Sunday 13 July 2025 {HMC} A major conference aimed at finalizing the formation of the SSC-Khaatumo Federal Member State has officially commenced in Las’anod, the administrative capital of Sool region.

The opening session of the conference was attended by key national and regional leaders, including the Second Deputy Speaker of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament, Senator Abdullahi Timacadde; the Federal Minister of Interior, Hon. Ali Yusuf Ali (Xoosh); the Leader of SSC-Khaatumo, Mr. Abdikhadir Firdhiye; as well as several federal ministers and members of parliament.

Traditional leaders from SSC-Khaatumo, official delegates, and representatives from various segments of society also took part in the gathering, which marks a significant step in institutionalizing governance and federal representation for the region.

The conference is expected to outline key political and administrative structures for the emerging Federal Member State, reinforce local governance, and enhance collaboration with the Federal Government of Somalia.

Sunday 13,July ,2025 {HMC} A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane’s engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel.

The Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade released on Saturday by Indian accident investigators.

The report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 crash raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches.
Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines.

In the flight’s final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.

It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight’s captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” just before the crash.

The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience.

The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.

“We care for the welfare and the well-being of pilots so let’s not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report,” Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told, opens new tab local news channels.

The crash is a challenge for Tata Group’s ambitious campaign to restore Air India’s reputation and revamp its fleet, after taking the carrier over from the government in 2022.

Air India acknowledged the report in a statement. The carrier said it was cooperating with Indian authorities but declined further comment.

FUEL SWITCHES

Experts have said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches.

“If they were moved because of a pilot, why?” asked U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse.

The switches flipped a second apart, the report said, roughly the time it would take to shift one and then the other, according to U.S. aviation expert John Nance. He added that a pilot would normally never turn the switches off in flight, especially as the plane is starting to climb.

Flipping to cutoff almost immediately cuts the engines. It is most often used to turn engines off once a plane has arrived at its airport gate and in certain emergency situations, such as an engine fire. The report does not indicate there was any emergency requiring an engine cutoff.

At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position and there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash, said the report, which was released around 1:30 a.m. IST on Saturday (2000 GMT on Friday).

Asked about the report, the father of first officer Kunder told reporters “I am not from the airline”, declining to comment further during a prayer meeting held in the memory of the airline’s crew on Saturday in Mumbai, where emotional scenes played out among grieving relatives.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board thanked Indian officials for their cooperation in a statement and noted that there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of Boeing 787 jets or the GE (GE.N), opens new tab engines.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said its priority was to follow the facts where they lead and it was committed to promptly addressing any risks identified throughout the process.

Boeing said it continued to support the investigation and its customer, Air India. GE Aerospace did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

CRASH PROBE

The AAIB, an office under India’s civil aviation ministry, is leading the probe into the crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.

Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report due 30 days after the accident, according to international rules, and a final report expected within a year.

The plane’s black boxes, combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India.

The report said “all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied (with) on the aircraft as well as engines.”

The airport closed-circuit TV recording from Ahmedabad had earlier shown the Air India plane rose to a height of 650 feet after it took off, but then suddenly lost altitude, crashing in a fireball into a nearby building.

The investigation report said as the Dreamliner lost altitude, it initially made contact with several trees and an incineration chimney, before hitting the building.

Air India has faced additional scrutiny on other fronts after the crash.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said last week it plans to investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after Reuters reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records to show compliance.

India is banking on a boom in aviation to support wider development goals, with New Delhi saying it wants India to be a job-creating global aviation hub along the lines of Dubai.

Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru and Aditya Kalra and Abhijith Ganapavaram in New Delhi and by Allison Lampert in Montreal, David Shepardson in Washington, Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago,Francis Mascarenhas in Mumbai and Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Jamie Freed and Muralikumar Anantharaman

Source

Sunday 13,July ,2025 {HMC} There was chaos at Lari Boys High School in Kiambu County on Saturday night as fire broke out in the establishment.

Images and videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke, huge flames were seen billowing from the school compound as the fire engulfed several building.

Onlookers taking the videos could be heard hoping that there were no casualties due to the intensity of the blaze.

According to some online reports, the boys may have set the fire themselves as they were heard shouting slogans as several structures went up in flames.

One such report shared by Lari Ndio Home, a Facebook group bringing Lari residents together, the boys apparently hindered efforts to put out the fire with claims that they chased away volunteers trying to put away the fire.

The fire destroyed several structures, including the principal’s office, the staffroom, and the library by the time help arrived.

“Lari Boys High School was set on fire by the students themselves. I have witnessed it first hand. We went to contain the fire minutes after they set it ablaze, but the students could chase us away, thus hindering the rescue. When we reached there, the principal’s office, the staffroom, library were all gone,” the post read.

However, the school is yet to issue an official statement on the matter, leaving speculations on how the ordeal started and whether the fire was arson or an accident.

As of the time of the publication of this article, no casualties had been reported and the extent of the damage is also yet to be confirmed.

The fire comes just a week after a similar fire brought down a dormitory at Embakasi Girls Secondary School in Nairobi.

Confirming the news on July 6, the Kenya Red Cross stated, “Fire at Embakasi Girls’ School, Nairobi County. Efforts to it are underway.”

“Response teams from the Nairobi Fire Brigade, Kenya Red Cross Action Team, and the Community-Based Response Team are on the scene.”

Similarly, no casualties were reported at the scene, although property belonging to hundreds of students was lost in the fire.

Source

Sunday 13,July ,2025 {HMC} The Commander of the Somali National Army (SNA), Maj. Gen. Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, on Friday visited Ugandan troops serving under the African Union Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) in the Lower Shabelle region, praising their critical role in the recent liberation of Sabiid and Anole towns from Al-Shabaab militants.

The two towns were recaptured last month during Operation Silent Storm, a coordinated offensive involving troops from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF), and international partners.

Maj. Gen. Odowaa lauded the successful joint efforts and reaffirmed Somalia’s commitment to intensifying operations to liberate remaining areas under Al-Shabaab control. He also thanked the Ugandan government and its forces for their enduring contributions to Somalia’s peace and stability.
AUSSOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma, highlighted the importance of joint military operations and underscored the need to prioritize civilian protection during offensives.

Maj. Gen. Odowaa was accompanied during his visit by Sector One Commander Brig. Gen. Joseph Musoke Ssemwanga, Operation Silent Storm Commander Col. Kosia Kuteesa, AUSSOM Military Information Officer Lt. Col. Jean Rukiira, and senior SNAF officers.

The delegation emphasized continued cooperation in Sector One, which covers key areas of southern Somalia.

Source Hiiraan online 

Sunday 13,July ,2025 {HMC} The African Union has doubled its 2025 Peace Fund allocation to Somalia, approving an additional $10 million to help finance the transition to a new AU-led stabilization mission amid a growing international funding gap.

The funding decision was made during the 47th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council, held July 10–11 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. It raises the AU’s total commitment to Somalia for 2025 to $20 million, drawn from its Crisis Reserve Facility.

The funds are earmarked for the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), which took over in January 2025 as a non-combat successor to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), whose operations are scheduled to conclude at the end of 2024.

AU officials said the additional financing would reinforce Somali-led security operations, bolster joint coordination, and prevent operational gaps during the handover.

Despite the AU’s increased commitment, the financial future of AUSSOM remains uncertain. While the United Nations has pledged to cover up to 75% of the mission’s projected $166.5 million annual cost, the United States has declined to contribute directly. U.S. officials have cited concerns about oversight, sustainability, and burden-sharing.

The U.S. decision not to contribute directly to AUSSOM marks a sharp departure from its historic role in supporting AU missions in Somalia. Between 2007 and 2020, Washington provided more than €2 billion to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and its successor, ATMIS, according to AU and EU data.

In May 2024, the AU publicly warned of the risk of “security gaps” if AUSSOM did not receive full funding. Somalia has repeatedly urged donors to ensure predictable and long-term financial support, and in June, Mogadishu and the AU reached an agreement establishing a joint command structure to ensure greater national leadership under AUSSOM.

The AU Peace Fund, which was restructured in 2016 to reduce dependency on external donors, aims to reach $400 million in member contributions. But African-led peacekeeping missions, including ATMIS, remain heavily reliant on support from the European Union and the United Nations.

ATMIS contingents, particularly Ugandan troops, experienced pay delays of one to three months between 2018 and 2022 due to bottlenecks in EU fund transfers to the AU Commission, according to Hiiraan Online and Garowe Online reporting. That episode underscored the consequences of unpredictable funding and spurred efforts within AU institutions to diversify financial sources.

Source Hiiraan online

Sunday 13,July ,2025 {HMC} The Ayr sub-clan, a prominent branch of the larger Hawiye clan, on Saturday delivered a major donation to support the Hawadle clan’s ongoing battle against Al-Shabaab militants in the Hiiraan region.

Members of parliament, ministers, business leaders, and intellectuals from the Ayr clan contributed $50,000, ten camels, 200 head of cattle, two food trucks, and several military vehicles to bolster the fight against the extremist group.

This is the largest single aid package delivered to frontline fighters in the ongoing three-year war against Al-Shabaab in Hiiraan. Clan elders expressed hope that the donation would significantly strengthen the Hawadle militia’s capacity in the conflict.
“This is not only material support but a powerful gesture of solidarity in our shared struggle to liberate the region from Al-Shabaab,” said one of the Ayr elders during the handover ceremony.

The donation comes as hundreds of troops recently arrived in Mahaas district from Guriceel and Matabaan in the Hiiraan and Galgaduud regions. The reinforcements, largely composed of fighters from the Habargidir clan, are joining forces with the local Ma’awisley militias and Somali government troops in an anticipated offensive to retake Moqokori.

Commanders of the new arrivals pledged unwavering support. “We are here to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Hawadle. This is a continuation of the brotherhood we forged when they helped us liberate Guriceel and Dhusamareb in 2008,” said a Habargidir officer.

The Moqokori district, a strategic town that connects several key roads across Hiiraan, Galgaduud, and Middle Shabelle, was captured by Al-Shabaab weeks ago following internal disputes and a temporary withdrawal of government forces.

Preparations for a large-scale military operation to retake the district are now in their final stages.