MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said.
Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.
Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance.
“This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo,” David Copeman, Amnesty International’s Somalia campaigner, said in a statement Friday.
Somalia is among the world’s most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.
A quarter of Somali children die before age 5; nearly every public institution has collapsed. Fighting is a daily occurrence, with violent deaths reported nearly every day.
Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida have been battling the government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. Within weeks of being driven out, the Islamists launched an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians.
In recent months, the militants appear to be gaining strength. The group has taken over the port of Kismayo, Somalia’s third-largest city, and dismantled pro-government roadblocks. They also effectively closed the Mogadishu airport by threatening to attack any plane using it.
There have always been many Italian, Chinese and Mexican variant restaurants to {www:choose} from in Denver, but, recently, a number of new cuisines are adding their mix to the lot. One of these is African {www:food} and, in particular, the cuisine of Ethiopia as witnessed by the number of establishments offering this new dining experience to the city. On the recommendation of a {www:friend}, I ventured into one called “Axum” on East Colfax and am back with my review.
For those who are unfamiliar with Ethiopian cooking, (as I was just a short while ago), it is basically “wats” or “tibs” served on and with a type of bread called “injera” or “taita”. No utensils are used for eating. Instead, pieces of the injera are torn off and used to pick up bites of food. The “wats”, (or “wots”, as this restaurant calls them), are “stews” and the “tibs” are “sautés”. Traditionally, the food is eaten off a woven “Mesob” after the hands are washed with soap and water, and, generally, the right hand is used to put the food to the mouth.
This was my first experience with Ethiopian food and I found it to be quite tasty, although I was expecting something a bit more spicy. The “Berbere” is a traditional Ethiopian spice composed of chili pepper, ginger, cloves, coriander, allspice, rue berries and ajwain. It is supposed to be as spicy as Southwest chili powder, but I found it very tame. We tried the Vegetarian Combo and were able to sample a variety of vegetarian “wots”.
Our vegetarian combo included samples of Yemesir Wot which are lentils in hot barbecue sauce, Ater Wot which are peas cooked with garlic, ginger roots and spices, and Shiro Wot which are chickpeas seasoned with garlic, berbere and Ethiopian spices. Also included in our combination were a salad and another dish with cabbage, carrot and potato. The salad was a {www:tradition} salad like you might find in any restaurant and I do not know what the other dish was or why it was there. The salad was supposed to contain jalapenos, but I did not notice any. As for the various wots, they were very tasty and reminded me of lighter versions of Indian cuisine. Yet, the injera is something that will take a little getting used to for me.
“Injera” or “Taita” is a grayish-brown, spongy bread made from fermented teft flour. Teft is a type of seasonal grass indigenous to northern Ethiopia and often used in cooking. The bread resembles a pancake in consistency and texture, but falls apart easily and, served cold, is unfamiliar to Western cultures. It has a pleasant flavor, but neither the temperature nor the texture suited my tastes.
While we were there, we also sampled the Ethiopian beer and a honey wine called “Tej” that is said to resemble mead. The beer had a good, light taste similar to American beers, but was strikingly devoid of carbonation. The honey wine tasted like some kind of champagne mixed-drink like a mimosa, except it, too, lacked the carbonation. It was an interesting dining and cultural experience, but not without fault.
If you decide to try this restaurant, be ready for a little cultural shock. It is not particularly clean either inside or out. Also, we had some communication problems with the help. Our first server spoke only Spanish and knew very few words of English. Our second server had a better grasp of English, but seemed to be a native speaker of Amharic or some other Ethiopian dialect. Many of the bilingual customers had no problem communicating their desires, but, for those unfamiliar with African tongues, it was difficult. Being vegetarian, we worried that we would be misunderstood and served something with meat in it. Fortunately, Ethiopian cuisine is largely vegetarian and popular with vegetarians worldwide. The service was, however, very friendly and accommodating considering the circumstance, although no one ever brought out the traditional soap and water and our food was not served on a Mesob.
I will not rate this restaurant. If you like Indian food or cultural adventure, you will probably like this cuisine as well. If you are familiar with African languages and cuisine, you will also probably enjoy this restaurant. If, however, cleanliness, both inside and out is a concern of yours, I must throw up the caution flag and advise you in advance to approach with caution. Nothing I consumed made me the slightest bit ill, but I still feel the restaurant could do with some broom work, some vacuuming and a good wipe down throughout.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s Olympic 5000m/10000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba and two-time Olympic 10000m silver medallist Sileshi Sihine tied the knot in a spectacular two-week long wedding ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Dubbed “the wedding of the millennium” to coincide with the end of Ethiopia’s millennium celebrations, the athletes contained various elements of Ethiopia’s traditional wedding ceremonies. The highlights of a ten-day ceremony were a big ceremony at the Meskel Square in Addis Ababa where close to half a million people watched the couple take a chariot ride.
– 21 October: Engagement- First ever athlete wedding at the Addis Ababa City Hall
The couple got their wedding ceremony off with a cosy engagement ceremony at the Addis Ababa City Hall. It was perhaps the first time in nearly a year that a couple had even been married at the City Hall. Other engagement ceremonies in Addis Ababa are usually carried out at sub-city level and almost never allowed at the main city hall.
– 23 October: Tilosh- Sihine spends “millions” in dowry for Tirunesh
As is customary in traditional Ethiopian weddings, Sihine then sent his best men and other well-wishers to the family of the bride armed with dowry in order to convince the family to give away their daughter.
This ceremony, which is often a practical formality in modern-day Ethiopia, is often blown out of convention due to the fact that the groom’s best men often exaggerate the quality and price of the items that are offered to the family of the bride as dowry.
Needless to say, Sihine’s entourage did a fine job at massive exaggeration.
The wedding veil, for example, was put at an inflated price of 2.5million Euros, while the entourage over blew the price of various items of clothing, cosmetics, and jewellery.
– 26 October: The wedding day – a long, but memorable adventure
Due their success on the running track, the couple are some of the most sought-after celebrities in Ethiopia. But little did they know that they would be followed everywhere they went on their wedding day.
The wedding day started at the home of Sihine where he, along with his best men and the rest of the wedding entourage, made the trip to the home of the bride in a brand new Limousine. There was an even longer parade and entourage waiting at Dibaba’s residence where the couple joined hands for the day’s ceremonies.
After lunch at the five-star Hilton Addis, the couple headed to Meskel Square where they attended a public gathering of nearly 500,000 people. And after thanking the gathering for braving the rain and wishing them well, they then made a 1km trip to the Sheraton Addis in a chariot.
The couple ended the day with a dinner ceremony at the Sheraton where close to 1000 people attended a larger feast of song and dance. Various ministers, Ambassadors, the country’s top athletes, and government officials were the picks of the attendees.
Young singer Misikir Awol also sang “Tirunesh le Sileshi” (Tirunesh for Sileshi), a special song composed for the couple on their special day.
– 27 October: President hosts couple at the National Palace
A day after their wedding day on Sunday (26 October), the couple and about 15 other guests were hosted by Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis at a special dinner ceremony at the National Palace.
“You continue to make us proud and I wish you a successful marriage,” said Woldegiorgis during a short address at the ceremony.
– October 28: Sister Ejegayehou hosts “the Mels”
Ejegayehou Dibaba, the 2004 Olympic 10,000m silver medallist and elder sister to Tirunesh, has always played a crucial part in the career of her younger sister. And the wedding was no exception.
On Tuesday (28 October), Ejegayehou hosted a glorified dinner party at her magnificent home and even went as far as giving the couple a gift – a miniature grass hut to signify the coming together of the couple and the building of a common home. The ceremony, which is known as “Mels” in Ethiopian tradition, is usually hosted by the family of the bride to invite the family of the groom and start not just a union of the wedding couple, but also their families.
– 30 October 30: Gebrselassie delights at “the Kelekel”
The “Kelekel” is another traditional ceremony by the family of the groom where the newly weds serve guests and the family of the bride.
No ceremony, however, is a formality for Dibaba and Sihine as more surprises emerged on their occasion too. The first came from the couple’s club, the Prisons Police Sport Club, who surprised the newly weds with a gift. The club’s administers had a wedding photo of Dibaba and Sihine printed on leather and presented it at the occasion.
The second surprise came from Haile Gebrselassie, who had made a big sacrifice by skipping the opportunity to start the Eurasia Marathon in Istanbul last week in order to attend their wedding. On this occasion, Gebrselassie played the piano in the honour of Dibaba and Sihine whose delight at the great man’s presence was just unmistakable!
(KGMB9) – Hawaii’s top health official is trying to stop a rumor about Barack Obama that says he was born in Kenya and therefore isn’t allowed to run for President.
That {www:claim} has been spreading online but Hawaii officials say it’s not true.
Obama was born in Honolulu and the proof is at the state Health Department.
To end the controversy, director Dr. Chiyome Fukino says she’s seen the birth certificate herself. She just can’t release it publicly.
After getting numerous requests for it, she explained again Friday, “state law prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record.”
No state official, including Gov. Linda Lingle, has ever instructed that this vital {www:record} be handled in a manner different from any other vital record in the possession of the state.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Barack Obama’s aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.
Zeituni Onyango, 56, referred to as “Aunti Zeituni” in Obama’s memoir, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request, a person familiar with the matter told the AP late Friday. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to discuss Onyango’s case.
Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcment official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.
Onyango’s refusal to leave the country would represent an administrative, non-criminal violation of U.S. immigration law, meaning such cases are handled outside the criminal court system. Estimates vary, but many experts believe there are more than 10 million such immigrants in the United States.
The AP could not reach Onyango immediately for comment. No one answered the telephone number listed in her name late Friday. It was unclear why her request for asylum was rejected in 2004.
Onyango is not a relative whom Obama has discussed in campaign appearances and, unlike Obama’s father and grandmother, is not someone who has been part of the public discussion about his personal life.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kelly Nantel, said the government does not comment on an individual’s citizenship status or immigration case.
Onyango’s case—coming to light just days before the presidential election—led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring any deportations prior to Tuesday’s election to be approved at least at the level of ICE regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.
The unusual directive suggests that the Bush administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango’s case coming to light so close to the election.
Kenya is in eastern Africa between Somalia and Tanzania. The country has been fractured in violence in recent years, including a period of two months of bloodshed after December 2007 that killed 1,500 people.
The disclosure about Onyango came just one day after Obama’s presidential campaign confirmed to the Times of London that Onyango, who has lived quietly in public housing in South Boston for five years, was Obama’s half aunt on his father’s side.
It was not immediately clear how Onyango might have qualified for public housing with a standing deportation order.
PETERBOROUGH, CANADA – Two local lawyers, Kathy Church of Sustainable Solutions and Sarah Armstrong of GE are holding a Coffee House fundraiser for Ethiopia that includes a silent auction and concert at the Gordon Best Theatre, 216 Hunter St. W., on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p. m.
All of the ticket and silent auction proceeds will go to Ethiopia through the
Canadian charity Partners in the Horn of Africa to establish a group home for poor, rural young
women with academic promise to access post-secondary education opportunities.
Many of the young women have come
through the charity’s other programs for HIV orphans and school-support projects for elementary and high school students. The group home project needs $10,000 for the first year. For further information about the charity, visit www.partnersinthehorn.org
“Coffee originated in Ethiopia and in that spirit we’ll be hosting a coffee house, with fair-trade Ethiopian coffee donated and served by Black Honey Cafe, along with cafe sweets from several local coffee houses,” Church says.
The large silent auction will include unique items such as a bird-watching outing with Drew Monkman, a columnist with The Examiner; a sailing afternoon on the Bay of Quinte; an evening of billiards with a competitive pool player; and a professional fireworks display. Other items donated by local merchants include: dinner for two at Parkhill on Hunter, a Sony MP3 player from the Future Shop, and gift certificates from Moondance and Body Bliss.
For entertainment, Sarah Loucks, a local singer/songwriter who plays acoustic guitar, will be performing along with a team of African drummers, and the Ethiopian coffee ceremony will be demonstrated. Also, John Baigent, who founded Partners in the Horn of Africa after retiring from a successful legal career, will be on hand to talk about the charity.
Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For tickets, call Church at 743-7650 ext. 4, or the Black Honey Cafe at 211 Hunter St. W.
.JPG "Axum Ethiopian Restaurant")
For those who are unfamiliar with Ethiopian cooking, (as I was just a short while ago), it is basically “wats” or “tibs” served on and with a type of bread called “injera” or “taita”. No utensils are used for eating. Instead, pieces of the injera are torn off and used to pick up bites of food. The “wats”, (or “wots”, as this restaurant calls them), are “stews” and the “tibs” are “sautés”. Traditionally, the food is eaten off a woven “Mesob” after the hands are washed with soap and water, and, generally, the right hand is used to put the food to the mouth.