In news from Africa, the African Union has condemned the military in Togo for carrying out what it describes as a coup. On Saturday Togo’s longtime president Gnassingbe Eyadema died after heading the country for nearly 40 years. Under Togo’s constitution, the parliamentary speaker is supposed to serve as temporary head of state until a new president is elected within two months. However the Togo army quickly installed the deceased president’s son Faure Gnassingbe to be his successor. The ruling party endorsed the move and then passed a series of parliamentary votes to change the country’s constitution. African Union Commission president Alpha Oumar Konare said, “What’s happening in Togo needs to be called by its name, it’s a seizure of power by the military, it’s a military coup d’etat.”