Fighting in Mogadishu. Kidnaps of foreign aid workers. Hijacks by pirates. Africa’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The news from Somalia seems to be relentlessly negative, writes Reuters Somalia correspondent Guled Mohamed. So it has been for the best part of 17 years since warlords overran the country in 1991 to usher in the modern period of chaos in this part of the Horn of Africa.

African Union peacekeepers have been unable to stem the violence; peace initiatives come and go with little impact; and the 14th attempt to restore central government is struggling as the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government finds itself up against a resilient insurgent movement including former members of the Islamic Courts Union that briefly held Mogadishu for six months in 2006.

However, tales of hope, entrepreneurship and solidarity abound among Somalia’s 9 million people.

How do you think Somalis can move forward? Can the diaspora wield its economic power to help? Has Ethiopia’s military intervention helped or hindered? Do the Islamic Courts represent the people as their fighters say? How can the world help, or should it just stay out and let Somalis sort things out themselves?

Have your say …

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is probably one of Africa’s least-known yet controversial leaders. After a successful 30-year independence war against neighbouring Ethiopia, he won praise from the West in the 1990s for being part of a “new generation” of  progressive African leaders. In recent years, however, the Eritrean president has been increasingly criticised from abroad as running his small Horn of African nation along authoritarian lines.

Not usually keen on giving interviews to Western media, President Isaias Afwerki sat down this week for a nearly two-hour chat with Reuters’ Asmara correspondent Jack Kimball and East Africa bureau chief Andrew Cawthorne. In it, he criticised the United Nations, denied an incursion into Djibouti, outlined Eritrea’s economic policies and accused the United States of trying to destabilise his country.

Has Isaias Afwerki been good or bad for Eritrea and Africa. What do you think?

The "Business Call to Action," hosted by the British prime minister, drew some 80 CEOs of the world's biggest companies including Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Vodafone as well as top politicians to discuss how big business can stamp out global poverty.

The lure? Big profits. Ghana's President John Kufuor said it will be easier for U.S. and European businesses to make their next million in Africa rather than anywhere else. The credit crunch has made a few more believe this might be true.

"Three billion of the world's 6 billion people have mobile phones," Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin said. "And three-quarters of the new customers are in the developing world. This is a huge opportunity."

Two companies laid out how they were using technology to tackle issues unique to developing nations in a race to win market share. British telecom company Vodafone has made some headway, while Telefonica O2 is launching new products to allow migrant workers to send money home using their mobiles.

Vodafone CEO Sarin:

• Vodafone already has 2 million Kenyan and Tanzanian customers, out of 10 million in total, signed up to M-PESA, which allows customers to send much-needed money to loved ones using their mobile phones.
• The company operates in Afghanistan. To get around the problem of illiteracy, the firm has developed voice recognition software. Luckily you don't have to shout out your bank details or the amount you're sending - you give voice instructions and plug in the numbers.

O2 CEO Matthew Key:

• Telefonica has plans to for a similar service in Latin America, where many leave for the United States and send part of their wages home.
• Telefonica wants 200 million people to sign up for "a new suite of banking products," Key said.
• The company estimates there are 650 million money transfers back to Latin America each year, and its mobile phone products will slash the average $10 cost per transfer.

--Reporting by Chris Wills in London

Guest blogger: Richard Segal, Fixed Income Strategist for Renaissance Capital

Reuters is not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author’s alone.

Kenya’s political crisis seemed under control earlier this month when protests lost steam and mediators arrived en masse. The immediate sell-off was short lived, Kibaki proceeded with cabinet formation and the legislature took seats to begin daily business. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Kimunya indicated the Safaricom IPO would go ahead as scheduled in Q1, and many investors began to hope a political compromise could be reached soon.

However, the lull was also short lived, resolution to the crisis proved elusive and the exchange rate has stumbled badly. At KES 63.5/USD, the currency is off 15% from pre-election levels and stands at an 18-month low. Furthermore, the outlook for the shilling remains bearish, and all natural holders have signalled an unwillingness to hold the unit. Some traders had expected the central bank to step in to damp volatility, but it has stayed away, perhaps not being willing to supply the market with “cheap dollars.”

Persistent currency volatility will have a detrimental impact on sentiment in other asset markets and continue to feed through to the real economy. Meanwhile, bankers have warned that non-performing loans could accelerate. Tourism and trade have suffered from the political instability but it won’t be long before the slump in business and consumer confidence becomes more entrenched. Regional contagion was initially limited to logistical sectors, but Uganda, Tanzania and other countries will not remain so lucky for long.

To have your say on Kenyan politics and the economy see our discussion blog.

Guest blogger: Philippe de Pontet, Africa Analyst with Eurasia Group

Reuters is not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author’s alone.

With solid GDP growth, a diversified economy and one of the fastest-growing stock markets in the world, Kenya was supposed to be the poster child for booming African frontier markets heading into 2008. Instead, less than one month after a deeply flawed election reinstated Mwai Kibaki as president, the country has been plunged into political crisis, sporadic ethnic violence and economic decline with no resolution in sight.

The 27 December election in Kenya set the political crisis in motion, by tapping into resentment aimed at the dominant Kikuyu tribe and government corruption more broadly. There is a moderate risk (30%) that the current political stalemate will persist into the second half of 2008, undermining the governability of the country, and incapacitating Kibaki in the process. At this point, the most hopeful outcome for Kenya would be a power-sharing agreement brokered by mediator Kofi Annan that would bring the stalemate to an end—and unless this happens in the first quarter of 2008, the economic impact of the current standoff could be severe. More likely, however, is deep gridlock between the opposition controlled parliament and the Kibaki administration, blocking Kibaki’s agenda at every turn.

The much-anticipated Safaricom IPO and the sovereign bond issue will both be delayed (by several months or more), forcing the government to borrow more domestically to plug its 5.3% budget deficit. In this volatile climate, though, risk-tolerant investors betting on an eventual political resolution and on Kenya’s relatively sound fundamentals, may find opportunities amid the current crisis.

To have your say on Kenyan politics and the economy visit our discussion blog.