African Union elects first female leader after hotly contested electionJuly 16, 2012 - 15:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The African Union has elected Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to lead the 54-nation bloc after a hotly contested election, CNN reports. The 63-year-old South African home affairs minister is the first woman to hold the post and is the ex-wife of South African President Jacob Zuma. The election, which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, follows a stalemate in January that left 69-year-old incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon in power after neither side could secure the necessary two-thirds majority. The run up to the election largely split the continent in two, with West and Francophone Africa firmly behind Ping, while Zuma's counterparts in the Southern African Development Community firmly backed her bid. Challenges are likely to come quickly for the new head of the AU as she deals with the aftermath of recent coups in Guinea Bissau and Mali. Ping was criticized as being slow and ineffective in his response to last year's coup in Cote D'Ivoire and the revolution in Libya. Zuma is a more "professional, more accountable and more proficient" person than Ping, said Mehari Maru with the Institute of Security Studies in Addis Ababa, but warned it would likely take months for a change in leadership strategy to take place. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |