As famine looms across East Africa, clean water is critical - but drought has seen the price of water in Somaliland reportedly rocket by up to 3,000%.

A SOMALI court acquitted and released a suspect who tried to board a plane in Mogadishu in November with chemicals and a syringe – materials similar to those used in the attempted attack against a Detroit-bound airliner.

A MAN tried to board a commercial airliner in Mogadishu last month carrying powdered chemicals, liquid and a syringe that could have caused an explosion in a case bearing chilling similarities to the terrorist plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner, officials told reporters yesterday.

A Somali national tried to board a commercial airliner in Mogadishu last month with powdered chemicals, liquid and a syringe that together could have caused an explosion, officials said today.

The first African peacekeepers to help the government assert its authority in Somalia are expected by the end of January, the prime minister said today.