Topic - Somalia

• Briefly: Africa

  Somalia's president asked the U.N. Wednesday to lift the arms embargo against his country, saying the recent merger between al Qaeda and al-Shabab has made the dropping of the arms ban necessary.

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  Al Qaeda embrace of al-Shabab seen as driven by desperation

  Al Qaeda's decision to formally extend its terrorist franchise to what once was a nationalist movement in Somalia may be only a desperate joining of hands to prop up two militant groups that are losing popular support and facing increasingly deadly military attacks, analysts said.

• World Scene

  Somalia's extremist Shebab fighters have joined ranks with al-Qaeda, terror network chief Ayman al-Zawahri announced in a video message posted on jihadist forums on Thursday.

• Man pleads guilty over online 'South Park' threat

  A Muslim convert from Brooklyn pleaded guilty Thursday to using a website he founded to post online threats against the creators of the "South Park" television show and others he deemed enemies of Islam.

• 50 Cent visits famine victims in Somalia, Kenya

  Rapper 50 Cent is teaming up with the World Food Program to see firsthand the effects of hunger in Somalia and Kenya.

• Operator of radical Muslim site to plead guilty

  A Muslim convert from Brooklyn who ran a website that posted threats against the creators of the television show "South Park" is expected to enter a federal guilty plea, his attorney said Wednesday.

• HOLMES: Preventing the rise of safe havens for terrorists

  President Obama's decision to accelerate the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan begs the question: What if the country again becomes a safe haven for terrorists? A recently leaked U.S. Army report for NATO shows that the Taliban believe they are winning and need only outlast us to regain control. If that happens, Afghanistan could become the terrorist safe haven it was before our 2001 intervention.

• Car bombing in Somali capital kills 8

  A car-bomb attack killed eight people and wounded two members of parliament Wednesday in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, officials said.

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  SEXTON: Drawbacks of drone war mania

  We've set the stage for even more undeclared, borderless conflicts. America's lethal drone strikes have been a massive intelligence success, but we may soon recognize their expansion as a major policy failure. While essential in the fight against al Qaeda, drone attacks effectively have normalized lethal cross-border attacks as a tool of national security.

• Rapper K'Naan upset Mitt Romney used his song

  Rapper K'Naan is upset that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used his song "Wavin' Flag" during his Florida primary victory speech.

• After 6 months of famine, Somali men return to farm

  Six months after the U.N. declared Somalia's capital a famine zone, the number of refugees in the capital is dwindling, as most of the men have gone home to try to revive devastated herds and withered crops.

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  GORDON: Obama's deadly new PR firm

  The dramatic rescue of an American aid worker and her Danish colleague in Somalia by Navy commandos was a terrific encore to the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan nine months ago. However, all the White House-driven publicity for both events has helped turn the once-secret SEAL Team 6 into a household term, with likely negative consequences.

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  Politics of defense cuts: Emphasize the positive

  The Pentagon is preparing to tighten its belt, but with an election-year battle looming in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wants to stress the positive: Parts of the budget devoted to reshaping the military to fit a new global strategy will actually get fatter, he says.

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  Navy SEAL raid in Somalia shows campaign ahead

  The Navy SEAL operation that freed two Western hostages in Somalia is representative of the Obama administration's pledge to build a smaller, more agile military force that can carry out surgical counterterrorist strikes to cripple an enemy.

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  U.S. military raid in Somalia frees American, Dane

  The same U.S. Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed.

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