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| | Somalis celebrate as Parliament elects first president in 10 years |
 | | MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - With men, women and children dancing and singing in the streets, Somalis celebrated the election of their first president in almost a decade with a unity that will be vital if the new head of state is to fulfil his promise of bringing peace to Somalia. |
 | | Hours after Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, a former interior minister, won presidential elections early Saturday, people around the country took to the streets, businesses shut down and restaurants offered free meals in what became a spontaneous national holiday. |
 | | The election of Hassan, who promised to bring economic recovery and peace to the country of seven million, came as a result of a conference that began in Arta, a small town in neighbouring Djibouti, on May 2. |
| www.arlaadinet.com /News/August/somalis_celebrate_as_parliament_.htm (711 words) |
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