This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/6755669.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
US cash boost for Somali leaders Grenade attack on Somalia cinema
(about 3 hours later)
The US is to hand over $4m in aid to the Somali transitional government at a ceremony in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. A grenade thrown at a cinema in the central Somali town of Baidoa has killed five people and injured nine.
Some of the money is earmarked for the planned reconciliation conference - twice postponed over disagreements about who should attend. Eyewitnesses say the video hall, known to have shown films that have had naked scenes, was packed with people.
Government critics say convening the gathering while Ethiopian troops are in the capital, Mogadishu, is pointless. In the capital, Mogadishu, unidentified gunmen have thrown grenades at road junctions, killing at least one person.
The attacks come as the United States handed over $4m in development aid to Somalia, some of it earmarked for twice-postponed peace talks.
Government critics say convening the reconciliation conference while Ethiopian troops are in Mogadishu is pointless.
Ethiopian soldiers have been in Somalia since December, when they helped oust an Islamist group that had taken power.Ethiopian soldiers have been in Somalia since December, when they helped oust an Islamist group that had taken power.
US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger is to preside over the ceremony on Friday at the US embassy in Nairobi.
Thursday saw the most serious attacks by insurgents on government targets since Ethiopian-backed forces battled Islamists and Hawiye clan fighters in April - the worst fighting in the city for 16 years.
Islamists and Mogadishu's dominant Hawiye clan are opposed to Ethiopia's presence in Somalia.Islamists and Mogadishu's dominant Hawiye clan are opposed to Ethiopia's presence in Somalia.
Hawiye leaders are refusing to attend the reconciliation conference. 'Immorality'
Last week, Ethiopia's prime minister pledged to withdraw his troops from Somalia once peace took hold in the capital Correspondents say the motive for the attack in Baidoa on Thursday night is not yet known.
But residents in the area had complained to the cinema owner because some of the films being screened had scenes of nudity.
Militant Islamists, who have been fighting the interim government, have often broken up public viewings of Indian and Western films, which they say promote immorality.
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says the grenade attacks took place at the Sana and Afarta Jaridna junctions in the north of the city.
Eyewitnesses say two Ethiopian soldiers and a civilian were wounded at Sana junction and at least one person was killed at Afarta Jaridna, where the grenade was hurled at a passing government vehicle.
One government soldier was seen lying in the street, but it is not known if he died.
Meanwhile, in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, the US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger has presided over an official ceremony to hand over the $4m aid money.
It includes $1.25m for reconciliation conference, a US embassy statement said.
The money is to be channelled through the UN Development Programme and correspondents say no Somali government officials were at the ceremony.
Some analysts have called for funding to go directly to the government to enable it to establish itself and its authority.
"What the government lacks is a lot of funding," Ali Abdillahi, a Nairobi-based adviser to the Somali government, told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"We're talking in the hundreds of millions of dollars - that's what can bring in good governance and development."
For too long the country's finances have been in the hands of the development agencies, Mr Abdillahi said.
"That's dangerous as far as state security or state development is concerned because the international community should have engaged the transitional federal government directly."
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991.Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991.