Sudan to back down
The UK's Independent is reporting that Sudan last night "signaled that it was ready to withdraw its candidacy to chair the African Union after five countries withdrew their support." If true, it marks the passing of what would have been a credibility crisis for the AU, and perhaps a death-knell for international support of the body.

Sudan's chairing of the AU would have blocked any efforts by the AU to police government-sponsored atrocities within the Darfur region and would have kept any UN peace-keeping efforts there firmly off the AU agenda. The collapse of the bid through strong negotiation and diplomacy by other Africa n Union members bodes well for the body and is another stepping-stone in the maturing of African politics.