Somalia needs a 'paradigm shift'

Somalia needs "a new way of thinking" as it seeks to overcome a legacy of terrorism and civil war, the country's prime minister said. Somali lawmakers took their seats Monday in the new 275-person Parliament, ending a lawless period that stretches to the 1990s. The country earned cautious praise this year from members of the international community for taking a series of steps meant to lay the foundation for the political future. Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told Bloomberg News that prospects were bleak for Somali constituents, however. "There's a great deal of unemployment here, that's why the youth are taking their luck to the high seas," he said. "We need a paradigm shift, a new way of thinking, and a sound, tangible plan for competing in the global market place in the near future." U.N. officials in Somalia expressed concern that some seats in the new Parliament would be secured through bribes. Lawmakers are expected to choose a president in a vote that the BBC reports could develop within the next two weeks. Ali, outgoing President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden are listed by BBC as the top presidential contenders.