afrol News, 16 April - The government of Tanzania has announced its decision to grant citizenship to some 162,000 Burundian refugees who fled to Tanzania in 1972. The decision was met with joy among the refugees.

Tanzania's Home Affairs Minister Lawrence Masha today told a gathering of so-called "1972 Burundian refugees" that his government had completed a naturalisation exercise which began in 2008 and in total granted citizenship to 162,000 refugees.

A further 53,600 of the "1972 Burundians" had earlier opted to repatriate in 2008 and 2009 with help from the UN's refugee agency UNHCR. While the Burundian civil war has ended, the country still struggles with the aftermath of the long and brutal war.

"Let me be the first person to welcome you as Tanzanians and not refugees," said Minister Masha, visiting the Katumba ward in the south-west of the country. The Minister also posted the first formal notification list of Burundian refugees who were being granted citizenship.

Burundian refugees at Katumba, while expecting a positive message from the Minister, erupted in joy and cheer as the message was given. The Burundians have fought for Tanzanian citizenship for years.

Festo Crispin, a representative for the refugees, asked to speak and thanked the government. He pledged "that we shall be exemplary citizens," while adding that "we will continue to need your guidance and support until we are able to stand on our own."

Katumba was one of the three so-called "old settlements" inhabited by the 1972 Burundians. Similar notifications were simultaneously released in the two other settlements of Mishamo and Ulyankulu by senior Tanzanian immigration officials. The naturalized Burundians will now live among the general population.

Also in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, the first naturalisation ceremonies of Burundians were held today. Home Affairs Minister Masha handed over the first naturalisation certificates to three Burundian students, including Fidelitha Momenye, a final-year sociology student at the University of Dar es Salaam.

The 25-year-old student said it was an honour and privilege to be the first Burundian refugee from the old settlements to become a Tanzanian citizen. "It is a milestone in my life which will open new opportunities," said Ms Momenye. "I was born here, educated here, taught by Tanzanian teachers and helped by many Tanzanians all my life, I am ready to use my knowledge for the benefit of my country and community," she pledged.

Minister Masha warmly welcomed the new nationals. "Effectively they have all the rights of every Tanzanian. They are free to go anywhere and enjoy the full benefits of citizenship. They are free to seek employment anywhere and free to continue life as normal Tanzanians," he stressed.

The Tanzanian government announcement coincided with UN High Commissioner for Refugee António Guterres to the East African country. The UNHCR leader joined Minister Masha's visit to Katumba and was the first to congratulate the Burundian ex-refugees, were he received a warm welcome.

Mr Guterres praised the Tanzanian government for its "unprecedented generosity and courageous decision" to finding lasting solutions for these Burundian refugees. According to UNHCR, "this is the first time that any state has naturalized such a large group of refugees under the protection of UNHCR in a single move."

The UN refugee chief called on the international community to "recognise Tanzania's generous gesture" and appealed to donors to "respond positively to ensure that the process of integrating its new nationals is successful."

In Dar es Salaam, Mr Guterres met with Tanzanian Prime Minister Peter Pinda, who assured him of his government's commitment to integrate the naturalised Burundians into Tanzanian society.

afrol News, 16 April - The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS, or CEEAC in its French acronym) celebrated the opening of its new regional parliament in Malabo, the Equatoguinean capital, with the presence of all presidents of the Central African region.

President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the host nation, Equatorial Guinea, received visiting state leaders and led the large inauguration festivities. "The integration of our countries should presume an African reneissance," President Obiang said in his inauguration speech yesterday.

The festivities in Malabo had already started on Wednesday with the arrival of most state leaders of the Central African region. President Obiang received Chad's President Idriss Déby, Gabon's President Ali Bongo, Congo Brazzaville President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Central African Republic President François Bozizé at the Malabo airport on Wednesday.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya and São Tomé and Príncipe's President Fradique de Menezes arrived yesterday, with the latter only present as observer to the CEEAC event.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila did not participate in the Malabo event, as the DRC is turning its focus away from the CEEAC and towards the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which also has a parliament in South Africa.

The formal inauguration of the CEEAC parliament was celebrated yesterday, with hundreds of official participants from member countries. The newly appointed parliamentarians were shown their new working place.

Pierre Ngolo, President of the new CEEAC parliament, held a keynote seech at the ceremony, the CEEAC parliamentarians that "it is you that will be the
President Teodoro Ngeuma Obiang delivering his inauguration speech in the CEEAC parliament

actors charged with achieving the tru objectives of this institution, to help resolving the problems of the CEEAC zone in a peaceful manner."

Equatoguinean President Obiang welcomed the parliamentarians, describing the opening of the regional parliament as a "historic event". He also thanked his colleagues for granting Equatorial Guinea the opportunity to house this institution and to "take such an important responsibility."

"This is a very important occasion for my nation," said Mr Obiang. He promised to offer all possible assistance to CEEAC parliamentarians in their "work to consolidate democracy, dialogue and tolerance for the sake of our nations and to develop our activities in total transparency."

Congolese President Sassou Nguesso, the current leader of the rotating CEEAC presidency, in his speech said that "the opening of the common parliament is a result of our expressed joint willingness towards this institution." He declared that the goal of the CEEAC integration and cooperation was that all countries in the region should be "emerging economies by 2025."

With the opening of the CEEAC parliament, the Central African region takes one step closer to regional integration. CEEAC has however been considered a much looser cooperation area than the more established SADC, East Africa's EAC and West Africa's ECOWAS, with a greater emphasis on symbolic institutions and less emphasis on content or results.

afrol News, 16 April - Five years late, the national census report is presented, concluding there are now 19.4 million inhabitants in Cameroon. "Foul" cries the opposition, claiming figures are manipulated. Researchers agree they could be false.

The Central Bureau of Census collected its population data all over Cameroon in a major effort already in 2005. But only today, five years after, Deputy Planning Minister Abdoulaye Yaouba could present the conclusions of the General Population and Housing Census of Cameroon.

The thick report was full of interesting information about the country's population and household economy. But all the presented data were projections. Thus, calculations based on the counting in 2005 and mortality, fertility and migration rates were used to reach the conclusion that Cameroon on 1 January 2010 had 19,406,100 inhabitants.

The Deputy Minister at a Yaoundé press conference had many new facts - or rather projections - to present to journalists. It was learned that half of Cameroon's population is younger than 17.7 years; that urbanisation rate has reached 58.2 percent; that nearly 8 million Cameroonians live on less than CFA 500 (€ 0.75) per day; and that the population growth rate is at around 2.6 percent per year.

But journalists at the Yaoundé event were not impressed. The independent Cameroonian daily 'Le Messager' ironically called Deputy Minister Yaouba's presentation "the scoop of the year" before noting that most people present wondered "how the Minister was able to obtain current statistics from a census carried out in 2005."

Bernadette Mbarga, Director General of the Central Bureau of Census, did his best to answer an increasingly sceptical press body. He defended the logics of the projections used by the bureau, while journalists questioned how statisticians could end up using a population growth rate lower for the 2005-10 period than for the 1990s.

Not only journalists questioned the 19.4 million conclusion of the Planning Ministry. Many Cameroonians reported they never had been contacted by data collectors in 2005. Others questioned whether the Ministry had been able to include the many newly arrived immigrants from all over West Africa in their 2005-10 projections.

The results were also questioned by independent Cameroonian researchers. One statistical expert told the 'Journal du Cameroun' that the mere five-year delayal of the census' presentation indicated something had gone wrong. "This means only one thing, they had problems," he told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.

The strongest reaction came from the country's main opposition party Social Democratic Front (SDF) in a statement forwarded to afrol News. The party, which came same second to the ruling party in the last two elections, claimed the numbers presented were outright falsifications by government to ease manipulation of the upcoming presidential elections.

The SDF statement held that population numbers had been held exceptionally low, in particular in the western English language region and the pro-opposition coastal region. It especially questioned the population of Douala, set at 3.5 million. Population growth rates had been set far too low in these densely populated areas, the SDF alleged, while it had been inflated in the ruling party's interior strongholds.

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Brazil, Russia, India and China wrapped up their second BRIC summit on Friday, calling for new a multi-polar order for new global changes.

The gathering of the world's top emerging economies was truncated and brought forward a day to ensure the participation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who announced he had to race home to oversee the response to the quake.

"Brazil, Russia, India and China have a fundamental role in the construction of a fairer international order," the summit's host, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told a closing media conference.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also called the summit "very successful" and described the BRIC grouping as key to "contributing to world economic growth and prosperity."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also added that the meeting showed "the BRIC format is becoming full-fledged and allows us to not only coordinate our efforts but to also make concrete decisions."

A joint statement emphasized the group's intent to see a "multipolar, equitable and democratic world order" result from a shake-up of international financial institutions and the United Nations to better reflect the aspirations of their emerging economies.

It also spoke of "the importance of maintaining relative stability of major reserve currencies and sustainability of fiscal policies in order to achieve a strong, long-term balanced economic growth."

That vague clause appeared to refer to China's reluctance to unlink its yuan from the US dollar -- a policy that has boosted China's exports but raised cries of unfair currency manipulation by countries including the United States.

A trilateral summit between Brazil, India and South Africa held just before the BRIC summit agreed that more diplomacy was required in the international standoff with Iran over its peaceful nuclear program.

Lula, Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma "recognized the right of Iran to develop nuclear programs for peaceful purposes" and underlined "the need for a peaceful and diplomatic solution of the issue."

Brazil, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, has resolutely defended Iran.

"Our impression... is that the effectiveness of sanctions is debatable," Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told reporters, adding that Lula had set out that position in talks with the leaders of China and India.

"President Lula gave an explanation, to provide better transparency, on what we've done in relation with Iran. And we see great affinity with the points of view of each country," Amorim said.
Lula also discussed the issue with Medvedev.

The US, Britain, France and Germany have been urging the BRICs to support illegal sanctions against Iran.

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Brazil, India and South Africa agreed in a trilateral summit Thursday that more diplomacy was required in the international standoff with Iran over its controversial nuclear program.

The accord, struck in a brief meeting ahead of a BRIC summit in Brasilia, hewed to Brazil's line defending Iran from building efforts in the UN Security Council to slap the Islamic republic with more sanctions.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma "recognized the right of Iran to develop nuclear programs for peaceful purposes in keeping with its international obligations," they said in a joint statement.

They called on Iran to cooperate "fully" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and comply with UN Security Council resolutions.

But they also underlined "the need for a peaceful and diplomatic solution of the issue."

The three countries emphasized their separate long-held ambitions to wield decision-making powers on the UN Security Council by saying envisaged reforms of the United Nations needed "an expansion in both permanent and nonpermanent categories of its membership, with increased participation of developing countries in both."

India, which possesses nuclear weapons, expressed concern with Brazil and South Africa -- which both abandoned their nuclear arms programs years ago -- that lack of progress towards the "complete elimination of nuclear weapons" was of concern.

Brazil and South Africa condemned recent attacks in India, including a massacre by Maoist insurgents early this month of 76 policemen, as "terrorism."

The three countries called for more cooperation to battle terrorism with full respect of international law.

The leaders also supported efforts to revive the Doha round of talks in the World Trade Organization, pledged an extra two million dollars to help the Haiti quake reconstruction effort, and announced the development of satellites for weather and Earth observation.

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Electoral officials in Sudan on Friday began counting votes cast during a five-day election.

The first multi-party elections since 1986 are supposed to usher in a new era of democracy in Sudan, which is recovering from a decades-long civil war between the north and south, as well as conflict in the western province of Darfur.

However, major opposition parties boycotted the presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections, and massive logistical problems prevented many people from voting.

Sudan's ruling party, in an apparent attempt to appease the opposition parties, said late Wednesday it would invite opposition parties into a coalition government.

The elections, which began Sunday, had to be extended by two days through Thursday due to problems with ballot deliveries and voter registration.

Results are due on Tuesday.

The candidates of the Umma party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - the main party in the autonomous Southern Sudan - have pulled out of the presidential poll, although the SPLM contested elections in the south.

The opposition alleged that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) were planning to rig the poll and said they were worried about security in Darfur.

Despite the problems, the African Union and United Nations said there were no major problems and praised the generally peaceful nature of the vote.

Foreign election observers are due to release their reports on the credibility of the elections in the coming days.

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South Africa has allowed the sale of football World Cup tickets over the counter after registering poor online sales.

Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa in Johannesburg said the move came as half a million tickets remained unsold less than two months before the tournament kicks off.

Fifa, the world football's governing body, has lately voiced concern over South Africa's preparedness for the World Cup.

It said last February that around 700,000 tickets were still unsold and that Soccer City, the main venue for the World Cup, had not been completed.

But the tournament organisers insisted the venue would be ready and that they were only putting finishing touches to it.

The average ticket costs $20 but many South Africans find that price beyond their means.

Limited access to the internet and use of credit cards has hampered online sales.

Fifa has had to slash the prices of some unsold VIP tickets in the hope of selling them to South Africans rather than overseas fans.

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Sudan has begun counting millions of ballots after five days of voting in its first multiparty elections in 24 years.

The election, which was tainted by boycotts and accusations of fraud, was extended for two days after many polling stations opened without ballot papers.

Obsververs said the election is a step forward for the oil-producing country hoping to evolve into a democracy before a referendum scheduled for next year on independence for south Sudan.

But as the election entered its final day, nine members of Sudan's ruling party were reportedly killed in a shooting while voting took place in the south of the country.

Agnes Lokudu, the head of the National Congress Party in south Sudan, blamed Thursday's shooting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal state on the region's local military.

"Three days ago at night some southern army soldiers came to the home of the president of the National Congress Party (NCP) in Raja, and killed him and eight other members of the NCP," Lokuda said.

Anger at NCP

The NCP, which dominates the north of the country, rules alongside the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) as part of a peace deal that ended civil war in 2005, but there are significant tensions between the two parties.

Lokudu said the killings were motivated by anger that many people in the area had voted for the NCP.

Parties and independents opposing the SPLM, which leads the semi-autonomous government in the south, have previously complained of arrests and harassment.

But the SPLM denied that the separate south Sudan army was involved in the incident.

"This was a passionate crime to do with a wife - a feud that led to a shooting between the husband and lover," Suzanne Jambo, the head of the SPLM's external relations office, said.

"This is not political."

There has been little violence during the elections, despite tension being increased by boycotts of various parts of the process by opposition parties amid allegations of irregularities.

The SPLM pulled out of parliamentary voting in most northern states and withdrew Yasser Arman as a candidate for the presidency. The Umma party also pulled its candidate out the presidential race.

Those decisions left little competition for Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the current president and leader of the NCP who has in power for 22 years.

Ruling party offer

Al-Bashir's supporters seemed to reach out to the opposition parties on Wednesday, saying the NCP would invite opposition groupsto join the government if it won the current elections.

"If we are declared winners in the elections ... we would extend the invitation to all parties, even those who have not participated in the elections, to join the government," Ghazi Salaheddin, a senior leader of the NCP, said.

Al-Bashir's rivals gave a mixed reaction to the offer, which did not specify what role they might play in a new government.

"Let us talk about dialogue first, how to solve Sudan's problems," Fadlalla Burma Nasir, the vice-president of the opposition Umma party, said.

The SPLM's Arman said he was not interested in the offer and levelled further accusations of fraud against the ruling party.

"This is proof that they know the results in advance," he said.

Results of the elections are not expected until April 20.

afrol News, 16 April - The war of figures is back in the boardrooms, after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) announced a surprise proposal package for mobile operators to cut on their rates drastically.

The ICASA yesterday proposed a three-year downward route that would force South African mobile operators to significantly cut prices on current mobile and fixed line interconnection rates.

South Africa has always been said to be one of the most expensive countries for mobile services and internet consumers despite its fairly good infrastructure and mature market.

ICASA is proposing an almost 50 percent cut between July this year and July 2012 for both mobile and fixed service licensees. For instance, with the current mobile interconnect rates, of rand 0.89 per minute, the body is proposing a reduction to rand 0.65 from July 2010 and further reduced to rand 0.40 from July 2012.

The body further proposes that fixed interconnect rates be reduced to rand 0.15 from July 2010 and further reduced to rand 0.10 from July 2012, justifying its proposal as a benefit to the end users.

However, South Africa's main mobile operators, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C, have been caught unaware by the announcement, only saying they were yet to look into the proposal and seek both business and legal advice.

Recently investigated for fixing interconnectivity charges, the mobile operators are already saying the new proposed fixed rates could dampen their profits in a huge way and could actually suffocate the mobile business industry in the country. However, there was very little on the offing on the part of the operators to justify their interconnectivity charges.

Some operators have suggested they could actually lose up to 200 percent in profits, if the new rates are applied, but have said more details would be given at the public hearings.

For many market watchers in South Africa, the move by ICASA is seen as a checkmate, with the cartel accused companies having a little more than a month, until 2 June, to respond to the proposals by the regulatory body.

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Nine people were killed, including a member of President Omar al-Beshir's National Congress Party, as violence broke out on Thursday that was unrelated to nationwide elections, according to the southern Sudan army. The country held its first national election in 24 years.

Lam Akol, a candidate for the leadership of south Sudan, had said on Tuesday that two voters had been killed after the southern army opened fire at a polling station at Riak in the southern Unity State, according to Capital FM based in Kenya.

But the southern army said the killings actually happened in the remote village of Temsah, according to Kuol Deim Kuol, spokesman for the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

The dead, who also included seven civilians and a soldier, were slain as a result of a dispute about "adultery" that had "nothing to do with politics or elections," he added.

"A member of the NCP has committed adultery with the wife of a soldier of SPLM in the home of the soldier" who killed both of them, Kuol said.

Coming on the last day of landmark presidential, legislative and local elections, the incident led to clashes in which six NCP members were killed, before the soldier who had been cheated on committed suicide, he added.

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Kenya Airways cancelled flights to Europe due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland that saw clouds of ash drift to European airspace. "Kenya Airways regrets to inform its passengers, customers, the travel trade and the public that due to the unforeseen act of nature; volcanic eruption in Iceland, the airline has now cancelled its flights to and from London and Amsterdam until further notice," a statement said.

"Kenya Airways regrets to inform its passengers, customers, the travel trade and the public that due to the unforeseen act of nature; volcanic eruption in Iceland, the airline has now cancelled its flights to and from London and Amsterdam until further notice," said a statement from the airline.

"This is due to the clouds of volcanic ash towards European airspace leading to closure of the United Kingdom Airspace and London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol on safety grounds."

According to media reports, the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland erupted Wednesday night for the second time in less than a month.

The eruption -- the latest in a series that began on March 20 -- blew a hole in the mass of ice and created a cloud of smoke and ash that went high into the air.

Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Titus Naikuni, said that as a result flights KQ 101/15th APR from London to Nairobi and KQ 102/15APR from Nairobi have been cancelled.

"In Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport will be closed at 2100hrs local time. KQ 116/15APR is expected to land at 1700hrs as scheduled. However KQ 117/16APR to Nairobi is uncertain and a decision to operate is based on advice by the Netherlands Civil Aviation Authority (RLD) and the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as our partner and handling agent.

"The airline’s staff in London and Amsterdam are making all possible efforts to contact all our booked customers with this information in order to minimise the inconvenience caused by this unavoidable occurrence,” said Naikuni.

Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands also announced the closure of their air space, authorities in each country said.

The US Geological Survey said about 100 encounters of aircraft with volcanic ash were documented from 1983 to 2000. In some cases engines shut down briefly after sucking in volcanic debris, but there have been no fatal incidents.

In 1989, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747 flew into an ash cloud from Alaska's Redoubt volcano and lost all power, dropping from 25,000 feet to 12,000 feet (7,500 meters to 3,600) before the crew could get the engines restarted. The plane landed safely.

In another incident in the 1980s, a British Airways 747 flew into a dust cloud and the grit sandblasted the windscreen. The pilot had to stand and look out a side window to land safely.

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Humanitarian agencies in South Sudan are responding to a dramatic increase in the number of internally displaced people following an intensification of inter-tribal clashes. It is thought that the escalation of fighting is due to a series of different factors including a very low level of development compounded by insufficient rainfall in many parts of the south as well as the availability of small arms.

Below is a question and answer section with Marilena Chatziantoniou, who works for the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. She has been monitoring developments there.

Question: What is the current situation in terms of the number of internally displaced people (IDP) in South Sudan?

Marilena Chatziantoniou(MC): It can be difficult to get accurate figures of the number of IDPs in South Sudan given the huge size of the region and the remoteness of many communities; however according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 2009 there were around 390,000 new IDPs. This is more than any previous year since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 between the north and south of Sudan. By mid-March this year an additional 50,000 had been displaced.

Q: What has caused the increase in IDPs?

MC: The majority of people have fled their homes because of increased conflict between rival tribes or even disputes between clans within those tribes. The interesting question is why were there so many more IDPs in 2009.

It is a complicated combination of causes, but there are probably two main factors, at least in Lakes State, which I recently visited; in a very poorly developed region low rainfall has led to increased competition over resources, such as pasture and grazing land and the continued availability of small arms.

South Sudan normally would not suffer from drought conditions; indeed many areas are prone to flooding. But a very poor rainy season in 2009 has meant that many communities have lacked water and have been unable to grow crops. This in many places coincided with large-scale displacement resulting in the loss of food reserves and other household items.

Q: What are the reasons for this situation?

MC: Anecdotal evidence suggests that small arms are still available despite the government's disarmament efforts and so when there is conflict it can escalate easily and very quickly. There have always been tribal clashes in the south but one senior UN official I spoke to in Rumbek in Lakes State told me that rival tribes are now using 'excessive force' when fighting each other, which he said was a new development.

IDPs I have spoken to in different locations in South Sudan told me that when they were attacked, weapons were inevitably being used. It is estimated that in 2009, 2,500 were killed as a result of tribal clashes. In 2010, this trend has unfortunately continued will already almost 450 people killed by mid-March.

Q: What has the humanitarian response been?

MC: The European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) through its partners on the ground is responding to those crises where possible, helping the affected people. In South Sudan it is funding humanitarian relief work to the tune of 38 million euros for 2010.

I recently visited a group of 3,000 IDPs in Malou, not far from Rumbek in Lakes State, who settled around 20 kilometres from their original home following inter-tribal fighting.

Humanitarian agencies have provided them with food, shelter material and household items. ECHO, through its partner Oxfam GB, supported the building of a borehole which is now providing the IDPs with fresh clean water. Some of the people I spoke to told me that their children were healthier and no longer suffered from diarrhoea as a result of having access to this clean water.

Many people were also using the run-off water from the pump to water small gardens of leaves called kadura which they put in meat soups. We didn't expect to see gardens like this, they were not part of the plan, but they are a good illustration of how the people in Malou are helping themselves.

Nigerian security agencies have impounded a foreign vessel laden with suspected toxic waste after it berthed at the Lagos Tincan port, officials said Friday.

"We received an alert from the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement that a ship carrying e-waste and some toxic materials was heading to Nigeria," said senior environmental protection official Ngeri Benebo.

Benebo, who heads the National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA), said all the relevant security agencies, including the navy and port, were put on the alert.

Navy spokesman Commodore David Nabaida said information available after inspection showed that the "containerised ship" carried used batteries and electronics, including television sets.

"There is misinformation. The ship did not carry toxic wastes. It carried used batteries and television sets for resale in Nigeria. The ship's bill of lading also indicated this. And so, the ship's operation was above board," he said.

He did not say why the ship was not inspected when it landed on Thursday.

Benebo had accused port officials of frustrating efforts to inspect the vessel immediately on arrival to determine its actual contents, and said she feared that the container might have been tampered with overnight.

"Port officials said the vessel will be checked this morning, more than 24 hours after the ship's arrival. I only hope that the container suspected of containing toxic waste had not been removed," she said.

According to the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) the vessel with the registration name Maersk Nashville Hamburg arrived at the Tincan port in Lagos on Thursday.

In 1998, the dumping of toxic waste in Nigerian coastal town of Koko in southern Delta State by an Italian firm, sparked a diplomatic row between Nigeria and Italy.

The substances were later removed after the government evacuated residents of the polluted community.

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A US naval destroyer thwarted an attempt by suspected Somali pirates to seize a Thai-flagged ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, the multinational anti-piracy task force said.

The bulk carrier MV Thor Traveler came under attack in the early hours by a skiff with seven suspected pirates who fired on it for 10 minutes with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, a statement said.

A distress call was answered by the USS Farragut, whose helicopter "located the suspected pirate skiff as it was attempting to escape. The helicopter used spotlights and smoke floats to warn the skiff to stop and witnessed the skiff throw items overboard."

It said a boarding team confiscated further "pirate paraphernalia," and that the skiff was instructed to head back to the Somali coast.

The Farragut is the flagship of the task force, which was established in January 2009 to counter piracy and which patrols more than 2.5 million square miles (6.5 million square kilometres) in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia.

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Peacekeeping mission in Darfur says abducted South African police advisers are in 'good shape'

The peacekeeping mission in Darfur confirmed Friday that four South African police advisers who went missing this week were abducted, adding that they are in "good shape" and negotiations for their release are under way.

The joint United Nations-African Union mission, or UNAMID, said officials had made telephone contact with the advisers early Friday.

"We were able to talk to the abductees early this morning and they are in good shape," UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni told the Associated Press. "We are satisfied with this but we will be more happy if they are released soon unharmed."

The unarmed advisers two women and two men had not been heard from since Sunday afternoon shortly after they left their team site outside Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, on a 4 mile (7 kilometer) trip back to their private quarters.

In a statement Thursday to Sudan's official SUNA news agency, a group called the People's Democratic Struggle Movement claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and said it was ready to cooperate with the Sudanese government for the four advisers' release.

The group's leader, Jibrail Bukhari Abbas, said one of its members had independently carried out the abduction without instructions from the movement's leadership.

Abbas said his group had joined peace talks with the government just last week, and that the kidnapper was unaware of the development.

The Darfur conflict began in February 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum, claiming discrimination and neglect. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing militias on civilian populations a charge the government denies.

U.N. officials say at least 300,000 people have lost their lives from violence, disease and displacement, and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes.

While the number of people dying because of the Darfur conflict has diminished, crime has not.

Last year, two international staff members working for UNAMID, two international aid workers, and a staff member for an international aid organization were abducted.

In a report in late November, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the incidents of hostage taking of international workers "a new and deeply troubling development in Darfur, with the potential to undermine the efforts of the international community."

These incidents, as well as ambushes, carjackings and violent robberies of staff residences "underscore the extremely difficult and volatile conditions" in which UNAMID and humanitarian workers are working, Ban said.

After months of political turbulence, Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has regained relative stability and swept aside the immediate risk of chaos or even a coup, observers say.

Next year's presidential elections, with all their attendant problems and numerous stakes, are now the next greatest challenge facing Africa's premier oil exporter, they said.

"I would rule out the possibility of a coup now... the country is now a bit stable," said Bayo Okunade, political scientist at Nigeria's premier University of Ibadan.

"We cannot compare where we are now with where we were three months ago. That was a very dark period," he said.

Analysts said that Nigeria, with a history of successive military coups d'etat up till 1999, was spared another one after President Umaru Yar'Adua, suffering from an acute heart ailment, was hospitalised late last year for more than 90 days in Saudi Arabia.

After two and a half months of political vacuum, the parliament on February 9 voted Yar'Adua's deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, into office as acting president, a post that was confirmed when Yar'Adua returned to Nigeria on February 24.

Yar'Adua has neither been seen in public since November nor is his state of health known.

Jonathan, who has assumed power since February, has now appointed his own advisers and ministers and was this week guest of US President Barack Obama in Washington, in his maiden foreign visit.

The probability of a coup "has increased lately," according to an expert on Nigeria at the French Research Institute for Development, Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos.

And even though the risk has "diminished" in recent weeks, "it can not be ruled out" he said.

Ishola Williams, a retired army major general, disagreed.

"The army is one of the most ethnically balanced institutions. Every single ethnic group is in the military. So, to have a consensus to make a coup d'etat, the situation would need to be very bad. We haven't got to such a situation now," he told AFP.

"The military wouldn't attempt anything right now," said Williams, former head of Transparency International in Nigeria.

"There is some political stability now... The test will come as we move towards the elections," he added.

Jonathan should demonstrate his capacity to put in place the long-awaited electoral reforms ahead of the 2011 presidential poll and tackle Nigeria's national cankerworm, corruption, Williams said.

Jonathan's ability to consolidate a fragile peace in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta, where Yar'Adua had offered an amnesty to militants, would also be critical.

Violence resurged recently in the key region just as the country was wracked by sectarian clashes which claimed hundreds of lives in the central part of the west African nation.

Under an unwritten rule adopted by the Nigeria's main political party on power rotation between the mainly Muslim north and Christian-dominated south, the next elected president in 2011 should be a northerner.

The political plans of Jonathan, a southern Christian, are yet unknown, and his candidature cannot be ruled out.

However, if he vies for office it "would be destabilising", said Jonas Horner, analyst with the think-tank Eurasia Group in New York.

A good sign that the world's eighth oil exporter appears to be out of the political woods of recent months is that even if Yar'Adua were to pass on now, a much feared possibility for some time, political stability would be less threatened as the transition is well established, observers said.

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The top UN official in south Sudan warned on Friday that the impoverished region faced a major food crisis that could lead to "free fall," with half of its residents relying on aid this year.

"We have a very general problem of food insecurity across all of southern Sudan," Lisa Grande, the UN Deputy Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Juba, south Sudan, told AFP.

"We are looking at a situation where 4.3 million people require some forms of food assistance during the year," she said.

Failed harvests, people displaced for security reasons and rising food prices have all combined to create a "humanitarian perfect storm," Grande said.

She said places such as Akobo on the border with Ethiopia were among "the hungriest places on the face of the planet. And there are a lot of Akobos," she added, highlighting that seven out of the 10 southern states were "in trouble."

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has pre-positioned 60,000 tonnes of food all over the states which are in trouble before seasonal rains which could hamper deliveries in the region, Grande said.

The risk of famine could in turn lead to water-borne diseases and cholera epidemics.

"What we are avoiding is a free fall, when people are dying in mass. We are in a situation of struggle. We are at the break," Grande warned.

The fear of another failed harvest would create an "unimaginable situation," she said, hoping south Sudan's problems would not be overshadowed by troubles in Darfur, where a seven-year civil war has left around 30,000 people dead.

"This year, the attention has to be on the south. They are going through their moment of history," she said.

Former rebels the Southern People's Liberation Movement signed a peace deal with the Khartoum government in 2005 to end Africa's longest-running civil war which cost the lives of two million people and displaced twice as many.

The peace deal provided for the country's first multi-party elections, in which polling ended on Thursday, and for a 2011 referendum on independence in the south.

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Nigeria's new commerce minister has promised to ease trade barriers in the country's textile industry within the next few months, a ministry official said on Thursday.
Pile of folded of fabric, close-up

Jibril Martins-Kuye, who was appointed by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan last week, said sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy is burdened by numerous trade obstacles.

"On textiles, give me a few weeks to sit down in the office so we can address the (trade problems). As an industrialist with many decades of experience, I know where the shoe pinches," Kuye said earlier this week according to video provided to Reuters by the ministry.

Nigeria currently bans imports of finished textiles and designs, a restriction aimed at giving domestic manufacturers a chance to thrive.

But industry sources say the removal of trade restrictions would make the industry more competitive and create opportunities for global brands looking to invest in one of the world's least-tapped markets.

Rapid urbanisation and a fast-growing middle class in Africa's most populous country of 140 million people are providing investment opportunities in sectors ranging from retailing to banking.

Equity fund Actis and South Africa's Rand Merchant Bank said last month they had agreed to help finance a $100 million shopping mall in Ikeja, a sprawling middle-income neighbourhood of Lagos.

South African retailer Shoprite was also planning 70 new shops in Nigeria within the next decade, at least 20 of them in Lagos, said Michael Chu'di Ejekam, the head of West Africa real estate for Actis.

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africanews

Sudan's general elections took place without major incidents despite reported irregularities and boycotts by opposition parties, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday.

Sudanese voters wait in line at an outdoor polling station in the village of Dulab in Upper Nile state

Ban welcomed Khartoum's decision to extend the polling, the first in 24 years, from three to five days in order to accommodate delays and logistical challenges. He said the extension allowed more Sudanese to cast votes.

"In the coming days and weeks, the secretary general calls on all political leaders and their supporters to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the peaceful conclusion of the electoral process," a UN statement said.

"Electoral grievances should be addressed through appropriate legal and institutional channels and reviewed in a fair and transparent manner," the statement said.

The UN said Ban welcomed efforts of the "ruling parties" to engage with opposition candidates and parties, including those who boycotted the polls.

"The secretary general encourages all political actors in Sudan to tackle issues in a spirit of dialogue, towards a peaceful electoral outcome and ongoing implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement," the statement said.

The agreement signed in 2005 ended decades of warfare between Khartoum and Southern Sudan. A referendum is scheduled next year to determine the future of that agreement.

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africanews

The United Nations, which sent four separate missions to Angola during its devastating decades-long civil war in efforts to help end the conflict, is seeking to strengthen the capacities of the now peaceful southern African country in the field of investment.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) today issued a study outlining the legal framework for private investment in Angola in an effort to systematize information on the investment situation.

"To promote investment in Angola and successfully conclude international investment agreements, the Government must reinforce the legal framework for investment, and the report aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Angolan framework and its historic development," said the agency, which was established in 1964 to foster the development-friendly integration of poorer countries into the world economy.The study gives an overview of Angolan laws and decrees regulating private investment, in particular foreign direct investment.

The study gives an overview of Angolan laws and decrees regulating private investment, in particular foreign direct investment. Angola's involvement in international conventions and regional agreements on investment is also analysed and an overview of the international agreements on foreign investment signed by Angola is included.

The study was prepared by the UNCTAD TrainForTrade programme and the Division on Investment and Enterprise. The TrainForTrade programme for Angola aims at assisting the Government in implementing locally owned national training and capacity-building activities in international trade and investment. The project is funded by the European Commission.

Launched in 1998, TrainForTrade programmes seek to strengthen national and regional human and institutional resources for trade and investment as a key to growth for UNCTAD member countries, particularly the least developed ones (LDCs). The programme works with UNCTAD's research and analytical departments to design, update, and adapt learning materials and deliver training courses.

During Angola's civil war between the Government, backed by Cuban troops, and rebels led by Jonas Savimbi and supported by South African forces, the UN sent three separate verification missions, beginning in 1989, to help implement various efforts to end the conflict.

The first two successfully monitored the withdrawal of Cuban troops and oversaw a multilateral ceasefire. The third, sent after renewed fighting and mandated to deploy 7,000 troops, sought to help the parties restore peace and achieve national reconciliation, but was faced with continued conflict.

The fourth and final peacekeeping mission, the UN Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA), was withdrawn in 1999 following the collapse of the peace process and the shooting down of two UN aircraft.