Authorities are investigating a Canadian's possible death in Mogadishu after reports said he led a recent attack by Shebab Islamists on the main courthouse in the Somali capital. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police "is aware there are media reports linking a Canadian to terrorist attacks in Mogadishu," Sergeant Greg Cox told AFP. "We cannot provide specific details but are working with relevant domestic and international partners to gather information."

Two blasts struck the Somali district of the Kenyan capital on Tuesday, leaving at least one person wounded, the Red Cross said on its Twitter feed. "One casualty has been evacuated," the Red Cross said. The blasts came as results were trickling in from Kenya's presidential polls, although the predominantly Somali district of Eastleigh has in recent months been the target of several attacks attributed to sympathisers of Somalia's Shebab insurgents. hv/mfp

A Somali appeals court dropped charges on Sunday against a woman sentenced to a year in jail after she told a reporter she was raped by security forces, but said the journalist will remain in jail for six months. "The court orders the release of the woman, while the journalist will spend six months in jail for offending state institutions," Judge Hassan Mohamed Ali said, cutting the reporter's original sentence in half. nur-pjm/lc

Twin explosions at Somali capital beach cafe, casualties feared: police nur-pjm/mfp