Culled from BBC News- Andrew Harding's article on the Somalia drought

Somalia drought: The fight for survival as famine looms Published 12 hours ago Related Topics 2022 East Africa drought Dahir, a young boy, is seen with his sister and mother in front of a makeshift tent in Baidoa Image caption, Dahir (pictured left with his sister and mother) recently lost his brother to starvation By Andrew Harding BBC News, Baidoa, Somalia Young children are dying in growing numbers in Somalia amid the worst drought to hit the country in 40 years. Government officials say that an even greater catastrophe could sweep the country within days or weeks unless more help arrives. Short presentational grey line The tears tumbled down 11-year-old Dahir's hunger-hollowed cheeks. "I just want to survive this," he said quietly. Seated beside the family's makeshift tent, on the dusty plain outside the city of Baidoa, his weary mother, Fatuma Omar, told him not to cry. "Your tears will not bring your brother back. Everything will be fine," she said. Fatuma's second son, 10-year-old Salat, died of starvation two weeks ago, shortly after the family reached Baidoa from their village, three days' walk away. His body is buried in the rocky earth a few metres from their new home - the grave already covered in litter and increasingly hard to spot as new arrivals set up camp around them. "I cannot grieve for my son. There is no time. I need to find work and food to keep the others alive," Fatuma said, cradling her youngest daughter, nine-month-old Bille, and turning to look at six-year-old Mariam as she gave a rasping cough. On the other side of the dirt road that loops to the south-east, towards the coast and Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, other displaced families told more grim stories of long treks across a drought-parched landscape in search of food. 'No strength to bury my daughter' A new survey has shown that almost two-thirds of young children and pregnant women in the camps are suffering from acute malnutrition, which, along with a high death rate, could indicate that a localised declaration of famine is already overdue. "I saw my daughter [three-year-old Farhir] die before me and I could do nothing," said Fatuma, who had walked for at least 15 days with her nine children from a village called Buulo Ciir to reach Baidoa. "I had been carrying her for 10 days. We had to leave her by the side of the road. We had no strength to bury her. We could hear the hyenas closing in," she continued. Habiba (a woman wearing a blue headscarf) is seen with a piece of string Image caption, Habiba Mohamud says her home village is unrecognisable "I've brought nothing with me. There is nothing left at home. The cattle are dead. The fields are dry," said Habiba Mohamud, 50, clutching a piece of twine in one hand, and acknowledging that she will never return to her village. A succession of droughts, turbo-charged by climate change, is now threatening to end a pastoral way of life that has endured for centuries across the Horn of Africa. Like other new arrivals, Habiba was busy erecting a tent for her family from branches, twigs, and scavenged scraps of cardboard and plastic sheeting, hoping to finish it before the chill of night. Only after that could she turn to finding food and medical help for some of her five children. On the admissions ward in the city's main hospital, Dr Abdullahi Yussuf moved between beds, checking on his tiny, emaciated patients. Most were children between two months and three years old. All were severely malnourished. Some had pneumonia and many were battling a new outbreak of measles too. Few infants had the strength to cry. Several had badly damaged skin, broken by the swelling that sometimes accompanies the most extreme cases of hunger. "So many die before they even reach a hospital," said Dr Abdullahi, watching his team struggling to connect an intravenous tube to the arm of a moaning two-year-old. 'It's terrifying, people are dying' Although Somali officials and international organisations have been sounding the alarm for months about an impending famine in this south-western region, Dr Abdullahi said his hospital was already short of basic items including nutritional supplements for children. "Sometimes we lack supplies. It's terrifying, actually, because people are dying, and we can't support them. Our local government is not handling this well. It has not been planning for the drought or for the arrival of displaced families," he said, with visible frustration. A local government minister conceded there had been failings. "We need to be faster than we are, and we need to be accurate… and more effective," said Nasir Arush, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs for South West state, on a short visit to one of the camps around Baidoa. But more international support, he insisted, was key. Somalia famine graphic "If we don't receive the aid we need, hundreds of thousands of people will die. The things we're doing now we needed to do three months ago. In reality we are behind. Unless something happens [fast] I think something catastrophic will happen in this area," he said. The process of formally declaring a famine can be a complicated one, reliant on hard-to-pin-down data, and, often, political considerations. Britain's ambassador in Mogadishu, Kate Foster, described it as "essentially, a technical process". She pointed out that during the 2011 drought "half of the 260,000 deaths happened before famine was declared". Man walking on arid land leading donkeys pulling a cart of wood. There are women, some carrying babies, behind himImage source, BBC/ Ed Habershon Image caption, Locals have been migrating from their villages to Baidoa in search of resources and medical care The presidential envoy leading Somalia's international effort to secure more funding thanked the US government, in particular, for recent new funding, saying it "has given us hope". But Abdirahman Abdishakur warned that without more help, a localised crisis in one part of Somalia could quickly spin out of control. "We were raising the alarm… but the response of the international community was not adequate," Mr Abdishakur said. "Famine is projected. It happens [already] in some places, some pockets, in Somalia, but still we can prevent the catastrophic one," he continued, speaking by phone during a stopover in Toronto, Canada. Women fleeing, men stay behind Although estimates vary, the population of Baidoa has roughly quadrupled in the past few months, to around 800,000 people. And any visitor will quickly notice one striking fact: almost all the new adult arrivals are women. Somalia is at war. The conflict has endured, in different guises, since the central government collapsed three decades ago, and it continues to affect almost every part of the country, tearing men away from their families to fight for an array of armed groups. Like most of those arriving in Baidoa, Hadija Abukar recently escaped from territory controlled by militant Islamist group al-Shabab. "Even now I'm getting calls on my phone from the rest of my family. There is fighting there - between the government and al-Shabab. My relatives have run away and are hiding in the forest," she said, seated beside her sickly child at a small hospital in Baidoa. Other women spoke of husbands and older sons being blocked from leaving areas controlled by the militants, and of years of extortion by the group. Baidoa itself is not quite surrounded by al-Shabab, but it remains a precarious place of refuge. International aid organisations, and foreign journalists, require heavy security to move around, and any travel beyond the city limits is considered extremely risky. "We're looking at populations that are under siege. Sometimes it feels quite hopeless," said Charles Nzuki, who heads the UN children's fund, Unicef, in central and southern Somalia. Baby being weighed Image caption, Women and children are leaving areas where they cannot get humanitarian assistance According to some estimates, more than half the population affected by the current drought remains in areas controlled by al-Shabab. Strict US government rules blocking any assistance from benefitting designated terrorist groups have complicated efforts to reach many desperate communities. But international organisations, and the Somali authorities, are working with smaller local partners to increase access and are now planning air drops into some contested territories. Still, one aid worker, speaking off the record, acknowledged that it was almost impossible to guarantee that no food or funds were reaching al-Shabab. "Let's not be naïve, [al-Shabab] taxes everything, even cash donations," they said. Over the years, the militant group has established a reputation not just for violence and intimidation but for delivering justice in a country with a hard-earned reputation for official corruption. In at least four villages close to Baidoa, al-Shabab runs a network of Sharia courts that are routinely used by the city's residents and, reportedly, by people in Mogadishu and beyond, to settle business and land disputes. Further to the north-east, a sudden uprising against al-Shabab has seen local communities and clan militias - now heavily backed by the central government - drive the group out of dozens of towns and villages in recent weeks. The military successes have prompted a surge of optimism, but it is not clear if that will help in the fight against famine, or simply distract the Somali government. "It might, or it might not [help]. I think it may create more [civilian] displacement. Or the government might liberate more areas and people might have more access [to aid]. So, we're looking at it from all sides," said local minister Nasir Arush. Birds-eye view of BaidoaImage source, BBC/ Ed Habershon Image caption, Baidoa is providing a safe haven for those fleeing villages with no resources In Baidoa itself - a busy city of narrow, cobbled streets scarred by decades of conflict and neglect - the prices of basic goods, like rice, have doubled in the past month. Many residents blamed the drought, but others also looked further afield. "Flour, sugar, oil - they've all risen by about the same amount. Sometimes we have to skip meals. I heard about the war between Russia and Ukraine. People say that is the root cause of these problems," said Shukri Moalim Ali, 38, walking over to her dry well, and barren vegetable patch. While the fight to ward off a deeper, spreading famine is the immediate focus in this region, Somalia's new government is also looking ahead, seeking to address more existential questions about the future. "It is a challenging task, to respond to the drought, to fight against al-Shabab, and to campaign to access [international] climate justice finance," Abdirahman Abdishakur said. "We have a young population, an enormous diaspora, and vibrant entrepreneurial skills. So that gives us hope. It's challenging, but we don't have an alternative."

RUSSIA VS UKRAINE: NEW YORK TIMES ANALYSIS OF THE DANGER OF THE USE OF TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON

5.2k The New York Times Russia's Small Nuclear Arms: A Risky Option for Putin and Ukraine Alike David E. Sanger and William J. Broad Tue, October 4, 2022 at 12:56 PM·9 min read In this article: Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin President of Russia WASHINGTON — For all his threats to fire tactical nuclear arms at Ukrainian targets, President Vladimir Putin of Russia is now discovering what the United States itself concluded years ago, U.S. officials suspect: Small nuclear weapons are hard to use, harder to control and a far better weapon of terror and intimidation than a weapon of war. Analysts inside and outside the government who have tried to game out Putin’s threats have come to doubt how useful such arms — delivered in an artillery shell or thrown in the back of a truck — would be in advancing his objectives. The primary utility, many U.S. officials say, would be as part of a last-ditch effort by Putin to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensive, by threatening to make parts of Ukraine uninhabitable. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe some of the most sensitive discussions inside the administration. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times The scenarios of how the Russians might do it vary widely. They could fire a shell 6 inches wide from an artillery gun on Ukrainian soil, or a half-ton warhead from a missile located over the border in Russia. The targets could be a Ukrainian military base or a small city. How much destruction — and lingering radiation — would result depends on factors including the size of the weapon and the winds. But even a small nuclear explosion could cause thousands of deaths and render a base or a downtown area uninhabitable for years. Still, the risks for Putin could easily outweigh any gains. His country could become an international pariah, and the West would try to capitalize on the detonation to try to bring China and India, and others who are still buying Russian oil and gas, into sanctions they have resisted. Then there is the problem of prevailing winds: The radiation released by Russian weapons could easily blow back into Russian territory. For months now, computer simulations from the Pentagon, U.S. nuclear labs and intelligence agencies have been trying to model what might happen and how the United States could respond. It is no easy task because tactical weapons come in many sizes and varieties, most with a small fraction of the destructive power of the bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In a fiery speech last week full of bluster and menace, Putin said those bombings “created a precedent.” The modeling results, one official familiar with the effort said, vary dramatically — depending on whether Putin’s target is a remote Ukrainian military base, a small city or a “demonstration” blast over the Black Sea. Great secrecy surrounds Russia’s arsenal of tactical arms, but they vary in size and power. The weapon Europeans worry the most about is the heavy warhead that fits atop an Iskander-M missile and could reach cities in Western Europe. Russian figures put the smallest nuclear blast from the Iskander payload at roughly one-third of the Hiroshima bomb’s explosive power. Much more is known about the tactical weapons designed for the U.S. arsenal back in the Cold War. One made in the late 1950s, called the Davy Crockett after the frontiersman who died at the Alamo, weighed about 70 pounds; it looked like a large watermelon with four fins. It was designed to be shot from the back of a jeep and had about one-thousandth of the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. But as the Cold War progressed, both the United States and the Soviets developed hundreds of variants. There were nuclear depth charges to take out submarines and rumors of “suitcase nukes.” At one point in the 1970s, NATO had upward of 7,400 tactical nuclear weapons, nearly four times the current estimated Russian stockpile. By that time, they were also part of popular culture. In 1964, James Bond defused a small nuclear weapon in “Goldfinger,” seconds before it was supposed to go off. In 2002, in “The Sum of All Fears,” based on a Tom Clancy novel, a terrorist wipes out Baltimore with a tactical weapon that arrives on a cargo ship. The reality, though, was that while the blast might be smaller than a conventional weapon would produce, the radioactivity would be long-lasting. On land, the radiation effects “would be very persistent,” said Michael G. Vickers, the Pentagon’s former top civilian official for counterinsurgency strategy. In the 1970s, Vickers was trained to infiltrate Soviet lines with a backpack-sized nuclear bomb. Russia’s tactical arms “would most likely be used against enemy force concentrations to stave off a conventional defeat,” Vickers added. But he said his experience suggests “their strategic utility would be highly questionable, given the consequences Russia would almost assuredly face after their use.” For deadly radiation, there is only one dramatic, real-life comparison on Ukrainian soil: what happened in 1986 when one of the four Chernobyl reactors suffered a meltdown and explosions that destroyed the reactor building. At the time, the prevailing winds blew from the south and southeast, sending clouds of radioactive debris mostly into Belarus and Russia, although lesser amounts were detected in other parts of Europe, especially Sweden and Denmark. The radiation dangers from small nuclear arms would likely be less than those involving large reactors, like those at Chernobyl. Its radioactive fallout poisoned the flatlands for miles around and turned villages into ghost towns. Eventually the radiation caused thousands of cases of cancer, although exactly how many is a matter of debate. The ground around the deactivated plant is still somewhat contaminated, which made it all the more remarkable that the Russians provided little protection to troops that moved through the area in the early days of Moscow’s failed bid to seize Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in February and March. Chernobyl, of course, was an accident. The detonation of a tactical weapon would be a choice — and likely an act of desperation. While Putin’s repeated atomic threats may come as a shock to Americans who have barely thought about nuclear arms in recent decades, they have a long history. In some respects, Putin is following a playbook written by the United States nearly 70 years ago, as it planned how to defend Germany and the rest of Europe in case of a large-scale Soviet invasion. The idea was to use the tactical weapons to slow an invasion force. Colin Powell, the former secretary of state and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled being sent to Germany in 1958 as a young platoon leader, where his primary responsibility was tending to what he described in his memoir as “a 280-millimeter atomic cannon carried on twin truck-tractors, looking like a World War I Big Bertha.” Decades later, he told a reporter “it was crazy” to think that the strategy to keep Western Europe free was for the United States and its NATO allies to risk using dozens or hundreds of nuclear weapons, on European soil, against advancing forces. The very name “tactical weapons” is meant to differentiate these small arms from the giant “city busters” that the United States, the Soviets and other nuclear-armed states mounted on intercontinental missiles and pointed at one another from silos, submarines and bomber fleets. It was the huge weapons — far more powerful than what destroyed Hiroshima — that prompted fear of Armageddon, and of a single strike that could take out New York or Los Angeles. Tactical weapons, in contrast, might collapse a few city blocks or stop an oncoming column of troops. But they would not destroy the world. Ultimately, the large “strategic weapons” became the subject of arms control treaties, and currently the United States and Russia are limited to 1,550 deployed weapons each. But the smaller tactical weapons have never been regulated. And the logic of deterrence that surrounded the intercontinental missiles — that a strike on New York would result in a strike on Moscow — never fully applied to the smaller weapons. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration feared that a terrorist group like al-Qaida might get a nuclear weapon and use it to destroy the New York subways or irradiate downtown Washington. The CIA went to great lengths to determine whether al-Qaida or the Taliban had obtained the technology for small nuclear bombs, and the Obama administration held a series of “nuclear summits” with world leaders to reduce the amount of loose nuclear material that could be turned into a small weapon or dirty bomb, essentially radioactive waste that could be dispersed around a few city blocks. As the Cold War ended, NATO admitted publicly to what insiders had long concluded, that the rationale for any nuclear use was exceedingly remote and that the West could dramatically reduce its nuclear forces. Slowly it removed most of its tactical nuclear weapons, determining they were of little military value. Roughly 100 are still kept in Europe, mostly to appease NATO nations that worry about Russia’s arsenal, estimated at 2,000 or so weapons. Now the question is whether Putin would actually use them. The possibility that he would has sent strategists back to examine a war doctrine known as “escalate to de-escalate” — meaning routed Russian troops would fire a nuclear weapon to stun an aggressor into retreat or submission. That is the “escalate” part; if the enemy retreated, Russia could then “de-escalate.” Of late, Moscow has used its tactical arsenal as a backdrop for threats, bullying and bluster. Nina Tannenwald, a political scientist at Brown University who studies nuclear arms, recently noted that Putin first raised the threat of turning to his nuclear weapons in 2014 during Russia’s invasion of Crimea. She added that, in 2015, Russia threatened Danish warships with nuclear destruction if Denmark were to join NATO’s system for fending off missile strikes. In late February, Putin called for his nuclear forces to go on alert; there is no evidence they ever did. Last week, the Institute for the Study of War concluded that “Russian nuclear use would therefore be a massive gamble for limited gains that would not achieve Putin’s stated war aims. At best, Russian nuclear use would freeze the front lines in their current position and enable the Kremlin to preserve its currently occupied territory in Ukraine.” Even that, it concluded, would take “multiple tactical nuclear weapons.” But it would not, the institute concluded, “enable Russian offensives to capture the entirety of Ukraine.” Which was, of course, Putin’s original goal. © 2022 The New York Times Company

T-O-D-A-Y

Today is bethrothed to history. She would be gone forever but her memory would linger forever. Today is all you have got, tommorrow is a mystery. Treat today with kind gloves, be good to all the people ''Fate'' brings to your path. Are you filty rich? If you are, please spend your liquid gold wisely, don't look down on your nose at the poor. Mind you, you might wake up in the morning a poor man. You might think you have it all. Don't be deceived by your good fortunes. Some beggars were once multi-millionaires. Life has an insatiable hunger for ups and downs. Nobody has the monopoly to controll the winds of destiny. Be grateful for the little you have and strive hard to better your life. ''Fate'' might probably show you His good side Tomorrow. Don't laugh at another person's misfortune. Your's might be ten times worst than his or hers. Today is all you have got to make hey while the sun shines. Don't allow the misfortunes of Today to sink your dreams. No matter what Today throws at your face, don't give up hope. As long as you are alive, you would still have more than a thousand chances to pull through and have a happy ending story. Today has brought about the rise and fall of empires. Today has caused so many people pains and also fed the hearts of so many people with that awesome flow of joy. Happiness and Sadness are inside the bag of Today. Always remember that what you do today would determine what you would be remembered for tomorrow. Be strong and courageous.

CRACK ON THE WALLS OF TRANQUILLITY

The ''Eartth'' was never intended to be a breeding ground for turmoils, wars, natural disasters and ravaging tentacles of diseases and pandemic. How did we get to this stage? Once upon a time, man lived in a beautiful garden, mortality had a sweetened spice of peace and tranquliity . Man was contented with being man. When man began to populate the ''Earth'', evil began to incubate until it became a living being, invariably cracking the walls of tranquillity. The lust for ''Power'' released the demon in ''Man''. Every generation has a repilca of Adolf Hitler. China the ''Great'' has found an ally in Russia, ''The Bear'' of Europe. The aim of their alliance is to divide and rule the world and crush the influence of ''Almighty'' United States of America. These manuevers has deepened the crack on the walls of tranquillity. Tranquillity has drowned inside the sea of woes. African has been serenaded by these world powers. Eating the leftovers from their rich meals has reduced Africa into a pathetic beggars league of under-developed nations. For Africa to survive, she must polish the shoes of her benefactors. South America has been bullied and made to lick the feet of Russia and China all thanks to the maniacs in the helms of affairs who calls the shots in the laughable democracy of the continent. No need to make mention of Asia, the story is still the same.

THE CHRONICLES OF DONALD TRUMP, MS AUNG SAN SUU KYI AND MR. DEMOCRACY

Donald Trump ruled America with an iron fist for 4years yet he was loved by more than a handful of people, he almost succeeded in slaying democracy, this did not quench the burning love of die-hard followers. America still lived to tell the story of the beautiful-ugly days of the "Great" erratic Donald Trump. Life is all about stories, legends and villains. Love him or hate him, Donald Trump was a messiah to some people and a nuisance in the eye sights of some. Myanmar battled for many years to sit on the dinning table with "Democracy".Ms Aung San Suu Kyi fought with the dungeon lords to liberate his people from the shackles of military rule. Her duggedness took her to the stool of power, though she had to make do with the titled of "Defacto Leader" of his "Grace" forsaken country. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi was a saint who could do no wrong until she took sides with the miliatry during the 2017 bloody masscre of Myanmar's Rohingya minority. Under her watchfull eyes and with her seal of approval, the military turned the land of the Rohingya minority into a sea of blood, a waste land where vultures smiles and laugh so loud. It seemed as if she would never see the ugly face of terror again, things were going well for her, democracy was smiling. Suddenly, the military woke up from her brief nap to steal the mantle of leadership from Ms Aung San Suu Kyi on the first dawn of the month of February 2021. Insipte of the landslide victory of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's party victory in the polls, the military did not blink her eyes. Democracy has been bound in chains once again in myanmar.

Democracy is bleeding, even in Russia and Uganda. the "Great" Vladimir Putin has glued himself to the throne, he is destined to rule untill the crack of doom. Uganda's Yoweri Museveni has been in power for more than three decades, he has fastened his buttocks on the throne to rule for life. only death would take him out. For how long would democracy continue to cry?

YOUR HEALTH MATTERS

The human being is the most intricate of all known creatures. Attempt to fully comprehend man’s nature has eluded us in the past. Science so far has broadened our understanding of man’s physical body but facts unseen are yet to be resolved. Every day, our knowledge of certain minute ingredients of life is better illuminated. Like any other living creature, human beings are subjected to external influences, two of them- the variable and the constant. Thus, human beings struggle to maintain an equilibrium of healthy living and wellbeing. Living a reckless life is tantamount to sailing through the Atlantic Ocean on board a sinking ship. Here comes in the health professionals, their task, a herculean one though is to aid man’s quest for good health and long life. Whereas accountants deal with figures, lawyers probably with facts. Doctors find themselves in the enviable position of saving lives. Medical Science is the most dynamic of all knowledge sought, it is ever changing. An ideal health staff must have buried his/her head in books and manuals in a formal education and must keep pace with the developmental changes of our time. Medicine is a sensitive profession, errors made on paper can be corrected but diagnostic and treatment errors cannot be salvaged. Lives are connected, people depend on people. Premature death simply breaks this chain and plunge lives into sorrows. One medical error can change the course of a deceased relation’s life. It is a very noble task to care for the sick, but more ignoble to care without the necessary knowledge. Let us keep in mind the implications of our actions, remembering that a respect for human lives is a respect for the most beautiful creation of God.

GEORGE FLOYD: THE DEATH THAT EXPOSED THE GHOST OF RACISM IN USA

Is the United States of America truly the land of the free for the free? The late George Floyd was a man naturally endowed with a black skin- a Negro in the eyes of those who see and judge a man by the color of his or her skin. George Floyd had high hopes of living to see a better tomorrow. The reaper struck again in the family barely two years after the demise of George Floyd’s mum. This time around, the victim was George himself. People steal thousands of dollars and go scot free but poor George Floyd died without robbing anyone. The crime they accused him of committing was minuscule compared to the one proven to have been committed by so many white folks this year. I believe strongly in the innocence of George Floyd. Even if he was not innocent, being in possession of a fake $20 bill is not something that would drive a sane Police Officer mad. If a white person had been in possession of a fake $20 bill would he or she had been murdered? “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe” screamed a helpless George Floyd. If he were a white man, his pleas for help would had soften the stone heart of the ruthless Derek Chauvin, a 44 year old white skinned Police Officer of the Minneapolis Police Department. Bewitched by the cloven Hoff, Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the neck of poor George Floyd. On the bare street was where George Floyd was lying helplessly. Death jerked left and right, it did not find any angel in the vicinity who would rescue the drowning soul. Death waited patiently for 8minutes before he stole the soul of George Floyd. Racism has refused to go to bed and never wake up. A lot of racial murders have been going on in American soil all these years but the recent death of George Floyd has exposed the nude body of the ghost of racism. I sincerely wish that one day the dreams of the founding father of America would be realized. We long for the day where this great nation would truly be a land for the free and for the free. The color of a man’s skin should not dictate how he or she would be treated.