Steve Bloomfield | May 11

Independent - The vicious conflict in Darfur suddenly came to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, yesterday, with fighting reported in the western suburbs of the city.

A Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), claimed it had already taken the town of Omdurman, on the western bank of the Nile opposite Khartoum, and appeared to be moving to seize the capital. The daring attack – the first by Darfur rebels so close to Khartoum – shook the government of President Omar al-Bashir, which has been held responsible for a scorched-earth policy and the loss of over 200,000 lives in the west of the country.

In recent days there has been heavy fighting in Kordofan province, which stretches from Darfur to the Nile, and on Thursday, when clashes came closer to the capital, some roads and rover bridges were closed. Last night Sudanese television claimed the rebels had been “completely repulsed”, and government sources denied the rebels were inside the capital. But the authorities imposed a curfew on Khartoum, and witnesses reported seeing army vehicles and helicopters heading to the west of the city, where heavy gunfire and artillery was heard throughout the night.

Raymond Whitaker | May 11

The Independent - Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, announced yesterday that he would take part in a presidential election run-off against Robert Mugabe – but it may be next year before the vote is held.

Speaking in Pretoria, capital of neighbouring South Africa, Mr Tsvangirai said: "I am ready, and the people are ready for the final round." The leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has remained in exile for the past month, mainly in South Africa, saying he feared for his safety. But yesterday he said he would return shortly and begin a "victory tour".

Since finally announcing the presidential election result after a delay of nearly five weeks, Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF government has said the second round could be delayed for up to a year, during which the present administration would remain in power. Lawyers say that if the electoral law were followed, the run-off should be held within 21 days of the result being declared – in other words, by 23 May.

Jonathan Adams | Mogadishu | May 7

CSM - Food riots and anti-US protests in Somalia are compounding the chaos in the long-suffering war zone in the Horn of Africa.

Meanwhile, an Amnesty International Report released Tuesday alleged that Islamist militants, as well as US-backed Ethiopian and Somali government troops, are committing widespread atrocities against civilians in the capital, Mogadishu. And a recent US strike against what it says was an Al Qaeda leader in Somalia has sparked further protests.

The Associated Press reports that Tuesday saw a second day of protests over rising food prices, with hundreds of youths burning tires, throwing stones, and blocking roads.

Somalia is just the latest country to see riots over rising food prices, after others including Haiti, Egypt, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. The Financial Times has a map of the civil unrest sparked by the food crisis here. (more, media roundup article)

Samuel Oyadongha | Lagos | May 7

AllAfrica/Vanguard - THE Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), yesterday, said the former President of United States, Jimmy Carter, has agreed to mediate in the Niger Delta crisis if invited by the Nigerian government.

MEND in an online statement signed by Jomo Gbomo said it was prepared to observe a temporary ceasefire in deference to the former American president if only the Federal Government would accept his initiative.

The statement read, "the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has received today, May 6, 2008 a confirmation from the Carter Centre through its Vice President, Mr. John Stremlau, that the former President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter, has graciously accepted to mediate in the Niger Delta crisis on the condition that the Nigerian government and any other relevant stakeholder invites him.

"President Carter represents transparency, impartiality, humility and integrity; four key ingredients critical in the mediator recipe towards ensuring a genuine and enduring peace process for the region.

Somalia is quickly slipping into a yet more gruesome circle of hell. Protests erupted today over food prices, and aid organizations are issuing panicky - but accurate - statements about impending mass tragedy.

Most headlines are simply reporting that two people died in today's protests. But the reality is one of extreme social disruption, and the casualties are already starting to climb:

Protestors took to the streets in Somalia's dangerous capital Monday to demonstrate against rising food prices and the business community's refusal to accept 1,000-note Somali Shillings, Radio Garowe reported.

Todd Pitman | Dakar, Senegal | May 2

AP - South Africa lifted a 13-year ban on killing elephants yesterday, a move conservationists warn could encourage poachers to slaughter the animals for ivory and threaten dwindling populations elsewhere on the continent.

Elephants - once on the verge of extinction in some parts of South Africa - are flourishing, with the population there growing more than 5 percent annually in recent years as a result of a well-managed national parks industry.

Mogadishu | May 1

Reuters - A U.S. air strike killed an Islamist commander thought to be al Qaeda's leader in Somalia and at least a dozen other people on Thursday, the insurgents and witnesses said.

Aden Hashi Ayro, who led al Shabaab militants blamed for near daily attacks on government troops and their Ethiopian allies, died in the latest of several U.S. bombings in recent months to have targeted Somali rebel leaders.

"Infidel planes bombed Dusamareb," Shabaab spokesman Mukhtar Ali Robow told Reuters by telephone, referring to a small town in central Somalia. "Two of our important people, including Ayro, were killed."

Andrew Geoghegan

ABC.net.au - Almost 200 people arrested by Zimbabwe's security forces last week have been released, but there are reports of violence against Opposition supporters.

More than 200 people were rounded up by Zimbabwe police last week as part of a security crackdown by President Robert Mugabe.

Most of those arrested have now been released after the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change successfully applied for a court order for them to be freed or charged.

But there are indications that the crackdown is continuing as the country continues to wait for results of the presidential election.

Human Rights Watch says a brutal campaign of organised terror against perceived Opposition supporters has intensified.

There are a lot of reasons we should be thinking about transitioning to a green economy. One is that current American energy policies chain us, and the countries who supply us with oil, to a whole host of problems.

Take Nigeria, whose oil woes have worsened this week.

Attacks on pipelines by the militant group MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) have cut into Shell's exports, and a five-day strike of white collar workers that began last Wednesday has crippled ExxonMobil: today they announced that all of their oil output from Nigeria has been shut down. The losses are already threatening to knock Nigeria from its status as Africa's top oil producer, according to The Guardian. In that case, Angola would take its slot.

Berne | April 28

BBC - Key United Nations development agencies are meeting in Switzerland to try to develop solutions to ease the escalating global food crisis.

Led by secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, officials want to mitigate the impact of the steep rise in staple food prices and prevent food shortages worsening.

April 28

The Guardian - It has become the most dangerous strip of sea in the world with weekly attacks on European ships. Off the Somalian coast brutal pirates are hijacking luxury yachts, vast cruise liners and even food aid ships and demanding - and getting - huge ransoms. Xan Rice reports on the ancient menace that has become a modern peril

Tracy McVeigh | April 27

The Observer - Robert Mugabe has been unable to win back control of Zimbabwe's parliament after a partial recount of the 29 March election results failed to overturn any of the original results that gave the opposition the majority of seats.

It means the first defeat in 28 years for Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party after Zimbabwe's electoral commission (ZEC) yesterday released seven more results from the recount, changing none. It brings to 13 the number of seats recounted, with 10 remaining to be declared - all in strong opposition-held areas. Zanu-PF would need to win nine to regain control.

Results have still not been released from the parallel presidential poll which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won, beating Mugabe outright. Independent monitors estimate that Tsvangirai won, but fell just short of the 50 per cent threshold to avoid a run-off. The MDC accuses Mugabe of delaying results to rig his victory and has rejected any run-off.

Dakar | April 26

Reuters - More than 1,000 people, some carrying empty rice sacks, marched through Senegal's capital Dakar on Saturday to protest against rising food prices, the latest such demonstration in impoverished West Africa.

Aid experts say soaring global prices for foodstuffs and fuel threaten to push 100 million people worldwide into hunger, and governments in the poorest countries are scrambling to find ways to mitigate the effects.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, whose nation imports more than 80 percent of its rice needs, announced an ambitious plan last week to increase rice production five-fold to 500,000 tonnes in a season.

Angus Shaw | Harare | April 26

AP - Zimbabwe's electoral commission said Saturday that a recount of votes for 10 parliamentary seats confirmed the original results, including opposition victories, making it unlikely that the ruling party can wrest control of parliament.

The recounts confirmed that six seats were taken by the opposition and four by President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in the March 29 election.

The remaining 13 seats subject to recounts are mostly held by the opposition; Mugabe's party would need a virtual clean sweep to win back majority control of the 210-seat parliament.

Original results from the voting showed that opposition groups won 110 seats to Mugabe's 97. Three seats are vacant, awaiting by-elections after the deaths of candidates.

Graham Bowley & Celia W. Dugger | Harare, Zimbabwe | April 26

NYT - Armed police officers raided the headquarters of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party in Harare, the capital, on Friday, arresting hundreds of people, a spokesman for the party said.

The action appeared to be one of the most blatant crackdowns against opposition supporters since the disputed elections nearly four weeks ago.

Raymond Whitaker | Harare, Zimbabwe | April 23

The Independent - Zimbabwe is a deeply religious country. Daily discussions of the country's crisis end with Zimbabweans, black and white, saying: "We can only pray." So when the leaders of Zimbabwe's churches unanimously warn that the country faces "genocide" unless the international community intervenes, it is an important moment.

The clerics were speaking more than three weeks after a presidential election whose result President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party refuse to disclose, almost certainly because he was soundly defeated by Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). A recount of 23 parliamentary seats is under way in an apparent attempt to restore Zanu-PF's lost majority, and a wave of violence and intimidation has swept the country ahead of any possible presidential run-off.

Mogadishu | April 19

BBC - At least 20 people have been killed in renewed fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, eyewitnesses say.

Ethiopian troops backing the interim government clashed with Islamic fighters in the north-east of the city.

Brian Latham and Antony Sguazzin | Johannesburg | April 18

Bloomberg - 18 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe deployed the army, police and intelligence officers to intimidate voters in rural areas to ensure he wins a presidential run-off vote, two top members of his party said.

The officials, who belong to the ruling Zanu-PF party's politburo, said the security forces are working with youth militia loyal to the party and groups who describe themselves as veterans of Zimbabwe's 1966-1979 liberation war against a minority white-led government.

Mugabe, 84, sought to extend his 28-year rule of Zimbabwe in the March 29 presidential election, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change says it won. While the results are yet to be released, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party officials have said none of the four contenders, including MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, attained the majority needed to avoid a second round. The MDC says it will only compete if international observers are allowed to monitor the election.

Peter Smith | April 17

CSM - The deployment follows annulled election results and reports of a rise in pirate attacks in the Niger Delta region.

Nigeria deployed troops in the southern state of Bayelsa on Tuesday after a court annulled the local election of its governor because of alleged irregularities. This comes as ongoing instability in the oil-rich region appears to be broadening to the waters around the Niger Delta, with a report this week citing the region as a hot spot for pirate activity. The reported rise of militant activity in recent years has cut the country's petroleum production by about 20 percent. That's helped send oil prices to all-time highs, analysts say.

Judge Saka Ibiyeye quashed the election of Bayelsa Gov. Timipre Sylva of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday, saying that Mr. Sylva failed to produce an authentic results sheet and could not prove an election for governor actually took place. After the court ruling, Reuters reports that soldiers were sent to the capital of Bayelsa state. (media roundup article)

Nairobi | April 17

AFP - Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga took oath Thursday at the head of a new coalition government after the east African nation's worst political crisis since independence which claimed hundreds of lives.

Odinga was the first to be sworn in before President Mwai Kibaki and former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, who mediated a power-sharing accord that curbed months of violence after contested elections in December.

The new government is made up of 93 ministers and assistant ministers, sparking complaints that it is far too bloated for a nation where 60 percent of the people earn less than a dollar a day.

Helene Cooper | Washington | April 17

NYT - The Bush administration could remove Sudan from an American list of state supporters of terrorism and normalize relations if the Sudanese government agreed, among other steps, to allow Thai and Nepalese peacekeepers in its Darfur region, says a document outlining the American negotiating position for talks with Sudan that began Wednesday.

The document was part of a series of negotiating papers exchanged between the governments in preparation for talks in Rome. They were provided to The New York Times by an American government official critical of the administration’s position.

Sudan has already promised to let United Nations peacekeepers operate within its borders, and human rights advocates and others say it would be a mistake for the United States to offer any new incentives until Sudan carries out that and other pledges.

“Given the fact that Khartoum has been involved in negotiations repeatedly over the years regarding Darfur and the comprehensive peace agreements and has signed documents and consistently failed to implement what they’ve signed, why are we discussing normalization with them?” said Roger Winter, a former Sudan negotiator at the State Department. Richard Williamson, the United States envoy to Sudan, is in Rome for the talks with Sudanese officials. The broad thrust of the American position has been known, but the negotiating papers provide new details about the positions staked out by each side as they try to resolve differences over Darfur.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - State hospitals in Sudan's capital Khartoum are to give free surgery to the poor, with the annual health budget of $230 million boosted by oil revenues to one of Africa's fastest growing economies.

Much of Sudan's population lives in sprawling slums around the capital without running water or electricity, having fled the regional conflicts that have beset Africa's biggest country for decades. Few can afford medical treatment.

"This is intended to try to help the poor," the governor of Khartoum state told Reuters, explaining the decision to offer free surgery to those without the money to pay for it. He said the health budget was 23 percent of the total state budget.

David Usborne & Colin Brown | New York | April 17

Independent - Gordon Brown used the world's top diplomatic table to accuse Robert Mugabe of trying to steal the election in Zimbabwe, increasing pressure on the regime and embarrassing the President's chief political protector, South Africa's Thabo Mbeki.

World leaders, gathered at the United Nations in New York yesterday, served notice to President Mbeki that they have lost patience with his repeated assertions that there remains "no crisis" in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Results of elections held there almost three weeks ago are still being withheld.

Britain and other Western countries used a special session of the Security Council, called by the South African leader who holds the chairmanship of the council, to call for the release of results that could spell an end to the 28-year rule of Mr Mugabe. They stopped just short of berating Mr Mbeki personally for his refusal to intervene directly.

** Mugabe has stolen poll win, Brown tells UN
** Gordon Brown: the world must stop Robert Mugabe stealing election

Uma Ramiah | Dakkar | April 17

VOA - Four people are dead and seven missing after a jet carrying officials from Equatorial Guinea's ruling political party plunged into the Gulf of Guinea Wednesday morning.

The plane crashed at sea while trying to land on the island of Annobon, a government spokesperson of the oil rich, tropical West African country said Wednesday.

Journalist Rodrigo Angue Nguema, in the capital Malabo, said passengers onboard were members of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema's Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea.

Equatorial Guinea's planes are blacklisted by the European Union on grounds of safety. They are not allowed to travel in EU airspace.

MacDonald Dzirutwe | Harare | April 15

Reuters - Soldiers and police fanned out across Zimbabwe on Tuesday ahead of a general strike called by the opposition to pressure officials to release the results of a presidential election.

Army trucks, some equipped with water cannons, moved through opposition strongholds around the capital Harare and riot police and other officers set up checkpoints.

"This is a routine security exercise," one police officer said at a checkpoint in a township controlled by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which has called on Zimbabweans to stay at home indefinitely.

** Zimbabwean officials fear prosecution if Mugabe loses