A large explosion has rocked the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing one person, the AFP news agency reported, citing its own reporter who was at the scene of the blast. The cause of Wednesday's (7 November) explosion was not immediately clear. The blast, believed to be a car bomb set off close to the parliament, is the latest in a string of attacks in the war-ravaged Mogadishu.

Somalia is to get its first female foreign minister in a cabinet formed by new Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon. Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan is among 10 politicians joining a cabinet that has been significantly reduced in size. She described her inclusion as 'historic' for both the country and Somali women in particular.

Already struggling to access sporadic humanitarian assistance, internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Somali capital Mogadishu are also facing eviction by returning landowners and unscrupulous camp 'gatekeepers' who siphon away what little aid is received, a new report says. When [insurgent group] Al-Shabab gave up control of the Somali capital, militia leaders, politicians and influential landowners re-consolidated their control over various parts of the city. This control extends to the displacement camps where international humanitarian assistance is directed,' notes the report, 'Gatekeepers and Evictions: Somalia's Displaced Population at Risk', by Refugees International (RI).

They may have been routed from their stronghold of Kismayo, but the Al Shabaab militants could be re-grouping for a major assault on Kenyan and the African Union forces. Security analysts at the South African-based think tank – the Institute of Security Studies – are warning that the war against the terror group may be far from over. In a report on conflict prevention and risk analysis in Africa released last week, the Pretoria-based group says the celebration over the fall of Kismayo may have been premature.

Gunmen assassinated a well-known comedian and musician who poked fun at Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents in the Somali capital, police and colleagues said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks against media and cultural figures. Warsame Shire Awale, a famous composer who had worked with Somalia's national army band before joining Radio Kulmiye as a drama producer and comedian, was attacked by two gunmen late on Monday.

Thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Luuq, in Somalia's southern Gedo Region, say their overcrowded settlements are desperately short of basic needs, from shelter to clean water. 'The majority of the population here in these camps are women, children and elderly people who fled from recent battles and droughts in Bay, Bakool and lower Juba. There has been no basic human needs provision for the last months, the condition of the camps is deteriorating as there is no shelter, food or adequate health attention, and it's the raining period,' said Ali Mohamed, leader of one of the makeshift camps in the area.

A young woman was stoned to death in Somalia after being convicted of engaging in out-of-marriage sex, reports say. Residents of Jamama town, 425km south of Mogadishu in Lower Juba region, said that militants loyal to Al-Shabaab carried out the stoning at the town’s main square in late afternoon.

Reporters Without Borders says it is saddened to learn that Ahmed Saakin Farah Ilyas, a young TV journalist based in Las Anod, in the breakaway northwestern territory of Somaliland, was gunned down as he returned home yesterday (23 October). Employed by privately-owned Universal Television, Ahmed Saakin Farah Ilyas was shot several times in the head by gunmen who have yet to be identified. He was the 16th journalist to be killed this year in Somalia.

The motley crowd of international players pursuing their own geopolitical agendas is not genuinely interested in a peaceful and stable Somalia, despite their posturing.

The number of Somali refugees in a series of camps in an arid, harsh area of south-eastern Ethiopia has passed the 170,000 mark, making Dollo Ado the world's second largest refugee complex. 'Dollo Ado is now the world's biggest refugee camp after Dadaab in Kenya,' UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said, adding that although the rate of arrivals at Dollo Ado has slowed this year, people are continuing to flee conflict and insecurity in southern and central parts of Somalia. Many cite fear of harassment and forced recruitment by armed groups who control large rural areas of the country.

Reporters Without Borders has said it is deeply shocked by yesterday (21 October) evening’s attempt to murder Radio Shabelle journalist Mohamed Mohamud Turyare, who was shot four times in the chest and abdomen by two gunmen as he left a Mogadishu mosque. He was rushed to the capital’s Madina Hospital, where he underwent immediate surgery. Doctors said after the operation that his injuries no longer posed a threat to his life.

A week and a half after the station was first shut down, the International Press Institute reiterated its call for the Puntland authorities to allow Horseed FM radio to resume operations, and further called for the Puntland authorities to stop ordering the blocking of Horseed FM’s website. The executive director of Horseed Media, Mahad Mussa, told IPI from the organisation’s offices in the Netherlands that Horseed’s FM station is still off air, more than a week after its Bosaso headquarters were shut down.

The UN feeds AMISOM’s troops, the EU pays them and the US and Italy pay Somali troops. The US, though, is the biggest single financial contributor. 'The Americans have supported the training of our troops here, in Uganda and in Burundi, and largely they sponsor it,' said one source in this Washington Post article. The US insists AMISOM is not the West’s proxy. 'AMISOM is an African peacekeeping force responding to an African crisis,' says the top US official on Somalia, James Swan.

Turkey is the newest country to intervene in Somalia and its involvement has produced some positive results. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s courageous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011 at the height of the famine and his decision to open an embassy gave fresh impetus to efforts to establish lasting peace, says this briefing from the International Crisis Group.

The situation of journalists in Somalia is becoming increasingly precarious as the country struggles to put behind it years of lawlessness following the recent successful election of a new president. 'So far, 13 journalists have been killed and 19 others wounded this year, and the killings may continue if something is not done promptly,' Abdirashid Del, a senior member of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), told IRIN, noting that political transitions often heighten security risks for journalists in Somalia.

Lawlessness is reigning in the Somali port city of Kismayu, where gunmen have killed at least three people since the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab abandoned their last bastion there, residents said Sunday. After Kenyan and Somali troops' advances towards the strategic port forced the Islamists to abandon it Saturday, the Kenyan army said helicopter gunships were attacking Shabaab bases outside the city to clear the way for a final ground assault to occupy the city.

A UNHCR project launched last month is aimed at providing an income for internally displaced people (IDP) while making it easier for people to travel to and from Halabokhad. UNHCR provided 11 tuk-tuks, the three-wheeled motorized rickshaws common in developing nations. Each vehicle was to be maintained and operated by four IDPs, who would pocket any money made from passengers.

Kenyan fighter jets have bombarded an airport in southern Somalia, where they are fighting al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab fighters, officials have said. The strikes took place in the port city of Kismayo on Tuesday 25 September. 'Our forces have reached Kismayo with jets and they have destroyed the armoury and a warehouse used by al-Shabab at the airport,' Cyrus Oguna, a Kenyan army spokesperson, said. He could not provide figures on the number of casualties incurred.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemns the killing of four journalists in twenty-four hours. 'This is definitely a war against journalists. The authorities must stop it so as not to become partners of the authors of these terrible acts,' said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Director. According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), an IFJ affiliate, three journalists were killed on Thursday 20 September in a horrifying suicide attack in Mogadishu restaurant frequented by journalists.

Thousands of Somali refugee adolescent girls ages 10 to 16 are living in refugee camps in Ethiopia. This report from the Women's Refugee Commission details their protection and empowerment needs and priorities; programs and community-based strategies that serve them; and gaps in services from girls’ perspectives.