TUNIS, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on Saturday sent his condolences to Poland over the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash, state-run TV channel reported.

"President Ben Ali sent a condolence message to Polish interim President and Diet Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski following the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and several senior officials in a plane crash in Smolensk region west of Russia," TV7 channel reported.

In this message, the head of state expresses heartfelt condolences, sincere feelings of compassion and sympathy and wishes for patience and solace to the people of Poland and families of the victims, it added.

A plane carrying the Polish president crashed in thick fog near the Smolensk airport in western Russia on Saturday, killing all 97 people on board.

EL FASHER, Sudan, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Concerned authorities in Sudan's North Darfur State on Saturday affirmed readiness of the state's regular forces to secure the general elections slated on Sunday.

"We have finalized all the necessary arrangements to secure the elections. The regular forces are ready to confront whoever attempts to cripple the electoral process," Osman Yousif Kibir, North Darfur State governor, told Xinhua Saturday.

"Darfur is secured and stable, and we are ready for the elections," he said.

Kibir further criticized the EU observation team over its decision to withdraw from the region, saying that "there is no justification for this measure."

The EU Observation Team earlier decided to withdraw its observers from Darfur for security reasons.

"I have decided to go back with all the other six observers that are still in Darfur," Veronique de Keyser, head of European Union Election Observation Mission to Sudan (EU EOM), told reporters earlier this week.

The Sudanese government, however, regarded the EU EOM's decision as based on anticipated judgments.

In the meantime, Head of the Higher Elections Committee in North Darfur State al-Sir al-Meck told Xinhua Saturday that all the organization arrangements for the elections in the state have completed.

He said that number of voters in the state has amounted to 691, 871, who will cast their votes through the 420 voting centers all around the state.

UNITED NATIONS, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The historic presidential and parliamentary elections in Sudan must be conducted peacefully and credibly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday, urging the Sudanese government, electoral authorities and political parties to play their part to ensure the polls take place free of violence or intimidation.

Sudanese will go to the ballot box on Sunday for the first time in 24 years to elect a national president, and they are also being asked to cast a vote for a southern president, state governors and for members of national and local assemblies.

These elections are "an important milestone in the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)" that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan, Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson here Saturday, in which he welcomed the poll and called on all Sudanese to exercise their right to vote.

"For the international community, the holding of peaceful and credible elections is of paramount importance," Ban added.

Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad expressed confidence here Thursday that the upcoming Sudanese national elections set for Sunday will be "fair, transparent and successful."

"I can ensure that everything is set for a fair, democratic and transparent elections that everybody in Sudan will be proud about, " Mohamad told reporters here at the UN Headquarters after Security Council consultations on Sudan, which will hold the elections on Sunday.

The lead-up to the election, which will take place over three days beginning on Sunday, has been marked by international concerns over the conduct of the vote. European Union (EU) observers had withdrawn from the war-scarred Darfur region because of security concerns and some opposition parties reportedly said they would boycott the poll.

In the UN statement, Ban said he hoped the election would " contribute to the opening of political space in Sudan" in advance of two critical referenda scheduled for next January that will determine whether southern Sudan will secede and the status of a disputed region in the center of the country.

"The secretary-general encourages the government, the National Elections Commission (NEC) and political parties to ensure that the elections are conducted in a peaceful atmosphere, free of violence, harassment or intimidation and to engage in dialogue to address outstanding concerns," the statement said.

The UN has provided technical assistance and limited logistical support to the NEC following a request from the UN Security Council, but both Ban and the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy have stressed this week that the polls are a nationally-owned process.

On Thursday, Le Roy, who briefed the 15-nation Security Council on the status of preparations for the polls, told the press that while he was encouraged by some steps regarding political freedom and ensuring candidates have equal access to the media, some concerns remain.

"It will be for observers -- 750 international and 18,000 domestic -- to assess the elections," Le Roy said. "It will be important that the process and results be regarded as legitimate by the Sudanese population."

ALJAZEERA

Sudanese have begun voting in the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years, despite the credibility of the process being marred by an opposition boycott and accusations of fraud.

Polls opened at 0500 GMT on Sunday as 16 million registered voters are asked to vote for their president as well as for parliamentary and local representatives.

The polls run over three days and will close on Tuesday.

Southern Sudanese are also voting for the leader of the semi-autonomous government of south Sudan.

Omar al-Bashir, the incumbent president, is almost certain of victory in the presidential race after opposition candidates pulled out, alleging widespread bias against them in the electoral system.

Yasser Arman, a northern Muslim representing the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement(SPLM), and Sadiq al-Mahdi of the Umma Party,have both withdrawn from the race.

Controversial vote

They accuse al-Bashir of fraud and say free and fair conditions for the elections are not in place, particularly in Darfur, the western region under a state of emergency since civil war broke out seven years ago.

Darfur rebel movements, who control parts of the vast region, firmly rejected the elections but have so far not stated any intentions to derail the process.

While the result of the presidential poll holds little suspense, elections for parliamentary and local representatives are still fiercely competitive in many parts of the country.

Activists cautioned on Saturday that the credibility of the election had been undermined by the allegations, which they said have been ignored by al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party(NCP).

"Violations of human rights - particularly restrictions on freedom of assembly and freedom of the press - are threatening prospects for a free, fair and credible vote across Sudan," Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said.

"Sudanese authorities are clearly failing to uphold international standards."

Frenetic preparation

Election organisers rushed on Saturday to get ballot papers to the more remote parts of the country.

Sixteen airplanes, 16 helicopters and more than 2,000 vehicles were mobilised in the past two weeks to transport ballot boxes around the country.

"I hope that it will be completely compatible with international standards, and safe and free and fair, and that the decision of individual voters will be expressed freely without intimidation," Jimmy Carter, a former US president, whose Carter Centre is monitoring the three-day vote, said.

Security forces have been deployed in strength, as have international peacekeepers in both the war-torn western region of Darfur and in the south.

More than 100,000 police officers will be on duty, a security official said, and embassies in the capital Khartoum have advised their nationals to adopt precautionary measures such as stocking up on food and fuel.

Looming referendum

Hopes have dimmed that the elections will be a watershed moment as Sudan attempts to put decades of conflict behind it.

Last-minute boycotts have revealed the fragility of the 2005 peace dealthat ended the country's long North-South civil war.

The NCP has ruled Sudan in a coalition with the SPLM since the signing of the peace agreement.

Part of that deal was an agreement that Southern Sudan could hold a referendum on independence and many in the south see these elections as step towards that goal.

"The people here are looking at these elections as a stepping stone to reach the referendum," Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from the southern city of Juba, said.

"It's a very important vote for the people in south Sudan, certainly more important than the vote that will happen in days to come."

Analysts said on Saturday that renewed violence over the outcome of the coming election is a distinct possibility.

"If elections are to take place in such compromised environment, conflicts about the legitimacy of the results might spark violence," the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said in a statement.

20100410
ALLAFRICA

Sunday's historic presidential and parliamentary elections in Sudan must be conducted peacefully and credibly, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging the country's Government, electoral authorities and political parties to play their part to ensure the polls take place free of violence or intimidation.

Sudanese go to the ballot box for the first time in 24 years to elect a national president, and they are also being asked to cast a vote for a southern president, state governors and for members of national and local assemblies.

These elections are "an important milestone in the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)" that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan, Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson in which he welcomed the poll and called on all Sudanese to exercise their right to vote.

"For the international community, the holding of peaceful and credible elections is of paramount importance," Mr. Ban added.

The lead-up to the election, which will take place over three days beginning tomorrow, has been marked by international concerns over the conduct of the vote. European Union (EU) observers had withdrawn from the war-scarred Darfur region because of security concerns and some opposition parties reportedly said they would boycott the poll.

Mr. Ban said he hoped the election would "contribute to the opening of political space in Sudan" in advance of two critical referenda scheduled for next January that will determine whether southern Sudan will secede and the status of a disputed region in the centre of the country.

"The Secretary-General encourages the Government, the National Elections Commission (NEC) and political parties to ensure that the elections are conducted in a peaceful atmosphere, free of violence, harassment or intimidation and to engage in dialogue to address outstanding concerns.

The UN has provided technical assistance and limited logistical support to the NEC following a request from the Security Council, but both Mr. Ban and the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy have stressed this week that the polls are a nationally-owned process.

On Thursday Mr. Le Roy, who briefed the Council on the status of preparations for the polls, told the press that while he was encouraged by some steps regarding political freedom and ensuring candidates have equal access to the media, some concerns remain.

"It will be for observers - 750 international and 18,000 domestic - to assess the elections," Mr. Le Roy said. "It will be important that the process and results be regarded as legitimate by the Sudanese population.

20100410
ALLAFRICA

Benin City — Former military President General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) on Saturday declared his intention to run for the 2011 Presidential election.

IBB who spoke to newsmen at the Benin Airport while on his way to Asaba, Delta state, to attend the commissioning of Mariam Babangida dual carriage way and a lecture in honour of his late wife, said the persistent rumour by most Nigerians including his political associates and admirers about his intention to return to Aso Rock as a civilian President "is correct".

The former military President who was dressed in a white Babariga, landed at the Benin Airport in a charted airline with registration number 5N-BLW at about 9:30am and was greeted by the Governor of Delta state, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and the deputy governor of Edo state, Dr Pius Odubu. The Governor of Niger state, Alhaji Aliu Babangida was also in the entourage of the former President. Other dignitaries at the airport included Senator Ehigie Uzamere, Chief of Staff to the Edo state government, Osarodion Ogie and John Mayaki.

It would be recalled that the former military president who ruled Nigeria from 1985 - 1993, had told Nigerians during the 54th birthday of Otunba Gbenga Daniels, Governor of Ogun State that he was still consulting with his friends and allies on whether he would contest the 2011 presidential election.

Only recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to have held secret meeting with Babangida on the 2011 presidential election. Asked what he was going to do in Delta state, IBB asserted that "I am going to Delta State because of the special love I have for it and courtesy of the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. I am looking forward to going to Delta state because that is my ancestral home. I think that is enough for today".

Governor Babangida who also spoke to newsmen, stated that Nigerians look forward to the thorough implementation of the Justice Uwais report on the electoral reform in order to enthrone a transparent electoral process before the 2011 general elections.

He said the reform exercise was the only panacea for the emergence of credible leaders without questions about their character and ability to deliver on the dividends of democracy. "All of us are looking forward to it (electoral reform) because we want a legitimate election. We want an election everybody will accept. We want leaders that will emerge, that can say stop these things. We don't want people whom we will doubt whether they are actual leaders".

Other dignitaries with General Babangida included the former National Chairman of the United Nigeria Poeples Party, Alhaji Saleh Jumbo and the former Director of military Intelligence (DMI), Halilu Akilu and several others.

20100410
ALLAFRICA

Washington — As the World Bank approved a controversial three-billion-dollar loan for a coal-fired power plant in South Africa Thursday, both the details and the broader impacts of the loan continue to be criticised by community and environmental groups.

The U.S., Britain, Netherlands, Norway and Italy abstained from voting on the loan, thus showing their opposition without taking the stronger, less-diplomatic action of voting "no". Their concerns were largely environment or climate-related, but there are also numerous criticisms of the possible effect of the plant on local communities and its lack of effect in bringing more reliable electricity to the population.

"Energy insecurity and climate change are two of the most significant development challenges of our time," Sarwat Hussein, senior communications officer for the World Bank's Africa region, told IPS in South Africa, pointing out that only one in four Africans have access to energy. "This project is an attempt to achieve energy security and lay the foundations for a greener future."

But whether the plant, being built by South African utility Eskom in the country's northern Limpopo region, will achieve either of those goals has been called into serious question.

"The project generally has been purported as a project that will help poor people, and will it? No," says Michael Stulman of Africa Action.

In a statement announcing the loan's approval, the World Bank stressed how the loan "aims to benefit the poor directly, through jobs created and through additional power capacity to expand access to electricity."

But, Stulman told IPS, "The decision really shifts the burden onto the poor communities."

This burden would come in the form of pollution, reliance on greenhouse gases and the costs of paying back the loans, he said.

This loan, like most of the bank's actions, is aimed at decreasing poverty through development. "We know that industrial development does not necessarily mean employment because we have seen jobs drop as we have large capital development projects in the country," said Bobby Peek, director of the South African environmental justice and development organisation groundWork.

Critics also point out that the plant, Medupi, is already having detrimental effects for the health of those living in the area.

Peek reports illegal coal mining is already underway there and that large amounts of water are going to be - and are being - extracted from rivers. Many of those rivers will face contamination from mercury and other toxicants, as will the air from sulphur and carbon dioxide.

Residents of Limpopo Province filed a complaint Tuesday highlighting these and other concerns with the World Bank's independent complaint body, the Inspection Panel.

A protest was also organised for Wednesday, in which about 60 people converged outside World Bank headquarters here.

But with Thursday's vote already on the calendar, opponents faced an impossible battle. Once a loan proposal comes before the bank's board of executive directors, its approval is virtually a foregone conclusion.

This has not stopped many of the contentious details of the proposal from gaining greater scrutiny over the past couple of days, however.

In one, South Africa's ruling party has investments in Hitachi Africa, which has been contracted to build a boiler for the Medupi project. Since those contracts predate the bank's loan - which forms only a fraction of the over 17 billion dollars needed to complete the project - the bank and Hitachi say it can be ensured that no bank money goes to that component, and thus potentially to the political party.

"The Hitachi component is not part of what we are financing. We were not party to awarding a contract, and we are not a party to its payment," Hussein said.

In another, the fact that the loan is in dollars could make it more difficult to repay.

"This means we have to get foreign currency in dollars," Peek told IPS in South Africa, explaining that if the Rand weakens to the dollar the size of the loan will increase and that the country will have to depend more on exporting and exporting at cheaper prices.

"It won't only be a financial debt but a climate debt," said Stulman.

Climate change is expected to hit developing countries, especially those in places like southern Africa particularly hard.

Coal emits more carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced than any other fossil fuel and the Medupi plant is expected to emit 25 to 30 million tonnes per year.

"Simply put, we are very disappointed by the decision by the U.S. and other executive directors," said Stulman.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a guidance memo in December directing U.S. representatives on the boards of multilateral development banks - such as the World Bank - to encourage building demand in developing countries for no- or low-carbon energy sources.

Africa Action and other organisations had hoped this would translate into a vote opposing the loan, rather than an abstention.

"The coal lending guidelines are a good start - but now the bank should adopt them and Treasury must show, at a minimum, that it is willing to act on them," said Peter Goldmark, director of the climate and air program at the U.S.-based Environmental Defence Fund.

The coal-fired Medupi plant - which many say is one of the most contentious loan proposals in recent history - notwithstanding, the World Bank is also funding numerous efforts to address the effects of climate change and provide support for low carbon projects, largely through the Climate Investment Funds which the bank approved in 2008.

In addition to the 3.05 billion dollars for Medupi, the loan approved Thursday includes 260 million dollars for wind and solar projects and 485 million "for low-carbon energy efficiency components, including a railway to transport coal with fewer greenhouse gas emissions".

Hussein calls these "important steps to support South Africa's long term plans to mainstream renewable energy technologies".

When the external costs on health, communities and the climate are factored in, though, the cost of using coal power will be much higher than that which could be provided by a plan that features a more reliable grid and renewable sources of energy, contends Stulman.

20100410
ALLAFRICA

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has described as "regrettable and unacceptable" the behaviour of Julius Malema, his party's youth leader, who this week verbally abused a BBC reporter, calling him a "bastard" and a "bloody agent."

In a statement released at a news conference held in Durban Saturday, Zuma also emphasised that a court order banning the singing of a liberation movement song referring to "shoot the Boer" needed to be respected, but insisted on the right of the ruling African National Congress to support an appeal against the order.

And referring to reports of heightened racial tensions this week, he said: "We should not be dismissive of such concerns, and should be prepared to engage in dialogue to address them. But we must acknowledge that South Africans remain united in their support for the Constitution, the values it enshrines, and the democratic institutions it has established."

20100410
ALALAM

Sudanese security forces, UN peacekeepers, international organizations and the people of Sudan have all boosted security measures ahead of the nation's general elections.

Embassies in the Sudanese capital have advised their citizens to adopt "precautionary measures," in the event of demonstrations.

"We have planned for more than 100,000 police officers to supervise the elections (in North Sudan)," General Mohammed Ahmed Ali, in charge of election security, said earlier this week.

The security forces are increasingly visible in Khartoum, amid rumors that some residents have left the city as a precautionary measure.

The United Nations "blue helmets will ensure safety in areas where the threats of armed conflict are present," said Haile Menkerios, a UN special representative in Sudan.

The United Nations has nearly 10,000 soldiers and police officers in south Sudan and in border regions.

The southern former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) threatened it was withdrawing from the vote in all northern areas except disputed districts of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

The party's candidate, Yasser Arman, has claimed: "These elections are not about the crises Sudan is facing. Things will be worse after the elections."

The SPLM is still campaigning strongly to head the autonomous regional government that will rule the south up to a promised referendum on independence next January, and its leader Salva Kiir wrapped up his campaign with a rally in the regional capital Juba.

20100410
AFRICA NEWS

They swaggered to their duty posts; wearing grave faces that matched their awesome amour, as their vehicles whirled and screeched, throwing up so much dust that eclipsed the reddish glare of the setting sun. It sent animals and little children scurrying for safety.
ghana
The elaborately quipped contingent of the Ghana army, Police, Immigration and National Security Personnel bristling with high morale and patriotic fervour, stormed Ghana's south-western border towns, jolting dozing farmers into full wakefulness ‘Do Not Smuggle Cocoa’ in an operation nicknamed ‘operation hunter’.

When the dust of "Operation Hunter" settled, The New Crusading Guide newspaper based in Ghana went undercover, and can confirm with hard core audio visuals that the much-vaunted joint exercise to crush the smuggling of cocoa across Ghana's Western borders into Cote d'Ivoire has turned out to be an utter national disgrace. The men we trust are in league with the thieves to deprive mother Ghana of her needed revenue.

Our ace investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who went undercover under the name Kwame Nkua Afukaa of Sefwi Anyinabrim, captured very damming findings on some men of the security agencies aided people to smuggle cocoa outside the boarders of the country; a revelation which has angered Ghana’s President Atta-Mills.

These officers aid the smugglers in crossing borders with bags of cocoa by finding suitable paths and contacts to enable them to do this. This is done in exchange for bribe money, most of which has been captured on video by our reporter.

Smuggling spree

Our investigations revealed that, some security officials from the National security mandated to co-ordinate the efforts of other anti-smuggling security officers, equally engage in the smuggling spree.

Resources that were provided by government as part of anti-smuggling processes are used to assist the smugglers. Our hidden cameras captured these vehicles in the smuggler’s camp during our investigations.

The smuggling of small amounts of cocoa using motorbikes and taxis is overlooked as security personnel do not take into account their significance and allow them to cross the borders.

It was revealed also that Ivorian patrons (cocoa smuggling mafias) are given free reign as they bribe farmers with gifts so that they are able to buy cocoa at lower prices in Ghana and resell it at higher market prices in Ivory Coast which offers them unimaginable high profits.

The fertilizer subsidy system, as implemented by government is being undermined by Input officers. These officers divert the fertilizers meant for Ghanaian farmers and sell to Ivoirians while the Ghanaian farmers look on helplessly.

Helping smugglers

Investigations revealed that instead of fighting criminals, these security forces are seen to be helping smugglers. They provide smugglers with vital information that enable them smuggle their goods. Undercover camera’s captured some security officials from the Police, Military, CEPS and National Security (Castle Annex) assisting smugglers by providing them with directions to the best areas to cross the border, links to contacts at border posts and other relevant contacts who could of help to them in smuggling their goods even at prohibited areas.

Some security officers were even caught on camera as they negotiated on how to facilitate the movement of smuggled cocoa in exchange for bribe-money. They normally charge a 5% bribe of the price of smuggled cocoa.

Their personal greed overpowers their sense of dedication to their work and their job appeared to be merely a way of gaining personal wealth. Not only do they receive a wage from their employers but also take bribe money from the smuggler; therefore increasing their income whilst emboldening the people who are smuggling the cocoa.

Operation Hunter was unable to achieve or had been prevented from achieving its objectives. In an interview with the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, he admitted that he was unaware of the existence of a task force code-named Operation Hunter.

The CEPS Public Relation Chief also sermonized on how committed his outfit was in fighting smuggling, challenging anybody with evidence to bring it for action to be taken against them.

Some personnel of Local Buying Companies (LBCS) like Armajaro, Diaby and Transroyal were caught on video trying to help smuggle cocoa to Ivory Coast in order to get a higher price.

They buy it in Ghana at the lower fixed price of GH¢138 (recently increased to GH¢150) a dollar equivalent of US$110 before transporting it back to Ivory Coast and sell it at higher market price, which was recently as high as GH¢173 (US$130).

Some of the LBC workers involved were consumed by the thought of how much profit they would make and would not close negotiations until they were certain that they would receive a desirable sum of money. It was also apparent that smuggling of cocoa was not gender-restrictive as a few women were seen to be actively involved in smuggling cocoa.

Meanwhile, before the story was due to be published, President Mills who had earlier seen the video paid a visit to the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and unusual of him said, “I have pain in my heart, because some of your colleagues are spoiling your good name. I’m getting daily reports about acts of collusion, about bribery, about under-valuation, and worst of all I have first-hand evidence of customs officers helping smugglers to smuggle goods across our borders. In one I have a video of this.

“My brothers and sisters I know how hard some of you are working, how selfless some of you have been, but you are the largest revenue mobilizing agency, if therefore there is a hole in your collection it affects the whole economy. People have been criticizing us ‘we have not seen anything, we have not seen anything’, they have forgotten that when we took over, the huge budget deficit, domestic primary balance was in the negative which meant that we were consuming more than we were collecting.”

20100410
INFORM

South Korea ordered a warship out of Somali waters after the owner of a hijacked South Korean supertanker began negotiations with its captors, a report said Saturday.

The navy destroyer had been trying to stop pirates heading the tanker into Somali waters but the risk of endangering the ship's crew prevented any military manoeuvres, Yonhap news agency said, without giving details on its source.

It said that now negotiations with the pirates had begun, the destroyer, Chungmugong Yisunshin, had been told to return to its usual area of operation in the Gulf of Aden.

The 300,000-tonne Samho Dream with a crew of 19 Filipinos and five South Koreans was seized Sunday in the Indian Ocean as it took crude oil from Iraq to the United States.

"The government decided the Chungmugong Yisunshin's tasks have been completed, and therefore the destroyer will return to its area of operation," Yonhap cited the source as saying.

The 4,500-tonne South Korean warship was in the Gulf of Aden on anti-piracy operations with about 300 soldiers on board.

Pirates from the lawless Horn of African country have turned the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean into a dangerous route for foreign vessels. In recent months, the sea bandits have shifted to the Indian Ocean to avoid international navy patrols in the Gulf of Aden.

20100410
PRESS TV
Following a pre-election row in the Central African Republic, former head of state Ange Patasse remains the sole challenger to President Francois Bozize.

The Independent Election Commission said Saturday that only Bozize and Patasse had officially registered by the deadline of midnight Friday, AFP reported.

The Forces of Change Collective, a coalition of opposition parties and former rebels, has boycotted the May 16 presidential vote, criticizing "conditions that do not guarantee credibility, reliability and transparence."

The opposition maintains that postponing the election from the scheduled April 25 to May 16 has failed to prepare the country, with its decades-long history of insurgency, for the vote.

Bozize has been in power since ousting president Patasse in 2003 and won the last presidential election in 2005.

The arch-rivals made peace under an unspecified "agreement" in November 2009, when Patasse returned from a seven-year exile in Togo.

Patasse later hailed the deal as beneficial to the Central African people.
Since independence from France in 1960, the country has been rocked by several coups and endured a tyrannical rule, which have slowed down development in a country rich in agricultural, water and mineral resources.

20100410
PRESS TV

On the eve of presidential, parliamentary and local elections, Sudan is facing criticism that major opposition boycotts undermine the credibility of the process.

Several main opposition parties have walked out of April 11-13 vote — billed as the African country's first multi-party elections in 24 years — after their calls for a delay over rigging concerns were denied.

The Umma Party has completely withdrawn from the race, while the main opposition party of Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has announced that it would only contest in the south.

The row ignited after it was revealed that the National Election Commission has contracted a government-owned company to print ballots instead of a Slovenian firm.

The boycotts leave only minor opposition groups to challenge President Umar Al-Bashir's ruling party in the north.

Al-Bashir, who is widely expected to win reelection, has promised a free and fair vote.

A landmark peace deal in 2005 that ended over two decades of north-south conflict paved the way for the elections.

Some 16 million people are eligible to vote, but due to widespread illiteracy and lack of basic transportation the United Nations has expressed concerns that many Sudanese may not be able to access polling stations.

Preparations reportedly include a security force of over 100,000 police officers over the vote period.

20100410
PRESS TV

Somali armed group al-Shabab has banned Somali language transmissions by the BBC and VOA inside the country.

In a Friday press release, al-Shabab leaders ordered the local Mogadishu radio and other news organizations transmitting the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) or the Washington-based Voice of America to immediately terminate their contracts.

The group accused the BBC and VOA of negative propaganda against Muslims while supporting the transitional government, a Press TV correspondent reported from Mogadishu late Friday.

Al-Shabab also said that the BBC had been broadcasting the agenda of crusaders and colonialists against Muslims.

In reaction to the ban, VOA issued a statement Friday afternoon, saying that "VOA regrets this decision. We believe broadcasting news and information on FM stations serves the Somali people."

The BBC, in its defense, said it was strictly impartial and spoke to all sides in the conflict.

2010-04-10
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Saturday told the head of the ANC youth wing, who has stirred controversy with a series of racially tinged outbursts, that he must obey the ruling party's discipline.

Youth leader Julius Malema has angered critics with his calls for nationalisation of South Africa's mines and backing for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. This week he ejected a white journalist from a news conference with a barrage a racial abuse.

Zuma castigated Malema on issues ranging from Zimbabwe, treatment of the media and his refusal to stop singing a song containing the words "Kill the Boer" that has been banned by the courts.

Zuma said Malema's conduct and statements were totally alien to the culture of the African National Congress.

"The ANC Youth League is not an independent body. It exists within the umbrella policy and discipline of the ANC," Zuma told a media briefing in Durban.

Malema has no policy-making role but has become prominent through his racial rhetoric and has a loyal following within the ANC Youth League and among some black South Africans who feel the end of apartheid should have delivered more.

Zuma rejected Malema's comments that the Youth League would support President Robert Mugabe to win the next elections in Zimbabwe, where Zuma has been trying to mediate an end to a ruinous political crisis.

"We cannot and will not side with any one of the parties to the exclusion of others," Zuma said, adding that he would continue to facilitate a resolution in Zimbabwe and to treat all parties with respect.

The ANC had already told Malema, 29, to avoid inflammatory language after the murder of white supremacist Eugene Terre'blanche stoked racial tensions. But Malema made clear on Thursday he would not be silenced.

"We reiterate that leaders should think before they speak, as their utterances have wider implications for the country," Zuma said, adding that Malema should respect the high court ruling banning the "Kill the Boer" song.

"The dignity and decorum of the institution (court) must always be protected and defended," he said.

Zuma also criticised Malema for expelling a British Broadcasting Corporation journalist from a news conference on Thursday. On camera, Malema called the reporter a bastard and "bloody agent" with a "white tendency".

Zuma said the manner in which the BBC journalist was treated was regrettable and unacceptable, regardless of any provocation on his part.

2010-04-10
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Activists warned on Saturday on the eve of Sudan's historic elections of widespread misdeeds threatening to mar a vote that had been hoped would give Sudan new democratic legitimacy and help end decades of conflict.

"Violations of human rights - particularly restrictions on freedom of assembly and freedom of the press - are threatening prospects for a free, fair and credible vote across Sudan," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa Director of Human Rights Watch.

"Sudanese authorities are clearly failing to uphold international standards," said Gagnon, one of a broad group of international activists who warned of renewed violence.

Much is at stake in the country's first multi-party vote in a quarter-century, as Sudan struggles to find stability after decades of internal violence, combats deep poverty and seeks to re-establish itself as a credible player on the world stage.

Yet the three-day polls are widely expected to cement the power of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who in 2009, 20 years after taking power in a coup, became the first sitting world leader to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, for allegedly plotting war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region.

Bashir has promised the elections, which begin on Sunday, will be "free and fair". His party officials criticise the opposition, much of which has pulled out of the poll, saying it is trying to cover up its inability to win votes.

He had hoped credible elections, in which voters will select a new president, a leader of the largely autonomous southern region, parliaments, and leaders of 25 states, would enhance his world standing as he defies the ICC ruling.

LAST-MINUTE WITHDRAWAL

That looks less likely after leading parties' last-minute withdrawal, including the powerful Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), over allegations that Bashir has manipulated voter rolls and packing the electoral commission with loyalists.

"These elections were born not as something that could strengthen democracy," Yasir Arman, the SPLM candidate who had been Bashir's chief rival, said at a news conference on Friday in which he and other boycotting politicians levelled a long list of fraud charges against Bashir's government.

"We can say that these elections will be still-born," he said.

As the elections draw near, such analysis is becoming more widespread. On Friday, the Obama administration said conditions in Sudan, including U.N. reports of restrictions on free speech and association, harassment of the press and limits on access to polling stations, particularly in Darfur, were "disturbing".

Contradicting comments by its Sudan envoy in Khartoum, it said it would consider supporting a brief delay to the elections -- even though Sudanese election officials have repeatedly said this is out of the question.

The European Union has pulled its observers out of Darfur, where the United Nations estimates 300,000 people have died since 2003 in a humanitarian crisis that has been labelled genocide by Washington. Arman called on the Carter Center, which has sent observers across the country, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, to do the same.

Carter, after meeting with Bashir in Khartoum, said he hoped that "the decisions of individual voters will be expressed freely without intimidation as the cast their ballot, and that the results will be tabulated honestly and fairly."

Opposition politicians have joined external activists in warning that human rights violations could worsen if the elections begin as planned on April 11.

"If elections are to take place in such compromised environment, conflicts about the legitimacy of the results might spark violence," the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said in a statement.

Polarization ahead of the polls may bode poorly for longevity of the 2005 peace deal that ended a Sudan's long north-south civil war. A key part of the deal is a referendum, planned for January 2011, which would give voters in south Sudan the chance to decide if they desire independence.

If the referendum is delayed, the south could secede anyway and risk destabilizing the rest of east Africa.

The United Nations, which is advising local elections officials, said a credible vote was "of paramount importance."

"The elections should contribute to the opening of political space in Sudan ahead of the January 2011 referenda," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.

2010-04-10
BENTIU, Sudan (Reuters) - Salva Kiir ended his campaign on Friday for the presidency of semi-autonomous south Sudan, with one of his main qualifications in some voters' eyes being his long experience as a rebel fighting Khartoum rule.

In his campaign stops, the incumbent Kiir made much of his role as a young man in the south's first insurgency that ended in 1972, and as a founder of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) which now leads the southern government.

After a two-decade southern insurgency against Khartoum, which ended in a 2005 peace deal, many in Sudan's Christian and animist south see rebuilding as a chief priority.

But overshadowing voters' daily concerns are plans for a referendum early next year to determine whether south Sudan will remain unified with the mainly Muslim north or secede.

"In these five years we have seen nothing that can attract the southerners to accept unity," Kiir told a rally.

Kiir, who took power after the peace deal, has toured far-flung rural settlements, seeking to link himself with the upcoming referendum and capitalise on widespread resentment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum.

If north-south political squabbles lead to a delay or cancellation of the referendum, south Sudan may secede anyway, with worrying consequences for stability across east Africa.

For some, like Kom Belay, a chief of the Nuer tribe native to southern Sudan's Unity state, the elections mark a defining moment in what they see as an inevitable trajectory.

"It is being implemented as the prophet said, he promised the south freedom," Belay said, referring to teachings of the tribe's prophet, Ngundeng.

"Kiir is the one that will give us our freedom because he was carrying guns in the bush."

CAPITALISE ON RESENTMENT

The race to select a new leader of southern states is one key part of the comprehensive national polls, beginning on April 11, which will be a key test of Sudan's fragile democracy.

The SPLM, spearheading a multi-party opposition boycott, has pulled out of elections in most of northern Sudan, accusing Bashir's powerful ruling party of fraud.

The election that will go ahead this week, in the wake of the boycott, is expected to cement Bashir's long rule and will be marked by widespread doubts about their legitimacy.

Appearing in his trademark giant cowboy hat, Kiir has used traditional Sudanese yarns -- telling stories of hyenas and lions arguing over cattle -- to illustrate points to voters.

Some seem to appreciate his calls for a greater female role in government and an end to inter-tribal fighting.

"He cannot be changed because we have a crucial period ahead of us," Jason Burri, a teacher in the town of Yirol. At least seven white bulls were slaughtered in Yirol in Kiir's honour.

Kiir may have to work hard for votes as voters grumble about government corruption and meagre development.

His only significant competitor is Lam Akol, who formed the breakaway Sudan People's Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) last year.

Akol's campaign has been a much quieter affair, although the arrests and harassment of several of his party agents in southern towns have worried international observers.

Akol split from the ex rebels at the height of the war to form his own armed group, and many southerners suspect him of being a mole from the north.

Kiir doesn't seem worried about the challenge.

"I am not afraid of him, because if you're going to your home you do not sneak at night but in daylight," Kiir said in Bentiu, where hundreds of people in campaign t-shirts lined a large square.

Still, there could be tensions during three days of voting, adding to the challenges Sudan faces in pulling off the complex election, in which voters will select a national president, a president of south Sudan, parliaments and state leaders.

2010-04-10
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Pirates have abandoned a Turkish-flagged bulk carrier they hijacked while it was en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, leaving its crew of 25 unharmed, the head of a regional maritime body said on Saturday.

Yasin C was seized on Wednesday 250 miles east of Mombasa.

"Yasin C was abandoned yesterday. The pirates abandoned it, and I think the crew will seek aid from the navy before coming to Mombasa," Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme told Reuters. "All the 25 crew were unharmed." He said the vessel is yet to arrive in Mombasa.

Fatih Kabal, a spokesman for Bergen Shipping which operated the ship, told Turkey's state-run news agency Anatolian the 22,353 tonnes vessel had been retrieved. The ship had been on its way from the Black sea to Kenya.

"The ship's captain gave the good news that the pirates had abandoned the ship," Kabal said. The crew had locked themselves in the engine room until they realised the pirates had gone.

Over the last few years sea gangs have seized dozens of ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

Despite international naval patrols, pirate activity is expected to increase in coming months as the weather improves.

Mwangura did not say why the pirates abandoned the Turkish vessel. This can happen if ships develop mechanical problems or run out of fuel.

Separately, the U.S. Navy said it captured six suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden after they opened fire on a navy vessel with small arms from their boat.

"USS Ashland fired two rounds at the skiff from her .... 25-mm gun. The skiff caught fire and the suspected pirates abandoned the skiff. The Ashland deployed her rigid-hull inflatable boats ... to assist the pirates who were in the water near their skiff," a navy statement said.

On Sunday, Somali pirates seized a South Korean oil tanker, the 300,000-tonne Samho Dream, as it sailed to the United States from Iraq. The ship is now in Somali waters

2010-04-10
MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday that a Spanish doctor had been kidnapped in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ministry named the doctor as Mario Zarza and said his family was in contact with the Spanish embassy in Kinshasa.

The announcement confirmed a report by Congolese Information Minister Lambert Mende, who said on Thursday that a Spanish doctor had been abducted, but did not identify him.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry gave no details of the kisnapping, but Spanish media said the doctor had been on holiday and was seized on April 1 when his boat was captured by Enyele rebels on the river Congo.

2010-04-10
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congo's government accused United Nations peacekeepers on Friday of failing to protect civilians when rebels attacked a northern town last weekend, but said the violence should not delay a possible U.N. withdrawal.

What was a remote insurgency spread to a provincial capital as the U.N. peacekeeping mission, which is much criticised but backs a weak national army against rebel groups across Democratic Republic of Congo, is under pressure to start withdrawing this year.

"Having the chance to stop the carnage of the first death before their eyes ... (they) stayed snug in their quarters," Information Minister Lambert Mende said of U.N. peacekeepers in the town of Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province.

"(It) seriously questions the methodology put in place by the U.N. mission which is to protect civilians," Mende told reporters on his return from a visit to Mbandaka with the president and other ministers.

A spokesman for the U.N. mission, which is the world's biggest with nearly 22,000 men, questioned Mende's version of events and said it was not clear if the incident would have an effect on drawdown plans.

Dozens of rebels invaded Mbandaka by boat on Easter Sunday as people attended mass in church, attacking the governor's residence and taking over the airport.

Mende said seven soldiers, three policemen, 21 rebels and two civilians were killed in the violence. The U.N. has confirmed three of its workers also died.

Mende also said a Spanish doctor had been kidnapped, though the Spanish embassy in Kinshasa could not confirm the report.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission is under pressure from the government to start withdrawing from the country in June, and to leave in 2011, during which elections are due to be held.

Despite the official end to a 1998-2003 war that killed millions, violence simmers in much of the east and the north, where reports of a massacre last December, along with the Easter attack have raised questions over a hasty U.N. drawdown.

The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss in May a plan to withdraw 2,000 troops by June this year, from eight of the country's 11 provinces. The vote will also determine a new mandate that will include an exit strategy.

"This option to withdraw 2,000 troops came before the attack in Equateur. We have to wait to see if the withdrawal will proceed as planned," said U.N. spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai.

Mende said the recapturing of the airport within 24 hours, which was with the help of the U.N., showed the nation was ready to meet its security challenges and "Congo bashers" should not seek to profit from the attack.

"Heavily armed attackers constitute a potential danger that the government takes very seriously, without it justifying the trusteeship of Congo," he said.

The attack follows months of sporadic attacks that began as an ethnic dispute over fishing rights, but diplomats say it has since taken on wider political significance.