Luanda – The 14th ordinary session of the Constitutional Commission initially set for Tuesday to compare and contrast the various assessments of the three Constitution drafts going under public debate soon, has been postponed until November 17.


The information was released by the Constitutional Commission spokesperson, Samuel Daniel, who said the postponement was due to questions raised by opposition Unita party about the work methodology for the organ tasked with drafting the new Constitution.


"In face of this, the Constitutional Commission, as it found that some issues contained in the document presented by Unita are essential, decided to postpone the meeting until Tuesday 11:00 am”. Said Samuel Daniel to journalists.


According to the MP, the session will be preceded by a Constitutional Commission coordination meeting on Monday morning, to analyse all aspects the main opposition party raised in its document already distributed to the members of the House.


He stated that the matters raised do not affect the public debate of the constitution drafts, neither is it a setback. “It is just about an evaluation of the methodology for the whole work the Constitutional Commission is carrying out”, he added.


The session that has been postponed is meant for the citizens to have a clear sight of the main differences and similarities among the three Constitution drafts. The yare the “A” draft that proposes a presidential governing model, “B” (semi-presidential) and “C”
(presidential-parliamentary).


The three drafts were presented nationwide last week, with debates and public consultation starting within 15 days around the country.

LUSAKA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 18 people were killed and 47 others seriously wounded when a bus collided with a fuel tanker in Zambia's Northern Province early Tuesday morning, Zambian Police Service spokesman Kapeso told Xinhua.

Kapeso said the accident occurred between 04:00 hours and 05:00 hours local time on Tuesday at Matumbo in Chinsali district of Zambia's Northern Province, and of the dead, 11 are males while seven are female passengers.

The injured passengers have been admitted to Chinsali district hospital, Kapeso said.

According to the spokesman, the Scania Marco Polo Bus with the registration number ABL 2284 was coming from Kitwe, Zambia's famous copper mine city, when it collided head on with a fuel tanker with the registration number T362 which is traveling from Nakonde.

HARARE, November 10 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai confirmed on Tuesday that he will attend a Cabinet meeting due on Wednesday following his party's decision to end its boycott of the meetings.

Tsvangirai told journalists that he is committed to the success of the inclusive government, stressing the importance of resolving all outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement(GPA).

"Cabinet is there tomorrow and I will be attending in line with the decision we took, which allows this process to move forward," he said.

The larger of the two MDC factions led by Tsvangirai, which had been boycotting cabinet and council of ministers meetings since October 16, citing unfulfilled promises by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, announced at the end of a SADC troika summit in Maputo last week that it is calling off the boycott.

The cabinet meetings, usually held on Tuesdays and chaired by Mugabe, may not be held on Tuesday because Mugabe is not yet available after attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit that ended in Egypt on Monday.

Tsvangirai said the inclusive government he formed with Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara of the smaller MDC is an important step in efforts to reconstruct the country.

"What we want to ensure is that this process is not reversed. We don't want the country to slide back to the days of acrimony and we have to clear all the obstacles we faced to make progress," he said.

Speaking to reporters last Wednesday, Tsvangirai said he and his party would give President Robert Mugabe of the ZANU-PF party a period of one month to fully implement the power-sharing deal signed by the major political parties of Zimbabwe in September 2008.

NAIROBI, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A light cargo plane crashed in Nairobi, Kenya, killing two crew members.

Eyewitnesses said the American made aircraft BC 1900 had taken off 0330 GMT at Wilson Airport before it was forced to turn back after the pilot reported it had developed mechanical problems.

The light aircraft that was transporting miraa, also known as khat which is a mild narcotic leaf, to Mogadishu, Somalia, crashed just a few meters from the runway before bursting into flames.

The pilot died as he was being taken to hospital, while his co-pilot later died at the hospital where he had been admitted in critical condition.

Airport officials said the crew decided to return to crash-land at the airport after being airborne for about two hours. But the plane crashed into the airport's fence and burst into flames before landing onto a ditch near the runway.

The plane's black box has been retrieved and the Civil Aviation officials have launched investigations into the accident.

The accident continues to raise doubts about the safety of planes taking off and landing at the airport in southern Nairobi.

It was the fourth plane tragedy to have occurred near the airport -- whose runway borders the Nairobi National Park, on one side, and human settlements, on the other -- in the last four months.

In September, a light police aircraft on a routine training mission crashed and burst into flames near the airport, injuring two officers who were on board.

The two were a pilot and his student were both police officers attached to the Police Air Wing unit based at the airport.

09 November 2009
Two Swiss businessmen, held in Libya since July 2008, have been returned to their embassy without any further information on the cause of their detention.

Two Swiss citizens who were "kidnapped" in Libya in the midst of a diplomatic spat were returned to the Swiss embassy in the Libyan capital on Monday, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

"On Monday, 9 November 2009, the two kidnapped Swiss citizens were returned to the Swiss embassy in Tripoli by the Libyan authorities without any explanations," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"According to the embassy, the two are in good condition considering the circumstances," it added.

The Swiss government this month suspended an agreement with Libya that aimed to resolve a dispute sparked by the brief arrest of one of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's sons in Geneva over a year ago.

The move was motivated partly by the disappearance more than two weeks ago of the two Swiss businessmen, who have been prevented from leaving Libya for more than a year.

Tripoli first launched a series of retaliatory sanctions, including a freeze on some business relations, against Switzerland over the arrest of Hannibal Kadhafi and his pregnant wife in July 2008.

The two Swiss businessmen in Tripoli were refused exit visas and were charged with alleged immigration offences.

However, instead of being allowed out of the country under the normalisation deal struck by Bern and Tripoli this August, the two went missing after they were invited out of the Swiss embassy for a medical check-up.

Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey had accused Libyan authorities of "kidnapping" them, while Libya said they were being kept in a "safe location".

The Swiss government says Libya has systematically failed to abide by the agreement on normalising relations, which included a controversial apology by President Hans-Rudolf Merz for the Kadhafi arrest in Geneva last year.

Following the latest twist in the 15 month-old standoff, Swiss authorities also disclosed last week that they had imposed unspecified "restrictions" on visas for Libyan travellers.

Swiss media reports have suggested that the Kadhafi family was directly targeted by the restrictions.

09 November 2009
The trial of Roy Bennett, an ally of PM Morgan Tsvangirai, opened in Harare before being adjourned until Wednesday. Bennett, who faces terrorism charges, has been in and out of jail since returning to Zimbabwe to join a national unity government.

Roy Bennett, a top aide to Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, on Monday went on trial for terror charges before a packed courtroom in a case that has rocked Harare's fragile unity government.

His lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa immediately sought to toss out testimony from state witnesses in the case accusing Bennett of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe three years ago.

Bennett's latest arrest last month prompted Tsvangirai to stage a three-week boycott of the unity government, underscoring tensions in the power-sharing arrangement.

The same charges against other MDC officials have already been thrown out of court, and one witness has testified that he only implicated Bennett in the alleged plot because he was tortured into doing so.

"I have been persecuted since I joined politics and I have been living in persecution since then. You never know when you are going to get justice," Bennett told reporters after the court proceedings.

Judge Chinembiri Bhunu adjourned the case until Wednesday, when he is expected to rule on whether the testimony can be submitted.

"This is a serious matter where someone else's life is an issue," Bennett's lawyer Mtetwa said. "The charges the accused is facing carry serious penalty -- that is death and life imprisonment."

Attorney general Johannes Tomana, who is prosecuting the case, said a speedy trial would be in the national interest.

"This is a very serious matter which must be accorded the amount of seriousness it demands, particularly in the environment the country is in," Tomana said.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has claimed a crackdown against its members, with the party's ally the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions saying five of its unionists were behind bars on Monday.

The five, including president Lovemore Matombo, were arrested Sunday and were likely to face charges of holding a meeting without notifying police, the congress said.

Bennett, a former coffee farmer, fled to South Africa in 2006, saying he feared for his life. Similar charges against another MDC official, co-minister for home affairs Giles Mutseyekwa, were thrown of court in 2006.

Mugabe has so far refused to swear in Bennett as his deputy agriculture minister saying he must first be cleared by the courts.

Tsvangirai only ended the government boycott after an emergency regional summit on Thursday set a new 30-day deadline for the rivals to sort out their differences -- including a dispute over Mugabe's appointment of Tomana, whom the MDC says is targetting its members.

Tsvangirai and his long-time rival agreed to the unity government nearly a year after disputed polls, which saw Mugabe handed the presidency in a one-man run-off, plunged the country into deeper economic and political crisis.

The unity pact helped arrest Zimbabwe's economic free-fall and created an opening to repair its international ties amid Western calls for greater signs of reform from Mugabe, the country's ruler since 1980.

Bennett's case has become a symbol of the challenges facing Zimbabwe's government.

Bennett, who speaks fluently the majority language Shona, saw his farm in eastern Zimbabwe seized in 2003 under Mugabe's controversial land reforms which targeted white-owned farms for resettlement by black farmers.

The following year he was jailed for eight months for assault after he punched Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in parliament during a heated debate on the land reforms.

09 November 2009
Somali pirates have attacked a tanker loaded with weapons 1,000 nautical miles away from Mogadishu. The cargo was circumventing the UN arms embargo around Somalia.
Somali pirates have seized a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship loaded with weapons bound for the anarchic Horn of Africa nation in contravention of a U.N. arms embargo, maritime experts said on Monday.

Also on Monday, the gunmen launched their longest range hijack attempt yet -- opening fire on a giant Hong Kong-flagged crude oil tanker 1,000 nautical miles east of Mogadishu.

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme told Reuters he believed the weapons ship was using a fake name. He said it had been hijacked on Sunday and was now held near the northern Somali town of Garacad.

"She is one of the regular weapons carriers circumventing the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia," Mwangura said. Maritime sources say the craft is believed to be carrying light arms and ammunition, as well as rockets and rocket-propelled grenades.

"We understand the weapons belong to the Somali government," Farah, a pirate, told Reuters by satellite telephone.

Another gang member, Hassan, said the weapons ship was well known to them: "It has been circling in our ocean for a long time, bringing illegal weapons to massacre Somalis," he said.

Somalia has been torn by 18 years of civil war and hardline Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda are fighting to topple President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's fragile U.N.-backed government.

Some 19,000 civilians have died since the start of 2007 and more than 1.5 million have been driven from their homes, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

Somalia's pirates have no overt links to the country's hardline rebels but some southern pirate ports are in insurgent-held areas, and experts say there may be cooperation between some sea gangs and some rebels.

In the latest pirate attack, the European Union naval force EU Navfor said gunmen opened fire on a Hong Kong-flagged, 330 metre (1,080 ft), 160,000 tonne crude oil tanker, the BW Lion.

The attempted hijacking took place about 400 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 1,000 nautical miles east of the Somali capital Mogadishu, EU Navfor said.

"This was the longest range of a pirate attack off the Somali coast ever," it said in a statement.

Mwangura said the tanker had caught fire after being hit by automatic bullets and a rocket-propelled grenade, but there were no casualties and the captain had steered his ship to safety.

"There have been 12 pirate events in this area in the last 30 days. There is a high probability of attacks in this area for at least the next 24-48 hours. Weather conditions are expected to remain favourable for piracy...through this period," he said.

China pledged 10 billion dollars in concessional loans to African countries and promised to cancel all debts at the start of the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Egypt.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao pledged to give African countries 10 billion dollars in concessional loans as a two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation opened in Egypt on Sunday.

"We will help Africa build up its financing capabilities... we will provide 10 billion US dollars for Africa in concessional loans," Wen said at the start of the forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

He also pledged to cancel debts of African countries to increase his country's role in the continent.

The Asian giant pledged 5.0 billion dollars in assistance at the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, held in Beijing in 2006, and has signed agreements to relieve or cancel the debt of 31 African countries.

"China is ready to deepen practical cooperation in Africa," Wen said, adding that China was prepared to take on a role in "the settlement of issues of peace and security."

He also said China would set up environmental programmes in the continent, including 100 clean energy projects.

Chinese firms have been pouring investments into oil and other raw materials in Africa to fuel the Asian country's booming economy.

Over the past five years, Chinese direct investment in Africa has soared, from 491 million dollars in 2003 to 7.8 billion dollars in 2008, according to official Chinese figures.

Total trade between China and Africa surpassed 100 billion dollars in 2008, a tenfold increase in eight years.

Booming trade ties have been accompanied by China also building schools, hospitals and clinics to fight malaria and offering scholarships for Africans to study in China.

But Beijing's growing economic role in the poverty-ridden continent has also been met with some scepticism and criticism.

China has been accused of throwing a lifeline to pariah regimes accused of massive human rights violations, such as the government of Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Chinese officials say they follow a policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of African countries, and deny that Chinese investments and loans come with strings attached.

"Africa is fully capable of solving its own problems, in an African way," Wen said in his speech.

"China has never attached any political strings... to assistance to Africa," he said, adding that trade is based on "win-win programmes... and transparency."

KHARTOUM, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government said Monday non-participation of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in an economic summit in Turkey was due to pressures put on Ankara by the European Union, in addition to the current political situation in Sudan.

"After the pressures put on Turkey by the European Union rejecting participation of President al-Bashir in the summit, the political leadership decided to cancel the president's participation to avoid further pressures on Turkey," said Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Karti, in a statement issued at Khartoum airport Monday.

"The ongoing consultations between the Sudanese government partners, the National Congress Party, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, need the president to be present in the country, and therefore, the president decided not to go to Turkey," he added.

The Sudanese president returned to Khartoum on Monday after participating in the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which concluded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier in the day.

On Monday, Turkey hosted an economic summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference to seek means to enhance economic and commercial cooperation amid the global financial meltdown.

KINSHASA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have taken control of the town of Dongo in Equateur province, where a clash between two tribes killed dozens of officers coming to intervene last month, the authorities announced on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Congolese National Police (PNC) declared in the capital Kinshasa that Dongo is now under the control of the PNC who neutralized the assailants from both Enyele and Monzaya tribes.

The spokesman, who identified himself as the PNC general inspector, said a rapid response unit which was dispatched from Kinshasa managed to take control of Dongo at midnight, after having besieged the Enyeles who were the main players in the inter-ethnic insurgency and who benefited from the demobilized members of the DRC armed forces in their nasty job.

"Now is the time to carry out a cleanup, to pursue and to search for the main culprits in the insurgency so that they can face justice," the spokesman said.

He appealed to all the people who had fled the inter-ethnic confrontations to either neighboring villages or the Republic of Congo to return home, pledging security in the region.

The dispute between the two tribes over fishing rights could be traced back to 1940 and is the fifth ever since. The clash last broke out in April. Up to 100 people were killed in the latest flare-up, including more than 40 police officers. The confrontation also displaced more than 10,000 people, causing humanitarian problems.

KHARTOUM, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Saturday reiterated its commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between north and south the country, as tension is mounting between itself and its major partner in the government, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

"We are concerned about Sudan and we will not react to the SPLM stances. We will rather try all the means to contain the existing tension," said the NCP Deputy Chairman, Nafie Ali Nafie at a press conference in Khartoum.

Nafie accused some opposition political forces of working to undermine the political atmosphere, and crippling the process of democratic transformation and the elections, set for April 2010.

"The SPLM does not bear freedom and atmosphere of elections despite claims of its supporters," he said, adding "southern Sudan is currently governed by the SPLM intelligence and not by a civil government, that is why the SPLM seeks to prevent any electoral activity in the south and works with the opposition forces to cripple the electoral process in the north."

Nafie condemned what he called "organized harassment" by the SPLM, saying "there is harassment, threats and torture against the NCP cadres in southern Sudan."

He further stressed that the NCP would continue its political activity in southern Sudan.

The State Minister for Information and NCP member, Kamal Obaid, for his part, said the SPLM does not constitute a strategic partner to achieve peace in Sudan because of its practices which are against the simplest rules of political partnership.

"It is a separatist movement that uses racist and separatist expressions and there are signs that confirm its separatist line," he said, adding "the SPLM, with its political and security behavior, cannot be a strategic partner to achieve peace in Sudan."

Differences are mounting between the NCP and the SPLM, the signatories to the CPA, which ended a two-decade war between north and south Sudan in January 2005.

The SPLM is boycotting the sittings of the Sudanese National Assembly (parliament) and the Council of Ministers in protest against what it says delay in passing some bills relating to public freedom, including the bill on security and intelligence service and the bill on the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan.

YAOUNDE, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A series of conferences and workshops on African traditions will take place on Nov. 23-25 at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon, organizers told Xinhua on Friday.

Under the theme "Tradition and Modernity", these meetings aim to identify the challenges to African culture in globalization.

They are organized by the Center of International Studies in Biology and Anthropology (CEIBA) in Barcelona, Spain and the regional center for research and documentation on oral traditions and development of African languages (CERDOTOLA).

"The objective is to awaken the interest of students to learn and master in African studies while insisting on the fact that Africa needs to know herself, to know her identity so that she can define her own modernity," said executive secretary of CERDOTOLA Charles Binam Biko.

"The universities constitute a breeding ground for new African studies, which, according to the vision of CERDOTOLA, needs to go past the contemplative and romantic approaches in order to enter in the phase of appropriation of concepts and development of knowledge on Africa by the intelligentsia and the African youths themselves," he added.

The workshops to be guided by Spanish and Cameroonian experts will translate into four conferences and a symposium.

LAGOS, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ministers in charge of security from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have resolved to improve the free movement of persons and goods within the sub-region, and promote peace and integration.

The voiced the agreement in a seven-point communiqué read by Nigeria's Minister of Police Affairs Yakubu Lame on Friday.

The communiqué said the excessive acts of corruption involving security agencies along international highways and border crossings of member states have impeded the free movement of persons and goods.

It urged the security services to show discipline and professionalism when executing their operations to minimize cases of corruption affecting free movement.

"In this respect, security services of member states should form joint teams to prevent extortion and other corrupt practices at the borders and along the international highways connecting members' states," the communiqué said.

It urged member states where the ECOWAS passport was not yet in circulation, including Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Ghana, Mali and Sierra Leone, to ensure that it was available as soon as possible.

The communiqué quoted the ministers as urging ECOWAS commission to intensify efforts to fasts track the adoption of the community passport by member states.

The ministers also called on member states to abolish resident permit in implementing the decisions of the heads of state and government, recognize the Interpol passport and approve visa waiver for bearers.

NAIROBI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency is appealing for 2.8 million U.S. dollars to provide essential supplies and respond to possible disease outbreaks among more than 300,000 refugees in two camps in Kenya threatened by flooding.

Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in a statement received here Saturday that the agency has already begun to make engineering improvements in the two camps: Kakuma in north-western Kenya and Dadaab in the east.

"We fear that the looming El Nino phenomenon -- a change in the atmosphere and ocean of the tropical Pacific region that produces floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world – may now threaten the 338,000 mostly Somali refugees in the two camps, which in any case usually are flooded for three months every year," he said.

Located some 90 km from the border with Somalia, Dadaab -- the largest refugee site in the world -- is actually a complex of three camps that were built to house 90,000 people but today are home to more than three times that number.

Much of the money will be used to pre-position essential items such as fuel, blankets, plastic sheets, and to respond to possible outbreaks of disease.

"When heavy rains started three weeks ago, UNHCR began digging trenches and placing sandbags around hospitals, boreholes and other strategic locations in both camps," the statement said.

UNHCR began digging trenches and placing sandbags around hospitals, boreholes and other strategic locations in both camps when the heavy rains began three weeks ago.

The agency noted that if not for these and other measures, many sections of the camp would have been inundated.

"We are also preparing to locate to higher ground within the camps refugees who might be worst affected by the floods, particularly the chronically ill, disabled people, the elderly and children and teenagers on their own," he said.

"In order to protect refugees in Kakuma, the camp harder hit by floods in the past, we have diverted two seasonal rivers, the Tarach and Lodoket, that have often inundated lower grounds," he said.

The worst flooding in Kakuma was recorded in May 2003 when some16,800 refugees saw their homes destroyed.

A number of latrines also overflowed and collapsed, leading to the spread of water-bone diseases, including cholera and dysentery.

The overcrowded Dadaab complex, now home to more refugees than any other site in the world, last experienced severe flooding in 2006.

This is not the first time these two camps have had to deal with the impacts of severe flooding, UNHCR pointed out.

The worst flooding in Kakuma was recorded in May 2003, during which the homes of some 16,800 refugees were destroyed.

In addition, a number of latrines overflowed and collapsed, leading to the spread of water-borne diseases, including cholera and dysentery. The overcrowded Dadaab complex last experienced severe flooding in 2006, the agency added.

NOUAKCHOTT, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A partial election to replace a third of Mauritanian senators opens on Saturday in 18 constituencies in 13 provinces of the country, according to a press statement of the Interior Ministry.

The campaign for this election, which involves 18 of the 56 Senate seats including the Mauritanian African senator, came to an end on Friday midnight.

According to the observers, the ruling Republican Union (UPR) is the most favored in the election having attracted large numbers of supporters in the past weeks.

Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, House speaker and the loser of the July presidential election, has accused the government of Ould Mohamed Langhaf of interfering in electoral affairs and using his influence in favor of the ruling party.

YAOUNDE, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Central African countries will open a branch of traditional language research in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, according to an official statement released here on Friday.

The regional center for research and documentation of oral traditions and development of African languages (CERDOTOLA), which has its headquarters in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, will have a representation in Bujumbura to expand its influence, the statement said.

In the statement, the CERDOTOLA executive secretary, Charles Binam Biko, said he had paid a visit to Burundi and had seen a building made available for the purpose. The official said Burundiis committed to "equipping it with all the necessary logistics."

The statement also announced the appointment by the Burundian authorities "to the respective functions of CERDOTOLA representative and administrative assistant." Rose Nzobambona was named director general of arts and culture, and Rose Ndayiragije, coordinator of the national forum of artists for development.

A regional center with international status, CERDOTOLA was created in 1977 with the support of UNESCO. It has 10 member states including Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Chad.

An accord to host the headquarters of this body was signed with Cameroon on Dec. 7, 1979.

After several years of hibernation, the institution relaunched its activities in 2004 with the functioning of the Administration Council, the Scientific Council and the Executive Secretariat.

"The Burundi office is the first that we are opening. Very soon, others will follow," Binam Biko said, in reference to the DRC, the Republic of Congo and Chad as possible candidates.

He also indicated the possibility of opening an office in Gabon, which is not a member state.

"Gabon is not a member of CERDOTOLA, but she wishes that CERDOTOLA will open up to her, " the official said.

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Talks to end months of the political turmoil in Madagascar ended here on early Saturday with leaders of the major four political parties agreeing to settle the power share-out ahead of presidential elections in late 2010.

The four leaders agreed on the makeup of a transitional unity government, said a communiqué issued after the talks.

Andry Rajoelina, who overthrew former leader Marc Ravalomanana in March after weeks of violent street protests, remains president of the transitional unity government that will hold power until October 2010 elections, said the communiqué.

But Rajoelina, who is president of the ruling High Transitional Authority, now will be joined by two co-presidents and one prime minister from other parties, it said.

Ravalomanana will not join the transitional unity government, but he will appoint a close ally, representing his party, to join the government, according to an official from the African Union, who declined to be named.

The talks started on Tuesday with the mediation of the United Nations and the African Union, and Rajoelina, Ravalomanana and former presidents Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy all participated in the talks.

At the start of talks, the rivals remained deadlocked over the candidacy of the presidency of the transitional unity government.

Rajoelina demanded the presidency but was opposed by his rivals. He went back into the talks after briefly walking out Thursday night.

On Aug. 9 in Mozambique's Maputo, the four leaders agreed to share power in a 15-month transition during their first face-to-face talks.

However, in their second round of negotiations in Maputo in late August, they failed to agree on the transitional presidency and the post of the prime minister.

Since the beginning of the year, Madagascar has been stricken by political tensions, which have led to widespread violence, killings and arrests.

Ravalomanana resigned as president in early March amid a dispute with Rajoelina, the mayor of the capital city of Antananarivo, who is now the leader of the country.

NOUAKCHOTT, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Mauritanian government throws its weight behind an ongoing campaign against begging in a bid to improve human rights conditions.

Campaigners have set up four centers to take in people who had been reduced to begging in the capital Nouakchott at a cost of 1.2million U. S. dollars offered by the Human Rights Commission and the Humanitarian Action in Relation with the Civil Society (CDHAHRSC).

The campaign, carried out under the slogan "the fight against begging is a responsibility of all", targets the 1,780 beggars already identified to provide them accommodation and food.

The four centers opened in Nouakchott with a capacity of 600 people, offering meals, health care, courses to eliminate illiteracy and professional training of the handicapped.

The human rights commissioner, Mohamed Lemine Ould Dadda, said on Friday the CDHAHRSC launched this campaign to eradicate the shameful phenomenon of begging.

The campaigner called on all ulemas, sociologists and the civil society groups to work hard on a long-term sensitization program to end the phenomenon.

November 07, 2009


The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has said that he has a "strong case" against a number of people for crimes committed during post-election violence in Kenya in 2007.

Luis Moreno Ocampo announced in the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday that he planned to present two to three cases for trial possibly by July next year.

"Everyone is worried about the next election in Kenya in 2012. That is why I understand the importance of speed," he said.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ocampo said: "I'll go to the communities. I'll see the victims, listen to them. I have to collect the evidence.

"Then I'll present my case. Then the names will be known. In the meantime, my duty is to make criminal records ready - who gave orders to kill. That's it."

Ethnic clashes broke after the opposition disputed the re-election of Mwai Kibaki, the incumbent president.

At least 1,300 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced by the violence.

List of suspects

Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general, who acted as mediator following the crisis, cautioned that there was a serious risk that the violence would be repeated if the people responsible for the killings were not brought to justice.

In July, he gave Ocampo a list of suspects identified in a report by a Kenyan judge. Political sources say it includes cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and businessmen.

"My mandate is to end impunity; to prevent future crimes," Ocampo said.

Asked whether his investigation would not be a destabilising factor in the run-up to the next election, Ocampo said: "I'm aware of the need to have a peaceful election in Kenya and so I think that 2010 is the time to identify the evidence, identify suspects, the judges decide on them and [then we'll] be ready to hold the trail."

He met Kibaki and Raila Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, on Thursday and told them he would request the go-ahead for an investigation in December from the ICC's pre-trial judges.

Ocampo said he had taken the decision to proceed unilaterally because the Kenyan leaders, who now serve in a power-sharing government together, had decided against referring the case to the court in The Hague.

Kibaki and Odinga have reportedly agreed to co-operate with any trials, but reiterated that the government remains committed to "local judicial mechanism".

Numerous attempts to start a local process have stalled and many Kenyans are sceptical that anyone in a position of power will be arrested and charged.

aljazeera

November 07, 2009


The African Union (AU) has imposed sanctions on Guinea's military rulers, who seized power in a coup after the death of Lansana Conte, the president, last December.

The decision was announced on Saturday by Ramtane Lamamra, the AU peace and security commissioner, on the sidelines of a summit on the Madagascar crisis.

"Africa has implemented sanctions against several dozen people in Guinea who are opposing a return to constitutional order," he said.

"The list has been sent to AU member states, to the UN Security Council and to the European Union (EU) so that we can harmonise our positions and take appropriate measures."

Asset freeze

The sanctions include bans on travel and the freezing of assets held outside Guinea by the military leaders.

They were imposed after troops opened fire on September 28, at a rally in a stadium, in the capital, Conakry, where protesters were urging Moussa Dadis Camara, the country's military leader, not to stand in presidential elections planned for January.

Camara now wants to stand in the elections, despite his earlier committment not to do so and despite demands from the international community that he should not run.

At least 150 people died in the crackdown, according to the United Nations.

Human rights groups put the toll at 157 dead and more than 1,200 injured,
including women who were publicly raped.

The military government has admitted that 56 people died and 934 were wounded.

Arms embargo

The UN has announced it will set up an inquiry into the massacre while the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it will hold a separate preliminary inquiry to determine if war crimes were committed.

Both the AU and the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) have already suspended Guinea's membership after Camara seized power in a bloodless coup last December.

The EU agreed last week to impose an arms embargo on the West African country, and restrict the travel and freeze assets of those involved in the killing of the protesters.

The US government has also restricted travel to the United States by some of the ruling members as well as others who support actions that "undermine the restoration of democracy and the rule of law".

aljazeera