IAEA chooses Japanese as new head

The 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency chose a veteran Japanese diplomat as the agency's next head, in a tight vote reflecting stubborn North-South divisions of the U.N. nuclear monitoring organization. Yukiya Amano collected 23 votes, compared to 11 for Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa, with one abstention, barely giving him the two-thirds majority needed for victory. Even that tight margin came only after hard-fought preliminary sessions. A March vote between the two men Amano, backed by the U.S. and like-minded countries, Minty supported by the developing world was inconclusive, showing the divide separating the two camps. Thursday's vote also went down to the wire. It took four rounds for Amano to prevail due to stubborn support in initial rounds for his rival from the developing nations a split the Japanese touched on his brief post-session comments to the media. Saying he would do his utmost to prevent nuclear proliferation, Amano, 62, appealed for solidarity of the entire member states countries from North, from South, from East and West to achieve that goal. Amano will replace Mohamed El Baradei, who is stepping down in November after three four-year terms.