News outlets report on the opening of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia. Discussion surrounding conflict in the region is overshadowing the theme of this year’s summit, Agriculture and Food Security.

Agence France-Presse: Africa summit to pull C. Africa, S. Sudan from ‘abyss’
“Conflict in Central African Republic and South Sudan dominated the agenda as Africa’s leaders gathered in Ethiopia Thursday for a two-day summit of the continental bloc. The talks, opened by outgoing African Union chairman and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn early Thursday, are officially themed on agriculture and food security…” (Vaughan, 1/30).

VOA News: South Sudan, CAR Conflicts to Dominate A.U. Summit
“The crises in South Sudan and the Central African Republic are expected to be high on the agenda at the African Union summit that begins Thursday in Addis Ababa. The United States is also seeking ways to punish the perpetrators of violence in the CAR…” (Joselow, 1/29).

U.N. News Centre: Agriculture ‘engine of growth’ to eradicating hunger in Africa, U.N. official stresses
“A senior United Nations official today stressed that agriculture is the engine of growth needed to eradicate hunger and boost food production in Africa, ahead of the launch later this week of the 2014 African Year of Agriculture and Food Security. José Graziano da Silva, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), noted that several African countries have already reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) hunger target of reducing by half the proportion of undernourished people between 1990 and 2015…” (1/29).