Somali PM names bulk of new cabinet

BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) – Somalia’s prime minister on Friday named the bulk of his new cabinet to replace one that fell apart last month over clan bickering, stalling hopes of getting the interim government moving amid an insurgency.

Maakhir’s environmental protection

A first piece of good news for the new, leap, year 2008 comes from the autonomous state of Maakhir that has been seriously engaged in environmental protection. As deforestation has advanced much in all parts of Somalia, the way to re-forestation passes through the elimination of the charcoal trade.

Before bringing natural catastrophe to Somalia, charcoal trade was a curse for various countries allover the world.

Sen. Barack Obama’s victory Thursday in critical Democratic Iowa caucuses indicate voters saw him as a candidate of change, according to entrance polls.

The freshman Illinois senator was CNN’s projected winner in the key early step toward the White House, with 38 percent of the vote and 99 percent of precincts reporting.

“On this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn’t do,” Obama told wildly cheering and chanting supporters Thursday night. “We are choosing hope over fear, we are choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America.