Somalia MPs elect new president

Lawmakers on Monday chose Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as Somalia's new president after the 56-year-old lecturer got the majority of votes in a second round run-off, beating outgoing president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Sharif had earlier in the day sounded confident of victory in the vote, which UN brokers have billed as a major milestone in stabilising the war-torn nation.
Many sceptical observers had voiced fears that the vote would simply return the same corruption-tainted leadership but dark horse Mohamud, an academic and activist, won 190 votes against 79 for the outgoing president, who had been seen as the likely winner until late in the day.