The top UN official for war-torn Somalia has said the country is no longer a failed state but is now a recovering fragile nation.

RECENTLY it was reported that Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, admitted that jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

At least 11 people have been killed and scores more injured in a gunbattle between two factions of a powerful militia in Somalia.

A piece of luggage, apparently filled with gunpowder, exploded on a cross-country public bus in Somalia today, killing 26 passengers, a Red Crescent official said.