So they are: a) In Somalia b) They are aiding the TFG Is that not enough to say they have 'invaded' Somalia? Or do we need to define 'invading' since they are indeed helping the recognised Govnt?

Can you prove that Ethiopia is not: a) In Somalia - ie crossed the border b) Supporting the TFG with logistics/artillary/weapons etc

^^Can your point be proven?

Red Sea Honest question Duke, do you have the figures of this so called Government troops? I don't even know if they exist, nor am I denying their existance,but your word is all have as evidence that the TFG has any troops, maybe 5,000 or so, but that can't stop fly. Saxib, lets think 'logically' here. The UIC control much of Southern Somalia whereas the TFG control a very small area and Kismaayo has been 'neutralised'. Its obvious who has more feet on the ground hence the TFG's need for Ethiopian help.

A case of the pot calling the kettle black By Omar Shariff, Staff Writer It's a sign of the times we live in. A gang of blood-stained warlords sees no irony in forming an "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism". Somalia has been without an effective central government ever since President Siad Barre's military regime was overthrown in 1991 by clan-based militias. Rival warlords have since turned vast parts of this Horn of Africa nation into wastelands. Of late, there's been a new kid on the block. Promising to restore law and order, a network of 11 courts, calling itself the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), seized the capital Mogadishu in June this year and routed the warlords, who have established a weak, parallel government under President Abdulahi Yousuf Ahmad and Prime Minister Ali Mohammad Ghedi, in Baidoa, 250 km away. Many Somalis point out that life under the UIC, which is reported to be making serious attempts to stem anarchy and check the pervasive gun culture, is far better than that under the warlords. There are fewer checkpoints in the capital, where militiamen used to stop vehicles and demand money. Since that has stopped, the prices of essential goods have fallen significantly. The UIC was formed with the backing of Somali businessmen fed up with the rampant corruption and lawlessness under the militias. Ordinary people in Mogadishu, furious at the excesses of militiamen in the dreaded "technicals" - old pick-up trucks converted into battle vehicles with mounted heavy machine guns - also welcomed the UIC, who they see as heavy-handed but uncorrupt rulers. However, the UIC has a problem: it has fallen foul of the United States. Washington accuses it of having links to Al Qaida, an allegation the group has angrily denied. The warlords, of course, lost little time in jumping on the "anti-terrorist" bandwagon, forgetting their own violent past. They have fed unsubstantiated claims about the Islamists' links to foreign extremists, in order to get US support. Covert CIA funding There have been credible reports of covert CIA funding for the warlords. But this American strategy shows little sign of working, if the rapid territorial gains of the UIC are anything to go by. Ironically, these are the same warlords whose militiamen brought down 2 US helicopters in Mogadishu in 1993, and killed 18 American troops in a street battle that followed. The incident was immortalised in the blockbuster movie Black Hawk Down. (However, few know that in the same 15-hour battle, US troops killed more than 1,000 Somalis.) But the warlords are now America's unofficial allies in the "war on terror". Besides, they have significant funding from Ethiopia, Somalia's old foe. The UIC's considerable arsenal is largely a result of aid from Eritrea, Ethiopia's bitter rival. The worse-case scenario for the Somali people would be overt US and Ethiopian funding of the warlords, and extremists from around the region pouring in to help the UIC. This must be avoided at all cost if there is to be some hope of a decent outcome to the existing situation in this war-ravaged country. Besides, the UIC must give credible assurances to the international community that it will not encourage the Talibanisation of Somali society. The prospects for peace remain dim, though. Foreign interference in Somalia's internal affairs in unlikely to end. And a government of national unity seems a remote possibility. The two sides have already held one round of talks, which were mediated by Sudan. The government in Baidoa accused the UIC of breaking the terms of a proposed ceasefire by continuing to expand its territory. It has sought the help of the African Union, a move that the UIC vehemently opposes. A group of 36 government lawmakers paid a visit to one of the UIC's most influential leader, Shaikh Dahir Aweys, last Wednesday in Mogadishu. However, a government spokesman said the MPs were not representing the government. Shaikh Aweys also said that the UIC was committed to another round of peace talks due to be held under the mediation of the Arab league in Khartoum on October 30. But the government in Baidoa has openly accused the Arab League of being biased towards the UIC. All the while, ordinary Somalis continue to pay the price. There appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel for this most impoverished country in one of the world's most impoverished regions. GN

MOGADISHU, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Somali interim government forces, backed by Ethiopian troops, on Monday captured a town held by pro-Islamist fighters, in the first military setback to months of Islamist expansion, an Islamist source said. "Buur Hakaba has been taken by government troops, backed by Ethiopian forces," a source close to the Islamist leadership told Reuters. If confirmed, the attack would be the first military counter-strike by President Abdullahi Yusuf's government since the Islamists took Mogadishu in June and went on to seize a swathe of southern territory in the Horn of Africa country. "This is the start of war between us and the government," the source said. Troops from Ethiopia, which says the Islamists are led by terrorists, have crossed the border to support the government in recent weeks, witnesses say. Addis Ababa denies that, although it says it has sent military advisers. Buur Hakaba lies between the Somali capital Mogadishu, which the Islamists took in June, and the provincial town of Baidoa which is the government's temporary seat. The Islamist source said there had been some fighting, but he did not know if there were casualties or deaths. Since the rise of the Islamists, Buur Hakaba's previously independent militia had allied themselves with the Islamists, allowing the latter's fighters into the town several times. "The local pro-Islamist militias who were in control have left the town, I understand sporadic fighting broke out," the source said. Government officials and Buur Hakaba residents could not be immediately reached to verify the report. If Buur Hakaba has been captured, it will add to emerging problems for the Islamists' after their relatively unchallenged expansion since June. In the recently-captured southern port of Kismayo, they have faced residents' protests and threats of an attack by the warlord alliance who previously controlled it. reuters.co.uk

The List My fave has always been Johnny Barnes. The whole reason why support LFC. I was lucky enough to watch him during the late 80s and the guy was immense. Heres an article John Barnes Some videos of his goals,,,,the goal vs Brazil was the best ever by an England player but it doesnt get the recognition :rolleyes: More goals and raps

The Scots beat the French last night and now top the group for the Euro 2008 Qualifiers. They are above both France and Italia. Thats football for you! This is the goal here

By Colin Freeman in Mogadishu (Filed: 08/10/2006) Page 1 of 5 As a senior drill officer for Somalia's new Islamic army, Col Abukar Sheikh Mohamed is proud to have recruited some of the unholiest warriors ever to grace a parade ground. Marching over the sandy strip in front of him are former members of Mogadishu's notorious warlord militias, the drug-crazed freelance killers, robbers and rapists who have brought anarchy to the capital for the past 16 years. Now, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a new religious movement which drove out the warlords two months ago, is "rehabilitating" them to defend the land that they so spectacularly destroyed. "Discipline is the first priority," said Col Abukar, as 50 pairs of flip-flopped feet slapped past him in unsteady goosesteps. "These men worked for the warlords – some were alcoholics, others chewed or smoked drugs all day. But, now we have taught them the Islamic religion, they cry about their past sins and obey only the word of God. They do not even smoke cigarettes." Their murderous backgrounds aside, the ragtag army at the Hilwenye training camp outside Mogadishu does not look much of a fighting machine. Some are elderly, others in their teens, some have limps and several are minus hands or ears. Even one of their drill sergeants sports a bandage where his nose was blown off by a bullet. But on their final marchpast over the parade ground, a chant goes up that has rung alarm bells, not just among Somalia's neighbours, but across the globe. It is "Allah akhbar", or "God is great", the traditional religious call that has been adopted as a battle cry by Islamic warriors all over the Muslim world. Thirteen years after the infamous "Black Hawk Down" incident, in which 18 American troops died at the hands of a Mogadishu mob, Somalia is once again the stuff of American nightmares - as a potential new home for fundamentalist Islam in Africa. The ICU's critics in London and Washington see the movement as little short of an African Taliban, an alliance of sharia court judges whom they accuse of wanting to turn Somalia into a theocratic state. But on the wrecked streets of Mogadishu, residents seem more than willing to give the rule of God a try - if only for the reason that, in living memory, no mere mortal has come anywhere close to doing the job properly. After 20 years under the Marxist dictator Siad Barre, during which Somalia became first a Soviet and then a Western client state, a fierce territorial battle with Ethiopia saw it disintegrate into civil war and famine by 1992. A subsequent US and United Nations-backed peacekeeping and relief mission, involving 30,000 troops and $4 billion in aid, was abandoned two years later, leaving a power vacuum which the warlords quickly filled. Now the ICU has garnered unprecedented support for managing to do what none of its predecessors could achieve - pacifying the most lawless city in the world. The courts first emerged as an informal source of law and order in the mid-1990s, gaining respect partly by their imposition of ruthless sharia punishments such as amputations, but also by their reputation for fairness. Influential local businessmen, sick of militia extortion rackets, then paid for men and arms to enforce the courts' writs. That culminated in a series of spectacular battles earlier this year, in which the courts, supported by many of the capital's one million citizens, cleared out the warlords, district by district. Since June a tangible, if fragile, calm has reigned, as shown by the casualty sheets at Mogadishu's Medina hospital: the number of gunshot wound admissions is down to fewer than 30 a month, from a high of 179 in February. "In the last month a new sense of life has come to the business," said Abdullah Noor, 22, an accountant in a Mogadishu haberdashery. "We even feel safe enough to open at night. There may be Islamists who are extremists, yes, but the majority are okay. One hand controlling things is better than many." Other aspects of the new regime are less welcome. As traditionally secular Muslims, many Somalis have been worried at how the courts have tried to shut down cafés showing Bollywood films and football matches, stop radio stations playing love songs, and encourage women to wear veils. They also wonder what else goes on at training camps like Hilwenye, where several hours a day are devoted to Koranic studies. While the ICU says it is simply creating a new national defence force, others see a potential jihadi breeding ground. Whatever its ultimate agenda, the ICU's popularity has been shored-up immeasurably by strong suspicions that America - which claimed the courts were a Trojan horse for al-Qaeda - backed the warlords in a bid to prevent the Islamists seizing power. Across the border in neighbouring Djibouti is the US Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, a 2,000-strong force set up after September 11, specifically to prevent Islamic fundamentalism leeching into the continent's failed and nearly failing Muslim states. While Washington has never admitted it publicly, the CIA is widely acknowledged to have funded the warlords with cash to buy weapons, fearing the ICU would turn Somalia into what President George W Bush described as a "safe haven for al-Qaeda". Ahmed Abdisalam Adan, director of broadcasting at Hornafrik Media, a popular Mogadishu radio station, believes the reports he broadcast from the city's then-thriving weapons souk were more than just rumours. "All of a sudden in 2005 loads of cash flooded into the weapons market, thousands of new dollar bills all in sequence. The warlords were buying guns from the Yemen, Ethiopia and elsewhere. Somalis are very open about this kind of thing, and the warlords quite happily told people where their money was coming from." The real truth will probably never be ascertained, and Washington declines to comment, but in a country where perception counts as much as anything else, the damage has already been done. US interests in Somalia are now indelibly associated with the warlords, who were widely loathed for their criminality, while the triumph of an Islamist movement is associated with the arrival of a much-longed for peace. It has also allowed them to trump the credibility of Somalia's transitional federal government, a 275-strong UN-backed body elected by clan elders in 2004. While it enjoys international legitimacy, its members have never felt it safe enough to take up their seats in Mogadishu. Instead, they languish in exile in the provincial town of Baidoa, where the ICU accuses them of plotting to get Ethiopian or foreign peacekeeping troops to put them in power. "The Islamic Courts Union has the support of the Mogadishu people now, but we don't," admitted Ahmed Mohamed, a federal government parliamentarian. The rivalries between the two groups threaten to spark a regional crisis, with ICU troops taking control of towns and ports outside Mogadishu and nearing the sensitive borders with Ethiopia and Kenya. The ICU's leader is Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an elderly man with a red henna-dyed goatee, glasses and skull cap. While he makes no apology for his view that an Islamic state is the only way to discipline an unruly land like Somalia, he strongly denies extremism or links to al-Qaeda. Most of his new laws, he insists, are sensible regulations in a city that badly needs them; the much-talked of cinema closures, for example, were of hardcore porn shows that children were being allowed to view. "We are not the Taliban, and we should be given some credit for what we have done," he said. "We don't want labels, we want help." Despite his popularity on the streets of Mogadishu, the help Sheikh Aweys wants in rebuilding the country may be some way off long as he remains a key player. The Foreign Office, whose representatives will attend EU-backed talks between the ICU and the transitional government in Kenya this week, says it can do business with "more moderate" ICU members but not with him. "The ICU has brought an element of stability to the country, but they offer a type of rule that is neither democratic nor pluralistic," said a spokesman. "Sheikh Aweys is not someone we can work with. We have to be principled as well as pragmatic." Principles, however, are something that ordinary Mogadishu residents say they can no longer afford. "Unfortunately, you cannot use Western judgements in Mogadishu reality," said Abdullai Mohamed Shirna, a local charity worker. "If an Islamist militia whips an old woman, you in the West will be horrified. Here, people will say that is minor compared with the rapes by warlords. Why does the West only worry now, when it never cared in the warlords' time?"

^^lol my take,,, After the Presidents assassination attempt,,, Sharif: Sheik Cabdillahi Yusuf sidu u-ordey ma-aragtey? Aweys: ehehehe, dubaabad ka dheere! Sharif & Aweys together: hahahahah

^^waar Ramadan laheynine, maxa wakhtigan kusojeediyey? :rolleyes: mise suxurtaadu waa SOL? ps odeyaal kala mesha jooga (Nuune, Castro etc)

he needs to change his stand to certain government and certain people censoring him. I am tired people confusing these bloody governments and tyrants to be epitome and symbols of Islam. They categorically are not He fails to recognise what a 'Islamic' govnt is and i not. He firstly needs to distinguish between the two. be back for more later,,,,,,

loool, ninyo ninkan wax ba ka si-a Welcome back Lazy, i have just taken my shades off. Whats the weather like in Canada?

Ahh Tuujiye, good to hear from you. Yes i've become a boring old so and so but thats just life i guess. But where have you been? still trying to play football? Somaliland iska illow ninyo. You should concentrate on more pending issues

Not to worry nomads, baldness will soon be a thing of the past! A UK biotechnology firm is developing a robot to grow hair follicle cells for use in treating baldness. Intercytex has successfully tested a method of removing hair follicles from the back of the neck, multiplying them and then reimplanting the cells. It now plans to use a £1.85m grant from the government to automate the process of growing the cells, meaning many more people could benefit. The method could be used to treat male pattern baldness and alopecia in women. The company, which is based in Cambridge and Manchester, won funding for the project from the Department of Trade and Industry's Technology Programme. Working alongside The Automation Partnership, which developed the robotic system for storing and growing the cells, it hopes to develop commercial scale production of the hair follicles - also known as dermal papilla cells. The treatment was initially tested on seven men with male pattern baldness, five of whom grew hair, and is now being tested on a further 20. During a 30-minute operation, hair follicles are taken from the back of the neck, then grown in culture until they number in the thousands. They are then injected under the skin where the hair needs to grow back. The most common form of baldness is triggered by the male hormone dihydrotestosterone, which causes follicles to shrink and hair to thin, before it disappears altogether. Intercytex chief executive Nick Higgins said in male pattern baldness the area at the back of the neck was unaffected by the hormone. "We take a very small sample of the dermal papilla cells and then grow them in a special medium until we get ten thousand fold. Then we take a very fine needle and we inject them under the skin and the idea is at each point of injection a new hair will grow. "The robot does two things - the cell culture growth phase takes about three weeks and involves lots of steps but we can programme it to do all the steps, and it can do 200 samples at once. "The clever bit is we don't want to give the wrong person the wrong hair back." He added that they would also be testing the method in cases of alopecia but said it would be about three years before the treatment would be available to the general public. 'Traumatic' Dr Nigel Hunt, psychologist at the University of Nottingham and spokesperson for Alopecia UK, said hair loss was traumatic, especially for women. "I'd want to see some results but if this is shown to work it will change things dramatically," he said. "At the moment there's very little that works. "Hair loss affects people quite badly when it happens but the other thing is that people will try absolutely any treatment they can get their hands on, which in itself is difficult. "It's important to make sure that people taking part in the trials are aware it may not work." He added that it would be interesting to see if the treatment worked for alopecia because hair follicles that may appear to be functioning could have something wrong with them. Science and Innovation Minister Lord David Sainsbury said: "This initiative provides a real opportunity to harness the world class expertise that we possess in the UK and direct it towards the task of wealth creation. "Biotechnology is of crucial importance in our society. By providing a focus for collaboration and delivery, this partnership should establish British industry as the world leader in this area and an attractive proposition for investors." bbc.co.uk

Northern, this author got it wrong I think its fair to say that!

By Rashid Abdi BBC Focus On Africa magazine The Islamist alliance, the Union of Islamic Courts, may have succeeded in gaining control in much of Somalia, but, having defeated the country's warlords, the papered-over cracks in the alliance are now becoming more noticeable. The UIC is split between its Salafist and Qutubist tendencies, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and moderate cleric Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, respectively. Mr Aweys, on the US list of those allegedly linked to terrorism, is widely believed to be the genius behind the military campaign that led to the UIC's victory. But while he was secretly planning, Mr Ahmed, a Sudanese-trained former secondary school teacher, was slowly carving a niche for himself in the international media as the acceptable face of political Islam in Somalia. World Cup crackdown Mr Aweys converted to radical political Islam in the early 1990s and joined al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, a group that, like the UIC, brought together various strains of modern political Islam. But al-Itihaad was defeated by Ethiopian forces and militia loyal to Puntland leader Abdullahi Yusuf - now Somalia's interim president - and Mr Aweys retreated to his home region in central Somalia. Later, he went to Mogadishu and began a period of self-education, which observers say led him to the Salafi ideology. This doctrine, an off-shoot of the Saudi Wahhabi school, seeks to promote a version of Islam that emphasises ritual purity. It frowns upon all forms of bid'a, or modern innovation, and it was in this context that UIC-aligned militiamen cracked down on cinemas showing World Cup football matches. The Salafi ideology regards television and sports as lahw - vulgar past-times - and is both opposed to rationalism and virulently anti-modernist. Salafis favour a rigid and literal interpretation of Islamic texts and regard other Muslim sects as deviants. They teach against compromise and holy war is the pivot around which their beliefs revolve. Ambitions The Somali counter-current to Salafism is Qutubism, which owes its birth to the Egyptian Islamist thinker Sayyid Qutub and his book In The Shade Of The Koran. Qutub's vision is less atavistic than the Salafist vision and his critique of modern Western civilization is, in the main, not too extreme. And it is Mr Ahmed who has emerged as its principle proponent in Somalia, speaking in favour of engagement with the West and with the transitional government. But in a society where the gun rules, it is difficult to see how he can become a powerful player. Real power lies with Mr Aweys. And given the deep grudge he bears President Yusuf following al-Itihaad's bloody defeat, he may capitalise on his new-found power to make life difficult for the weak president and further his ambitions for a Greater Somalia. Meanwhile in Mogadishu, the situation is further complicated by inter-clan rivalries, as well as the apparent resurgence of the traditional mainstream Sunni sects that are creating their own Islamic courts in a bid to counter the influence of the UIC. There have been suggestions that violence could break out between the rival Islamic groups as they jostle for power. Backlash At the moment, Mr Aweys needs Mr Ahmed to mollify the critics of the UIC at home and abroad, but a major falling-out is inevitable at some stage. Indeed, Mr Ahmed has hinted at resigning in an interview with the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper. The Islamists are fast squandering the public goodwill they earned since they ousted the hated warlords. Liberal-minded Somalis feel uncomfortable with their puritanical creed. Islam in Somalia has traditionally been moderate, relaxed and tolerant. But not only have the UIC's moral vigilantes raided cinema halls, but they have also stormed wedding parties and mixed-sex gatherings. Petty traders are also unhappy with the high taxes imposed by the UIC. There have been protests, some bloody, in UIC-controlled towns such as Jowhar, north of the capital. The honeymoon now appears to be over for the UIC. In Somalia's chaotic and fluid political landscape, a major backlash against the courts cannot be ruled out. bbc

The Islamist group which controls most of southern Somalia has demanded that the self-declared republic of Somaliland free a Muslim cleric. "We will forcefully free Sheikh Mohamed [ismail] from Somaliland if it does not release him immediately," an Islamist commander said. Sheikh Mohamed was arrested last year, accused of links to terrorist acts. Somaliland has been mostly peaceful and stable since it declared independence, while war raged in the rest of Somalia. Its independence has not been internationally recognised. Correspondents say that clashes between the Union of Islamic Courts and Somaliland would mark a major escalation of the unrest in Somalia, which has not had a functioning national government for 15 years. Somaliland profile Islamist commander Sheikh Hassan Turki also demanded the release of other Muslim clerics held in Somaliland. But Sheikh Mohamed is seen as the most influential, with a strong following in Somaliland's second city of Burao. The Somaliland authorities have denied claims that Sheikh Mohamed has been tortured, after the release of a video allegedly showing his injuries. Earlier this week, Muslim groups held a demonstration in Burao, calling for the cleric's release. The Union of Islamic Courts have made rapid progress across southern Somalia, since taking the capital, Mogadishu, in June. They deny US accusations that they have links to al-Qaeda bbc

Somali govt accuses Arab League of bias NAIROBI (AFP) - Somalia's weak government has accused the Arab League of bias towards the country's powerful Islamist movement and warned that upcoming Arab-mediated peace talks are in jeopardy, officials said Thursday. The government made the charge this week in a letter to international organisations in which it complained that Arab League mediators are favouring the Islamists who are now in control of much of southern and central Somalia. In the October 2 letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi suggests the alleged bias may crater a planned third round of peace talks due to begin in Sudan on October 30. "It is regrettable that in the process of the preparation for the third round of talks in Khartoum at the end of the month, the secretariat general of the League of Arab States is not neutral in managing the affairs of Somalia," he wrote. "Rather it is bent on supporting the Islamic courts union as evidence shows," Gedi said, noting the silence of the Arab League and others on the Islamists' seizure of the key port of Kismayo and other towns last week. "Such conduct will undermine the common efforts that all are displaying for the sake of promoting peace and stability in Somalia and will contribute to the erosion of the confidence that the transitional federal government places in the role of the Arab League," he said. Government spokesman Abdirahman Mohamed Nur Dinari confirmed to AFP that Gedi had sent the letter, which was addressed to the United Nations, African Union, Arab League, European Union and other groupings. Dinari also claimed that Arab League officials had been making secret contacts with Islamist officials without informing the government despite agreements reached at the last round of talks for all parties to be involved. "This is an indication that the league of Arab nations is unfair and it is biased towards the Syariah courts," he said. "We warn the international community that it will pay a heavy price in the future if it fails to stop or even condemn the violations and aggression by the Islamists," Dinari said, stressing the government remains committed to peace. However, a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the administration would likely boycott the talks unless the Islamists were pressed to halt their advances. "How can we even think of sending delegates to Khartoum while they have continued their aggression, which violates the ceasefire and has even made clear its intention of ruling Somalia," the official said. Here

By Sahal Abdulle Mogadishu - A group of Somali lawmakers met powerful Islamists in their Mogadishu stronghold after quitting the temporary capital because of growing security fears since last month's assassination attempt on the president. The Islamists' most influential leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys welcomed the 36 legislators late on Wednesday, saying the movement was ready to work with them. The comments are likely to irk the interim government struggling to assert its authority over the divided Horn of Africa country. A September 18 car bomb attack targeting President Abdullahi Yusuf in Baidoa further exposed the vulnerability of the administration, which was too divided to prevent the Islamists from seizing Mogadishu in June and other parts of Somalia. "The lack of security is what brought us to Mogadishu. Where the president's life is in danger, no one else is safe," said lawmaker Abdalla Haji Ali, who also heads the parliamentary finance committee. "The Islamists are open to everything including power-sharing and bringing law and order through negotiations without any foreign intervention," he added. Senior Islamist Ibrahim Hassan Adou described the meeting - in which the two sides ended a day of religious fasting by dining together - as a "confidence building" measure. He said the Islamists were still committed to another round of peace talks with the government due to be held under Arab League mediation in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on October 30. "We will continue with the Khartoum meeting as well as holding meetings inside the country," he said. It was not clear how long the legislators would stay in Mogadishu. But, Ali said he would not return to Baidoa until security issues were addressed and Ethiopian troops had left Somali soil, indicating deepening dissent within the government over the deployment of foreign peacekeepers to Somalia. The Islamists reject such a move and have vowed to wage holy war against foreign forces. Witnesses say Ethiopia - the Horn's dominant power - has already sent troops to Baidoa to protect the government. Addis Ababa denies this, but last week Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia was helping to train Somali security staff. Government spokesperson Abdirahman Dinari dismissed the Mogadishu meeting. "The MPs were not representing the government. They went there on their own so they cannot talk on behalf of the government," he said, adding that Baidoa was safe. In another development, the Islamists formed a new Islamic "Banadir" court to administer justice in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas, taking over from clan-based courts. Hassan Osman Ahmed, head of the judiciary committee of Islamic courts, said each of Mogadishu's 21 districts will have a police station and a court, which will report to the Banadir. The Banadir will include a court of appeal and a court to deal with restoration of property. Banadir refers to Mogadishu and its surrounding areas. The significance of the new court is that the Islamists are centralising their justice system and control of the area. Despite Western fears the Islamists want to impose a Taliban-style hardline system, many residents in Mogadishu credit them with bringing relative security after 15 years of anarchy since warlords ousted a dictator in 1991. (Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi

They are showing us the door people and its ajar. Read the have your say section on the BBC website.

:rolleyes: @ some people BOB, may you and all Muslim brothers and sisters be protected down there in SA. amiin

^^amiin I think it will be a busy 'daqan celis' season next summer in Xamar

The warnings were there The predictions (or more accurately, warnings) expressed ten years ago by Aime Jacquet, France’s renowned 1998 World Cup-winning coach, member of the FIFA’s technical committee and former chairman of the French Football Federation’s technical committee, now substantiate Africa’s predicament. His memorable forecast illustrates the present reality precisely. He said that if Africa continues to believe in the false impression created globally that French, Germans, English and Portuguese, among others, would automatically bring success to the continent; the result will only be to ’’reap failure’’. Africa should have listened carefully to Jacquet, along with a host of other game technicians, who uncompromisingly and honestly base their views on scientifically supported knowledge and experience. Instead, the entire coaching philosophy in the continent became more and more dependent on the decreasingly relevant European doctrine of training. Universalized sterile mentality Predictably, the European coaching concept, which is tailored to suit the traits of the European type of player, also gives rise to a cautious, more rigid and not-lose mentality of football. Niall Quinn, one of the most respected game analysts in Europe joins the chorus of critics of the current conservative football dished up in Europe, and elaborates on the causes and effects that currently determine top-level football strategy. He attributes the fast growing culture of safety first, uninspiring brand of ‘caveman football’ to mechanical training and the ’coaching copycat effect’. He observes that ‘all coaches today have to go through the same qualifications. They are being taught the same sterile curriculum, the same methods and often by the same people. They all influence each other – same drills, same pasta. Is it any wonder that there are so many similarities when they put teams on the pitch? A coaching qualification should have the status of a first-aid badge: useful but not an entire philosophy’. It’s like being a musician; some of the greatest geniuses have had little or no formal training. No progressive tactics from an almost universal European coaching style were detected at the World Cup in Germany, except the innovative ’tactical effects’ of the newly launched ADIDAS ball.

waar bal ninyo Somaalidan eega :rolleyes: , i post a few pics and now i'm a sell out :rolleyes: I have a few designs on my laptop (villas), I have plans for Burco (not Hargaiasa) big plans I'm in no way promoting my new adopted city, just appreciating I love Megastructures as they explore the engineering feats that have turned the impossible into possible. From man made islands in Dubai to the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. In each programme we were shown the construction of these mammoth structures around the globe. I saw one about how offshore oil rigs are moved using a huge ship to lift them and move across oceans :eek: Massa says: are those freshwater lakes? You see the big water sprout in the middle of the lake? thats coming in from the sea, under all that construction :eek: ps you are all welcome for a tour of the city when you arrive. As soon you can find your way out of the airport