Somali President Says Sharia Law In Somalia Will Not Be Strict!

Could this message by Al Qaeda be the reason behind Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's decision to allow a less strict version of sharia law in Somalia?Here's more from BBC:

" The 25-minute audio recording, titled "From Kabul to Mogadishu," focuses primarily on the "important developments" in Somalia, which al-Zawahiri called "a step on the path of victory of Islam."

CNN cannot authenticate the message, which was released on Sunday and was interspersed with television news reports and statements from various al Qaeda-linked commanders. CNN analysts who listened to the recording say the voice is consistent with his intonation and accent.

This is the third message from al-Zawahiri espousing the views of the al Qaeda terror network in 2009; the other two focused on Israel's recent military operation against Hamas leaders in Gaza.

In addition to Somalia, al-Zawahiri also addresses the situations in Yemen, Gaza, and Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Al-Zawahiri praised Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia who recently seized control of Baidoa, where the U.N.-backed transitional government had been based. He warned the newly installed government, under President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, not to squander those gains by submitting "to American demands" and not abiding by sharia, or Islamic law.

"I call on my Muslim brothers in beloved Somalia ... to not be deceived by those who agree to the secularist constitutions which vie with the sharia in its right to rule," he said."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

Here's more on the new president of Somalia's decision to allow sharia law there from CNN:

" Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said Saturday he will give in to a rebel demand that he impose Islamic law, or sharia, in an effort to halt fighting between Somali forces and Islamic insurgents.
However, Ahmed told a news conference he won't agree to a strict interpretation of the law, which forbids girls from attending school, requires veils for women and beards for men, and bans music and television.

The president, speaking at his palace in the capital, Mogadishu, said local elders and religious leaders, acting as liaisons with the militants, brought him a message saying the rebels wanted a truce in the two-year-old fighting. He also asked African peacekeepers to stand down.

Ahmed, who was elected January 31, said he would ask the AU contingent to leave once there is a solid political solution to the conflict.

More than 40,000 Somalis have returned to abandoned neighborhoods in Mogadishu over the past six weeks, despite some of the heaviest fighting in months, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

Sometime's A Mother's Kiss Can Be Deadly!

A newborn baby is one of the loveliest sights that your eyes could ever behold.Your heart just surges with so much love & affection for this helpless little being.It's hard not to hold them.And it's especially hard not to kiss them.But, in one case, a mother's innocent kiss may have become the kiss of death.Here's more from Sky News:

"A mother whose baby girl died shortly after her birth has told Sky News she was devastated to learn she may have passed on a deadly infection to her daughter through kisses.Ruth Schofield's baby Jennifer was just 11 days old when her vital organs failed and she died in hospital.

She had been infected by Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) passed on by her mother, Ruth, either by kissing or breastfeeding, an inquest was told.

Miss Schofield told Sky News she did not have the words to describe the shock of her new-born daughter's death.

"It was soul destroying," she said.

"I don't want any family to have to go through the devastation I have."

Lancaster coroner Dr James Adeley said Miss Schofield, 35, of Lancaster, probably caught HSV in the late stages of pregnancy.

But he said no-one could be blamed for failing to identify the virus and recorded a narrative verdict.

Miss Schofield had felt ill with flu-like symptoms a few days before giving birth to Jennifer in November 2006. She was then treated by her GP for a number of mouth ulcers.

Her daughter subsequently became unwell and died in Lancaster Royal Infirmary the following month.

Miss Schofield said she was campaigning to raise awareness of the condition, which is said to kill six babies a year in the UK."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

While Robert Mugabe Sips Champagne,Zimbabweans Drink Cholera-Infected Water!

As cholera & starvation spreads rapidly through Zimbabwe,Robert Mugabe celebrated his 85th birthday as if he doesn't have a care in the world!It amazes me that he is sipping champagne while the people of his country die from not having one of the barest necessities of life,which is clean water.Not only that,Robert Mugabe asked for contributions from Zimbabweans for his lavish weeklong birthday celebrations.How deplorable!This man has no soul.Here's more from Sky News:

"A week of birthday celebrations culminates today for the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, as his country remains in crisis.
Mr Mugabe turned 85 last weekend and is today set to enjoy a huge public feast and concert at Chinhoyi, about 50 miles west of the capitol Harare.

Critics say it shows a continued confidence by Mr Mugabe - just weeks after he agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The lavish event promises to be a party fit for a king.

It is reported to include 2,000 bottles of champagne, 8,000 lobsters, 100kg of prawns and 4,000 portions of caviar.

Yet whilst Mr Mugabe feasts, half of his population survives on just one meal a day in a country battling hyper-inflation and a worsening cholera epidemic.

Controversially, Mr Tsvangirai has said he will attend.

He evidently believes his best hope of bringing real change is from within government, not outside fighting Mr Mugabe in opposition.
Last year, Mr Tsvangirai railed against Robert Mugabe's birthday celebration as "a gathering of the satisfied few" in a nation crippled by food shortages.

His spokesman James Maridadi said of today's bash: "Morgan Tsvangirai was invited and he is attending.

"It is courteous on (the part of) his party and it is in the spirit of national unity."

As leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai faced intimidation, physical assault and at one stage was charged with plotting to kill Mr Mugabe.

However, in February he was sworn in as the country's Prime Minister.

The Mugabe birthday celebrations will reportedly cost £350,000 - amid suggestions it would take more than £3bn to rehabilitate Zimbabwe's collapsed health, social and education systems."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

Apparently,Morgan Tsvangirai used some good judgement & decided not to attend.Here's more on that from Zimbabwe Metro:

"President Mugabe invited Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, but Press Secretary James Mariradi said the majority party leader turned it down. Tsvangirai said it is a political party function and as the prime minister, he is not obligated to attend, the spokesman said.

The spokesman would not acknowledge whether Tsvangirai had initially agreed to attend, but it was widely reported in Zimbabwean media that he had agreed to do so."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.