The phone call from a mobile in Ethiopia was vague: did I have resilience, a sense of humour, journalism experience? I was in my English garden at the time, and getting a phone call from the UN in Addis Ababa while I was deadheading the dahlias in the early summer of 2004 was surreal. The previous June I had applied for a public information and media job with the United Nations in Namibia, got it, but then turned it down. More on What Blair And Geldof Didn’t See in Ethiopia

VOA, (Nairobi) - International diplomats and some Somali politicians say they are hopeful that a deal signed on Wednesday to share power between the country’s transitional federal government and an Islamist-led opposition faction will pave the way toward ending nearly two years of violence in Somalia. But as VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the agreement still lacks support from several key players in the conflict. More on Somali Power-Sharing Deal Lacks Support from Key Players

Ethiopia(Woyanne) has announced its intention to withdraw its troops from neighboring Somalia by the end of this year. But as correspondent Peter Heinlein reports from Addis Ababa, Ethiopian(Woyanne) officials have assured the African Union their forces will remain on alert at the border to support the remaining AU peacekeepers if necessary.

One Twin Cities immigrant who returned home became a suicide bomber, a source says.

By JAMES WALSH, LORA PABST and PAM LOUWAGIE, Star Tribune staff writers, 25 Nov. 2008=

Federal authorities are investigating whether young Somali men who have disappeared in the Twin Cities metro area in recent months have been recruited to fight for terrorist groups in strife-torn Somalia. More on Missing Twin Cities Somalis, terror ties probed

Every kid wants to be a pirate when he or she grows up—at least on Halloween on October 31 in North American when children and adults dress up as a popular character. In folklore, pirates are popular because they are depicted as carefree seafarers who venture out in search of buried riches but are usually generous enough to share the loot with ordinary folks. It is that popular mythology that ensured that Disney’s movie series Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and its sequels Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and At World End (2007) grossed more than $2.7b at the box office worldwide. Which kid would not want to be the free-wheeling, adventure-loving Captain Jack Sparrow character? He is after all the hero. More on Ensuring peace in Somalia will bring piracy to an end

Somalia’s government has signed a power-sharing deal with an opposition group, the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia, in Djibouti. More on Somali unity-deal signed in Djibouti

Barring a last minute Devine intervention, it is almost certain now that the dreaded and cruel Ethiopian Woyanne invasion in Somalia that lasted for almost two agonizing years is about to come to and end. The fact that they did not fire a shot in anger in the face of Al Shabaab (Islamic insurgents) advancement to lower Shabelle region and other parts of the country is an indication of their imminent departure. More on Ethiopian(Woyanne) Forces in Somalia: Withdrawal or face saving exercise?

Rival Somali politicians have agreed to an international investigation into atrocities committed during the 17-year civil war, a UN envoy has said. More on Move to probe Somali atrocities

‘You must be the change you want see to in the world’ By Mahatma Gandhi

It was a historic event of monumental scale to see as the USA elected its first African-America person to the highest office. This was almost seemed messianic touch on the part of America’s political establishment and the masses that also sent powerful message to the rest of the world. More on Obama’s Election, Race Factor And Somalia: Keep Things in Prospect