Originally posted by J.a.c.a.y.l.b.a.r.o: WOW! Waar odaygu seems to be making the right moves. I see the usual SL Londoners are around (the guy behinf them). Good welcome for the President of an unreconised country ma is tidhi JB'ow?

Wonder if any of the nomads will go?

Who is Ibbi?

Somali Parliamentarians to Hold First Meeting in Mogadishu By Peter Clottey Washington, D.C 04 March 2009 Somalia's parliament will hold its first meeting today in the capital, Mogadishu after relocating from neighboring Djibouti and electing new President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Somali parliamentarians left to Djibouti as a result of peace negotiations between the former Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). Under the agreement parliament was expanded to more than 500 accommodating members of the moderate Islamic ARS led by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. But the hard-line Islamic insurgent group al-Shabab seized the temporary parliament building in Baidoa when parliamentarians left for Djibouti. Somali parliamentarian Ahmed Hashi tells reporter Peter Clottey that Mogadishu will be the permanent place for parliamentary meetings. "We will be meeting today as we wait for the speaker to return from Nairobi today. So in the coming hours, we will be holding our parliamentary meeting. And as you will remember, that house is over five hundred MP's (Members of Parliament) comprising of both the ARS and the transitional federal parliament. The task ahead of us is very tough and very difficult, but we are going to start afresh, a new era and a new system, in which hopefully, we are expecting Somalia to prevail in peace and stability, beginning right now," Hashi noted. He said the new government of national unity under President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is responsible for handling the security situation in the country. "The security situation is really not our task. That is the responsibility of the government as you are very much aware. But it concerns me because one of our tasks or our duties is to investigate any matter of public interest. So since security is part of public interest, we would be looking critically at it. And we know without security, even parliamentary meetings would not be possible. The government is responsible, but we will give them pieces of advice on how to go about it as parliamentarians," he said. Hashi said Somalia parliamentarians have now relocated permanently from the temporary building in Baidoa to the capital, Mogadishu. "We had a temporary location in Baidoa, and that was when we were only TFG, but now we are together as an expanded parliament. The initial decision was that when peace returns to Mogadishu, parliament would be relocated to the capital, Mogadishu, and that was the big condition why we were in Baidoa. Now, in our first meeting or second or in the future, hopefully, we will finalize or approve the headquarters of parliament to Mogadishu," Hashi pointed out. VOA

Is this Ngonge posting a feel good topic?

^woohooo!

Read an article the other day on how Man Utd make so much money with one home game (70k+ capacity) and Liverpool make half that. Money is what got you there boys money! Winger will reply to the PM duqa.

I have a nagging feeling I was supposed to have registered online within 3 days (it's been a week) Istanbul is tempting II but so is Damascus (again).

^Never been to Kenya but I don't need a visit Africa right now. If I was to donate the tickets you would still have to fly out of UAE

That's all that Arabs worry about, LOVE. يراقبون كثيرا التلفزي& #1608;ن

Bal Warama? Bought a new phone and got free flights to over 10 destinations. Bal xagaan tagaa? Rome? London? Paris? Ammann? Damscus? Istanbul? Cairo? Brussels? Bangkok? Nairobi? Muscat?

Originally posted by General Duke: The Mugger The Mugged The Magnoon Waad isdhacday maanta yaa Duke!

Allah yarxamhu

Happy birthday mate.

Originally posted by Oz: Nuune, I think scousers should appoint a new Coach for premier league while Rafa stays as Champions league coach. True!

CG, has obviously not integrated enough into UK society. *has developed Marc's way of thinking*

^True. The one who is supposed to be helping the poor is shifting the food to his own warehouse!

^Like what?

Main reason is finance I hear. Riyale laaluushki ba ka dhamaatay miya

Good comments. Its not a case of 'if we don't win' by Kulmiye but rather 'if we are cheated'. JB, heard the elections have been put back to June. Ma runba?

LoL at Mystic Meg I once had to do the interview at Djibouti. Took less than 5 mins.

Corruption eats into Somalia’s food aid Matt Brown, Foreign Correspondent Last Updated: March 02. 2009 9:30AM UAE / March 2. 2009 5:30AM GMT BURAO, SOMALIA // In a dimly lit warehouse behind the bustling market in this northern Somali town, white plastic sacks full of sorghum are stacked nearly to the ceiling. Most of the 200 or so bags of grain have the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) logo on them. Some are from the United States Agency for International Development and have the words, “Not for sale or exchange” written on them. However, all of this food, intended as handouts to some of the world’s neediest people, is for sale. Corruption is adding to the already catastrophic food crisis here in Somalia, where three million people, or one-third of the population, are dependent on food aid. In south and central Somalia, where nearly 20 years of war has ravaged the country, warlords commonly steal food aid and use it to control the population. Here in the more stable northern region, where many have sought shelter from the fighting, some of the food is stolen by corrupt officials looking to make a profit. “There is corruption,” said Asha Essa, who lives in a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of the town. “I have seen the officials selling our food aid in town.” The displaced people who live in this dusty, sprawling camp of stick and plastic tents lament the fact that they have to buy the food that should be given to them. Many cannot afford to pay the US$7 (Dh25) for a 25kg bag of sorghum. Rising food prices and hyperinflation have put even basic food out of reach for the most vulnerable. “There’s no food,” said Ali Gouled, a camp resident. “When they bring rice, people take it to town. It flies away from here like a bird.” Hassan Bilaal, a programme assistant for the WFP, said 80 per cent of the grain sold in Somali markets had been intended as food aid. He said corruption is partly to blame, but much of it is sold by the aid recipients themselves so that they can earn money to buy sugar and tea and other basics. “If a family gets two bags of sorghum, they will sell one,” he said. Besides corruption, inflation, rising food prices and war, Somalia has been hit with one of its worst droughts in decades. This collection of calamities in the past year has caused what many consider to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Somalia is the WFP’s second largest operation in the world, after Sudan. Malnutrition rates among children here are up to 20 per cent, the WFP says. “Malnutrition is very common in Somalia,” said Gerardo Romay, a programme officer with WFP. “It is very critical and it is everywhere.” The people living in the camps are supposed to receive food donations at the beginning of each month consisting of rice, sorghum, maize, beans and vegetable oil. But the people living in this camp say they have not been fed for three months. “All of us, we are hungry,” said Arfi Ainashe, who has watched four of her eight children die. “The food is not sufficient.” The war in southern Somalia is complicating relief efforts. Somalia has been embroiled in near constant fighting since 1991, when Siad Barre, the dictator, was overthrown by warlords. The warlords then turned against each other in a struggle for control of the country. In 2006, an Islamist movement briefly came to power, but was ousted by Ethiopian forces. The Islamists have waged a guerrilla war ever since. The Ethiopians remained in Somalia until January. After their pullout, the Islamists have continued their war against African Union peacekeepers. At least 11 AU troops were killed in a battle last week. The refugees here in northern Somalia have lived through more than two decades of displacement. They fled to Ethiopia in the 1980s when the Barre regime launched a civil war against the northern Somaliland region. When Ethiopia faced its own war in the eastern ****** region, the Somalis went back home, where they have continued to live in squalid camps. They hack out a meagre existence in the flat, dry scrub brush. Many raise livestock or work as labourers in town to earn extra money to buy back the food rations that are being sold in the market. The global food crisis last year made life particularly tough even for these resilient people that are used to hardship. “This year has been the hardest,” Mrs Ainashe said. “We have had no water. The food prices have gone up. It is a harsh life.” mbrown@thenational.ae http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090302/FOREIGN /719607519&SearchID=73346847469152

Originally posted by Paragon: You know, I might need to come back to this kind of thread again and read it. I'm mulling over something, and that thing might send me right into the thick of a troublesome spot. Head first. And since it'll not be humanitarian in nature (I wish it was), it shall be amusing to know how it feels to be a walking target Don't post a blog yaan lagu habaarin'e. Good luck mate.

Forget it!

Marc, Do you think passport control at JFK will give me a hard time?