Malistar, keep up the good work. This is great news. keep the updates coming. TY.

Abu Salman, you did great for yourself. I congratulate you. I am a life long learner myself. I am currently enrolled in few different self-study subjects to feed my brain.

I would be interested to know who helped them come up with such name?

this whole saga is baffling. The two Iranians with the fake passports.

One of the millions of people gripped by the mystery of flight MH370 may have tracked down the missing jet... simply by surfing the internet. IT manager Mike Seberger said he may have detected the missing Malaysian Airlines plane on a high-resolution satellite photo taken above the seas where it went missing. The image he spotted shows a plane-shaped object under a bank of white cloud in the Gulf of Thailand, an arm of the South China Sea. 42 ships and 39 aircraft from 12 different countries have been drafted in to search for the missing Boeing 777 and the 239 passengers - with no success. FOLLOW ALL THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ON THIS STORY IN OUR LIVE BLOG But if Mr Seberger’s hunch is correct, he will have solved a mystery that has fascinated the world and baffled experts - all from the comfort of his home. Mr Seberger, 47, from Chicago, United States, found the mystery object after logging on to the Tomnod website, which uploaded the satellite images of 1,000 square miles the day after the plane disappeared. mirror.co.uk

When is this?

This is shocking. Who knew the AU actors would be so open about their plan.

<cite> @xabad said:</cite> its Depression clearly. Nope. What Saf described is classic boredom during a school year. It is common.

@Safferz said: I've been freaking myself out by reading about major airline crashes all day. Do you guys remember Air France 447 from Rio de Janeiro that crashed in the Atlantic on its way to Paris in 2009? I read the transcript from the cockpit, and it's a bit terrifying to see how the plane was flying normally and within minutes crashed into the Atlantic because the co-pilots panicked and didn't know what to do in a stall situation (apparently the most basic of flight skills). Most plane crashes are the result of pilot error. Saff, reading that transcript gives me chills. The conversation in those few minutes of struggle for survival (followed by silence) take you right inside that airplane's cockpit.

Cabdi Wali denied the AMISOM deployment rumor. I saw this article on horseedmedia.net Somalia: Puntland President dismisses Rumours on ‘deployment for AMISOM troops’ Puntland President Dr Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has dismissed reports that have been circulating over the past few days saying that troops from the African Union will be deployed to the semi-autonomous state of Somalia. Mr Ali said that his recent Interview with Reuters news agency was misinterpreted and clarified that Puntland has ‘enough’ troops to combat terrorism and secure its regions. In his interview with Reuters, he called for AMISOM to assist his administration to secure its borders with the Southern part of the country, ahead of a planned anti al-Shabab offensive. ‘’ We (Puntland) have enough forces to look after our security… but because AMISOM’s mandate is all over Somalia we should be supported logistically in our combat against al-Shabab, who will definitely flow to Puntland after being defeated in the South,’’ he said in an interview with the BBC Somali Service. Puntland government is currently planning to heighten its security, but has blamed the International Community for not supporting its battle with the al-Qaeda linked group. Al-Shabab militants have been seeking for refuge in Galgala mountain ranges since they were defeated in Southern Somalia by AU troops and Somali army in 2012. Horseed Media

Best news in months. Somalia will not come back without Al-Shabab and Godane biting the dust.

How many times is this terrorist going to declare Jihad?

Muungaab wants the unconditional return of stolen property to its rightful owners. This is a welcome development. The rest is just kaftan.

An important information in the above post is the original inhabitants of the town of Merca and lower Shabelle region (a contentious subject in Somali politics today).

A more ancient occupancy of the Horn by the same stock of people. The contacts between the Near and the Middle East on the one hand, and the African side of the Gulf of Aden on the other, were very old and regular; and the earliest advent of Islam in these regions must have certainly occurred within the first century of the Muslim era. During the eighth and ninth centuries Islam had struck very deep roots in the coastal regions of the Gulf, and, as was shown above, the impact of this had already begun to be felt in the interior of central Ethiopia. The inhabitants of the Horn at that time seem to have been the ancestors of the present-day Somali. Their most important coastal settlements were Zeila and Berbera on the Gulf of Aden, and Moga- dishu, Merca and Brava on the Benadir coast. Each of these settlements apparently owed its growth and development to the regular stream of merchants from Arabia, and from the countries around the Persian Gulf, who visited these places and who later started to live in them. These foreign elements of predominantly Arab origin no doubt inter- married with the local natives, which is clearly shown in the rich geneal- ogical traditions of the Somali people. There are some traditional his- torical references to these separate settlements, of which Mogadishu seems to have been the most prominent after the tenth century. Some traditional accounts about Mogadishu date the first Arab settlement on the site to the second half of the eighth century, to which period two Arabic inscriptions in the town are clearly attributed. According to more reliable indications, however, the most important early migration to the area took place in the first years of the tenth century, when some Arab individuals from al-Ahsa on the Persian Gulf left there for religious reasons and established the first viable Arab colony at Moga- dishu. These early settlers were later followed by many successive Arab and also Persian immigrants, who later gave origin to the many tribal groups in the town. It is apparent that until the second half of the thirteenth century, Mogadishu was essentially a confederation of these different tribes, who were unable to evolve a united sultanate for about three hundred years. The thirteenth century was clearly a crucial period for Mogadishu, in which many vital developments were taking place. Many Arabic inscriptions published by Enrico Cerulli indicate that the citizens of the town included some prominent individuals of Arab and Persian origin. The most ancient surviving mosque in Mogadishu, the Jami', was also apparently built in that century, accord- ing to the inscription on the tower gate, which bears the date 1238.• The other two old mosques, Arba' Rukun and Fakhr al-Din, also be- long to the same period. Perhaps the most important development at that time was the establishment of the first sultanate of Mogadishu by Abu Bakr b. Fakhr al-Din, sometime before 1269. Mogadishu had certainly acquired its prominent position on the Benadir coast by that time, and al-Dimashqi (125 6-1327) described it as a leading commercial port, where merchants from Arabia, Persia and India came regularly and did business with the local traders, who -also seem to have estab- lished vital lines of communication with the interior of the Horn.2 The two other important towns on the Benadir coast, Brava and Merca, had also taken shape in about the same period. Cerulli reports an Arabic inscription from Brava, commemorating the death of a Muslim resident in 1104/j, which certainly indicates the existence of a highly developed Muslim community there in the eleventh century. Merca was also an important settlement in the same period. Al-Idrisi (1100- 62) gives a fairly accurate description of its location in his geographical treatise written in about 1150. It was a coastal town and two stages away from it in the interior there was a river of which the rich yalley produced much corn. This was certainly the Webe Shebele, to which al-Idrisi also seems to make another reference when he locates fifty villages of the Hawiya along the bank of an unnamed river.3 The Hawiya still form one of the most important tribes of the Somali, and at the time when al-Idrisi was writing his book they occupied the coastal area between Ras Hafun and Merca, as well as the lower basin of the Webe Shebele. Al-Idrisi's mention of the Hawiya is the first documentary reference to a specific Somali group in the Horn, and it constitutes a very important testimony to the early Somali occupancy of the whole region. Later Arab writers also make references to the Hawiya in connection with both Merca and the lower valley of the Webe Shebele. Ibn Sa'id (1214-74), for instance, considered Merca to be the capital of the Hawiya, who lived in fifty villages on the bank of a river which he called 'the Nile of Mogadishu', a clear reference to the Webe Shebele.4 Yaqut, another thirteenth-century Arab geographer, also mentions Merca, which he says belonged to the 'black Berbers' indicate a more ancient occupancy of the Horn by the same stock of people. The contacts between the Near and the Middle East on the one hand, and the African side of the Gulf of Aden on the other, were very old and regular; and the earliest advent of Islam in these regions must have certainly occurred within the first century of the Muslim era. During the eighth and ninth centuries Islam had struck very deep roots in the coastal regions of the Gulf, and, as was shown above, the impact of this had already begun to be felt in the interior of central Ethiopia. The inhabitants of the Horn at that time seem to have been the ancestors of the present-day Somali. Their most important coastal settlements were Zeila and Berbera on the Gulf of Aden, and Moga- dishu, Merca and Brava on the Benadir coast. Each of these settlements apparently owed its growth and development to the regular stream of merchants from Arabia, and from the countries around the Persian Gulf, who visited these places and who later started to live in them. These foreign elements of predominantly Arab origin no doubt inter- married with the local natives, which is clearly shown in the rich geneal- ogical traditions of the Somali people. There are some traditional his- torical references to these separate settlements, of which Mogadishu seems to have been the most prominent after the tenth century. Some traditional accounts about Mogadishu date the first Arab settlement on the site to the second half of the eighth century, to which period two Arabic inscriptions in the town are clearly attributed. According to more reliable indications, however, the most important early migration to the area took place in the first years of the tenth century, when some Arab individuals from al-Ahsa on the Persian Gulf left there for religious reasons and established the first viable Arab colony at Moga- dishu. These early settlers were later followed by many successive Arab and also Persian immigrants, who later gave origin to the many tribal groups in the town. It is apparent that until the second half of the thirteenth century, Mogadishu was essentially a confederation of these different tribes, who were unable to evolve a united sultanate for about three hundred years. The thirteenth century was clearly a crucial period for Mogadishu, in which many vital developments were taking place. Many Arabic inscriptions published by Enrico Cerulli indicate that the citizens of the town included some prominent individuals of Arab and Persian origin. The most ancient surviving mosque in Mogadishu, the Jami', was also apparently built in that century, accord- ing to the inscription on the tower gate, which bears the date 1238.• The other two old mosques, Arba' Rukun and Fakhr al-Din, also be- long to the same period. Perhaps the most important development at that time was the establishment of the first sultanate of Mogadishu by Abu Bakr b. Fakhr al-Din, sometime before 1269. Mogadishu had certainly acquired its prominent position on the Benadir coast by that time, and al-Dimashqi (125 6-1327) described it as a leading commercial port, where merchants from Arabia, Persia and India came regularly and did business with the local traders, who -also seem to have estab- lished vital lines of communication with the interior of the Horn.2 The two other important towns on the Benadir coast, Brava and Merca, had also taken shape in about the same period. Cerulli reports an Arabic inscription from Brava, commemorating the death of a Muslim resident in 1104/j, which certainly indicates the existence of a highly developed Muslim community there in the eleventh century. Merca was also an important settlement in the same period. Al-Idrisi (1100- 62) gives a fairly accurate description of its location in his geographical treatise written in about 1150. It was a coastal town and two stages away from it in the interior there was a river of which the rich yalley produced much corn. This was certainly the Webe Shebele, to which al-Idrisi also seems to make another reference when he locates fifty villages of the Hawiya along the bank of an unnamed river.3 The Hawiya still form one of the most important tribes of the Somali, and at the time when al-Idrisi was writing his book they occupied the coastal area between Ras Hafun and Merca, as well as the lower basin of the Webe Shebele. Al-Idrisi's mention of the Hawiya is the first documentary reference to a specific Somali group in the Horn, and it constitutes a very important testimony to the early Somali occupancy of the whole region. Later Arab writers also make references to the Hawiya in connection with both Merca and the lower valley of the Webe Shebele. Ibn Sa'id (1214-74), for instance, considered Merca to be the capital of the Hawiya, who lived in fifty villages on the bank of a river which he called 'the Nile of Mogadishu', a clear reference to the Webe Shebele.4 Yaqut, another thirteenth-century Arab geographer, also mentions Merca, which he says belonged to the 'black Berbers'

"The Arab geographers generally used terms such as Habasha for the people of the Ethiopian interior regardless of whether they were Christian, Muslim or pagan; Berber for the inhabitants of the Horn, whom they sometimes qualified as 'black Berbers', to distinguish them from the Berbers of the Maghrib; and Zanj, for the various peoples of darker complexion whom they located beyond the Habasha and the' black Berbers" "In fact, there was a basic continuity in the use of the term Berber since the first century of the Christian era, to describe the land and the people of the Horn. The Periplus, Claudius Ptolemy, and Cosmas Indicopleustes employed it in much the same way as the Arab geographers did after the ninth century. There seems to be no doubt now that the Arab geographers had particularly the Somali in mind when they spoke of the 'black Berbers' of the Horn; and the earlier use of the term by Greek writers may very well indicate a more ancient occupancy of the Horn by the same stock of people." page 134 - 136

That is wonderful. The SNA is being built step by step.

Mad_Mullah, does it matter who kicks them out? Al-Shabab is the enemy of the state.

I thought I was the only one who found it amusing. How much does this guy get paid?

Isn't the SFG pressuring the Baidoa conference participants to accept three State formation which includes Lower Shabelle? What is this new Constitution you speak of?

Another conflict on the horizon?

Dr. Kenney, As a side comment, there is more to Somalia's problems than meets the eye. I believe a large segment of the population back home suffers from some sort of mental illness. Combine that with poverty, lack of education and the daily cycle of violence and wollaa, you have a monster as a neighbor, brother, friend and a family member. It is not easy to turn things around.