Stanton

WoodsFuchs

Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group which controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009, but has recently allowed limited access. An estimated 10 million people have been affected in East Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. More than 166,000 desperate Somalis are estimated to have fled their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia. In other developments in the phone-hacking saga: Save the Children's Sonia Zambakides told the BBC the situation in Somalia was shocking. She said the US had already provided $431m this year in emergency aid to the Horn of Africa, but that was "not enough".