1. 3 updates

UK hosts Somalia summit

David Cameron will host an international conference in London today to help Somalia end more than two decades of conflict. Somalia's president Hasan Sheikh Mohamud will co-host the event.

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Cameron calls for better governance in Somalia

A girl living in an internally displaced camp south of Mogadishu cooks bread on May 3, 2013. Credit: Reuters / Omar Faruk

Prime Minister David Cameron will praise Somalia's president for the work he has done to improve governance and tackle corruption in the country, and will ask international donors to support him to develop a "transparent" and accountable budget.

Opening the international peace conference on Somalia in London today, Cameron will say:

"We need to help Somalia develop a transparent and accountable government with an honest, accurate budget.

"Under the previous government Somalia struggled with endemic corruption. So I very much welcome the commitment to public accountability that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made and the plan he is setting out at this conference.

"For our part, I hope the international community can send a strong signal to the International Financial Institutions about the need to follow the World Bank's lead and help Somalia to deal with its debts and access the vital finance it needs."

Read: Cameron to call for long-term security plan for Somalia

Cameron to call for long-term security plan for Somalia

David Cameron will warn today that failure to properly support the rebuilding of Somalia will lead to "terrorism and mass migration" from the region at today's international conference on the country in London.

Opening the conference Cameron will call for the international community to support the new government in pushing back al Shabaab Islamist militias. He will say:

Despite the gains made against al Shabaab the recent tragic and despicable attacks in Mogadishu...remind us how much work there is still to do in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

These challenges are not just issues for Somalia. They matter to Britain - and to the whole international community. Why? Because when young minds are poisoned by radicalism and they go on to export terrorism and extremism, the security of the whole world is at stake.

And to anyone who says, this isn't a priority or we can't afford to deal with it, I would say that is what we've said in the past and look where it has got us: terrorism and mass migration.

Read: FCO warns terrorists in final stages of planning Somalia attacks

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David Cameron to host Somalia peace summit

David Cameron with the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheik Mohamud in February this year. Credit: Reuters/Olivia Harris

Prime Minister David Cameron will co-host and international conference on building peace in Somalia today along with president Hassan Sheik Mohamud.

Almost 50 governments are expected to attend alongside a number of global bodies including the IMF and the World Bank.

The meting takes place a year on from the first such UK-hosted event and Cameron will hail the progress made so far.

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