SmallShop....Africa News

Sowetan - News : "South Africa has a roll call of depressing incidents that have occurred recently. This week’s race row from the Free State and the Noord Street taxi rank gender abuse is just two cases amongst many. Here is a timeline of some of the events that have been making news in our educational institutions and in broader society...."

News24 : "Bloemfontein - Two students behind an alleged racist video in which five black university workers appear to be duped into eating food apparently tainted with urine have apologised and said they acted without malice. Roelof Malherbe and Schalk van der Merwe, who have been banned from the campus of the University of the Free State, said on Friday that although it appeared as if the food had been urinated on, a 'harmless' liquid had been squirted from a bottle. The video, which showed four middle-aged women and one man on their knees eating the food, has been seen around the world, exposing deep racial tensions in the country, more than a decade after racist white rule ended"

Nyasa Times "President Bingu wa Mutharika Wednesday convened a crisis cabinet meeting at Sanjika Palace to strategise on how the administration would respond to a growing maize crisis hitting almost all districts in the country, cabinet sources have revealed. The Malawi leader, who publicly proclaimed that Malawi will not beg for maize from donors, is battling ‘ghosts of the dead’ due to hunger in districts like Ntchisi as the majority cannot afford a 50 kilogrammes bag sold at K2 000 by private traders."

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE "RESIDENTS of Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos states will have to do without electricity from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) for 30 days due to the vandalism of electricity transmission lines supplying power to the states. The Minister of State for Power, Mrs. Balaraba Ibrahim, who said this on Thursday in Abuja, disclosed that unknown vandals had on Sunday, February 17, cut down with a saw, 330kv Tower No. 395 off Oko Baba near Abeokuta, Ogun State."

Daily Dispatch "THREE Transkei schools closed their doors yesterday so pupils could stage a protest outside a court where a a 33-year-old taxi owner was facing a child-rape charge. More than 500 pupils and teachers from Victory Christian School, Tsolo Residency Junior Secondary School and Rainbow Primary School gathered outside Tsolo Magistrate’s Court. Inside, the man, who cannot be named because it may also identify the under-age victim, made a third appearance accused of sexually abusing the 11-year old girl from Victory Christian School, a private institution."

Ghanaian Chronicle "It has been a festering sore point for the National Democratic Congress(NDC) candidate, Professor Mills, the question of his health. It exploded across the firmament again last week with renewed urgency, fired by no other than the Founder Flt Lt. JJ Rawlings(Rtd), a sharp political clairvoyant, who proposed the options available to the NDC, and decided to toss Professor Kwesi Botchwey, his foe who is now mellowing with age but never losing his perspicacity, into the boiling cauldron of NDC politics."

Freedom Newspaper "Concerns are being raised over the presence of 12 young girls, at the residence of an Englishman in Brikama,Sanchaba, amidst allegations that the girls were being exposed to alleged sexual exploitation. 7o year old British National Chris Allwright, who is hosting the girls at his Brikama home, has been known as a philanthropist in The Gambia. The girls continued presence at his house is raising eyebrows in some quarters. Mr. Allwright never responded to sexual exploitation enquiries earlier sent to him through his official email by our correspondent Wise Man. Our reporter wanted him to clear his name on allegations of an alleged pedophile activities. But up to the time of filing this report, Allwright was unreachable for comments."

Accra Daily Mail "Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have signed an agreement to end the country's post-election crisis. At a ceremony in Nairobi yesterday, the two men put their signatures to a power-sharing deal brokered by ex-UN head Kofi Annan. A coalition government comprising members of the current ruling party and opposition will now be formed. Some 1,500 people died in political violence after Mr Odinga said he was robbed of victory in December's polls."

Addis Fortune : "The First Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court last week froze properties belonging to WOW International Garment Factory in the latest chapter of the gold scandal saga at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). The Factory, which went operational a year ago, is among the holdings claimed to have been registered with Abdurshikur Mohammed Sofam, a businessman suspected of involvement in the scam. This is not the first time the Court has frozen properties of businessmen in relation to NBE’s unflattering disgrace. On January 3, 2008, it had frozen properties of six individuals and one company, which were accused of being accomplices to the businessmen that are suspected of swindling 158 million Br from the central bank supplying gold plated steel."

Ghana Today "Hohoe (V/R), Feb. 27, GNA - Inmates at Hohoe Police cell beat up a colleague for being so 'stupid' not to have taken some of the money that fell off as armed robbers escaped after looting a local bank. Six armed robbers on Tuesday evening attacked the Hohoe branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank and took away an unspecified amount of money. The robbers held Mr Solomon Osei Bonsu, the Branch Manager of the Bank, at gunpoint, matched him to the strong room at about 1850 hours and took away the money."

NewEra.com.na : "Economists expect a significant increase in the total revenue and a budget surplus due to the rise in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts, than projected for the 2008/9 financial year. RMB Namibia CEO, Martin Mwinga, said the Government is financially sound, running at a surplus, with a debt to GDP decline of 24 percent last year from close to 40 percent five years ago, and “has the capacity to borrow and enough capacity to repay”."

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation "About 40 customers of the Ghana Post Instant Money Transfer got stranded at the Adum Branch when authorities of the Post Office told them there was no money to pay them. One of the victims whose name has been withheld told our correspondent that the ladies at the counter left immediately after they told the customers that there was no money to pay them."

Cape Times : "Consumers were now forking out 13,4 percent more for a trolley-load of basic food items compared to a year ago, but there was hope that rapidly escalating food prices might level out during 2008, economists at the National Agricultural Marketing Committee said on Thursday."

The Weekly Observer "The Forum for Democratic Change has been forced to postpone its delegates’ conference earlier slated for February 2008 because the party has no money to fund it. In fact, the 8-point strategic plan prepared to help the party win the 2011 elections is failing due to lack of money and senior staff to implement it. Only about 20% of the activities scheduled under the ‘Strategic Framework’ which began in 2006 has been accomplished so far."

ZWNEWS.com "Johannesburg - Robert Mugabe is to blame for the suffering of the Zimbabwean people, his former ally and main rival for the presidency has said. Simba Makoni, 57, served in President Mugabe's government from the moment the country won independence from Britain in 1980. But his decision last month to challenge Mr Mugabe in the March 29 polls reflects a growing dissatisfaction among leading figures in the ruling Zanu PF party, who have grown tired of the 84-year-old president and baulk at his determination to remain in his post as the country rapidly disintegrates. Simba Makoni is anticipating a resounding win of 70 per cent . 'Zimbabwe is in the condition it is in because of a failure of leadership,' said Mr Makoni, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph."

The Boston Globe : "HARARE, Zimbabwe - Karonga Chakanetsa moved through the trash-strewn streets of Zimbabwe's decaying capital with the swift, easy grace of a predator. His prey? Soap. Cooking oil. Bread. Salt. If Zimbabweans need it, Chakanetsa buys it and sells it. With inflation exceeding 100,000 percent, the almost daily price increases are too dizzying for most shoppers to track."

allAfrica.com "Interim Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf assured the country's lawmakers Thursday that there is 'no dispute' with Prime Minister Nur 'Adde' Hassan Hussein. 'We do have differences in opinion,' President Yusuf admitted at parliament hall in Baidoa, but he dismissed media reports that a rift has developed between him and the Prime Minister."

Townhall.com:: "The two men who agreed Thursday to join in a coalition government to end Kenya's political crisis have a long history of friendship and betrayal. Opposition leader Raila Odinga's support was key to getting President Mwai Kibaki elected in 2002, But Kibaki later reneged on a promised power-sharing government with Odinga. A look at the men who must now run Kenya's government together:"

Reuters.com : "KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen have attacked a village in Darfur, killing about 20 civilians, a spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces said on Thursday. Raging violence has caused a breakdown of law and order in Darfur in western Sudan, with inter-tribal clashes and rebel infighting adding to the suffering of civilians."

Business Daily Africa "A new hope for Kenya was born yesterday after the Government and opposition reached a power-sharing deal, potentially ushering in an era of political stability critical for economic progress. The deal brings to an end two months of uncertainty following a dispute over the December 27 presidential vote that claimed over 1000 lives, displaced nearly a million people and disrupted productive economic activity."

The New Times "KIGALI - South African music legend Yvone Chaka Chaka has saluted the resilience of the victims of this month’s earthquakes in the western provincial districts of Rusizi and Nyamasheke. Chaka Chaka, who was earlier this week in Rwanda in her capacity as a Unicef goodwill ambassador, said those displaced and heavily affected by the earthquakes had shown determination to recover from the disaster. Two strong quakes hit the two districts hours apart on February 3 leaving close to forty people dead and destroying property whose value the Government has put at over Frw5 billion. Another person died days later after a third quake hit the same region."

Mail & Guardian Online : "Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing agreement on Thursday intended to end a post-election crisis that left 1 000 people dead. Crowds of onlookers clapped as the two rivals inked a deal at a televised ceremony to set up a coalition government and create a prime minister's post for Odinga after negotiations mediated by former UN chief Kofi Annan."

NTV takes a deeper look at the hinges of the current stalemate in the peace process and what it eventually means for Kenya

The Daily Star "MOGADISHU: Suspected Islamist insurgents killed a top Somali police officer in Mogadishu, a police spokesman said Tuesday. Armed men shot dead General Abdi Kahiye Farah - the head of Mogadishu's police academy - late Monday in a district south of the capital as he headed home. 'He was a great hero we lost,' police spokesman Abdullahi Omar Ibrahim told reporters."

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Fearing Assassination, Local Govt Official Resigns "A local government official in Somalia's capital Mogadishu resigned Tuesday fearing for his life, a day after his superior was shot and killed by suspected insurgents."

The Tide Online : "Outgoing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman and Ambassador-designate, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, in Obudu, Cross River, said that Nigeria has a good democracy. Ali who spoke at a retreat for new ambassadors, said that the alleged rigging in the 2007 elections was an exaggeration by the media. “The democratic credentials of Nigeria are superb; we have done very well. Look at what is happening in other African countries, including Kenya and Chad."

Daily News Egypt "CAIRO: Egypt's health ministry said Tuesday that a 4-year-old girl has tested positive for bird flu, bringing the number of diagnosed with the deadly H5N1 strain in the country to 44. The ministry said the girl, from the southern village of Sheik Massoud in Minya province, was admitted to a Cairo hospital for treatment, according to the official MENA news agency."

Daily News Egypt "CAIRO: Thirteen people were killed when their microbus fell into a canal in Cairo, a police official told AFP on Tuesday. The vehicle was forced off the road by a speeding car into the Maryutia canal on the road leading to the Saqqara pyramids late Monday, the official said. Each year about 6,000 people die and 30,000 are injured in road accidents in Egypt."

POZ - News : Egyptian Police Allegedly Hunt Positive People : "According to two international human rights groups, Egyptian police have allegedly arrested four more men suspected to be HIV positive and gay, reports the Associated Press (AP)/ FoxNews.com (foxnews.com, 2/26). Earlier this year, police arrested four men for “habitual practice of debauchery'—a term used in the Egyptian legal system to describe homosexual acts, reports the AP. The men were sentenced to a year in prison."

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE : "As the country gropes in the throes of election disputes and reversal of mandates, realism dictates we must begin to apply some brakes. No doubt, the courts have lived up to their image as the last arbiter of the common man by intervening decisively where the citizenry have been clearly robbed. In states like Kogi, Enugu , Kebbi and others, the courts have restored the confidence in the vote by annulling the false victories of the governors. In Anambra, justice smiled on Governor Peter Obi who not only retrieved his mandate after three years at the court, but also survived the gale of impeachment by the state’s House of Assembly and got his mandate extended to 2010."

allAfrica.com: "BY unanimous verdict, a five-member Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja yesterday dismissed the petitions filed by the presidential flag-bearer of the ANPP, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC), against the April 21, 2007 election of President Umaru Yar'Adua. The tribunal said the two petitions were bundles of allegations with shred evidence to prove them."

allAfrica.com: "The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has described yesterday's verdict of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal upholding President Umaru Yar'adua's election as a disaster. But former president Olusegun Obasanjo said the ruling has vindicated his administration."

Reuters.com : "DOUALA, Cameroon, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters marched in Cameroon's commercial capital Douala on Wednesday to demand bigger cuts in fuel and food costs after authorities made small fuel price reductions to try to end four days of rioting. At least six people have been killed in the unrest, the worst in more than 15 years in the central African oil producer."

ABC News: "NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday called off street protests that had been set to press the government to strike a power-sharing deal to end the country's post-election crisis. Odinga and President Mwai Kabaki have come under pressure from at home and abroad to compromise over Kibaki's disputed re-election in a December 27 vote, which sparked ethnic violence that killed 1,000 people and made 300,000 flee their homes."

Africast "Chad said a key opposition figure came out of hiding Friday and that his reappearance was a sign the government was not cracking down on dissidents after a coup attempt. Rights groups have accused the government of using the rebellion as a pretext to clamp down on journalists and arrest peaceful political rivals while doing little to address a growing humanitarian crisis on its eastern border with Sudan — where thousands fleeing violence in Darfur are out of reach of aid groups. Chad's Interior Minister played down such accusations Friday, noting that opposition figures who had gone missing have been returning on their own in good health."

Daily Trust "The decision by President Yar’Adua to nominate Justice Ogebe, the chairman of the presidential election petition tribunal, as a Supreme Court judge, less than a week to the tribunal’s ruling has drawn the ire of the opposition. Will it affect the verdict slated for Tuesday, February 26, 2008? Weekly Trust asks. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s letter in which he sought the Senate’s confirmation of Justice James Ogenyi Ogebe and Justice Saifullahi Muntaka Coomassie, as Supreme Court justices – promoting them from the Court of Appeal – did not contain much information other than on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, fill the vacancies created by the retirements of former Chief Justice, Alfa Modibbo Salihu Belgore and Justice Umaru Atu Kalgo."

Ghanaian Chronicle "SPECIAL AIDE to the former President Rawlings, Mr. Victor Emmanuel Smith has stated that the fact that his boss went to dine with President W. Bush at the invitation of President John Agyekum Kufuor does not mean that the former President would accept future invitations from him. According to him, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings accepted the invitation after refusing similar ones that were extended to him previously because he wanted to meet President Bush face to face to expose corruption and other misdeeds that are going on in the current government, a mission according to Victor Smith, ex president Rawlings accomplished."

KESSBENFM 93.3 "Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho, Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament on Thursday raised concerns about the absence of the Minister of Health to answer parliamentary questions on the health sector. He said the House needed an explanation as to why the Health Minister, and both two deputies were absent, without any explanation to offer answers to the questions meant for the Ministry. Mr. Kwabena Adusa Okerhcire, Deputy Majority Leader responded that the House had taken notice of the concern."

News24 : "Mogadishu - A roadside bomb killed three civilians and wounded five others on Saturday in an attack apparently meant for a passing convoy of Ethiopian troops in Somalia's war-battered capital, witnesses said. 'There were limbs and flesh everywhere,' said resident Abdulkadir Barre, who said he saw three bodies in the middle of the street. Among the dead were two sisters who ran a shop near the site of the explosion, he said. Another witness, Isse Osman, said he saw five others with serious injuries, one of them a student."

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: : "President Mwai Kibaki has commended the Government and all members of the Kofi Annan-led mediation group for the work they are doing."

Mugabe calls Makoni Prostitute : "HARARE--PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has described independent presidential aspirant, former Zanu-PF politburo member and finance minister, Simba Makoni as a political prostitute following Makoni's decision to present himself as an independent candidate in the presidential election set to be held concurrently with the parliamentary election on March 29, 2008."

Nyasa Times "I have decided to dedicate this entry to the memory a man who has never been in the news but whose philosophy still drives me four years after his death. If it wasn’t for this great philosopher, the man of vision and clan unity, I would have written about Henry Chimunthu Banda, my teenage friend, with whom I did everything that young men do. Don’t ask for details. Even if you hire 25 lawyers and take me to The Hague, I will not divulge any information. Even if you hire the CIA to torture me in Guantanamo, I will not say a word. Pepani. You see, Chimunthu Banda is one rare senior government minister who still relishes friendship and relationship. I have a lot of friends in the cabinet and in parliament. I have friends in the UDF, DPP, MDP, MCP, PPM and other equally important political parties."

allAfrica.com: "ODM has called for mass civil disobedience from Wednesday next week if the Annan-led talks fail to achieve tangible results. The party's Parliamentary Group also says it will not accept anything short of an executive Prime Minister."

The Times "BEITBRIDGE, Zimbabwe - Thousands of supporters of Zimbabwe’s veteran leader Robert Mugabe gathered today for a three trillion Zim-dollar birthday bash in the southern border town of Beitbridge. Mugabe is set to launch his campaign for a sixth term in power in a speech at the climax of his 84th birthday celebrations to boost his backers’ morale, affected by a crumbling economy with hyperinflation at a whopping 100,000 percent in January and chronic shortages of basic commodities."

Vanguard Online "The Election petition tribunal sitting in Makurdi has nullified the election of Senate President David Mark. Delivering a three-hour judgment, Justice C.I. Oriri declared that the results for Agagu and Okpokwu local government areas of Benue State, which were earlier cancelled by the returning officer, had disenfranchised 139, 466 voters from electing their representative. The tribunal said the results from seven other local government areas were not enough to produce a representative. It, therefore, ordered INEC to conduct fresh and credible elections in Agagu and Okpokwu local government areas within 60 days of the judgment."

Australian Broadcasting Corporation : "Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and government have signed a ceasefire, in another major step towards a final peace settlement to their two-decade war that mediators say may be signed next week. 'It is the laying down of arms. It is the end of the war,' UN envoy Joaquim Chissano said after the parties signed the 'permanent ceasefire' agreement during fast-progressing talks in southern Sudan's capital Juba." See Video report from Aljazeera

Reuters.com : "BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic President Francois Bozize has pardoned a newspaper editor who was jailed for six months for accusing government ministers of corruption, according to a decree published on Saturday. A court convicted Faustin Bambou, editor of the privately owned weekly Les Collines de l'Oubangui, in January of 'inciting revolt, insults and libel' over an article accusing two ministers of improperly receiving money from a French company."

The UN and Uganda's government have said a deal to end Africa's longest running conflict could come within a week. The government is negotiating a peace deal with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), after fighting in north Uganda has killed tens of thousands of people displaced more than 1.8 million. Sherine Tadros reports.

Reuters.com : "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded in Somalia's capital on Saturday, killing a young girl and a man, and narrowly missing an Ethiopian patrol. Witnesses said Somali troops opened fire after the bomb blast before sealing off the area in southern Mogadishu. 'A man who was constructing a building there and a 9-year-old girl who was selling tea were killed and five pedestrians were wounded,' witness Mohamed Mohamud told Reuters."

Times of Zambia : "THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) yesterday extended voting time in polling stations, which opened late to allow voters cast their ballots in the Kanyama constituency parliamentary by-election. And election officials at polling centres described the turnout as fair but said it could have been much better if there had been no rain in the morning."

ZWNEWS.com "While Zimbabwe collapses by the day, supporters of Robert Mugabe are preparing to spend almost R8 million to celebrate the dictator's 84th birthday today. The birthday bash is being held in the dusty, derelict town of Beit Bridge on the Zimbabwean side of the Limpopo just across the border from the thriving town of Musina, which is enjoying an unprecedented boom as Zimbabweans pour in to buy staple goods no longer available in their beleaguered country. For the past few weeks Beit Bridge has been undergoing a major spruce-up in preparation for the party and, for the first time in weeks, the town has had running water and electricity in a country which marked the dictator's actual birthday on Thursday with an official inflation rate of 100 000%. Supplies of the staple mealie meal have also been available in normal supermarkets for the first time. 'It's been like a Christmas present this last week,' said a long-term resident."

The Voice online "When The Voice team visited the police station, the seemingly agonised Gaotlhobogwe was carrying a back-pack that had a bowl and a pair of worn out sandals claiming that the rest of the property was with his partners in crime who were still at large. The weather-beaten Gaotlhobogwe, who claimed to be hearing voices in his head, also complained of his aching body that he said was giving him sleepless nights. He told the police that he had confessed to Musa who told him to report himself to the police before he could free him from the demons that were tormenting him."

The Standard "The headache of fine-tuning the function of the office of prime minister and the shape of a power-sharing Cabinet slowed down mediation talks even as local and international pressure mounted. But it was apparent that crossing the hurdle of the prime minister’s position was proving a harder task than it had sounded a day earlier, when lead mediator Dr Kofi Annan was quoted saying: 'I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.'"

The Namibian Newspaper : "'I stabbed her because she's the one who stabbed me first.' This was one of the explanations that murder suspect Johannes Amunyela (37) offered in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday for the stabbing that left his girlfriend, Aina Niita Shiimi (26), dead from 23 stab wounds at Olukango, a village in the Ondangwa area, on July 22 2004."

Monitor Online "This week Tuesday, February 19, marked five years since the death of a little Jewish chap you never heard about called Isser Harel. Though unknown to many people, Isser happens to be one of the most remarkable men in Israeli history; a man every bad-wisher of Israel did not like too much. Because of his size and also the existence of another Isser in the same precincts, Isser Harel was for many years called Isser the Little. An accomplished thinker and writer, Isser is however best remembered as the first director of the Mossad, Israel’s premier intelligence agency which is also considered the most efficient intelligence outfit in the world. For those who believe that spies are born, not made, Isser is your man."

The Herald : "CHINA and Zimbabwe yesterday signed a US$42 million loan facility for local agro-business concern Farmers’ World to implement the second phase of the farm mechanisation programme. Visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr Gao Hucheng, who jetted into the country this week, and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono signed the loan facility at State House."

shabelle.net "Shabelle.net/english-23.02.08-High tides wind rocked in the Somali southern coastal town of Marka the provincial capital of Lower Shabelle region that impeded the fishing works of the province on Saturday fishermen said. Fishermen told Shabelle English service that they have made momentary work-strike later than the tides of air stream speedily went towards the fishing shore. As well this powerful wind affected the fish selling markets and export fish companies of Marka town after they failed to get the fish they used to obtain a daily."

The New Times "KIGALI - Kenya’s Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka yesterday met with President Paul Kagame as the East African nation continues to search for a solution to the post-election crisis there. After more than four decades of stability, Kenya slid into political turmoil after President Mwai Kibaki was declared winner of the widely disputed December 27 poll, triggering off violence that has killed at least 1000 people. 'We have met President Kagame and he gave us a lot to work on especially regarding the system this country has chosen to lead the nation,' Musyoka said after his meeting with the President at Village Urugwiro."

IOL: "The 21-year old driver of the car involved in the crash in which soap star Ashley Callie was critically injured is riven with guilt and blames himself for her death - even though a police investigation has found the actress responsible. And some of the five youths who were in the car that collided with the actress's car are receiving trauma counselling. One of their parents said she was unsure if 'these children will ever get over the incident'. But the driver of the Renault, Nico Pretorius 21, who this week received a death threat - apparently from a twisted fan - has been worst affected."

SABCnews.com "Negotiators for Kenya's rival political parties consulted their bosses today and poured over a draft for a new prime minister's post to resolve a post-election crisis that has killed more than 1 000 people. 'The draft bill is being considered in smoke-filled rooms throughout the country,' government negotiator Mutula Kilonzo said. 'We should reach a deal by Wednesday latest.'"

SABCnews.com "State hospitals could be required by law, in future, to employ the services of traditional healers. That is according to Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. The Minister met traditional practitioners today to discuss the draft national policy that will regulate their profession. The Traditional Health Practitioners Act was passed in 2005. The aim is to integrate traditional healing into the mainstream health system. But traditional healers say it’s taking too long. They were assured today that the process will be speeded up."

SudanTribune article : "February 22, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The national body to review the constitution has decided to give Sudan’s peace partners further time to find out a joint position on the disputed articles in the elections law. The National Constitutional Review Commission has decided to postpone a meeting scheduled for Saturday February 23, to allow the National Congress Party and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to agree on the disputed article in the project of the electoral bill."

Reuters : "NAIROBI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Senior members of Kenya's athletics fraternity reacted indignantly on Thursday to an accusation they funded some of the worst post-election violence in the Rift Valley area. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report on Kenya's crisis that athletes -- who have become wealthy local celebrities thanks to their winnings on the international circuit -- may have sponsored the killers."

allAfrica.com: "Armed groups have shot dead in Afgoi district 30km from the capital the security commander-in-chief of that locality Mostafa Abdirahman on Thursday witnesses said. The killing incident of the commander happened in the district's animal market several minutes previous to he leaves from security meeting place following a man armed with revolver shot dead him."

Africast Global Africa Network "Gulf countries may enlist South African expertise in their plans to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Tuesday. Mohamed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah was speaking after talks with his South African counterpart, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. He said one of the issues they discussed was the opportunities offered by SA research into environmentally friendly nuclear technology, and the possibility of co-operation."

Daily Nation "Kofi Annan has met President Kibaki separately, before resuming the talks. The former UN chief had reconvened the mediation talks at Serena Hotel following a break on Monday."

Nationmedia.com "President George W Bush has urged African countries to fight malaria, the continent’s leading killer disease, through the use of treated bed nets. He said there was significant progress made in controlling the mosquito-borne disease with the use of bed nets treated with insecticides. The US president made the plea after visiting the Arumeru District Hospital in Tengeru on the outskirts of Arusha. During the visit, he distributed bed nets to patients. President Bush, who arrived at the hospital at 10.40am, said his government launched the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) in 2005 because it believed every human life was valuable."

Mail & Guardian Online : "Two South African men were arrested while trying to smuggle nearly R750-million worth of heroin into the country at the Beit Bridge border post from Zimbabwe, Limpopo police said on Tuesday."

THISDAY ONLINE : "President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s recent statement that he would not pay the over N244 billion debt that the Federal Government owes the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, may call to question his commitment to finding lasting solution to the nagging problems of the Niger Delta region. The reason he gave for his pronouncement is that the money has “expired.” The justification is not acceptable. This is more so because the action will rob the Niger Delta of the much-needed funds for its development."

Vanguard Online Edition : "THE atmosphere at the Army headquarters (AHQ), and the Defence headquarters (DHQ) complex in Abuja yesterday morning, was one of disbelief, gloom and shock when news filtered in that Brigadier General Solomon Giwa Amu, Director of Army Public Relations, and one-time Aide De Camp (ADC) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo during his first term had died in road accident. The amiable General who had left home as early as 6. 30am, was on his way to the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna to deliver a lecture when one of the front tyres of the vehicle in which he was travelling reportedly burst. The incident according to reports happened between 6. 30 and 7am, a few kilometres after Suleija on the Abuja-Kaduna road. The vehicle was said to had summersaulted severally with General Giwa Amu, being the only casualty. His body has been deposited at the National Hospital mortuary."

Mail & Guardian Online : "A Pretoria High Court judge ruled on Monday that a murderer and robber did not deserve life imprisonment because of his disadvantaged background and poor schooling. Acting Judge Legodi Phatudi sentenced 35-year-old Jeffrey Mogatla of Mamelodi East to 40 years imprisonment, of which he effectively has to serve about 19 years -- for the December 2000 murder and robbery of Mariana Bothma, at the time the director of the old Technikon Pretoria."

News24 : "Pretoria - 'As soon as I'm mobile again, I'm leaving this country,' says Razelle Botha of Moreleta Park in Pretoria. The star matric pupil was speaking on Monday shortly before she was discharged from Pretoria East Hospital. She was shot five times a fortnight ago during an armed robbery at her home in Norval Street. On Monday afternoon, Razelle was transferred to MuelMed-MediClinic, where she will receive intensive occupational therapy. Meanwhile, her mother, Cobie Botha, sent a letter about the crime situation to President Thabo Mbeki."

Vanguard Online Edition : "A TOTAL of $11.707 billion (about N1.369 trillion based on exchange rate of N117 to the US dollar) accrued to Nigeria from crude oil exports between December 2007 and the end of January 2008. Also last month, the 13-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 32.25 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil, a 220,000 b/d increase from December’s rate of 32.03 million b/d, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials has confirmed. In December 2007, Nigeria exported 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, amounting to 68.2 million barrels sold at $87.19 per barrel for delivery to consumers within the period under review."

Vanguard Online Edition : "OWERRI — The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has lamented that the poverty level in Nigeria is not only getting to a crisis point but also becoming dynastic. The CBN boss made the lamentation while delivering the 20th Convocation Lecture titled “Making Finance Work for the Poor”, in the Hall of Mercy, Federal University of Technology, Owerri. “Poverty is becoming dynastic. The poor cannot sleep because they are hungry, and the rich cannot sleep because the poor is awake. It would be in everybody’s interest to have an inclusive society”, Professor Soludo prescribed. Quoting the 2004 surveys, the CBN governor said that 54 percent of Nigerians still live in poverty, although down from about 70 percent less than a decade ago, in spite of significant growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the past five years."

International Herald Tribune : "LAGOS, Nigeria: Militants behind attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure have asked the United States and President George W. Bush to mediate to try to end a crisis that has seen foreign workers kidnapped and cut output of Africa's biggest producer. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, released a letter late Sunday asking for help in ending the years of unrest in the southern Niger Delta region."

allAfrica.com: : "CASH, goods and properties running into hundreds of millions of naira were destroyed in a Friday night inferno that gutted about three factories, two warehouses and several lock-up shops at Sadiku Street, Ilasamaja area of Mushin, Lagos. A popular fast food outlet in the area was also consumed by the fire."

IOL: "Lagos - Nigerian university lecturers began a week-long strike on Monday to protest the government's failure to reinstate dozens of colleagues sacked 14 years ago, a union leader said. The 49 lecturers from the University of Ilorin in central Nigeria were dismissed by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1994 for participating in a general strike. In 2007, the new civilian government of President Umaru Yar'Adua promised to reinstate them."

Reuters.com : "ABUJA (Reuters) - A wave of violence targeting Nigeria's oil facilities shows no sign of abating and may get worse, analysts and security experts say. Nearly a fifth of Nigeria's oil supply capacity, or some 515,000 barrels per day (bpd), is shut in due to violence in the Niger Delta region in southern Nigeria, where nearly all of the West African country's hydrocarbons are produced. However, high oil prices and tight global supplies are giving energy companies reason enough to stay put in Africa's top oil producer. 'What is happening now in the Niger Delta is bad, but it's not the worst it has ever been,' said Kissy Agyeman, Africa security analyst at Global Insight. 'The lure of the natural resources in Nigeria still outweigh the risk at the moment"

allAfrica.com: : "THERE is discord in the MDC-Tsvangirai camp over the alleged imposition of candidates in some constituencies by the party's leadership. Inside sources say Professor Heneri Dzinotyiwei was imposed in Budiriro constituency contrary to claims by the faction that he defeated incumbent legislator Mr Emmanuel Chisvuure in the primary elections. According to the sources, no primary elections were held in Budiriro as claimed by the camp's spokesperson Mr Nelson Chamisa."

allAfrica.com: "Thus has come to southern Africa in the SADC region, an enigma that defies all logical solutions, viz. Zimbabwe, or, as old man Vusa Mazulu Mutwa refers to it in African mythology, Zimabje, in reference to an age-old Kingdom of Monomotapa, whose demise left behind the awe-inspiring Zimbabwe Ruins. The enigma refers to the tough nut that Zimbabwe has become, defying neighbours and the world at large to call her to order, or even to give a word of caution. The authorities in Harare do not even contemplate asking their neighbours for assistance in economic expertise, but rather stoically, like old man Ian Smith himself, stick to their guns and prefer to go it alone"

iafrica.com : "Victor Nyamutowa, a 37-year-old Zimbabwean carpenter, gives prospective customers invoices declaring in distinct black print: 'This quotation is valid for 0 days.' 'If I am lenient and give people invoices that allow them to come back and buy when it's convenient for them, the money they bring will not be enough to buy new materials,' says Nyamutowa. 'I will be the loser in the end.' The carpenter, who owns a furniture workshop on the southern outskirts of Harare, knows customer credit is a luxury he cannot afford if he wants to keep his business running in a country with the world's highest rate of inflation."

The Standard "UNITED States President George W Bush on Thursday rebuked President Robert Mugabe as 'a discredited dictator' and wished 'the nightmare' caused by his leadership could be over. Speaking on his African policy ahead of his trip to five African nations, Bush said Zimbabweans deserved to have a better leader than Mugabe. 'In Zimbabwe, a discredited dictator presides over food shortages, staggering inflation, and harsh repression,' he said. 'The decent and talented people of that country deserve much better.' Bush said America would continue to support freedom in Zimbabwe."

afrika.no : "The Harare-based project said it noted with concern that the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation showed no sign of observing either Zimbabwean law or Southern African Development Community guidelines requiring it to provide fair and balanced coverage. Nor had it tried to publicise important voter information on the complicated electoral process. MMPZ said that last week ZTV devoted 37 minutes in its news bulletins to 'approving coverage' of the ruling Zanu-PF, compared to a combined total of just four minutes for the Movement for Democratic Change and the newly formed Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP). Although new presidential hopeful, former finance minister Simba Makoni, received 18 minutes on ZTV's news bulletins, this was overwhelmingly dominated by reports chastising him for breaking ranks with the ruling party and challenging President Robert Mugabe."

The Herald : "NEW York. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the outlook for the US economy is deteriorating. He said the housing and credit market turmoil had hit the economy and added that a weak labour market could further undermine consumer spending. Given the risks facing the economy, Mr Bernanke signalled that additional US interest rate cuts were likely."

The Herald : "A ROW is raging between Zimbabwe Platinum Mines and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority over nearly US$13 million being demanded by the national revenue collector in unpaid VAT. Implats, the largest shareholder in Zimplats, said last week Zimra was demanding US$12,9 million from the local platinum giant in VAT for the 22 months between January 2006 and October last year, in accordance with the amended VAT Act."

The Herald : "KAMPALA. FLOWER export earnings for 2007 surged by US$5 million to US$32 million from US$27 million the previous year. Juliet Musoke, the executive director of the Uganda Flower Exporters Association, said the hostile weather experienced last summer in Europe and South America had pushed up the prices. 'The bad weather in the major growing countries slowed down growth and affected the quality of their flowers. The prices went up because some countries could not meet the standards of the consumers.'"

Africast : "HARARE, February 17 -- Zimbabwean authorities are planning constitutional reforms to introduce stringent screening for presidential candidates in the coming elections, a state newspaper reported Sunday. The Sunday Mail quoted an unnamed government source as saying the move was to bar some 'presidential chancers' who were using legal loopholes to try their hand at taking over the reins of power from veteran President Robert Mugabe, in office since 1980. 'It seems anyone who wishes to participate in a presidential election can do so without the requisite structures as the law does not screen out such people,' the newspaper quoted the source as saying."

Mail & Guardian Online : "When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realise he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online. But within days the messages started coming in to Blackgayarab."

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE "THE Senate appears to be heading for a showdown with the Federal Government over the decision of the government to revoke the sale of NITEL to Transnational Corporation (Transcorp). The Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Ayo Arise, has faulted the decision of the Federal Government to reverse the sale of the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL), declaring that the reversal did not conform with international norms and standards. He said that the Senate might review the privatisation law if it was discovered that there was a breach by the government in effecting the reversal of the sale of NITEL."

The Sun News On-line : "Is Pastor Ifeanyi Iheanacho a kind-hearted deliverance minister genuinely called by God to deliver psychiatric patients from the sprit of madness? Or is the man a pathological sadist who delights in subjecting mentally retarded patients to physical abuse and psychological trauma? These are the puzzles now agitating the minds of the inhabitants of Sabon Gidan Kanar, a community in Jos South Local Government area of Plateau State, even as men and officers of the Plateau State Police Command will be attempting to unravel the mysteries in the days and weeks ahead."

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: : "US secretary of state Condollezza Rice is in the country to bolster efforts aimed at ending the nation's post-election crisis with a message from US president Bush. Bush says Rice will be bolstering efforts by Kofi Annan, the former UN chief, to mediate a lasting political solution to one of the darkest chapters in Kenya's post-independence history. Rice is scheduled to hold talks with president Mwai Kibaki, ODM leader Raila Odinga as well as former UN boss Koffi Annan who is leading the ongoing mediation talks."

Gono claims escaped arrest in December : "ZIMBABWE’S central bank governor has sensationally claimed that political rivals within the ruling Zanu PF party hatched a plan to have him arrested during his vacation in December on allegations he helped a private firm siphon $21 trillion from the national fiscus. Rserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono said he had been vindicated by a court ruling last week which absolved the central bank of any impropriety in releasing $21 trillion to a local company which had promised to exchange it for scarce foreign currency."

Times of Zambia : "GOVERNMENT has started airlifting relief food to flood victims in Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi districts. Zambia Air Force (ZAF) with officials from the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) have set up a base at Choma Airstrip for the relief exercise. Choma District Commissioner, Mungoni Simulilika who flagged off the exercise yesterday, said about 700 x 25 kilogramme bags of mealie meal, food supplements and other relief items would be airlifted from Choma to Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi districts in an exercise that is expected to last about three days. ZAF is using a fixed wing cargo plane to transport the relief food to Namwala where it was again being offloaded and dispatched by helicopters to earmarked areas."

~~~ The Voice online edition "If former Maun Chief Magistrate, Tshegofatso Mogomotsi, had her way, all teenagers who have had sex with their young girlfriends would be in jail. That seemed to be the chilling implication behind her judgment as three years into his prison sentence, details of the case against him emerged when Goabaone Goitse’s appeal came before the Francistown High Court this week. Lawyers representing the young man have branded the original trial as ‘seriously flawed,’ and have described magistrate’s Mogomotsi’s crushing 12-year sentence as a travesty of justice. The debate on whether juvenile sex should be decriminalized came to the fore at the Francistown High court this week in an appeal case involving a teenage boy who was sentenced to a 12-year jail term for having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend."

The Standard "Thirty-seven Mungiki suspects were arrested taking an oath after a bust up in Nairobi’s Kayole estate. More than 200 others who had taken the oath escaped because the officers who had laid the ambush were few. The suspects, who included a class seven pupil, said they were taking an oath before they could be taken to Rift Valley for an 'event' they did not know. Meanwhile, it emerged that a special police squad that had cracked down on the sect had been secretly disbanded."

New Vision Online "President Yoweri Museveni has warned the Baganda to stop using the Kabaka to fight the NRM Government, according to a press release from State House. “I would strongly advise you to stop using His Highness the Kabaka to fight political battles against the NRM,” Museveni said. “We are experienced people. We shall defend ourselves.” Museveni made the remarks on Saturday during an eight-hour meeting on the proposed land bill with members of the Buganda Parliamentary Caucus at State House, Entebbe."

Floods raise food fears : "NAMIBIA needs to brace for the possibility of 'severe food shortages' in the wake of the floods in north-central Namibia, President Hifikepunye Pohamba warned in Windhoek on Friday. The President said not only had the floods disrupted economic activities and schooling, they had prevented subsistence farmers from planting crops for winter harvests on time. Speaking at the annual New Year's reception at State House for the diplomatic corps, Cabinet ministers and international organisations, Pohamba said the flooded mahangu, maize and sorghum fields 'are likely to lead to severe food shortages."

Monitor Online "FOLLOWING an Ebola attack that killed 37 people, infected many more and led to a near-total shutdown of the economy in western Uganda, the government is preparing to officially declare the country Ebola-free on Wednesday. The move will signal a sigh of relief from officials who feared the highly infectious disease would spread beyond the Bundibugyo region where it started among people living on the hills of the Rwenzori Mountains. 'So many people have been affected, it is important to be able to say the epidemic is over,' Dr. Sam Zaramba, director general of health services at the Ministry of Health said yesterday. 'We will go to Bundibugyo to have a celebration [on the 20th].'"

The Herald : "THE ruling Zanu-PF has taken an early lead in parliamentary elections after two of its candidates won unopposed in Mashonaland Central Province as the ruling party mulls primary reruns in some constituencies where more than one candidate successfully filed nomination papers. Zanu-PF candidates Cde Edward Raradza and Cde Damien Mumvuri were unopposed when they filed their nomination papers in Muzarabani South House of Assembly and Rushinga Senate constituencies respectively at the Nomination Court that sat in Bindura at the weekend."

Ethiopian Reporter "While some opposition parties are raising concern over “unfair” election procedures, 25 political parties are preparing to field over four million candidates for the upcoming elections, which would be held in April this year. According to information gathered from the National Electoral Board, except for the Somali Regional State, all candidates are expected to contest elections across the nation. Eight parties in Addis Ababa, seven in Oromia, six in the Southern Region, four in Amhara, three in Afar and Dire Dawa respectively have fielded their candidates. Tigray and Gambella are represented by single - party candidates."

Vanguard Online Edition : "THE non-payment of N6 billion soldiers consolidated salary arrears may have forced the postponement of the Nigerian Army range classification (shooting) exercise and several other programmes in the calender of events of the army. Vanguard gathered that following repeated complaints by soldiers the army authorities decided to shift the shooting exercise until after the payment of the arrears. Defence sources told Vanguard that indications to the dangerous trend soldiers and officers particularly of some ranks viewed the non-payment of the arrears emerged at the shooting range of the army located at the Guards Brigade Battalion in Keffi, Nassarawa state."

IOL: "Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa confessed on Monday that the prospects for 2008 were bleak. But, in his penultimate State of the Province address, he quoted the recent comments of iBurst MD Allan Knott-Craig and told residents of the province: 'Don't panic. I think 2008 will be a tough year, but I also see it as a great opportunity to seize the day while everyone else is whingeing, and get a front seat on the inevitable boom we'll experience in 2009, 2010 and beyond.'"

Attempts to clean up 400 tonnes of poisonous waste dumped at 11 sites in and around Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast, have failed. Those who live and work near the dumping grounds are getting seriously ill. Haru Mutasa reports.

Africast : "HARARE, February 16 -- Zimbabwe's former Finance Minister, Simba Makoni, says he is confident of beating President Robert Mugabe in next month's election. 'We will have a landslide victory in this presidential election,' he said. Speaking to the BBC on the day he officially put forward his candidature, Mr Makoni said that he would offer the people 'renewal and regeneration'. In recent years, under President Mugabe, Zimbabwe has undergone an economic collapse. Inflation is now running at more than 60,000%. Mr Makoni was sounding confident, but his promise of a landslide victory looks overly optimistic."

NewEra.com.na : "Thus has come to southern Africa in the SADC region, an enigma that defies all logical solutions, viz. Zimbabwe, or, as old man Vusa Mazulu Mutwa refers to it in African mythology, Zimabje, in reference to an age-old Kingdom of Monomotapa, whose demise left behind the awe-inspiring Zimbabwe Ruins. The enigma refers to the tough nut that Zimbabwe has become, defying neighbours and the world at large to call her to order, or even to give a word of caution. The authorities in Harare do not even contemplate asking their neighbours for assistance in economic expertise, but rather stoically, like old man Ian Smith himself, stick to their guns and prefer to go it alone."

Newsnet : "The ruling Zanu-PF party says it is now ready for the March 2008 harmonised elections as all its candidates have been selected and are fully prepared. Speaking to ZBC News in Harare, the Zanu-PF Secretary for the Commissariat and Culture, Cde Elliot Manyika said all constituencies and wards have handed in their list of candidates."

THISDAY ONLINE : "have always admired Mr. Eniola Bello, the Managing Director of THISDAY Newspapers for one thing. He is a man of few words. And that applies to whether he is conversing or writing. He however ensures that those few words pack enough punch to bite so hard on anyone at the receiving end. With those few words while writing on the back page of this paper, he has spoken the truth to those in power and made them uncomfortable."

International Herald Tribune : "LUANDA, Angola: Angola has extradited to Nigeria a man believed to be a leader of a Nigerian militant group that has attacked foreign oil installations, officials said Friday."

Reuters : "N'DJAMENA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Gunmen in eastern Chad have prevented the United Nations from moving newly-arrived refugees from Sudan's Darfur region away from a volatile border area and into camps, the world body said on Friday. U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said armed men stopped a group of families from boarding its trucks in the Birak border area this week and other refugees due to be collected had moved away for fear of attacks by Sudanese militias."

CNN.com : "NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Kofi Annan, mediating talks between bitter Kenyan political rivals, said Friday that major progress is being made in forging a political deal that will end the crisis in the East African country."

allAfrica.com: "Protests against fares charged by private transport operators broke out on Thursday in Manjacaze district, in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza. According to a report in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily 'Noticias', residents of the administrative post of Chidenguele threw up barricades on the main road, in protest against increased fares"

Valentine's Day boosts Ethiopia’s cut flower demand : "In the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, Ethiopia exports six planeloads, or more than 2 million stems of cut flowers, daily, to the international market, Reuters reported. 'Red roses are what lovers give so we pay more attention to them at this time of year.' Tsegaye Abebe owner of ET Highland Flora told Reuters. While flowers account for only 1 percent of Ethiopia's GDP, they are one of the most visible signs of a fast-growing economy that is becoming less reliant on its traditional coffee exports, the report said."

Reuters.com : "N'DJAMENA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Chad's President Idriss Deby appointed a close ally as defence minister on Friday as soldiers and police imposed a security crackdown across the country following a rebel attack on the capital two weeks ago. Humanitarian workers said insecurity in the central African country was hampering their efforts to help refugees from Sudan's Darfur region, underlining the urgent need for a European Union peacekeeping force (EUFOR) to deploy."

allAfrica.com: "Two Nigerian nationals who had been arrested by Angola's national police over alleged trafficking of arms and explosives in the country to carry out terrorist activities in the world were extradited Thursday from Luanda."

allAfrica.com: "Renewed military action against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) would be an option if peace talks between the insurgency and the Ugandan government did not lead to an agreement by the end of February, a spokesman for the state delegation said. 'The February 29 deadline is still on and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that [the] government has no plans of renewing or announcing other deadlines,' Captain Chris Magezi told IRIN on 13 February. 'After the expiry of the deadline, the government will have an array of options, including the military option,' he said."

NPR: "Kenya's feuding political factions have agreed to an independent review of a disputed December election that prompted bloody unrest, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday. Annan, chief mediator, said a power-sharing agreement has not been worked out, but that negotiators are making progress."

Mail & Guardian Online : "Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba must stand trial on charges of stealing almost half a million dollars from the Southern African country while he was its leader, a court ruled on Friday. Magistrate Jones Chinyama set the trial date for Chiluba, who stands charged of theft of public funds with two Lusaka businessmen, for May 5. Chiluba denies any wrongdoing."

International Herald Tribune : "WASHINGTON: The United States has economic, political and security interests in Africa. More and more, President Bush has personal ones. Heading into his second trip to the continent, Bush was pressed by radio reporters from the region about what was really driving his agenda. He spoke of instilling hope and opportunity as an alternative to extremism, a familiar theme for him. But he also spoke about a moral imperative — his country's and his own."

Mail & Guardian Online : "Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan said on Friday that a deal to end Kenya's post-election turmoil was 'very close' and voiced hope that the 'last difficult and frightening step' would be taken next week. Annan has been leading talks between negotiators for President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition to end weeks of violence since a disputed December 27 election in which more than 1 000 people have died."

Africast Global Africa Network : "CAIRO, February 14 -- A leading member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas entered Egypt from Gaza on Thursday to resume talks with the Egyptian government on arrangements at the border, a security source said. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Gazan who was Palestinian foreign minister in a short-lived government led by Hamas, crossed with about four other Hamas officials and headed for the coastal town of El Arish, the capital of the Egyptian border province."

BBC NEWS "The Kenyan government has ordered an investigation into claims that radio stations broadcast hate speeches during the disputed presidential elections."

IRIN "KOUSSERI, 14 February 2008 (IRIN) - Fighting ended in Chad’s capital N'djamena almost a week ago but many of the tens of thousands of Chadians who sought refuge across the River Chari in northern Cameroon say they are not planning to return for now. “We are afraid to go back,” 20-year-old N'djamena resident Patrice Djerane who is camping out near the dusty border town of Kousseri, told IRIN. He went there with his mother while his father remains in N'djamena keeping the family abreast of conditions there. “We’ll go back when peace comes. Until then, we’ll wait.”"

BBC NEWS "The Anglican Church in Uganda is to boycott the Lambeth Conference, a meeting of the world's Anglican bishops held once every 10 years. The move is in protest at invitations being sent to bishops who condone active homosexuality."

THISDAY ONLINE : "Fair-weather-warning on a “Harmattan” Thursday in Lagos : This page retorts mainly on politics. But I veer freely, and without compunction, into airports. Feel free to skip me this week and go straight to other pages if you cannot stand the pranks of a Virgin that threatens to pull a beautiful airport terminal down. I understand.

BBC NEWS "Chad's government says it will continue house-to-house searches to seek rebels in the capital, N'Djamena, following a coup attempt earlier this month. A BBC correspondent says the raids have terrorised parts of N'Djamena. Interior Minister Mahamat Ahmat Bachir was speaking after dozens of alleged rebels, many of them children, were paraded in front of journalists."

Mail & Guardian Online : "African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma was in Mauritius on Wednesday in connection with the corruption case he faces. Zuma's lawyer, Michael Hulley, confirmed by telephone from the Indian Ocean island that his client was meeting with legal representatives about documents held in Mauritius that allegedly contain proof of bribes being solicited. 'Unfortunately, I can't give further details,' Hulley said."

Nationmedia.com "An MP told his colleagues that they risked being replaced by warloads following the post election violence that gripped the country. Members should find an amicable solution to the political crisis, Naivasha MP John Mututho warned on Tuesday. He told the Speaker’s Kamukunji, addressed by chief mediator Kofi Annan, that the more than 200 lawmakers should not take for granted the peace that had flourished in the country since independence."