Somalia – Canadian government failed families of Somalia hostages: journalist (Canada.com)

Canadian government failed families of Somalia hostages: journalist (Canada.com)
A former colleague of Alberta journalist Amanda Lindhout who helped facilitate her release earlier this week from a 15-month-long kidnapping ordeal in Somalia lashed out at the Canadian government Friday for discouraging her family from paying a ransom.

AU troops in Somalia go for six months without pay (The Monitor)
Failure by African Union officials to account for millions of dollars for Somalia operations has dried up payments for the 4,500 peace-keeping troops after upset donors abruptly halted disbursements.

Somali health sector underfunded: WHO (AFP via Yahoo! News)
A senior WHO official warned Friday that the health sector in Somalia was not receiving the funding needed, even though almost one in four Somali children under five is suffering from acute malnutrition.

Somali team to count on diaspora support in Kenya (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Somali’s national team may be starting the East and Central Africa Senior Challenge Cup, which gets underway here Saturday, as underdogs but the players will be feeling at home away from home.

Somali team to count on diaspora support in Kenya (Soccer Way)
Somali s national team may be starting the East and Central Africa Senior Challenge Cup, which gets underway here Saturday, as underdogs but the players will be feeling at home away from home.

Somalia to tackle piracy (Straits Times)
NAIROBI – SOMALIA’S Western-backed government plans a big increase in spending next year chiefly funded by foreign donors, with a large chunk going on battling piracy and hardline rebels, a minister told Reuters on Friday. Somalia has lacked an effective central government for 18 years and the current administration controls little more than a few parts of the capital Mogadishu.

Plea deal offered to suspect in Somali exodus accused of lying to FBI agents (Pioneer Press)
Federal prosecutors have offered a plea deal to a man accused of lying to FBI agents investigating the exodus of Somali immigrants back to their homeland.

Janitor implicated in Somali inquiry (Pioneer Press)
An $800-a-month janitor who allegedly helped finance the exodus of Somali men from the Twin Cities to fight in their homeland also provided money for them once they got overseas, federal officials claim in a pair of newly public affidavits.

Lindhout was nearly rescued ’several times:’ Somali PM (CTV.ca)
Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout and her Australian colleague, photographer Nigel Brennan, were nearly rescued on numerous occasions during the course of their kidnapping, according to Somalia’s prime minister.

INTERVIEW-Somalia to tackle piracy, terrorism in 2010 budget (AlertNet)
Source: Reuters * Donors will fund 74 pct of spending, government hopes * Security forces to get 40 pct of budget * Govt hopes Arab nations will lend support By Abdiaziz Hassan NAIROBI, Nov 27 (Reuters) – …

Somali immigrant jailed (Times of Malta)
Somali immigrant Abdul Khadr, whose application for a refugee status has been denied, was jailed for two months after pleading guilty to trying to leave Malta with a Dutch passport belonging to someone else.

Canberra under fire over Somalia kidnap ordeal (Gulf Times)
AFP/Sydney The Australian government has denied mismanaging the rescue of a journalist kidnapped in Somalia who was ultimately released after a millionaire and a politician helped pay a ransom.

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