The African Union has voted Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi as the bloc’s leader in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

However the Union has once again delayed any realistic move towards creating a United States of Africa, despite pressure from the group’s new head. Gaddafi and his allies like Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade believe unity is the only way to meet the challenges of globalisation, poverty, disease and conflict in the world’s poorest continent. However, the plan is opposed by South Africa, the region’s economic powerhouse, which regards the idea as impractical. In a compromise move the summit agreed to transform the African Union Commission, which currently oversees the body, into the AU Authority that would have a broader mandate including poverty reduction, infrastructure and security.More about: Abdoulaye Wade, Africa, African Union, Libya, Senegal

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