On Thursday 23 February British Prime Minister David Cameron will host a high-level conference in London to discuss the future of Somalia.

Amnesty International is calling on conference participants to ensure that the protection of civilians is at the centre of any strategy put in place to stabilise the country.

Reporters Without Borders has written to the more than 50 national and international delegations attending tomorrow's one-day London Conference on Somalia to draw their attention to the alarming situation of journalists in Somalia.

Nairobi — In August, Somalia faces constitutional limbo if the key provisions of a political "roadmap" agreed in September 2011, and one of the topics of this week's conference in London, are not met.

Gun-toting Shebab insurgents have staged rallies across Somalia to celebrate their group's recognition by Osama bin Laden's successor as a member of the Islamist Al-Qaeda network. "The unification of Al-Shebab with Al-Qaeda breaks the hearts of the enemy," Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told a crowd of several hundred in rebel-held Afgoye, just outside Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu.

Oxfam calls on governments meeting at the London Somalia Conference tomorrow to develop a coherent strategy towards the country that shifts away from the emphasis on short term security and anti-terror concerns towards a long term engagement that prioritizes the interests of ordinary Somalis.

Garowe — At least one person died and four others wounded in a car accident occurred near Garowe town, the capital of Puntland state of northeastern Somalia, medics say on Wednesday.

Shabelle Media reporter says the truck which was overloaded by passengers went from Bosaso town to Garowe went upside down at Bitra dheer, a village 51 Km south of Garowe town in Nugal region. The casuse is due to the speed that the car has been traveling.

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New York — The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to increase the African peacekeeping force in Somalia to up to 17 000 troops, diplomats said.

A resolution to be passed by the 15-nation council will also seek a ban on trade in charcoal from Somalia which is used by Shebab militants to raise money and threatens an environmental crisis in the Horn of Africa state.

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemns the latest government moves to stifle and control freedom of expression, freedom of information and independent broadcasting, following the announcement of the completion of the Somali telecommunications and broadcast media bill by the Ministry of Information, Telecommunications and Posts of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has condemned the continued arrests and intimidations of journalists in Somaliland.

Somaliland authorities in Hargeisa arrested and detained two more journalists, adding to the number of journalists that have been arrested and detained by the local authorities in recent weeks.

The world's largest refugee camp - the Dadaab settlement in eastern Kenya - set up to host tens of thousands of people who fled Somalia following the 1991 collapse of the government and the ensuing civil war-related humanitarian is marking its 20th anniversary with the population having grown exponentially, the United Nations refugee agency said today.