up for review after the inauguration. Similarly, a smooth election in Somaliland will, in addition to its other achievements, undoubtedly strengthen its case in an overall policy review.”

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office source said: “It would be wrong to speculate on any policy decisions that the incoming administration of President-elect Trump may make.

“The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland’s unilateral declaration of independence. It is for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to resolve Somaliland’s status through dialogue and broad consultation.”

Source Hiiraan online

Wednesday 20,Nov, 2024 {HMC} Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued a statement congratulating Somaliland’s new president-elect, Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullahi.

The ministry commended both the outgoing president and the president-elect for demonstrating “exemplary democratic statesmanship.”

“On behalf of the people and Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulates President-Elect Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullahi – Irro on winning the presidential election in Somaliland.
Ethiopia applauds both the president-elect and President Muse Bihi Abdi for the exemplary democratic statesmanship they have exhibited,” the ministry stated.

The ministry also extended its best wishes for the success of Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullahi’s administration in its future endeavors.

Somaliland’s Push for Recognition

Somaliland, as a self-declared state, is at least as old as Eritrea but lacks international recognition as an independent nation. It asserts that it had a history of independent statehood before uniting with Somalia, from which it declared independence in 1991. However, geopolitical considerations and Somalia’s persistent claims over Somaliland have hindered its quest for recognition.

There have been security challenges, including the presence of Al-Shabaab terrorist groups, in the region but it is unclear if it has complicated the stability narrative.

Following this month’s election—widely regarded as free, fair, and democratic—some Somalilanders, as reflected in social media conversations, are hopeful that hesitant countries, particularly in the West, may now reconsider recognizing Somaliland as an independent state.

Peaceful Elections and Democratic Progress

The Horn of Africa’s de facto state has held four elections to date, the latest of which took place peacefully on November 13, 2024.

This year’s election saw the incumbent Muse Bihi Abdi from the Kulmiye party, opposition leader Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullahi from the Waddani party, and another opposition party leader Faysal Ali Warabe from the UCID party vying for the presidency.

According to sources, the Somaliland Electoral Commission has announced preliminary results, declaring Mr. Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullahi Cirro as the winner and the sixth president of the Republic of Somaliland.

The president-elect previously served as the Speaker of the Somaliland House of Representatives.

Voter turnout was reported to be unprecedented, with over one million eligible voters casting their ballots across more than 2,000 polling stations in Somaliland.

Tensions in the Region

Although Somaliland declared independence from Somalia over 34 years ago, the government in Mogadishu continues to regard it as an integral part of Somalia—a claim that Somaliland firmly rejects.

In January this year, Somaliland signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopia. Since then, tensions have escalated in the region, with Somalia accusing Ethiopia of “violating” its sovereignty by signing the agreement.

The development has led to a shift in alliances. In August this year, Somalia signed a defense agreement with Egypt, which is set to deploy about 10,000 troops to Somalia as part of the new African Union Peacekeeping Mission and a bilateral arrangement.

Eritrea, following a fallout with Abiy Ahmed’s administration, has been providing military assistance to Somalia, including training tens of thousands of Somali troops over the past few years.

In October, a formal tripartite agreement was signed in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, further strengthening Eritrea’s ties with Somalia and Egypt.

Eritrea’s formalization of an anti-Ethiopian alliance was previously reported here.

Ethiopia has expressed concern over the deployment of Egyptian troops to Somalia, given the longstanding hostility between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ethiopia’s Strategic Interests

As it stands, Somaliland remains Ethiopia’s key ally in the region. Nearly a year after the Memorandum of Understanding was signed, it has yet to be finalized. Once completed, Ethiopia is expected to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state in exchange for a 20-kilometer coastal land lease. The lease is anticipated to last for 50 years.

Source Hiiraan Online

Wednesday 20,Nov, 2024 {HMC} Former Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and ex-Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire have congratulated the newly formed 3rd Jubbaland Parliament, whose selection concluded in Kismayo this week.

Jubbaland traditional elders selected the 75-member legislature, sworn in during a ceremony in Kismayo on Tuesday.

The Himilo Qaran Party, led by Sheikh Sharif, commended the Jubbaland Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission, emphasizing the role of regional constitutions in regulating state-level governance under Article 120 of the Somali Transitional Constitution. The party urged federal leaders to respect the nation’s constitutional framework.

Hassan Ali Khaire lauded the new parliament members in a separate statement, calling on them to fulfill their constitutional duties effectively, develop Jubbaland’s laws and institutions, and prioritize peace and public interest. He also urged other regional administrations—Galmudug, Hirshabelle, and South-West states—to expedite their electoral processes, viewing Jubbaland’s progress as a model for the country.

Puntland’s parliament also welcomed the establishment of the Jubbaland legislature, further underscoring its significance in Somalia’s push toward regional and national elections.

Meanwhile, Somali Prime Minister Hamse Abdi Barre has reiterated that Jubbaland President Ahmed Madobe is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, citing Article 70 of the Jubbaland Constitution, which limits presidents to two terms. Barre accused Madobe of pursuing personal interests and undermining Somalia’s national agenda, dismissing the ongoing electoral process in Jubbaland as illegitimate.

Source Hiiraan Online