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The CEO of the World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) Danny Jordaan argued on Monday that, while it could not be denied that South Africa and Africa had serious social challenges and competing fiscal demands, it would be wrong to suggest that the 2010 FIFA World Cup was being hosted at the expense of the poor.

In Egypt, red meat has been taken off the menu at more than 1,000 restaurants and butcheries as they staged a one-day boycott in protest to soaring prices. Many Egyptians say they can not afford the 25 per cent leap in meat prices in the past month. Some say greed is a main reason for the problem and have called on the government to help resolve it. Al Jazeera's Amr El-Kahky reports from Cairo.

The Nile basin countries meeting in Egypt last week failed to reach an agreement on water-sharing because Egypt and Sudan refused to sign the new deal. Can there be a fair distribution of the Nile waters with Egypt claiming historical rights, while other downstream nations say they were not consulted? Could water disputes over the Nile spark a water war?

Scientists involved in the trial of a vaccine against malaria say they are optimistic they can defeat the disease. Early tests of the vaccine showed it could provide complete protection for some people. The scientists have now launched trials in Kenya to see if the vaccine is as effective in the wider population. There are over 300 million cases of malaria around the world each year and it claims more than one million lives. More than 90 per cent of cases are reported in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is the main cause of death and a major threat to children.

See the sights, sample the food, check out the hotels, compare the prices and sing along to the sound of the Soweto Spiritual Singers, as euronews journalist Chris Cummins takes us whirlwind trip round Jo'burg, to see what's on offer to fans travelling to the World Cup in June.... www.euronews.net/

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Zimbabwe's President Mugabe hold hands as the Iranian President begins a state visit to Zimbabwe

Many people in Kenya's sprawling slum of Kibera do not have toilets and often pay to use the few public toilets. But the toilets are closed at night and slum dwellers sometimes use plastic bags to dispose of their waste, which they dump on garbage skips. Now biodegradable bags intended to alleviate poor sanination and convert human waste into fertilizer have been introduced. Slum dwellers are buying the PeePoo bags, as the are called, and the people making them say they will reduce outbreaks of disease. Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi reports.

Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania are setting up a joint command heaquarters in southern Algeria to counter a growing al-Qaeda threat in the Sahara Desert region. The Algerian defence ministry announced on Wednesday the command headquarters will be based in the southern Algerian town of Tamanrasset.

Thirty years after becoming a nation, and 30 years after Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF came to power, Zimbabwe does not appear to have fulfilled the hopes that so many had at independence. Both ZANU PF and the MDC appear to be in a state of denial about the true condition of Zimbabwe at 30, and this cannot be the best way for the country to start its fourth decade as a nation.

"We are in Diepsloot a township just outside Johannesburg, 50 kilometres away is Soccer City where the grand opening ceremony and the final itself of the 2010 World Cup will take place, but we could be in another world." Security is a huge business in South Africa the affluent live in secure compounds, fenced off- invisible from the streets. In the very poorest areas a more basic and brutal form of law and order is in place.

france24english   —   REPORT - During Sudan's civil war, the safest passage between the north and south of the country was the Nile river. Most of the roads were heavily mined either by rebels in the south or by the government army. With the help of the United States much has been done to remove the mines and open the roads.

Racial tensions between black farm workers and their commonly white employers have heightened in South Africa since the murder of Eugene Terreblanche - the white supremacist leader - in the country's northwest. Two black farm workers, who were employees of Terreblanche, have been accused of murdering him over unpaid wages.

The European Union has agreed to monitor Ethiopia's elections in May, nearly five years after Addis Ababa accused the EU's chief observer in the last poll of helping to spark violence. The U.S.-based Carter Centre declined an invitation to observe, saying there was not enough time to prepare for the May 23 vote in the impoverished nation on the Horn of Africa .

Despite the boycott of numerous opposition groups, Sudan's elections are seen to be significant, marking the country's move from a military government to a democratic one. The polls are also being held as part of a peace deal that ended the civil war between the north and south of the country.

Sudanese refugees living in Kenya joined their counterparts in Sudan in voting, The refugees had an opportunity to vote at the Sudan embassy in Nairobi.The exercise started in the early morning hours and by midday already fifty voters had cast their votes.

Five years of planning and investment from the international community in Sudan culminates on Sunday when its people head to the polls. The presidential, parliamentary and local elections will be the country's first multi-party polls in 24 years. But it has been called a sham by critics as fighting persists in Darfur . Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall reports from Northern Darfur on how the security situation could affect voting.

As Sudan prepares for its first multi-party elections in 24 years, campaigning has been overshadowed by widespread allegations of irregularities. Some opposition parties have cited lack of access to balanced media coverage among reasons for boycotting the poll. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from Khartoum on how some Sudanese journalists say the government is manipulating media channels to shape public opinion ahead of the vote.

Right wing white supremacists today descended on the small South African town of Ventersdorp , where the court case of two farm workers accused of killing right-wing leader of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, Eugene Terre'blanche is to be heard. Terre'blanche who led the AWB, that pushed for the preservation of apartheid in the 1990s, was hacked and battered to death by two black farm workers in a suspected dispute over pay.

france24english — April 07, 2010 — SOUTH AFRICA - With the approaching World Cup , security forces are regularly demonstrating their strength. When extreme right-wing leader Eugene TerreBlanche was assassinated last weekend, the suspects were immediately arrested. The government sent a high-ranking delegation to the scene. The police, however, cannot fix everything......

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A South African court has charged two men with the murder of Eugene Terreblanche, the far-right, white supremacist leader, four days after he was beaten to death in Ventersdorp, a town in the country's northwest. The men, aged 15 and a 28, have been accused of killing Terreblanche over unpaid wages. They have also appeared in court on charges of house-breaking, attempted robbery and crimen injuria - which often refers to racial insult. Haru Mutasa reports from Ventersdorp, where tensions between black and white and white communities were quickly apparent outside the courtroom.

AlJazeeraEnglish — April 06, 2010 — South Sudan's main political party has announced a partial boycott of the elections scheduled for April 11. The Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has withdrawn its candidates from local and parliamentary polls in North Sudan.  A History of Modern Sudan

The killing of Eugene Terre'blanche, the South African white far-right leader, has raised fears of racial strains 16 years after the end of apartheid. With deep social and economic injustice, can the wounds of the past ever be healed? South Africa - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture

< object width="425" height="344"> ICC chief prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo is rolling up his sleeves as he prepares his date with Kenyans next month to begin probing prime suspects accused of planning and executing post election violence. And as the clock ticks away, religious leaders across the board have welcomed the latest move to serve justice. Yassin Juma takes as through the process at the Hague before the fate of the suspects of the post election violence is known.

Eugene Terreblanche, the South African white supremacist leader, has been killed on his farm in the country's northwest. The man whose very name spoke of the apartheid era - it translates as white earth - was one of the country's most polarising figures. Police have confirmed they now have two young men in custody, both of whom were farm workers employed by Terreblanche. They are suspected of bludgeoning him to death following an apparent dispute over wages. Palm World Voices - Mandela Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela, F.W. de Klerk, Eugene Terre'Blanche (…

At least 13 civilians have been killed and dozens more injured in clashes between Somali government troops and opposition forces in the capital Mogadishu. Military officials say the fighting began when al-Shabab rebels attacked government soldiers. The latest round of fighting began on Friday and follows a lull of about two weeks. Al Jazeera's Jim Spencer reports. ( Somalia: Horn of Africa, History of Somalia, Architecture of Somalia, Adal Sultanate, Ajuuraan State, Dervish State, Somali Civil War, Greater Somalia, Politics of Somalia, Xeer, Islamic Courts Union )

Culture and Customs of Senegal (Culture and Customs of Africa)