Saturday May 4, 2024

Yemen’s Houthis will target ships heading to Israeli ports in any area within their range, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree has said in a televised speech.

“We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach,” Saree said on Friday, adding that the decision will be implemented “immediately, and from the moment this statement is announced”.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks on ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians and against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

This has forced shipping firms to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israeli war on Gaza could spread and destabilise the region.

In his speech, Saree also cited a looming “aggressive military operation” in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are now sheltering, as a reason behind the group’s decision.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to send ground troops into Rafah, which is already being bombarded on a daily basis. The potential Israeli ground offensive has sparked an international outcry and calls on the Israeli government to halt its plans.

Netanyahu said a Rafah operation will take place whether or not Israel and Hamas agree on a ceasefire deal.

A Hamas delegation is set to visit Egypt in the coming days for further indirect ceasefire talks with the objective of “ending the aggression against” people in Gaza, according to a statement by the Palestinian group.

There have been significant sticking points in negotiations. Hamas has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal that does not guarantee a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the unhindered return of displaced families to their homes.

But an Israeli proposal includes a halt in fighting for 40 days and the exchange of dozens of Israeli captives for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Saree, the Houthi spokesperson, said the inability to reach a permanent ceasefire is another reason for the Houthis’ decision to target ships heading to Israeli ports.

“The Yemeni armed forces … will not hesitate to prepare for broader and stronger stages of escalation until the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” he said.

Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 34,622 Palestinians, destroyed much of the besieged enclave, forced some 1.7 million people from their homes, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.

A United States-led military coalition has been bombing Houthi targets since January, but the Yemeni group has continued its attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Saturday May 04, 2024 {HMC} The World Meteorological Organization warns that Tropical Cyclone Hidaya, which is projected to make landfall in Tanzania and Kenya this weekend, threatens to worsen the humanitarian crisis triggered by torrential rains in these and other heavily flooded countries in East Africa.

“Hidaya is the first documented system to have reached tropical cyclone status in this part of the world. We are not talking about Sudan. We are talking about lower and East Africa,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

“It is historically significant. It is also going to have a very big impact, and specifically on Tanzania, where the ground is already absolutely soddened. Tanzania, which has suffered flooding, is about to get hit with more heavy rains falling … from this system.

“And the moisture in this tropical cyclone will also impact Kenya, where there is also very, very bad flooding,” she said, noting that “climate change was supercharging extreme weather.”

El Nino, which sparked heavy rains and severe flooding sweeping East Africa, is waning. Despite this, the WMO says this weather event still carries a big punch and is leading to more heavy rainfall, devastating floods and landslides in the East African region.

While casualty figures continue to rise, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports this disaster so far has killed more than 400 people. This includes at least 210 in Kenya, more than 150 in Tanzania and others in Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia.

OCHA reports heavy rains and floods in these five countries have affected more than 637,000 people, including 234,000 who are displaced. It says governments and humanitarian agencies are still assessing the damage and destruction of infrastructure, which is extensive.

“In terms of economic losses, it is still too early to say. When you look at the images of bridges and roads being swept away, it is going to be immense,” said Nullis. “The loss of livestock, the disruption of agriculture. It is a huge, huge investment.”

In an address to his nation Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto outlined a series of measures to deal with this emergency, noting that no corner of the country “has been spared from this havoc.”

“Sadly, we have not seen the last of this perilous period, as this situation is expected to escalate,” he said. “Meteorological reports paint a dire picture. The rains will persist, increasing both in duration and intensity for the rest of this month and possibly after.”

While all those caught in this disastrous event are suffering immense hardships, the U.N. refugee agency expresses particular concern about the welfare of thousands of refugees and other displaced people “being forced to escape once again for their lives after their homes were washed away.”

“In Kenya, nearly 20,000 people in the Dadaab refugee camps, which host over 380,000 refugees, have been displaced due to the rising water levels,” said Olga Sarrado Mur, UNHCR spokesperson.

“Many of them are among those who arrived in the past couple of years after severe drought in neighboring Somalia. Some 4,000 people are currently sheltering in six schools with facilities that have been extensively damaged,” she said.

She noted that many of the tens of thousands of refugees in Tanzania, Burundi, and other hard-hit countries in the region have had to relocate multiple times as water levels continue to rise. She said many people are struggling to find shelter, to pay the rent, to earn enough money to feed themselves and their families.

“Climate change is making many parts of the world, especially in fragile regions like East Africa and the Horn of Africa, increasingly uninhabitable,” said Sarrado Mur.

“Storms are more devastating. Wildfires have become commonplace. Floods and droughts are intensifying. Some of these impacts are irreversible and threaten to continue worsening, and displaced people are bearing the brunt of the impact,” she said.

The WMO reports early warning systems are critical in saving lives before natural disasters strike. It says these systems are more crucial than ever to protect people from the extreme weather conditions stemming from human-induced climate change.

“So, on tropical cyclones, we do have very, very good warnings these days in most parts of the world that enable evacuations to take place,” said Nullis, underscoring that early warning systems enable “what we call anticipatory action, which is sort of prepositioning by humanitarian agencies of relief supplies.”

“Thanks to such actions, we have prevented a great loss of life in many regions of the world,” she said.

However, UNHCRs Sarrado Mur observed that “many of the preparations resulting from early warnings often do not reach the most vulnerable communities, including refugees or other displaced communities, which often are in areas that are more exposed to these climate hazards.”

She emphasized the importance of providing funding to vulnerable peoples and the communities hosting them, “so they can be equipped and be prepared, and so they can adapt to this new situation which is unfortunately the new reality.”

SOURCE VOA 

Mogadishu, Somalia, Friday, May 3, 2024: The Somali Media Association (SOMA) has the dignity to take part in the efforts of marking the World Freedom Day May 3, 2024, which is an annual event observed worldwide.

The 2024 theme for World Press Freedom Day is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis,” which reflects the need to strengthen the media’s role in addressing the environmental crisis and its consequences.

The journalists are expected to be empowered to provide significant information to the public on environmental issues and connecting local stories to the broader climate crisis.

Furthermore, Mohamed Osman Makaran, Secretary General of the Somali Media Association (SOMA) has pointed out the World Press Freedom Day – May 3, 2024 event focused on strengthening the importance of press Freedom Day in Somalia and to stress environmental issues and their significance to Somalia.

In addition, from May 2023 to May 2024, it was observed that 28 cases of violence against Somali journalists and the killing of three journalists including Ismail Sheikh Khalifa, former Secretary General of SOMA who has died in 10th May 2023 after being injured in car bomb attack, , Abdikarim Ahmed Bulhan , a journalist killed in Abudwak district, Galmudug State in 14 March 2024 and Abdifatah Moalin Qeys , a journalist killed in suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu on October 16,2023 .

Furthermore, there were 20 journalists working at various areas who were subjected with detention, torture, kidnapping and eviction from their area of work. There was also incident of Radio Brava being attacked and staff arrested.

In fact, out of the 28 cases of violence only one case of the journalists Abdikarim Ahmed Bulhan who was killed in Abudwak, Galgadud state has received justice after the man found guilty of his murder was sentenced to death, while most of the journalists are not provided with proper justice.

In addition, we are deeply concerned with the unilateral appointment of the Somalia National Media Council by the Somali government on March 14, 2024, which is unacceptable as its clear violation of the legal provisions outlined in Article 14 of the signed media law.

In that regard, we are appealing to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to intervene and refrain from the signing this illegally established media council into a presidential decree, and we urge the President to ensure the law is respected and press freedom is upheld.

In conclusion, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day 2024, Mohamed Osman Makaran, the Secretary General of the Somali Media Association (SOMA) restated the importance of this annual celebration, as it provides chance to improve the principles of press freedom, focus on environmental issues and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives and injured in the line of duty.

END