Somali president appoints new prime minister

Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed yesterday appointed Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as prime minister, replacing Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed who resigned under a reconciliation accord.
"He has the personality and the kind of knowledge that makes him fit to become the prime minister," the president said in announcing Ali's appointment.
"I'm quite confident that he will be up to the challenge of the hard conditions our country is encountering."
Ali is a former deputy prime minister and former planning minister.