Southern African leaders have launched a $5.5 billion humanitarian aid appeal as the region faces acute grain shortages because of El Nino-linked droughts. The White House says it chose Kenya for its first state visit for an African leader for many reasons — not least because the East African powerhouse has stepped up on the global stage, offering to staff a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Haiti that could see boots on the ground in the coming weeks. South Africa votes next Wednesday in an election expected to be the most competitive since the country’s first democratic poll in 1994.