Advice for Jim Yong Kim, OECD gives its views on EU aid, and how Somalis in refugee camps could help Kenya’s development Last week, the World Bank appointed Jim Yong Kim as its new president. Kim was not a favourite for the post among Global development readers, trailing third behind first choice José Antonio Ocampo [...]

NAIROBI, 8 March 2012 (IRIN) – The recent discovery of oil deposits in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, could improve its population’s livelihoods as long as it is handled properly, officials and locals told IRIN. Farah Ali Jama, Puntland Minister of Finance, said he was confident that any money from the oil [...]

The communiqué of the recent conference on Somalia, dominated by the International Contact Group (ICG) and the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, fell far short of expectations. The promised new approach to tackle the root causes of insecurity and lack of functional government over the last 20 years did not materialise. [...]

What difference has fair trade made? As the Fairtrade label celebrates its 25th anniversary, our latest podcast, launched on Monday, asks this question and discusses the impact and future of the grassroots movement that has become mainstream. Earlier this month, we asked for your views on the subject to help shape our podcast. You helpfully [...]

LONDON, 24 February 2012 (IRIN) – The London Conference on Somalia ended with a seven-point plan aimed at boosting humanitarian aid and support for African Union troops, and tougher action on piracy, but “fell short on the measures required to address the risks faced by civilians,” said Amnesty International. Delegates to the 23 February conference [...]

History repeats itself, nowhere more so than in Somalia. As was widely predicted at the time, the Ethiopian intervention in 2006 did little more than galvanise radical Islamism. Clans who had fought each other for years united against the foreign invader, one which they had little difficulty in portraying as Christian. Five years later, after [...]

British backing for African forces tackling Islamist insurgents will be doubled today as more than 50 countries head to London to discuss ways of stabilising the country. David Cameron will open the conference with a warning that the turbulence in the failed state threatens the security both of Africa and of Western nations. For more [...]

The United States is considering additional assistance to the African Union military mission in Somalia (Amisom) in the wake of an announced merger between Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda. “Obviously, it’s bad and it’s dangerous,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday in response to reports of a linkup of the two groups. “And it’s further [...]

Heavy fighting has broken out in Somalia’s capital with African Union peacekeepers encountering resistance as they pushed to Mogadishu’s outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. Hundreds of residents fled a northern Mogadishu neighbourhood after waking on Friday to the sound of mortars and gunfire. AU troops have [...]

Up to 300,000 children are still involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In April 2011, the UN listed dozens of groups that continued to recruit or use children in its annual report on children and armed conflict. This bid to “name and shame” countries into cooperating with [...]