After two days of deliberation, members of Somalia’s Bari region consisting of civil servants and clan elders announced on Tuesday the formation of a new semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia.

It will be created inside the borders of the already existing Somali enclave of Puntland. They claim the new semi-autonomous region will be independent from Puntland and Somalia’s weak transitional federal government. Called Rasa-Asayr State, it comprises of towns and villages near the old historical-coastal town of Bargal in the mountainous eastern Bari region. The town will also serve as the administrative capital.

Speaking to VOA Somali Services, the new interim president, Farah Mohamud Yusuf (Dooha), a former founding member of Puntland, said they decided to establish the new semi-autonomous state after they lost confidence in Puntland government over its performance, security and services.

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Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan on Sunday, President Obama announced.

In a dramatic late-night appearance in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that American military and C.I.A. operatives had finally cornered Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda who had eluded them for nearly a decade, and shot him to death at a compound in Pakistan.

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Muammar Gaddafi’s forces are clashing with rebels and Tunisian troops in Dehiba, a Tunisian border town, after seizing a strategically important Libyan-Tunisian border crossing.

The border crossing currently flies the pro-Gaddafi flag, but fight over the strategic checkpoint has raged on overnight and continues to remain heated.

Intense shooting is taking place in central Dehiba on Friday with one boy shot in the foot and a woman killed both by pro-Gaddafi forces’ shelling and gunfire, according to uncorroborated witness accounts.

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Thailand and Cambodia fortified their border positions on Tuesday after four days of artillery and mortar battles killed seven Cambodian soldiers and five Thai troops, while both sides tried to dominate nearby ancient Hindu temple ruins. No deaths were reported during Monday’s clashes.

Thai troops with scant medical equipment used stretchers and open pickup trucks to transport some injured soldiers from border fights to hospitalization during the weekend. Thailand moved tanks and armored personnel carriers along the mountainous jungle frontier about 560 kilometers northeast of Bangkok.

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Italy’s air force, which has been playing a reduced role in operations in Libya, decided on Monday that its air force will be allowed to bomb selected military targets in Libya.

A statement from Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s office said he had informed U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone conversation of the government’s decision and that he would call other European leaders to tell them personally as well.

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http://thestar.com.m … 2-1&sec=Worldupdates

At least 55 rebels have been killed and dozens wounded in Sudan in clashes between southern army and South Sudan milities.

Government official said.

Violent clashes erupted yesterday near Malakal, in Jonglei state, between Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), that is former rebels today commands South Sudan army, and men linked to former rebel leader Gabriel Tang

The News:
http://www.ansa.it/w … .html_897824514.html

Libyan troops captured by rebels in Misrata said on Saturday the army had been ordered to retreat from the besieged port, marking a possible shift in a two-month revolt against leader Muammar Gaddafi.

According to the rebels, the troops say they have been ordered to pullout of the city. Libya’s government says NATO air strikes might force its army to stop retaking the country’s third largest city, but local tribes are ready to take over the battle.

The News:
http://www.euronews. … eating-from-misrata/