African nations, long reluctant to intervene in each others’ crises, on Tuesday launched a new continentwide security council with powers to send African peacekeeping troops to conflict zones. The new African Union Peace and Security Council, formed on the model of the UN Security Council, follows a string of failed pan-African peace efforts since the 1970s. But Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, a member of the new council, promised this one would be different because “we have learned from our own experience that peace, security and stability are necessary for sustainable development.” “Africa,” he said, “is poised for action.” Full Story