- African Union has elected Libya's President Muammar Gaddafi as the new chairperson at a summit in Ethiopia today. Mr Gaddafi was handed the chairman's gavel by outgoing AU leader Jakaya Kikwete, the Tanzanian president.
AU spokeswoman Habiba Mejri-Sheikh said President Gaddafi was elected by the heads of state in a closed-door session, for a one-year period.
The organisation's communiqué said among other issues debated at the summit, was a Libyan-backed proposal to set up a single government, the United States of Africa.
The AU member states also reached a compromise following extensive discussions on the issue to transform African Union Commission into a new African Union Authority, to give it a broader mandate.
Outgoing chair President Kikwete briefed his colleagues on the key activities undertaken during his tenure as the AU Chairman, including the peace process in Kenya, which led to the formation of a unity government in that country after a fractious election.
He also brought forth the AU's intervention in the crisis in Comoros, where the African body sent a military team into the Comoros, which ousted a group of military rulers who declared control of the Island of Anjouan.
The chairmanship of the African Union is a rotating position held by heads of state for one year. It is a position heads of state can use to wield influence over the continent's politics.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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