Banda to shun AU summit

BLANTYRE — Malawi President Joyce Banda will shun an African Union summit next month which was moved to Ethiopia from her country as she refused to host Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, state radio said Sunday. Banda said on state radio that Vice President Khumbo Kachali will now attend the July 9-16 summit in Addis Ababa. Sworn in April 7 after the death of president Bingu wa Mutharika, Banda broke with the AU line last month asking the body not to invite Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, to Lilongwe for the summit. The AU insisted that Bashir must be invited, while Banda wanted the Sudanese leader to send a representative to maintain ties with donors. — AFP