Somalis agree talks details

Talks in Cairo aimed at clearing a way towards resolving the political crisis in Somalia have produced an agreement on how many delegates should represent each faction at a proposed national reconciliation conference.

Only two of the twenty-eight faction leaders in Cairo declined to sign the agreement.

The proposed conference would elect a thirteen-member council that would in turn choose a president and prime minister.

The conference was to meet on December the twentieth, but a new date has yet to be set.

There's been no central authority in Somalia since January 1991, when the government of President Siad Barre was overthrown.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service