LIBERIA: Thousands flee Monrovia's western suburbs   MONROVIA, 19 July (IRIN) - Thousands of terrified civilians on Saturday headed for the centre of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, fleeing the city's western suburbs as fighting between Liberian government soldiers and rebels escalated around Virginia and St. Paul Bridge, 10 km from the city centre. Full report

LIBERIA: UN sending ship to accommodate Monrovia staff   DAKAR, 19 July (IRIN) - The UN World Food Programme is sending a ship to the Liberian capital, Monrovia, which will serve as a floating hotel for upto 32 UN international staff who will be able to work on shore by day and retreat to the safety of the ship at night, Carolyn McAskie, deputy director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Friday. Full report

LIBERIA: ECOWAS prepares to deploy intervention force   ACCRA, 18 July (IRIN) - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has began initial moves to deploy a vanguard force of peacekeepers into Liberia amid reports that rebels fighting to topple President Charles Taylor had advanced to the Po River, 17 km west of the capital, Monrovia. Full report

DRC: Ministers from former rebel movements refuse oath of office   KINSHSA, 18 July (IRIN) - Transitional government officials designate from the two principal former rebel movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo refused to take the oath of office on Friday because it included swearing allegiance to President Joseph Kabila. Full report

AFGHANISTAN: NATO prepares to take ISAF command   ISLAMABAD, 18 July (IRIN) - The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - is preparing to take over the command of the UN-mandated 4,500-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan on 11 August. More than 50 NATO troops are already setting up their headquarters in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Full report

ZAMBIA: Agreement with US on ICC extradition   JOHANNESBURG, 18 July (IRIN) - Zambia this month signed a bilateral agreement with the United States not to extradite US citizens accused of war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC), a US embassy official told IRIN on Friday. Full report

 

LIBERIA: Bush promises to send troops after Taylor leaves   ABIDJAN, 15 July (IRIN) - The United States has promised to send troops to Liberia, but only in a second wave of peacekeepers, once President Charles Taylor has stepped down and left the country. Full report

ZIMBABWE: Formal appeal for food aid on the way   JOHANNESBURG, 15 July (IRIN) - A disagreement over official crop forecast figures has been identified as the reason why the government of Zimbabwe has delayed making a formal appeal for food aid. Full report

KAZAKHSTAN: Solar energy initiative launched   ALMATY, 15 July (IRIN) - Kazakhstan launched its first solar energy project in the Kazakh commercial capital of Almaty on Tuesday. Funded by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the move is seen as a major first step in promoting clean and efficient energy usage in Central Asia’s largest nation. Full report

CONGO: ICRC assists Pool IDPs in Brazzaville   BRAZZAVILLE, 15 July (IRIN) - About 10,000 internally displaced persons from the Pool Region currently living in eight sites in the south of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, have benefited from aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Full report

ETHIOPIA: UN warning over resettlement programme   ADDIS ABABA, 15 July (IRIN) - Ethiopian families resettled to lowland areas are in danger of facing regions “infested” with malaria and sleeping sickness, according to the UN’s Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE). Full report

SUDAN: Peace process still on track, sides say   NAIROBI, 15 July (IRIN) - Sudan's warring parties say the peace process is still on track despite a number of setbacks which arose during the last round of talks held at the weekend. Full report

 

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Seed availability could be a problem, says SADC   JOHANNESBURG, 11 July (IRIN) - The outlook for seed availability for the 2003/04 growing season is mixed, warns the latest Southern African Development Community (SADC) Food Security Network Ministerial Brief. Full report

DRC: MSF to send four cargo planes of relief aid to Bunia   NAIROBI, 11 July (IRIN) - International NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres announced on Friday that it was sending four cargo planes of emergency relief goods to Bunia, the main town of the volatile Ituri District in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Full report

BURUNDI: Preliminary reports put death toll from rebel attacks at 170   NAIROBI, 11 July (IRIN) - Preliminary reports from the UN Office in Burundi showed that 170 people have been killed and between 6,000 and 7,000 civilians displaced since rebels began attacking the capital, Bujumbura, from 7 July. Full report

UGANDA: Religious leaders lobby Bush on northern crisis   NAIROBI, 11 July (IRIN) - Uganda's religious leaders have urged US President George W. Bush, who arrived in the country on Friday, to use his influence with the international community to seek a peaceful solution to the insurgency in the north. Full report

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Independent claims commission announces first awards   NAIROBI, 11 July (IRIN) - The independent claims commission, which is looking into post-war claims by Eritrea and Ethiopia, has announced partial awards regarding the issue of prisoners-of-war. Full report

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Early monsoon rains bring death and floods   ISLAMABAD, 10 July (IRIN) - Summer rains have hit an unprepared Afghanistan, causing an estimated 100 deaths, while in Pakistan they have inflicted extensive damage on buildings and crops. Full report

 

NIGERIA: Over 100 killed in oil pipeline explosion and fire   LAGOS, 22 June (IRIN) - More than 100 people were killed when a ruptured fuel pipeline exploded and caught fire at a remote village in southeastern Nigeria last Thursday, Red Cross and local government officials said. Scores of people had gatherered to scoop up leaking petrol. Full report

LIBERIA: Taylor rejects transition government within 30 days   MONROVIA, 20 June (IRIN) - Liberian President Charles Taylor rejected on Friday the proposed formation of a transitional government within 30 days that would exclude him. Full report

AFRICA: UNHCR to host concert in aid of Africa's young refugees   NAIROBI, 20 June (IRIN) - A special concert of classical music to mark World Refugee Day is to be held Friday night, with renowned Egyptian actor Adel Imam joining in to help raise funds for young refugees in Africa, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said.Full report

UGANDA: Government says population growth must be slowed down   KAMPALA, 20 June (IRIN) - The current rate of population growth in Uganda is unsustainable and threatens to strangle efforts to lift the country’s inhabitants out of poverty, according to officials of the Ugandan government’s population secretariat. Full report

ZIMBABWE: Tsvangirai awarded bail   JOHANNESBURG, 20 June (IRIN) - Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was on Friday awarded bail and freed after two weeks in police custody. Full report

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Seven killed by newly laid mines in 2003 ADDIS ABABA, 20 Jun 2003 (IRIN) - Seven people have been killed by newly laid landmines in 2003 in the border region of Eritrea and Ethiopia, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), said on Thursday. Phil Lewis, who heads UNMEE’s Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC), added that close to 30 people were injured. Full report

SOMALIA: New government expected by early July - mediator NAIROBI, 19 Jun 2003 (IRIN) - Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat, the chairman of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) technical committee and Kenya’s special envoy to the Somali peace talks, told a press conference on Wednesday that a new Somali government should be formed by early July. Full report

SOMALIA: First postwar medical college opens in Mogadishu NAIROBI, 17 Jun 2003 (IRIN) - Somalia's first medical college in 12 years officially opened in the capital, Mogadishu, on 15 June. The Benadir University Medical College is to be funded by donations from Somali physicians and an annual fee of US $1,500 per student, its rector, Dr Usman Adan Abdulle, told IRIN. Full report

SOMALIA: Disagreement over number and selection of future parliamentarians NAIROBI, 17 Jun 2003 (IRIN) - After days of bargaining, Somali groups meeting in Kenya have failed to reach agreement over the number and mode of selection of the members of a future interim parliament, a source close to the talks told IRIN on Tuesday. Full report

SOMALIA: Amnesty calls for leaders who will protect human rights NAIROBI, 17 Jun 2003 (IRIN) - Amnesty International has called on delegates attending Somali peace talks in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to choose leaders who will protect the human rights of all Somalis. Full report