World leaders mourn death of Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi

KENYA: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday led tributes to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi with high praise after the strongman's more than two decades in power and despite his chequered human rights record.

His death at age 57 leaves a major power gap in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia has played a key role in the fortunes of many of its neighbours, as well as host to the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa. Obama said Meles deserved "recognition for his lifelong contribution to Ethiopia's development, particularly his unyielding commitment to Ethiopia's poor." AFP