Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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November 24, 2007

Commonwealth Picks Indian Diplomat as New Leader
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1A5B1C9:A6F02AD83191E160C99E6FCC33413A8F2E7CA1C1B166B639& Kamalesh Sharma to
take over as secretary-general next April when Don McKinnon from New
Zealand steps down Indian diplomat Kamalesh Sharma has been
unanimously appointed to lead the British Commonwealth, the 53-nation
federation of mostly former British colonies.







Kamalesh Sharma, the new Commonwealth secretary-general, addresses the
media during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala,
Uganda, 24 Nov 2007Sharma was appointed Saturday during the
Commonwealth's three-day summit in Uganda's capital, Kampala. He will
be the organization's first Asian secretary-general, and will replace
New Zealand's Don McKinnon who is stepping down in April after eight
years.

Pakistan is still a talking point at the summit after its suspension
from the federation Friday for not lifting a state of emergency and
military rule. Pakistan angrily rejected its suspension.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth opened the summit on Friday.

Also on Friday, demonstrators clashed with police outside the summit
venue. They were upset that the queen had met with Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni.

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye led the protesters, who were
demanding that the Commonwealth address what Bisigye says are Uganda's
democratic shortcomings.

One policeman and several others were injured in the clashes.

The summit closes Sunday.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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