Tokyo  - Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered a probe into the possibility of having the Japanese navy join the international fight against piracy off the Somalia coast, news reports said.

Aso asked Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada to look into having Japan's Self-Defence Forces join the anti-piracy mission, the Jiji Press news agency said.

New York  - The United Nations Security Council on Friday renewed the mandate of a group monitoring the 16-year-old arms embargo imposed on Somalia, saying piracy might increase access to a fresh arsenal of weapons.

A report by the monitoring group said there has been a steady demand for weapons and ammunition while security in Somalia has deteriorated. It said most weapons have come from commercial markets, particularly in Yemen, and sent to Somalia across the Gulf of Aden.

Nairobi  - The war in Somalia, one of Africa's bloodiest ongoing conflicts, shows little sign of letting up as 2008 draws to a close, with analysts warning it may actually continue to intensify.

Somalia has been plagued by chaos and civil war since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The conflict deepened this year as Islamist insurgents stepped up their efforts to seize control of the Horn of Africa nation.

The insurgents have been fighting Somalia's transitional federal government (TFG) since Ethiopian troops helped oust the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in early 2007.

Aid agencies estimate that over 10,000 civilians have died in the crossfire and almost one million have fled their homes since the insurgency began.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon complained Wednesday that governments in the United Nations have called for a peacekeeping force in troubled Somalia, but none has volunteered to lead it with large ground troops to stabilize the country.

Ban offered a rare glimpse into the working of the UN system in which members made loud proposals but failed to back them up with resources and manpower, the two components needed to deploy peacekeeping forces around the world.

Nairobi/Mogadishu - Somali parliamentarians Wednesday voted to impeach President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed a day after he defied parliament and appointed a new prime minister to replace Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.

Yusuf on Sunday fired Hussein and his cabinet, saying Hussein was "unable to perform his duties" and that the president was obliged to act to save the country.

However, parliament on Monday voted overwhelmingly to back Hussein, who said the decision to fire him was unconstitutional.

Mogadishu - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed on Tuesday appointed a new prime minister, defying a vote by parliament not to approve his decision to sack Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.

"After I consulted lawmakers, I today appointed Mohamed Mohamoud Guled Ga'madhere as prime minister," Yusuf told reporters in Baidoa, the seat of the Somali parliament. "I appointed the premier after I carefully considered the wrong decision parliament took yesterday."