Somali rivals in government talks
By David Bamford BBC Africa editor

The two men have differing views on Somalia's futureRival Somali political leaders are expected to announce whether they have reached an agreement that could lead to the restoration of central government. Talks have been taking place in Yemen between the Somali President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, and the parliamentary speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan. It provides the hope that Somalia might start to emerge from its current state of virtual anarchy.
The country has been factionalised and basically lawless since 1991. Both men were chosen by a fairly representative transitional national assembly, and there is an approved cabinet of ministers. Yet politically in Somalia, nothing works - at all. The problem, and indeed the solution, may lie in the relationship between the president and the speaker.

Facts and figures about life in Somalia
At-a-glance
Mr Adan has allied himself to the warlords who occupy the capital, Mogadishu.
But Mogadishu is a city where President Yusuf fears to tread because he believes one of those militias will try to kill him. He instead operates from Jowhar, only 50km (31m) from the capital, but politically speaking a world away.
Mr Adan's parliament never meets, and President Yusuf's government does not function.
But finally the two men are talking, and there is much speculation among seasoned observers that Mr Adan is ready to at least partly shun the warlords. The key could be for him to call a meeting of the transitional parliament, preferably on Somali soil - so far it has only ever met in Kenya, and that was a year ago.
It is thought that only the parliament - in which the militias and rival clans are represented - has a wide enough legitimacy to make decisions on reuniting Somalia that would stick.