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In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city and an opposition stronghold, many are hoping the elections will bring about change. Haru Mutsa reports. (more) Added: March 31, 2008 In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city and an opposition stronghold, many are hoping the elections will bring about change. Haru Mutsa reports

Despite their country's severe economic problems, many voters in Zimbabawe chose not to go to the polls on Saturday. Among them were thousands of people displaced during President Robert Mugabe's so-called "clean-up" operation in 2005. The project moved an estimated 300,000 people from slums. But as Haru Mutasa reports, many are still waiting for their promised new home.

IOL: "In a family killing that shocked emergency services personnel, a father shot three children and a housekeeper, then himself at a Hazelmere, Verulam home. Reaction Unit SA spokesperson Prem Balram said the Canelands house was 'full of blood and one of the most horrific sights I have yet come across'."

The Times : "Once more, the presidential elections in Zimbabwe have become the most important story in the world’s electronic and print media. It is as if all media are run by one editor who has a strict editorial policy that no one is allowed to veer away from. The world is being driven in one direction that seems to suggest that democracy in Zimbabwe is only possible if President Robert Mugabe is defeated in the elections. The people of Zimbabwe are being completely disregarded, and their democratic rights completely undermined by forces that claim to be on their side."

Scotland on Sunday : "AS THE clocks gained an hour last night in Britain, we can only hope that, hundreds of miles away, Zimbabwe was taking a much greater leap forward. The people of that benighted African nation were yesterday at the polls, deciding their own future and that of their leader for 28 increasingly brutal years. Hopefully, that election will see Robert Mugabe tossed on to the political scrapheap."

Telegraph : "'This time round we'll finish him off,' said one middle aged woman, queuing along with at least 1,000 others to vote at a polling station in a tent in the town of Chitungwiza 20 miles south of Harare. Tendai Biti, secretary general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, claimed victory. 'We've won this election,' he told The Sunday Telegraph"

Yahoo! News : "Voting slips were being counted at the 9,000 polling booths where ballots were cast on Saturday, not only for a president of the troubled southern African nation but members of a 210-strong parliament as well as councillors."

Reuters : "HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition said on Sunday it had won the most crucial election since independence but President Robert Mugabe's government warned its opponents that premature victory claims would amount to an attempted coup. Tendai Biti, secretary general of the main MDC opposition party, told diplomats and observers overnight that early results posted at polling stations showed the MDC was victorious. 'We have won this election, we have won this election,' he said."

Business Report "Johannesburg - Zimbabwe is experiencing an unprecedented flight of skills from both the private and public sectors to countries such as South Africa, Botswana, the UK, Australia and the US. The intensifying brain drain is fuelled by a crumbling economy and increasing demand for skilled labour in South Africa."

News24 : "Harare - The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Sunday claimed an early lead ahead of the official announcement of results from the general election where veteran leader Robert Mugabe is fighting for an extended rule."

Mugabe, beware the Ides of March : "President Mugabe must, surely, wonder whether March 29th represents his own version of the Ides of March, as he faces the sternest challenge to his long reign by fierce adversaries in Morgan Tsvangirai and Simba Makoni."

Bomb explodes at Zanu PF candidate's home : "THE air of tense calm as Zimbabweans voted in general elections on Saturday was pierced by a bomb attack on the home of a Zanu PF election candidate in Emakhandeni suburb, a working class township in the second largest city of Bulawayo. Judith Mkwanda, who is running for MP, was targeted by unknown assailants while she slept at 2AM Saturday - a petrol bomb shattering windows and rupturing a section of the roof."

Zimbabweans queue for hours to cast votes : "Zimbabweans queued for hours today to vote in elections that present President Robert Mugabe with his toughest political challenge in 28 years in power. Voting was generally reported as peaceful with some complaints of irregularities and minor violence."

globeandmail.com: "Marondera, Zimbabwe — Robert Wilson got into line at 3 a.m. for a bus to take him to the polling station, then walked six kilometres from the bus stop to get to the ballot box in this rural area, and six km back to the main road. A nurse named Margaret stood for six hours in a snaking line at a regional elections centre to try to find out why her name wasn't on the voters' roll, and where she could go to cast her ballot."

Reuters.com : "UMGUZA, Zimbabwe, March 29 (Reuters) - Like many other Zimbabweans, villager Betty Sithuthu's main hope is that Saturday's elections will help put more food on her table. 'We just hope that this voting of ours will change the way that we are living here,' said 35-year-old Sithuthu after casting her vote at Gadade village in Umguza in the southern Matabeleland province, an opposition stronghold."

General - redOrbit : "HARARE -President Robert Mugabe again rejected charges he plans to rig today's vote, telling his last campaign rally he had no reason to steal an election he is set to win overwhelmingly. The opposition has said Mugabe would have to rig in order to win in the face of a debilitating economic crisis that has spawned hyperinflation, poverty and hunger making his government almost unelectable."

Voting ends in Zimbabwe election : "HARARE (Reuters) - Voting ended on Saturday in Zimbabwe's most crucial election since independence in 1980. Polling stations closed around 7 p.m. (12:00 p.m EDT) after 12 hours of voting in presidential, parliamentary and local elections which many Zimbabweans hope will reverse the country's economic collapse under veteran President Robert Mugabe."

Sir David is joined by Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, to discuss Zimbabwe's forthcoming election. He says that while the elections may not be free and fair, he is optimistic of success.

Mail & Guardian Online : "African observers charged on Saturday that they had discovered fraudulent voters rolls in the Zimbabwe election, listing more than 8 000 apparently non-existent people. Marwick Khumalo, head of the Pan-African Parliament, said that in one Harare constituency, 'It has been brought to our attention that out of the 24 678 registered voters more than 8 450 have been registered under block 081083 ... which is a deserted land with a few scattered wooden sheds.'"

Shabelle Media Network : "The chairman of Asmara based Somali reliberation organization Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has met with Mohamed Qanyare Afrah one ofSomali’s ousted warlords in Nairobi the capital of Kenya on Saturday-officials said. The meeting between the two former opponents has happened at a Hotel resided in by Sheikh sharif when Mohamed Qanyare has visited Sharif where they started the meeting after minutes of smiling. It’s yet unknown the agenda of Sharif and Qanyare’s talks although they appeared to have disregarded their previous antagonism."

The Namibian Newspaper : "MULTIPLE murder suspect Sylvester Beukes told a Police officer that his brother and co-accused tried to use diesel to set on fire some of the eight people massacred at a Kalkrand area farm three years ago, it has been claimed in the most recent testimony heard in the Kareeboomvloer farm massacre trial."

New Vision Online "Alex Bashasha, the lead counsel yesterday said: “We have appealed against everything in that judgement. You cannot be acquitted on all the other counts and be convicted on one. On the other counts, they said he was not involved, how come he was convicted on the other allegations.”"

The Standard "The jolt in the negotiations between President Kibaki and Prime Minister designate Raila Odinga has taken Kenya back into the anxious mood of 2003. Then, the National Rainbow Coalition, fresh from whitewashing Kanu, was captive of hidden wars on the sharing out of Cabinet positions. Fanning the fires of suspicion between politicians brought together by mutual hate for Kanu’s rule was the weight and number of ministries each side got. Today the circumstances of the moment, and parties could be different, but the personalities and the undercurrents are the same."

Times of Zambia : "THE Taskforce on corruption yesterday recorded a warn and caution statement from second Republican president, Frederick Chiluba, over his alleged involvement in the Carlington Maize deal in which the country lost US$7.8 million. Dr Chiluba, who arrived at the Taskforce offices in Woodlands at 10:40 hours, was accompanied by his wife Regina, lawyer Robert Simeza, former Foreign Affairs deputy minister, Valentine Kayope, and spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba."

Nyasa Times "Angry residents from squatter location Ntandile in the capital city, Lilongwe took a dead body of a five month old child to the offices of Mota-engil Construction Company at the city center to force authorities there to provide the necessary requirements to transport the dead to their home, Ntchisi. The dead child whose father works for the company as a Cook to one of the white managers was brought to company premises after negotiations to find an amicable solution had failed. The father, Leonard Kacheula said gaffer of Mota Engil, which is enjoying business contracts from government, demanded a death certificate of the child to assist."

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE : "FORMER Minister of Finance, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Thursday revealed to members of the House of Representatives panel probing the alleged misuse of power project fund how former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government spent N220.4 billion on the energy sector in two years."

The Sun News On-line : "In March last year, stiff opposition to the candidacy of Admiral Murtala Nyako threatened the unity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Adamawa State. The governorship primaries slated to produce a candidate for the party among the many aspirants jostling to become governor of the state was suddenly aborted."

News24 : "Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe reiterated his promise to respect the outcome of Saturday's presidential, parliamentary and local government elections, in which he faces the strongest challenge yet to his 28-year rule. 'I cannot sleep with my conscience if there is any cheating,' the 84-year-old leader said after casting his vote in Highfield township in Harare, dressed in a sober grey suit."

Arushatimes : "As rain pounded the dark brown soil, former female circumcisers of Monduli District waded into the mud soaked Nanja section of Lepurko village, to surrender their work tools to the Arusha Regional Administrators. They were 20 of them, all elderly women who had turned up at the open air ceremony to mark the ‘White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood’ an event which was observed at Regional level in Sepeko ward of Monduli District. “We have discovered that practicing female genital mutilation not only risked our daughters’ lives through excessive bleeding, but also exposed them to other infectious diseases such as HIV-Aids because a single razor normally used to operate up to ten girls at a time,” said the Maasai ladies who apparently couldn’t speak in Swahili, so their speech had to be translated by one Margaret Konga."

Daily Dispatch : "ZIMBABWE’S army and police were placed on full alert on the eve of the country’s general election as security chiefs vowed to thwart any Kenya-style violence in the poll’s aftermath. “The defence and security forces of Zimbabwe are on full alert from now onwards covering the election period and beyond,” said Augustine Chihuri, commissioner-general of the police, in a statement read on behalf of the country’s security chiefs yesterday."

Nationmedia.com "President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga on Friday appeared to be moving even further apart on sharing Cabinet positions and the number of ministers to be named in a grand coalition government."

Freedom Newspaper "Declaring the new legislative session open Friday, Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh warns the country’s opposition to desist from actions that might undermine the country’s peace and stability."

Ghanaian Chronicle "The Manhyia constituency Executives of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) has come under intense pressure following leakage of reports of alleged attempts to disqualify one of the parliamentary aspirants in the constituency. Dr. Mathew Prempeh, a 39-year-old medical doctor and grandson of President Kufuor, who is contesting the seat on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party, has complained vehemently by what he describes as moves by some constituency executives to thwart his ambition of becoming the MP for the area."

Daily Trust "As a state with a history of violence goes to polls, hopes for a peaceful and hitch-free re-election are not yet definite as security forces troop in. After today, perhaps the soul of the troubled Kogi State will finally find peace. Weekly Trust reports. As the people of Kogi State return to the polling stations today for the second time in about a year to elect a governor, recent occurrences have pointed at the possibility of low voter turnout. Since February 6, the date of the appeal court judgment for a re-run of governorship election in Kogi State, the Peoples Democratic (PDP) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) have returned to the drawing board to perfect strategies for capturing power."

Daily Observer : "President Dr Alhaji Yahya Jammeh will today, Friday March 28 at 5p.m., open the 2008 Second Legislative year at the National Assembly Chambers in Banjul. This is in fulfillment of a constitutional requirement. The annual constitutional event will be attended by Vice President Njie-Saidy, secretaries of state, members of the diplomatic community, chiefs and other distinguish personalities."

Ghana Today "THE AUTHENTICITY of reports that Gafaru Abdul Rahman Mustapha, an 18-year-old form three student of Adisadal College in Cape Coast had jumped from the fourth floor of one of the school buildings, landed on his head and died on the spot, has been questioned"

WOW Gambia : "Reports reaching this paper have it that the former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (N I A), Mr Pa Jallow, has passed away at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH)."

AfricaNews "Zimbabweans have been calmly casting their votes contradicting the pessimistic predictions that poll would run out of hand. Speaking on phone to AfricaNews from Harare at 14:00 GMT, reporter Charles Moyo said that the election was more peaceful than expected."

NewEra.com.na : "The Secretary General of the Namibia Nurses Union (NANU), Abner Shopati, claims that the nurses who attended to a baby that was bitten by a snake at the Katutura Hospital acted professionally in the execution of their duty. Shopati said the blame should instead go to a non-registered Zambian doctor who was on duty on the specific day and not to the nurses."

Sunday Citizen Newspaper : "South Africa yesterday reiterated its opposition to the invasion of Anjouan Island in the Comoros by the Tanzania-led Africa Union (AU) forces, saying it would lodge a formal protest at the next Heads of State Summit.

The Observer Media Ltd. "Was the Libyan leader’s visit to Buganda Kingdom orchestrated to ‘back stab’ and embarrass his host, President Museveni? There are indicators that the eccentric Col. Muammar Gaddafi decided to visit Museveni’s apparent political foes to get back at him for not supporting the colonel’s plan to form one African government. The relationship between Museveni and Gaddafi has taken a nosedive since 2005 when the former reneged on supporting the latter’s campaign for one African government. President Museveni instead backed South African President Thabo Mbeki’s view of forming an economic union first."

Daily News : "We don't rig elections. I cannot sleep with my conscience if I have rigged,' the 84-year-old said as he cast his ballot in Harare. Large queues had gathered outside the polling stations in the capital by the time they opened, but apathy reigned in other parts of the country. There was no immediate figure for the turnout after polls closed at 7pm, although about 5,9 million people were entitled to vote for the president as well as members of the 210 seat parliament and local councils."

Ethiomedia : "MOGADISHU, Somalia — The trouble started when government soldiers went to the market and, at gunpoint, began to help themselves to sacks of grain last week. Islamist insurgents poured into the streets to defend the merchants. The government troops took heavy casualties and retreated all the way back to the presidential palace, supposedly the most secure place in the city. It, too, came under fire."

Ethiopian Review : "NAIROBI, Kenya The teenager awoke under a pile of corpses to a pricking sensation on her face. Ants were biting her eyelids and the inside of her mouth. The pain, however, brought relief to the 17-year-old. “I thought, I’m alive,’ ” Ridwan Hassan Sahid remembers. She felt blood oozing from rope burns around her neck and the weight of a body against her back. But fearing that the Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers who had left her for dead in a roadside ditch would return, she quickly brushed away the ants, shut her eyes and slipped back into unconsciousness."

Daily News Egypt : "42-year-old Mohamed Gomaa Hassan Dahshoury was taken by a police patrol from his used items shop in Kamin, Fayoum. One month later his battered body was lying in a hospital morgue. Seven months further on, and it has not been removed, nor will it be, say his family, until there is a transparent and just investigation into the cause of his death."

Polity :: "Zimbabwe's security forces have been put on full alert to quash any violence at Saturday's general election and will not let candidates declare victory before official results, the police chief said on Friday."

The Punch: "The police in Lagos on Friday arrested a 45-year-old man, Sunday Taiwo, with six decomposing human heads and male genitals." The police also arrested another man, Abayomi Simeon, with 13 bags of Indian hemp and 20 pieces of electronic gadgets including television sets, mobile phone sets and CD players. Both men were arrested at different times by police patrols in the Mushin area of Lagos.

Claims of planned vote rigging and electoral fraud have abounded in the build-up to Zimbabwe's elections.Al Jazeera's Kamahl Santamaria reports from Harare on the accusation that the electoral role contains thousands of "ghost voters".

Women may make up the majority of Zimbabwe's registered voters but few of them are in positions of leadership. As the country's election nears, a non-governmental organisation is driving a push to represent women better.

Zimbabwe's economy has long been a contentious issue, with annual inflation running at 100,000 per cent, the highest in the world. The government has tried to increase output by giving farmers free tractors, but critics say the machinery amounts to a bribe ahead of elections. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa went to Matebeleland to hear about one farmer's daily struggle.

THISDAY ONLINE : "As the House Committee on Power and Steel probing power sector funding between 1999 to 2007 meets tomorrow to consider over 80 exhibits presented to it during its public hearing, more revelations have emerged on how the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, waived due process for payments and made anticipatory approvals for the power projects."

Africast Global Africa Network- News : "Somalia's interim prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, has met elders of the Hawiye clan, who are influential in the capital, as part of his peace efforts. He discussed his recently-outlined plan to restore stability. Both sides described the meeting as a stepping stone towards reconciliation. It is not clear how much influence the elders have with the insurgents."

Reuters.com : "NAIROBI, March 25 (Reuters) - Earnings from Kenya's horticulture sector, which is the largest exporter of cut flowers to Europe, soared 63 percent in 2007 to overtake tourism as the country's leading foreign exchange earner. The central bank reported on Tuesday that the Kenyan horticulture industry, which also produces fruit and vegetables, earned 70.3 billion shillings ($1.12 billion) from exports in 2007. This beat tourism, which earned an estimated 65.4 billion shillings last year, according to the Kenya Tourist Board."

Pretoria News : "Four people - including two children - died in a shack fire in Cape Town on Tuesday morning, said the city's disaster risk management centre. The fire swept through the KTC informal settlement, in Nyanga, at 3am, destroying at least 120 shacks, said spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-Johannes."

(Magharebia.com) : "Two days after both countries concluded the latest round of talks in New York with the Polisario Front over Western Sahara, Morocco called for the opening of its shared border with Algeria and the normalisation of relations between the two nations."

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse reports on the challenges by the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai and ex-minister Simba Makoni to Robert Mugabe's rule

The Herald : "PEOPLE should go out in large numbers on Saturday and vote for Zanu-PF as voting for the opposition MDC is tantamount to wasting votes, President Mugabe said yesterday. Addressing thousands of people at Stanley Square in Makokoba, Bulawayo, President Mugabe said there was no way the MDC could be allowed to rule this country as it is led by puppets of Western countries who would reverse the gains of the country’s independence."

Nyasa Times - "President Bingu Mutharika ordered the demolition of the Islamic stature, which was elected by ASUMU, a Moslem organization in commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) at old town round about in the capital, Lilongwe. The stature built every year at the old town Mosque in commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) known as Muwld el Nabi, was demolished by Lilongwe City Assembly Muslim workers at gun point by security forces, eye witnesses said."

eircom net "HARARE (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean opposition leader on Sunday told supporters to keep a close watch on polling stations in Saturday's election to stop what he said was a bid by President Robert Mugabe's government to rig the vote. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the larger faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), charged that Mugabe had stolen past elections but vowed that his fractured party would fight any fraud in the March 29 vote."

IOL: "Angolan's sacrifices would forever remain etched in the history of the South African liberation struggle, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. Speaking at the 20th commemoration of the Cuito Cuanavale battle in Angola, Zuma paid tribute to the heroes and heroines of Angola, Cuba and Namibia who fought there."

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: : "A 13 - year - old pupil died in Chalbi district after the mud house he was sheltering in collapsed following flash floods in the area. Area OCPD Francis Sang said 1,600 families have been left homeless. 16 classrooms at the Bubisa Primary School and 8 staff houses at Bubisa dispensary were also destroyed in the floods. Sang said the victim had fled from the school compound and sought refuge at a nearby house that later caved in on him due to strong winds."

Nationmedia.com "Ugandan authorities have repatriated seven suspected members of the Sabaot Land Defence Force amid reports that the top leaders of the militia may have fled the country just days before the military operation was launched."

The Standard "Top civil servants over 55 years are in the crosshairs after they were earmarked for axing under the new power-sharing pact, The Standard can report. On Thursday, plans to retire all ‘grey-haired’ permanent secretaries, parastatal heads and other senior civil servants were being finalised to give way for youthful faces. The purge is expected any time now, but not before the announcement of the new Cabinet that is expected early next week. The Standard has reliably learnt that to fulfil the real power-sharing agreement, ODM had presented their demands to President Kibaki that a good chunk of public jobs should be set aside for heads hunted by the party."

New Vision Online "Bishops have advised Ugandans to ignore Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gadaffi’s comments that the Bible was doctored and, therefore, fake. The Bible is genuine and original and instead Gadaffi should do more research, the prelates insisted after a crisis meeting over the remarks yesterday. The Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), which represents the three mainstream churches: Catholic, Church of Uganda and the Orthodox, said it would issue a statement over the matter. Speaking at Nakivubo Stadium on Wednesday, where he led thousands of Muslims who celebrated the birth of Prophet Muhammed, Gadaffi asserted that the Bible was not the one revealed to Jesus and the Old Testament was not the one which Moses received from Allah."

Guardian Newspapers : "FORMER Labour leader Adams Oshiomhole scored a major political victory yesterday as the Edo State gubernatorial election tribunal sitting in Benin City declared him the rightful winner of the April 14, 2007 governorship polls. It was also a remarkable triumph for his party, the Action Congress (AC), as it claimed a second state, after Lagos. In a six-hour judgment, the tribunal ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Certificate of Return on which strength Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been the state governor should be withdrawn from him and given to the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president."

The Punch: "Sloganeering is one of the wiliest tools used by politicians to hoodwink us. It is amazing how gullible we have become in the face of promises made by successive governments – empty promises that are powered by slogans."

The Punch: "The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission, Alhaji Hamman Tukur, told the House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel on Thursday that former President Olusegun Obasanjo made “illegal deductions” from the Federation Account to fund power projects."

afrol News "Nigerian cinema is expected to be showcased in a Nollywood Nights festival in the Atlanta, United States at the weekend. Organised by the Women of Colour Arts & Film (WOCAF), the 'Nollywood Nights' segment is dedicated to the growing Nigerian film industry [Nollywood]. It will showcase several popular Nigerian films: The Narrow Path, by celebrated Nigerian director Tunde Kelani; Catch Them Young by Awoba Bob Manuel, Ìràpadà [Redemption] by Kunle Afolayan and Osanle by Abimbola Ogunsanya."

ireland.com "The High Court has granted Nigerian woman Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters an injunction preventing their deportation pending a judicial review of the case. Mr Justice John Edwards granted Ms Izevbekhai an injunction on the grounds that her lawyers are seeking to challenge a decision by the Department of Justice, which stated that she did not have grounds to seek a subsidiary protection order to allow her to remain in this country."

Reuters : "LAGOS, March 20 (Reuters) - A Nigerian court annulled the election of a state governor on Thursday, the eighth such ruling since polls marred by fraud and violence shook Africa's most populous nation almost a year ago. The tribunal in the southern state of Edo cancelled the election of Governor Oserheimen Osunbor of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and declared his rival Adams Oshiomhole the rightful winner, Nigeria's official news agency said."

Reuters.com : "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents in Somalia say their inclusion on a U.S. terrorism list will help recruiting and has spurred them to strengthen ties with other groups blacklisted by Washington. 'We were not terrorists,' rebel commander Mukhtar Ali Robow told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location."

Mugabe fails to pay promised salaries to teachers : "THE cash-strapped Zimbabwe government which approved a hefty salary hike for striking teachers two weeks ago failed to pay the new salaries as civil servants got their pay on Wednesday, union officials said. President Robert Mugabe announced that he had authorised the massive pay out to teachers and other civil servants after teachers went on strike last month protesting against low salaries."

The Times "KAMPALA - In shielding rebels from the International Criminal Court, Uganda’s government may also be seeking to avoid international scrutiny of its own role in two decades of bloodshed, analysts say. The government is negotiating an uneasy agreement with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group that has waged 20 years of war here and now wants to be pardoned by both the government and the Hague-based criminal court."

EUX.TV "LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (EUX.TV) -- Zambia Member of Parliament Chosani Njobvu unexpectedly passed away here on Wednesday while attending a joint meeting of parliaments in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and the European Union. According to the organizers, Mr Njobvu was found dead in his Ljubljana hotel room on Wednesday morning. The cause of death remains to formally established."

MSN News "MOUNT ELGON, Kenya (Reuters) - Church leader Wycliffe Masibo describes seeing an elderly member of his flock whipped to death during a Kenyan army search for militiamen in his remote mountain village. Having made all the men lie on the floor, soldiers kicked and hit them, demanding they tell them where guns were kept and suspects were hiding, he and others from Chongoywo village on the slopes of Mount Elgon told a visiting reporter."

The Herald : "Government will soon enact legislation that will make it compulsory for presidential candidates to have the backing of a particular political party, as some politicians, that include independent presidential aspirant Simba Makoni, were taking advantage of such loopholes to divide votes. Addressing thousands of Zanu-PF supporters at a rally at Rudhaka Stadium in Marondera yesterday, President Mugabe said there were flaws in the current legislation with regard to candidates who wanted to stand in a presidential election."

Insurgents Force Ethiopian Soldiers to Vacate Army Base : "Heavy fighting erupted in the Somali capital early Wednesday morning after Islamist rebels attacked an Ethiopian army base in northern Mogadishu, our correspondent reported. At least six people - three Ethiopian soldiers and three insurgents - have been confirmed dead during the battle, which lasted for nearly five hours, according to witnesses."

Mugabe threatens so-called white profiteers : "President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has said white-owned companies found to be 'profiteering' will be the first to be taken over by his government. At a rally attended by thousands of supporters in the central town of Kadoma, the 84-year-old president condemned a recent spate of price hikes, which he said were intended to erode pay increases given to civil servants last week."

Mail & Guardian Online : "A fresh batch of African Union (AU) troops arrived on the Comoros island of Moheli on Friday, joining Comoran forces massed for a military offensive to retake the rebel island of Anjouan. The Indian Ocean archipelago -- between Madagascar and Mozambique -- did not recognise the re-election of Anjouan leader Colonel Mohamed Bacar in June 2007 and a tense stand-off is now poised to turn into an AU-backed invasion of the island."

globeandmail.com: "JOHANNESBURG — A peace deal to end the civil war that has held northern Ugandan hostage for decades is set to be signed in less than two weeks, amid much fanfare from the Western donors pushing the process. But few observers - including, critically, the civilian population of the north - seem convinced either that the deal will be signed as scheduled on March 28, or if it is, that it will represent a true end to the savage conflict."

The Herald : "PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday commissioned 186 houses of the Nissen Housing Project in Rimuka, Kadoma, as part of Government’s programme to provide low-cost housing for all in line with Millennium Development Goal Number 7. The project — a partnership between the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Government — saw the demolition of the old Nissen ‘‘Misanayenzou’’ houses, so named because their leaky roofs resembled the humped backs of elephants."

The Voice "It is rather sad how the cost of living keeps going higher and higher. It has come to a point where most of the population feels fragile and prone to all sorts of poverty diseases. One can only wonder what 2010 will be like let alone vision 2016, if we make it in one piece. Amidst high inflation, marginal government salary increase, the exploitation in the private sector and the increasing costs of basic necessities, we all must survive.

The Standard "The final pieces of the power-sharing jigsaw started falling into place with the gazettement of the requisite law to create the Office of Prime Minister and two deputies. But in the background of intense lobbying and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring by key players over the new Grand Coalition, two puzzles remained to be tackled: What ministries would go to PNU and which ones to newfound partner ODM; and who would be the new office holders. Already, ODM leader Raila Odinga is the presumed Prime Minister but his two deputies remain unknown, though Mr Musalia Mudavadi is widely tipped to occupy one of them."

The Times "A third State witness described his former boss Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride as 'the mafia' and 'a liar'. Testifying in the Pretoria Regional Court today, former metro police officer Patrick Johnson referred to McBride as 'the mafia','a liar', and someone he was afraid of. He told the court that on the day of McBride’s December 2006 accident, he had taken down details of the accident scene in a notebook he had in his possession."

Nyasa Times "Malawi government has ordered the Mainland China charge d’affairs Fan Guijin to leave the country, Nyasa Times has learnt. President Bingu Mutharika is said to have ordered the deportation of Chinese envoy ahead of his State Visit to Beijing next week, government and Chinese sources have said. 'Our Charge d’affairs has been given deportation orders,' said a source at the China embassy in Lilongwe."

News24 : "Pretoria - Law enforcement agencies in different provinces are expected to crackdown on lawlessness this weekend as holidaymakers make their way to their vacation destinations. By noon on Thursday, high traffic volumes were already being experienced on the country's highways, notably the N1 highway between Gauteng and Limpopo, on the N3 between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and the M1 between Gauteng and Bloemfontein."

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: : "Perpetrators of atrocities against humanity that gripped the country during and after the disputed general election will not be given amnesty. Members of the mediation team however said petty offenders such as demonstrators might be spared."

The Sun News On-line : "Even as the country is yet to recover from the shocking revelations at the on-going public hearing on the power sector where mind-boggling amounts of money were expended by the last administration, another scandal is brewing at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Abuja over fertilizer deal. A highly placed source confirmed that the ministry is enmeshed in a N63 billion scandal involving a total of 650,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer earmarked for this year’s farming season across the country. The contract is said to have been awarded, at worrisome terms, to three companies out of the over 30 that handled same in the past."

Freedom Newspaper Online : "Many said the President is sick. Everyone is talking again. Our sister Neneh Macdowl Gaye was not even spared by Jilanka. How about Jaliba Grey Johnson? Why the sackings? What actually went wrong? There are more questions than answers. The President really needs help. The load is too heavy for him to carry. He felt betrayed by his colleagues. He has sacked until he has nothing to sack. Jilanka has taken a new approach to his endless sackings. He does not send you home like that. If you are lucky, you might be redeployed to the diplomatic front, otherwise expect economic crime charges."

Nationmedia.com "Twenty-two people were killed during cattle raids in Baringo East and Samburu districts as fresh violence erupted in parts of Rift Valley. Among the victims were seven members of one family who were killed in Lokodi village, Baringo East. Five of the other casualties were the family’s neighbours while five others were bandits who were felled by police bullets. In the Samburu attack, five people were killed on Tuesday night. Over 200 raiders, suspected to be from either Turkana or Samburu districts, stole more than 200 animals in the Baringo raid. Many of those injured in the attack were children and they were taken to Kabarnet District Hospital for treatment. Among them were two children aged eight and 11 who were shot on the elbow and the knee respectively."

Accra Daily Mail - Online : "The Federation of Muslim Councils (FMC) has called for restraint, following the death of a student at Adisadel College in Cape Coast. In a statement issued in Accra yesterday, the Federation appealed to the Ghana Education Service “to enforce the regulation which allow school authorities to sanctify the religious freedom of all students without hindrance.” The statement was signed by Hajj A. W. Showumi, National Coordinator. Below is the full text."

Ghana Today : "A Ghanaian woman who was removed from a Cardiff hospital where she was receiving cancer treatment and flown home after her visa expired has died. Ama Sumani, 39, passed away in Accra, Ghana, hours after being told that friends and family had found doctors in the UK and South Africa to treat her. They had also raised more than £70,000 from donations to pay for drugs which were not available in her home country."

WOW Gambia : "The driver of a Pegasso truck that ploughed into a crowd of APRC militants on January 13, killing 10 people and leaving some hospitalised, on Monday, appeared before Magistrate Ayoub John Njie of the Brikama Magistrates Court. Alhagie Badjie faces 12 charges, causing deaths, driving with defective tires, and driving without efficient brake system. However, the accused pleaded not of guilty of charges. According to the prosecution, Alhagie Badjie on 13th January, 2008, at Serrekundanding Village, Kombo Central, drove a Pegasso truck in a rash and negligent manner without having regard for the circumstances of the road, thereby causing the death of Alieu Ceesay."

NewEra.com.na : "The multi-billion-dollar electric Trans-Kalahari railway line is going ahead as planned and may be operational by the end of next year. Due to problems in electricity supply in the region, plans are that Falcon Resources Holdings, the holding company of the consortium of companies involved in the project, will build its own power station."

Sunday Citizen Newspaper : "Members of Parliament yesterday stunned the Government by rejecting the proposed Electricity Bill for the second time. The MPs, who were attending a seminar in Dar es Salaam, vehemently opposed plans by the Government to table the Bill, that would lead to enactment of a new Electricity law to liberalise the sector. The proposed law is intended to end the long monopoly enjoyed by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) in power transmission and distribution. Members of Parliament yesterday stunned the Government by rejecting the proposed Electricity Bill for the second time. The MPs, who were attending a seminar in Dar es Salaam, vehemently opposed plans by the Government to table the Bill, that would lead to enactment of a new Electricity law to liberalise the sector. The proposed law is intended to end the long monopoly enjoyed by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) in power transmission and distribution."

The Weekly Observer "President Museveni’s desire to keep a tight leash on the army - his main source of power - and an attempt to ward off accusations of nepotism and tribalism, could have influenced the recent unprecedented army promotions and appointments. The months of February and March have seen President Museveni, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, promote and appoint more than 100 officers to various higher ranks and offices."

The News Online : "The Government of Liberia has condemned in the strongest term the protest action of hundreds of Liberian refugees who are residents of Buduburam Refugee camp near Accra in the Republic of Ghana. In a statement issued Tuesday, the Government indicated that it will never condone illegal and inappropriate behavior of its nationals against the laws of any state; “equally the government cannot remain oblivious in a case where her citizens cause such unjustifiable upheaval, especially in a country that continues to graciously host Liberian refugees”."

The Namibia Economist "We must be in for good times when Good Friday coincides with Independence Day. Never before has our national day fallen on this holiest of holidays. It is against a background of severe uncertainty that we approach the beginning of our 19th year as an independent nation. For the world's big economies, a rollercoaster ride is expected up until August. For us I am hoping for a smoother ride. This is not hope against hope, it is based on a rational appraisal of where we stand, the challenges we face, and the initiatives we come up with to safeguard our stability and prosperity."

Mmegi Online "Rumours are rife that the purchase of a new P1.8 million luxury mobile caravan by the Office of President may be intended for Vice President, Ian Khama, who takes over from President Festus Mogae next month. The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board released a public notice in the government owned 'The Daily News' yesterday, indicating that the OP has purchased an executive mobile caravan from Naledi Motors."

leadershipnigeria.com "In his bid to reposition the party, the national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, has dissolved the governing board of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI). The dissolution of the 12-member body, which was inaugurated in February this year, was an indication that the new national chairman wants to start on a clean state. The dissolved board had two representatives from each of the six geo-political zones in the country. One of the appointees was the wife of the immediate"

::- Cameroon-Tribune : Le Quotidien National Bilingue -:: : "It’s funny the way some people can easily be duped. Yesterday in Yaounde, a lady was robbed of FCFA three million when she sought to have the money doubled. The story is pathetic, but at the same time brings out the idiocy and greed of the woman. As she narrated her ordeal to who ever cared to listen, many onlookers left the scene with the impression that she either has the brain of a grasshopper, is completely cut off from societal realities or was hypnotised!"

Daily News : "The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) warned on Thursday that poverty, crime and racism posed a serious threat to the country's long-term stability. The SAHRC said poverty and inequality were the gravest human rights concerns for the country."

Capital : "Police have seized a staggering two million dollars in hard currency with an illegal money changer and 13 million birr in cash with another trader in an unexpected police raid, where several alleged illegal traders were arrested. The individual with 13 million birr in cash was caught on Thursday March 13, around American Gibi in a place called Beteseb Supermarket. The hard currency was also taken as evidence. Some said that the amount seized during the raid could be over six million dollars including the amount apprehended in Ethiopian birr. Furthermore, Addis Ababa Police has taken into custody over 35 illegal traders in connection with foreign currency exchanges that police claims has contributed to the current destabilization of prices in the country."

The Black and White Of Civil Disobedience and Armed Struggle Are We in the Gray Area? : "Despotic governments all over the world almost always face resistance. The forms of resistance range from civil disobedience to armed struggle. Philosophers and activists have argued for and against both kind of resistance. Their bases for the argument are the severity of casualties, the length of time elapse, and requirement of resources among others. The objective is the effectiveness of the resistance which by itself is a base for the argument."

Ethiopian Review : "The top general of Woyanne's occupation army in Somalia, Tagay Gabre (also known as 'the Black Graziani'), might have been cowering under his desk tonight as Somali freedom fighters chased out his mercenary troops out of their Mogadishu military camp."

Daily News Egypt : "CAIRO: The Nubian Club announced it will be organizing a conference March 22 in Aswan to discuss the repatriation of Egyptian Nubians around Lake Nasser."

The Tide Online : "The increasing wave of kidnapping of toddlers in Port Harcourt and its environs is now giving the police in Rivers State a sleepless night. Barely a few days after the release of two children of a former chairman of Etche local government area, Hon Ephraim Nwuzi abducted on their way to school, another toddler has been reportedly kidnapped by gunmen along Obi Wali Road, Rumuigbo in the outskirts of Port Harcourt."

ZWNEWS.com "Harare - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission on Wednesday said conditions in Zimbabwe were conducive for next week's general polls. 'The moment is right to hold elections, the climate is right to hold elections,' head of SADC's electoral observer mission Jose Marcos Barrica said at a news conference in Harare."

polity.org.za : "Higher global food and fuel prices pose new policy challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa because food represents a larger share of what poorer consumers buy, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. Food inflation in Africa was currently 2.8 percentage points higher than headline inflation, the IMF said. It suggested that figure could be higher since the latest increases in food prices had not yet been reflected in consumer price index data."

IOL: "Mogadishu - Ten Nigerian army officers arrived on Thursday to assess conditions ahead of a troop deployment to bolster an undermanned African Union peacekeeping force, an official said. The officers held talks with officials from the embattled Somali government and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) in the capital Mogadishu, where security forces are battling Islamist rebels."

Reuters : "ELDORET, Kenya, March 20 (Reuters) - An influential Kenyan elder accused of masterminding post-election ethnic violence has denied any involvement and accused authorities of a witch-hunt against his Kalenjin community. 'I am an old man, my age does not allow me to go to war,' said Jackson Kibor, 73, chairman of elders in the Rift Valley for the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) that challenged the government at a December poll."

Straddling the Arab North and African South, Sudan's Abyei region is traditionally seen as a cultural crossroads. Arabs and Africans have mixed freely there for centuries. But as the North and South wrestle for control of the oil-rich region, the issue of ethnic identity is dividing its people

Chadians from the capital discuss their plight

iafrica.com "Former president Nelson Mandela's home in Soweto, which is a heritage site, will undergo major restoration and will be reopened in October, it was announced on Tuesday. 8115 Orlando West was home to the Mandela family for more that 30 years. The property, now owned and managed by the Soweto Heritage Trust, was declared a National Monument in 1999 and has become a leading Gauteng attraction, visited by thousands of people every year."

IOL: "Niamey - Tuareg rebels in the west African nation of Niger have killed a police officer and a republican guard in an attack 200 kilometres north of the capital Niamey, the government said late on Monday. One other police officer was missing in the attack staged by 'armed bandits' at Banibangou on Sunday, the security ministry said. The Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ) Tuareg rebel group put out an Internet statement claiming that three security officials died in the attack."

Gaddafi says Africans must reject conditional aid : "Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urged African governments on Monday to reject Western aid that came with conditions, saying world powers were trying to dictate democratic standards on the world's poorest continent. Gaddafi is visiting Uganda to address an Afro-Arab conference of 5,000 youths that he sponsored, and to formally open a huge new mosque in the capital Kampala. 'They colonised us and now they're coming with their aid, you should reject it. Any aid with conditions should be rejected,' he told cheering crowds through an interpreter."

ZWNEWS.com "Zimbabwe has the highest proportion of elderly voters in the world, according to the voters' roll being used for elections next week. A glance at one page of the roll yesterday for a ward in the Mount Pleasant suburb of Harare turned up a Fodias Kunyepa, who was born in 1901. Over the page was Rebecca Armstrong, born 1900. Somewhat younger was Desmond Lardner-Burke, born 1909, who was the notorious Minister for Justice in the rebel Rhodesian Government and responsible for the harassment, arrest and detention without trial of tens of thousands of black nationalists, including President Mugabe, fighting against white rule in the 1960s and 1970s."