Abdullahi Yusuf

The president of Somalia was hospitalized Tuesday with breathing difficulties and a severe cough, but officials said that his condition did not appear life-threatening and that he planned to travel to London for further treatment. President Abdullahi Yusuf, 72, has a history of health problems. He underwent a liver transplant in 1996. Yusuf, a former military leader from northern Somalia who helped overthrow the dictatorship of Maj. Gen.

Somalia's aging president is expected to resign in the coming days, aides said Wednesday, succumbing to threats of impeachment and international sanctions over his refusal to support a national reconciliation plan. Abdullahi Yusuf, a warlord-turned-statesman, was once widely viewed as the linchpin of Somalia's transitional government. But in recent months, Yusuf, 74, has repeatedly clashed with the prime minister and has come to be regarded as an obstacle to peace.

Former army Col. Abdullahi Yusuf was elected president of lawless Somalia on Sunday and immediately called for outside help to stabilize his broken country, widely seen as a haven for Islamic militants. "Somalia is a failed state, and we have nothing," Yusuf told lawmakers who elected him at a gathering in neighboring Kenya. "We need [the international community] to stand by us and help us disarm our militias ... which are destabilizing the Somali people."

The president of Somalia was hospitalized Tuesday with breathing difficulties and a severe cough, but officials said that his condition did not appear life-threatening and that he planned to travel to London for further treatment. President Abdullahi Yusuf, 72, has a history of health problems. He underwent a liver transplant in 1996. Yusuf, a former military leader from northern Somalia who helped overthrow the dictatorship of Maj. Gen.

The transitional president of Somalia narrowly escaped assassination Monday when a car bomb exploded as he left a converted grain silo that serves as the nation's makeshift parliament. President Abdullahi Yusuf was unharmed. However, eight other people, including his brother and several security guards, were killed by the blast in Baidoa, the nation's provisional capital.

Somalia's aging president is expected to resign in the coming days, aides said Wednesday, succumbing to threats of impeachment and international sanctions over his refusal to support a national reconciliation plan. Abdullahi Yusuf, a warlord-turned-statesman, was once widely viewed as the linchpin of Somalia's transitional government. But in recent months, Yusuf, 74, has repeatedly clashed with the prime minister and has come to be regarded as an obstacle to peace.

Hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers were pulling out of the Somali capital Friday, witnesses said, amid fears that the troops' departure would allow Islamic insurgents to take control of more of the lawless country. Ethiopia has been propping up Somalia's weak government for two years but had vowed to leave by the end of 2008. Officials declined to give a date, saying only that the thousands of troops would be pulled out in stages.

A former army officer, rebel and warlord was sworn in as the new president of Somalia in an attempt to unite the nation under a central government. Abdullahi Yusuf took the oath of office from the speaker of the new parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden. The heads of government from Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti and Yemen attended the ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya, and voiced their support for the new president.

Islamic insurgents fired mortar rounds at the main airport in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, as the president was preparing to fly out, an official said. Nobody was hurt in the attack, said the president's spokesman, Hussein Mohamed Mohamud. President Abdullahi Yusuf was at the airport but had not yet boarded his plane when the mortar shells landed, Mohamud said. He flew to Ethiopia later in the day. Yusuf escaped unharmed last week after a similar attack.

Former Somalia President Abdullahi Yusuf arrived in Sana, Yemen, on a private jet and sought political asylum, officials said. The 75-year-old former warlord resigned in December after a series of public quarrels with his prime minister. An aide said it was possible that Yusuf could return to Somalia or move to a third country, such as the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.

The transitional president of Somalia narrowly escaped assassination Monday when a car bomb exploded as he left a converted grain silo that serves as the nation's makeshift parliament. President Abdullahi Yusuf was unharmed. However, eight other people, including his brother and several security guards, were killed by the blast in Baidoa, the nation's provisional capital.

Former army Col. Abdullahi Yusuf was elected president of lawless Somalia on Sunday and immediately called for outside help to stabilize his broken country, widely seen as a haven for Islamic militants. "Somalia is a failed state, and we have nothing," Yusuf told lawmakers who elected him at a gathering in neighboring Kenya. "We need [the international community] to stand by us and help us disarm our militias ... which are destabilizing the Somali people."

Somalia's parliament passed a motion of no confidence against the new prime minister and his Cabinet, in effect sacking a government that had been expected to restore order to the country after 13 years of anarchy and war. A deputy speaker of the 275-member transitional parliament said 153 members voted against Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi, accusing him of failing to respect power-sharing arrangements reached in complex talks among warlords and clan leaders.

The beleaguered prime minister survived a vote of no-confidence in Somalia's parliament after a move by his political rival, President Abdullahi Yusuf, to remove him from office. Emboldened by the show of support, Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein is expected to ask lawmakers this week to approve a reconciliation plan that would give half the seats in parliament to opposition groups, including a group of moderate Islamists. The deal has been a key point of contention with Yusuf, who has vowed to continue his campaign to remove Hussein from office.