LOME, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Togo's Jean-Pierre Fabre, secretary general of the West African country's leading opposition party UFC, reinstated his bid on Wednesday to run in the presidential elections early next month.

He said will be the candidate of several opposition parties.

Fabre, previously the candidate of the United Forces for Change (UFC), was repositioned on Wednesday as the candidate for a collection of political parties under the umbrella of the Republican Front for Alternation and Change (FRAC).

FRAC brings together ADDI, Alliance, PSR, the association working for Kofi Yamgnane, the independent candidate whose documents were rejected by the constitutional court and the UFC. Yamgnane was named as the spokesman of FRAC, and the UFC's first vice president Patrick Lawson was appointed as the director of election campaigns.

These parties and associations told a press conference that their main objectives were to ensure that by all means the elections are free and fair and that they will campaign together to protect the authentic election results. They vowed to take over power in the elections and democratically govern Togo together.

According to the officials, FRAC was born out of discussions that took place in Paris on Feb. 9-10. Being an initiative of the former head of the Togolese platoon of gendarmes and the former interior minister in exile in France, Akila-Esso Boko, the Paris meeting attracted Jean-Pierre Fabre, Yamgnane and Agbeyome Kodjo of the Organization to Build Togo in Unity and Solidarity (OBUTS).

The Paris talks were rejected by Yawovi Agboyibo of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), the second largest opposition party in Togo, and Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson of the Democratic Convention for African People (CDPA). They indicated that Fabre had been imposed as the candidate of choice.

On Sunday, the UFC decided to suspend the participation of its candidate in the March 4 presidential elections, after suspending the party's three representatives in the activities of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI).

The opposition parties clashed with CENI over the revision of electoral lists and the code related to the polls. At least three parties including the UFC, CAR and the CDPA briefly pulled out of the planned race in protest before the election campaign was officially kicked off on Tuesday.

KINSHASA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The French ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Pierre Jacquemot, announced on Tuesday that there will be a meeting in June to mobilize funds for the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Region (CEPGL) to support Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo.

The French diplomat declared this in Kinshasa during an opening ceremony of a seminar of government experts, which was to discuss the validation of basic agreements and the restructuring of CEPGL.

According to Jacquemot, France holds the opinion that regional cooperation would bring about lasting peace for the benefit of the local populations, especially during this post-conflict period.

The present meeting is pursuing three objectives, including a basic law to support CEPGL, measures to support the promotion of commercial exchanges and free movement of the populations and their goods, and a proposal for the restructuring of the permanent executive secretariat for CEPGL.

CEPGL is a sub-regional organization created in September 1976 for the economic integration and facilitation of movements of goods and people within the Great Lakes countries of Burundi, DR Congo and Rwanda.

In 1994, the Burundian conflict followed by the Rwandan genocide plunged CEPGL into a crisis. In 1996, all the agreements were suspended after attacks in DR Congo by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for Liberation and the Rwandan Patriotic Army. In 2004, the three countries started discussions on modalities of reactivating CEPGL.

MOGADISHU, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Somali government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a plot to kill many government officials during Monday's suicide car bomb attack in government- controlled part of Mogadishu, local media reported.

The attack using two car bombs and a hand cart laden with explosives targeted the Somali state minister for defense, Sheikh Yusuf Siyad Indha Adde, who survived the assault which left five dead and more than 15 wounded, mostly civilians.

The explosion took place near Ambassador Hotel which is frequented by senior Somali government officials and where, Somali Labor Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir said, a "fake seminar" for government officials was scheduled.

"We foiled a plot to kill many people after we cancelled a fake seminar that was organized by an unknown organization called Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC) inviting a number of members of parliament, security officials and Director Generals to a seminar at the Ambassador Hotel on Feb. 15 to coincide with the terrorist attack," Minister Hayir told local Shabelle radio in Mogadishu.

Hayir said his ministry just acted in accordance with procedure that organizations in the country should be legal and that seminars should not be held without notification of the ministry.

"The ministry was not aware of the plot whose aim was to cause maximum casualty on the government rank. Somali security forces are in pursuit of the perpetrators," Hayir said.

The Somali government accused the Islamist Al Shabaab movement of being behind the attack, but the group, which wages deadly insurgency against the government and the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission, has not officially claimed responsibility for Monday's attack.

The radical movement, however, had previously taken responsibility for carrying out similar attacks on government officials and security forces, as well as AU peacekeepers based in Mogadishu.

Both Somali government forces and Islamist fighters have recently been gearing up for a major confrontation which analysts say would be the biggest so far.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Arab and African countries can benefit from the Chinese expertise in agriculture, which will facilitate the whole region's strategies for food security, an agriculture expert said Tuesday.

"China is so developed in the field of genetic engineering that is related to animals or plants, and they have been working for long to produce disease-resistant plants and seeds, as well as carrying out studies on artificial fertilization and hybridization, " said Ebrahim Yusuf Ahmed, an animal wealth expert and the director of Animal Wealth Directorate in the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture of Bahrain.

"All these experiences can be transferred by China to Africa and the Arab world. This can help increase the agricultural and animal production and hence raise the food security level," he said.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of a three-day joint African-Arab ministerial meeting on agriculture and food security, which concluded Tuesday.

"We cooperate with China. There is an agreement on cooperation in the field of plant and animal production as well as the fish wealth since 2000 ... China sends us experts in the field of plant and animal production as well as fishery," he added.

Asked about an Afro-Arab joint action plan adopted by the meeting, the expert said that Africa faces some challenges in regard to the productivity of its animal wealth and the spread of diseases.

The expert said the African countries need to improve its agricultural productivity and veterinary services, and the Arabs should provide technical support, funds and programs to train African breeders and establish research agencies.

"We in the Gulf area import cattle from Europe to produce milk. When Africa has cattle that can produce big quantity of milk, we can then move towards Africa. It is a neighboring area and we are acquainted with it," he said.

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Visitors to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup may get some price relief if South Africa's top trade union boss has his way.

Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of Congress of South African Trade Unions, wants South Africa's competition commission to intervene in the pricing of transport and accommodation ahead of the World Cup, which takes place from June 11 to July 11.

"This is absolutely something we want the competition commission to do something definitely about, and they must act decisively now before those unscrupulous employers put up their prices in June and July," Vai told the South African Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

There have been concerns in South Africa and other footballing nations about businesses increasing hotel and flight prices in the run-up to the tournament.

Vavi described those who wanted to get rich quickly by inflating the prices as "short-termers".

He said this could deny many people, including South Africans. the opportunity to be part of the soccer spectacle.

NAIROBI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency said Tuesday it has started relocation of Somali refugees from a transit centre in Ethiopia's Dolo Ado, near the border with Somalia, to a new camp at Melkadida some 65 kilometres away.

A statement from the UNHCR said the first convoy, consisting of 11 buses and two trucks carrying their luggage, transported 247 Somali refugees who had fled worsening security and limited access to humanitarian aid in central and southern Somalia over the past weeks.

"They are part of a group of 7,000 Somalis who have recently been recognized as refugees by the Ethiopian government with UNHCR expert support," it said.

Melkadida is the second camp in south-east Ethiopia and the fifth camp in Ethiopia accommodating Somali refugees. The first one, Bokolmanyo which opened in April last year to accommodate 20, 000 refugees, has reached capacity.

According to UN agency, the land at Melkadida on which the new camp was constructed has been provided by the local authorities.

"It can accommodate up to 20,000 refugees and we and our partners are intensifying the work of expanding basic infrastructure, including water and sanitation services, a health center, relevant basic communal facilities and a children's center. Establishment of schools and other facilities and services is also planned," it said.

After arriving at Melkadida, refugees spend three days in a reception area after which they move to their allocated plots of land.

"Currently, emergency tents have been erected until permanent shelters are in place. Refugees are provided with food as well as tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen sets, jerry cans and mosquito nets. The plan is to relocate 500 refugees a week from the transit center to the new camp," UNHCR said.

The Somali Region of Ethiopia already hosts more than 60,000 Somali refugees in four camps - Au-Barre, Bokolmanyo, Kebribeyah, and Sheder. Somalis are arriving in Ethiopia at an average of 200 individuals per day, and we are already planning for further camps near Melkadida.

At the peak of the Somali refugee crisis in the early 90s, UNHCR said, the region hosted 628,000 refugees in eight camps.

The overwhelming majority of those refugees returned to their homes between 1997 and 2005, the UN refugee agency said.

"But by mid 2005, we had closed all camps but the Kebribeyah site. Unfortunately, due to renewed conflict and general violence in southern and central parts of Somalia, three new camps had to be opened in Ethiopia in 2007, 2008 and 2009," it said.

The agency said the context behind this is a situation in Mogadishu in which some 13,600 people have been forced from their homes over the past two weeks alone as a result of clashes between the Somali government forces and armed opposition groups.

"Of these, only 8,800 managed to escape from the capital, mainly to the IDP settlements in the Afgooye corridor, while 4,800 people are stranded in relatively safer areas of Mogadishu, namely Hodaan, Karaan, Wadajir and Dayniile," it said.

According to UNHCR, the number of casualties and of people injured in the cross fire is alarming, adding that at least 50 people were reportedly killed and over 100 were injured since the conflict intensified last week.

"So far this year we have seen 6,450 people arriving in Kenya, of whom 2,400 arrived in February," the UN agency said.

HARARE, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- While international mediators always hurry to prescribe power-sharing deals as quick-fix solutions in post-election conflicts, events in Zimbabwe and Kenya are proving that this may not be the best way to resolve political problems.

The parties may agree to a formula on the allocation and functions of government ministries, but there always remains one person wielding all the power and exercising most of the executive functions, thus perpetuating political bickering.

In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe last February entered into a power-sharing deal with the presidents of the two MDC factions, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.

This followed a contested presidential election in which Mugabe ran alone after Tsvangirai withdrew citing political violence, and the absence of an outright winner in the parliamentary and senate elections of 2008.

African leaders were quick to applaud especially Mugabe and Tsvangirai for agreeing to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) prescribed by then South African President Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the deal on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Although voters had made their choices over who should lead them, the power-sharing deal only served to prolong Mugabe's grip on power while accommodating Tsvangirai in the less powerful portfolio of prime minister.

In other words, power-sharing agreements are designed to keep incumbents in power while creating limited room in the government for their opponents.

Tsvangirai's party partially withdrew from the government in October 2009 protesting against unfulfilled promises by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, but returned three weeks later after intervention by the SADC troika on politics, defense and security.

Under the GPA, Mugabe and Tsvangirai share executive powers. However, Mugabe and ministers from his party are largely calling the shots and determining the way the government should be run.

Even with two co-ministers of home affairs -- one from Mugabe's party and the other from Tsvangirai's -- the police chiefs have remained loyal to Mugabe and have often been accused by Tsvangirai' s party of engaging in partisan politics.

Army chiefs also do not have any regard for Tsvangirai, and a National Security Council established at the behest of Tsvangirai' s party to dilute their powers is hardly functional.

The deputy minister of justice and legal affairs and member of Tsvangirai's party, Jessie Majome, recently accused officials in her ministry of partiality when dealing with supporters of the different political parties, in what has been described as selective application of the law.

Majome is deputy to Zanu-PF's chief negotiator to the GPA Patrick Chinamasa. Among other responsibilities Mugabe chairs Cabinet; exercises executive authority; can, subject to the Constitution, declare war and make peace; can, subject to the Constitution, proclaim and terminate martial law; chairs the National Security Council; in consultation with the prime minister, makes key appointments in terms of the Constitution or any Act of Parliament; and may, acting in consultation with the prime minister, dissolve Parliament.

The prime minister's powers include chairing the Council of Ministers and being the deputy chairperson of Cabinet; exercising executive authority; overseeing the formulation of government policies by the Cabinet; and ensuring that the policies so formulated are implemented by the entirety of government.

However, the latest test on Tsvangirai's powers is his instruction to indigenization and empowerment minister to reverse recently gazetted regulations compelling majority ownership of private companies by indigenous Zimbabweans.

The Zanu-PF arm of the government is in favor of the regulations, while Tsvangirai's party is arguing that they are not meant to empower ordinary Zimbabweans but only a select few.

Here is one case where a minister has vowed not to reverse the regulations, setting him on a collision course with a person who is supposed to yield more powers than him.

While the inclusive government has generally succeeded in reducing tension among the political parties and their supporters, it has failed to create total peace and harmony as evidenced by some violent incidents occurring in some parts of the country.

Inclusive governments have failed in most of the African countries, with probably South Africa and Liberia being the two which successfully concluded their transitional roles.

Other African countries which have had post-conflict coalition governments include Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Madagascar is failing to implement one.

In Kenya, Prime Minister Raila Odinga who is also in a coalition government with President Mwai Kibaki is seeking the intervention of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan following a rift in the implementation of government policy.

Odinga on Sunday suspended agriculture minister William Ruto and education minister Sam Ongeri for three months to allow independent investigations into corruption charges leveled against them, only for Kibaki to revoke the suspensions. As a result, Odinga has declared a dispute among the coalition parties and wants Annan to intervene.

For how long then can leaders continue to seek intervention from outsiders to solve their problems? Is this prescription for inclusive governments really working or mediators seek easy solutions which they would also want to be subjected to in the event of a contested election?

The mediators always pray that the inclusive governments hold until the end of the transitional period. But what happens when one party decides to completely withdraw from such an arrangement?

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Afro-Arab agriculture ministers started a meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday to discuss the recommendations on the implementation of the Joint Action Plan on agricultural development and food security.

In the inaugural speech, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Amin Abbaza said his country hopes the meeting will succeed in establishing a partnership between the Arab and African countries to promote food security and agricultural development.

He said Egypt looks forward to "making the best use of available resources in the African and Arab regions trough boosting cooperation between the countries which enjoy financial resources and technological capacities and those own cultivable land, water resources and manpower."

The Afro-Arab agriculture ministers are set to endorse a draft resolution on promoting agricultural development and food security in the African and Arab world, which was submitted by agriculture experts on Monday after their two-day meetings in Sharm el-Sheikh.

MOGADISHU, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Yusuf Mohamed Siyad Indha Adde, Somali government state minister for defense, who survived an assassination attempt on Monday, accused Islamist rebels of being behind the suicide car bomb attack.

At least five people were killed and more than 14 others, including two of the state minister's bodyguards, were wounded after two cars laden with explosives exploded as the minister's motorcade passed a hotel in the government-controlled area of the Somali capital.

"You see I am alive and am not injured. I tell them (Al Shabaab) that I will double my efforts to fight these men. I tell them that I will target them as long as I am alive," Indha Adde told reporters in Mogadishu.

The government official said that two suicide car bombs as well as a hand cart laden with explosives targeted his convoy as it moved in Maka Al Mukaram street in Mogadishu.

The huge blast caused extensive damage to vehicles parked along the street and the surrounding building.

Indha adde was a member of the Islamist insurgency groups before his faction last year joined the Transitional Government of Somalia led by the moderate Islamist President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

The Islamist rebel movement of Al Shabaab, which wages deadly insurgency against the Somali government and the African Union (AU) mission, has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks but the group has previously carried out similar attacks on government officials and security forces as well as AU peacekeeping forces based in Mogadishu.

The latest attack comes as both Somali government forces and Islamist fighters are gearing for a major confrontation which analysts say would be the biggest offensive so far.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A senior Egyptian official said Monday the Nile Basin countries do not suffer from a water scarcity crisis but misuse of water resources.

Speaking at a press conference prior to a meeting of the Afro- Arab agricultural ministers slated for Tuesday, Saad Nassar, advisor to the Egyptian agriculture minister, said the Nile Basin countries enjoy huge water resources.

He said the quantity of rain water received by the upstream countries hits 1,800 billion cubic meters and that the quota of downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) hits 73 billion cubic meters annually, 55 billion of which goes to Egypt and 18 billion goes to Sudan.

Nassar said a lot of the water resources in the Nile Basin countries are excessively wasted, underlining his county's keenness to make the best use of water for the benefit of both upstream and downstream countries.

A meeting of the agricultural ministers of the Nile Basin countries initially slated for February has been postponed due to a debate between the upstream and downstream countries over water quota.

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- South African President Jacob Zuma's email inbox has been flooded with letters from people complaining about crime.

South Africa has a high crime rate. With 0.496008 murders per 1, 000 people. It is second only to Columbia in terms of murder rate. It has the world's highest incidence of rape, with 1.19538 per 1, 000 people, according to the website NationMaster.com.

The email letter blitz on Zuma was organized by South African union Solidarity. It resulted in Zuma receiving a letter in his inbox every six seconds on Monday morning.

Solidarity union's deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said by 10 am at least 7000 anti-crime letters had landed in Zuma's email over the previous 18 hours, and thousands more were expected before Tuesday. Thousands of members of the South African public were signing on to the website www.dearpresident.co.za where an open letter to Zuma was published. It states: "Dear Mr. Zuma... we looked forward to your state-of- the-nation address with great anticipation. We were especially anxious to hear what you have to say about crime.... "Only two percent of your speech or 115 of your 4411 words were devoted to crime. In other words, in a speech that lasted almost an hour, one minute was spent on crime. "You spent more time, or 132 words, welcoming guests of honor than talking about what you plan to do about crime." The letter urges Zuma to use his address to Parliament on Tuesday, when he replies to the debate on his state of the nation speech, to tell South Africa how his government planned to deal with high crime levels. The South African Press Association reported that this action comes after the Solidarity movement published a survey among its members, in which 73 percent said that crime is their single biggest concern. "If crime is such a priority for Solidarity members, then it can be assumed that the broad Afrikaans and South African communities feel the same way about it," said Hermann.

MOGADISHU, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Somali defense minister escaped assassination after car bombs were detonated on Monday, killing five people and wounding 14 others in the government- controlled part of the capital Mogadishu, medics and police said.

A car was parked near Ambassador Hotel in the government- controlled side of the city. The explosives went off after the motorcade of Minister Sheikh Yusuf Indha Adde passed near the hotel, where a number of Somali government officials were stayed.

Health officials said five people were killed and 14 others most of them civilians were wounded after at least two car bombs exploded.

The explosions caused extensive damage to cars parked in the area and buildings in the vicinity.

Somali government forces cordoned off the area and started shooting into the air to disperse people when they saw them coming to see the blazing wreckage.

Witnesses in the area of the blast say that a car bomb exploded minutes after the convoy of the minister passed.

The Somali government has not officially commented on the explosions, which have not been claimed by any of the Islamist groups in Somalia.

The radical group of Al Shabaab is opposed to the Somali government and has been waging deadly insurgency for the past three years. It usually carries out similar attacks on government officials, security forces and the African Union peacekeeping forces.

WELLINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cyclone Rene battered the main island of the south Pacific island nation of Tonga on Monday after earlier sweeping over islands in the north.

Wind gusts of up to 230 km per hour had been forecast for the southern part of the Ha'apai group and Tongatapu.

Police Commander Chris Kelley said the capital Nuku'alofa was battered by very strong winds and torrential rain for about 50 minutes. Trees have fallen across power lines and buildings have been damaged, Radio New Zealand reported.

Phone lines have gone dead late on Monday night. Evacuation plans were in place and people have boarded up their homes.

The Fiji Met Service said that Cyclone Rene is not expected to move away from Tongatapu until Tuesday morning.

So far, there were no reports of injures. People had been advised to seek higher ground.

Rene, which has been downgraded to a category three cyclone, is still forecast to carry sustained winds of 155 km an hour and momentary gusts as strong as 230 km.

The Tongan government has been encouraging people to gather in large public buildings for their safety.

Government departments, banks and most shops in the capital were shut.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told a press conference on Monday that the New Zealand government was monitoring the situation in Tonga closely.

A New Zealand Air Force Hercules left Whenuapai on Monday afternoon for the Cook Islands following Cyclone Pat last week.

It was carrying relief supplies including tarpaulins and tents, as well as Defence Force personnel who will help with the clean-up.

The South Pacific nation of Tonga has a population of 101,000.

New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) said on Monday that it was still predicting near normal tropical cyclone activity across the southwest Pacific for the rest of the season through to April. On average, nine tropical cyclones occur in the region each cyclone season.

"Countries east of the date line, including Niue, Tonga, and the Southern Cook Islands are at higher risk than normal because of El Nino conditions. Parts of southwest French Polynesia ( Society and Austral Islands) can be affected by tropical cyclones during El Nino, so these islands should also remain vigilant," Niwa said in a statement.

NAIROBI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Kenyan soldiers were shot dead and six seriously injured in an ambush by unknown gunmen at the Kenya-Sudan border on Sunday.

Kenya's Military Spokesman Bogita Ongeri confirmed the incident, saying the Kenyan team was on routine patrol early Sunday when they were ambushed. Six others were airlifted to Nairobi with serious injuries sustained during the attack.

"We are yet to know the attackers, but the soldiers were killed as they patrolled the border. Six are being airlifted to Nairobi," Ongeri was quoted as saying by to the Standard newspaper on Monday.

He said the two died on the spot when the gunmen opened fire at their vehicle. Ongeri said the victims were part of a patrol team deployed at the common border to ensure safety of Kenyans in the area.

However, the military spokesman could not confirm that the attackers, some in military fatigues, also took away all the guns belonging to the eight casualties.

Witnesses said the attackers made away with the officers' uniforms, but Ongeri said he was yet to get such a brief. The border has been in contention over a number of issues including the location of immigration offices.

The offices stood about a kilometer away from Sudan, but the Kenyan government decided to move it near the main border.

The latest incident between Nairobi and Juba comes months after Kenya warned southern Sudan of possible bumpy relations if the government does not prevent armed incursions into Kenyan territory by armed raiders.

Last year, two Kenyan ministers were separately harassed by Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers manning a roadblock well inside Kenya's territory.

LOME, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The third Togolese opposition political party, the Democratic Convention of African People (CDPA) , announced on Sunday evening that its candidate was pulling out of the presidential election process.

The CDPA announced the walkout following the United Forces for Change (UFC), the main Togolese opposition party; and the Committee of Action for Renewal (CAR).

Despite mediation by Burkina Faso, differences remain between the ruling Assembly of Togolese People (RPT) and the opposition over such issues as the mode of elections and the controversial revision of the voter list.

The RPT insists on a one-round vote, while the opposition says the mode is unfair for them in the contest and that a second round is necessary for a true democratic election.

Amid tensions, Gnassingbe announced a presidential decree last week, putting off the election date from Feb. 28 to March 4.

The CDPA is the West African country's first party to field a woman candidate in the Togolese presidential race.

The UFC and CAR are the only parliamentary opposition parties, respectively having 27 deputies and four deputies against 50 for Gnassingbe's RPT.

The forthcoming presidential election will mark the end of the first term of Gnassingbe who came to power after a hotly contested election in April 2005, following the death of general Gnassingbe Eyadema, his father, on Feb. 5, 2005.

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Africa, which has a special relationship with Haiti, has announced new plans to handle relief efforts by South Africans for the quake-hit Caribbean nation.

South Africa's department of international relations said on Sunday that future humanitarian relief sent to Haiti will be coordinated through a new committee set up by the South African government.

The ministerial committee will lead, integrate and consolidate all relief activities undertaken by various institutions in South Africa aimed at supporting Haiti, the department said in a statement.

The committee will be launching a province-based campaign to raise money and donations for the benefit of Haiti "to be collected and shipped to reach Haiti on April 27, 2010--South Africa's Freedom Day," it said.

The committee would be headed by the department's deputy minister Sue van der Merwe.

Also on the committee will be deputy ministers from South Africa's departments of social development, health, co-operative governance, arts and culture and defense.

Members of South African civil society will also be present on the committee and will be represented by Gift of the Givers, the South African Red Cross, National Disaster Management Centre, Business Unity South Africa, Global Relief, and Rescue South Africa.

Former Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide has been living in South Africa since he was ousted in a coup in 2004.

EL FASHER, Sudan, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) on Sunday reiterated its full solidarity with Sudan to preserve its sovereignty, security, stability and unity of its people and territories.

The AL made the affirmation in a communique issued at a meeting of the AL Council of Permanent Representative in the Sudanese city of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state on Sunday.

The AL, in the communique "El Fasher Declaration," reiterated its support to the ongoing efforts within the framework of the Arab-African initiative to achieve peace in the Darfur region.

The AL further urged the Darfur armed movements to unite their negotiating position for serious negotiations that would lead to a comprehensive peace in Darfur.

The communique expressed the AL's satisfaction over the growing Arab humanitarian and development presence in Darfur, and urged the joint mechanism of the AL and the Sudanese government to evaluate the needs for the voluntary return program of the displaced persons and refugees.

Meanwhile, the communique appreciated the political will of the parties in Sudan to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and their commitment to fully implement the CPA and organize the general elections slated for April this year.

The AL Sunday held an extraordinary meeting here with participation of the AL Secretary General Amr Moussa and the Arab representatives.

NAIROBI, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday suspended two ministers to allow for investigations after they had been mentioned adversely in the subsidized maize scheme and free primary education program.

Addressing a news conference in Nairobi, Odinga said Agriculture Minister William Ruto and his Education counterpart Samuel Ongeri will remain suspended for three months to allow for proper, independent and accurate investigations into the allocation and application of funds under the two programs.

"I am taking this action because two recent investigations, the forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, on the maize scandal and the Report of the Internal Auditor General on Free Primary Education, have laid credible foundations for the two ministers to be investigated," Odinga told journalists in Nairobi.

Odinga said the ministers should step aside in order for the government to conduct fair, independent and comprehensive investigations which would result in gathering evidence to determine if any individuals need to be prosecuted in these two scandals.

"I am also directing Kenya Anti-Corruption, the Criminal Investigations Department and the Inspectorate of State Corporations to jointly pursue this matter further," he said.

The prime minister said the team should review the above two reports, as well as the reports on the maize scandal by KACC, the Inspectorate of State Corporations, and the CID, with a view to recommending those cases which should be prosecuted.

The move follows Saturday's suspension of eight senior government officials including permanent secretaries and parasitical heads mentioned in a corruption scandal involving subsidized maize.

In suspension of the two ministers, Odinga cited Section 15(a) of the Constitution and Section 4(1) of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act which confer on him the authority to supervise the execution of the functions and affairs of the government including ministries.

"Adequate consultations have been made within the government," Odinga said.

The maize scam was reported in 2008 when the government initiated the subsidized maize scheme to mitigate hunger that had ravaged over 10 million Kenyans.

However the program was dogged with corruption allegations and inefficiencies.

The report has implicated at least three permanent secretaries for either abdicating duty or influencing maize allocations at the National Cereals and Produce Board.

Five top officials of the National Cereals and Produce Board that was driving the project are named key culpable suspects in the scam.

The damning report released by the PriceWaterhouseCoopers shows how top officers at the NCPB sidestepped procedures and allocated thousands of bags of maize to companies irregularly.

The prime minister stepped up the anti-graft last week when he publicly requested the president to ask Education Minister Sam Ongeri and his PS Mutahi to step aside as investigations proceed over the loss of over 110 million shillings (about 1.47 million U. S. dollars) meant for the FPE program.

Odinga said the scam had tainted the image of the government and dampened the hopes of many poor Kenyans. He regretted the blame-game between the minister and his permanent secretary.

Saturday's development also came at a time when several top education officials are under investigation by the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission following the scandal in which officials misappropriated FPE funds.

The major donors funding the FPE program have had a change of heart, although the bulk of the burden -- up to 95 percent of the FPE bill -- is shouldered by the government.

Both Britain and the United States have suspended their funding to FPE after an audit revealed that hundreds of millions of shillings had been misappropriated under the program.

Some 26 officials at the Education Ministry are on suspension over the scam, but only eight were charged in court on Friday.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The joint Afro-Arab Ministerial Meeting on Agricultural Development and Food Security kicked off Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh at the level of experts and senior officials.

The three-day meeting is expected to tackle the African and Arab strategies to promote agricultural development and food security with highlights on the Joint Action Plan (JAP).

With the authorization of the African Union Executive Council meeting in January 2008, successive meetings of high level experts from the two regions have been held in Damascus, Riyadh and Cairo, leading to the drafting of the JAP to enhance agricultural development.

According to latest estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have about 90 percent of the hungry people worldwide with more than 200 million people in SSA considered undernourished. Besides, 7.8 percent of the North African and Middle East population are undernourished.

ABIDJAN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's opposition declared on Saturday they no longer recognized Laurent Gbagbo as the country's president, after Gbagbo dissolved the government and election commission on Friday, agencies reported.

Cote d'Ivoire's electoral process is going through turmoil due to the political-judicial battle over voter registration contentions linked to the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).

The suspected fraud on the voter list has caused commotion within the body charged with the duty to organize elections to end years of instability in the West African country.

Cote d'Ivoire's government Thursday decided to suspend "to a later date" the judicial process over the voter list dispute, which many fear would jeopardize the planned presidential elections set for late February and early March.