DISARMAMENT: U.N. Arms Embargoes Routinely Flouted

As U.N. member states and armed rebel groups continue to brazenly break arms embargoes imposed by the world body, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is asking the Security Council to "name and shame" the habitual violators.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: Reversing a Decade of Lawlessness

The Herculean nature of the task facing Somalia’s new government has been brought to the fore again in recent days, as efforts proceed to have the administration installed in the capital, Mogadishu.

POLITICS-TOGO: Tensions Rise Over the "Unconstitutional Charade"

Reports from the Togolese capital, Lome, say police on Friday used teargas to halt a protest against the recent appointment of Faure Eyadema as the country’s new head of state.

POLITICS: Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions a Sore Point in EU-U.S. Relations

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the European Union Wednesday to adopt a tougher stance towards Iran, and to make it clear that Tehran risked U.N. sanctions if it did not halt its nuclear programme.

POLITICS-IVORY COAST: Mbeki Soldiers On

The past few days have seen South African President Thabo Mbeki push ahead with his initiative to bring peace to the Ivory Coast, even postponing his departure for the World Economic Forum. As the week ends, however, it is clear that the future of the West African state still hangs in the balance.

POLITICS: U.N. Paints Grim Picture of Spreading Crises in Africa

A senior U.N. official warned Thursday that the ongoing conflicts in Africa would continue to have a "devastating impact" on civilians this year - "as it has been for many months, and in some cases, for many years".

POLITICS-SUDAN: A Final Peace Accord Within Grasp

Sudan ended 2004 on a high note, with government and rebel representatives signing a permanent ceasefire and an accord that maps out the implementation of several peace protocols already concluded.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Conflict and Trade on the Agenda of Talks with South Africa

South African President Thabo Mbeki begins a three-day visit to Sudan, Thursday, during which initiatives to end the various conflicts in the East African country will come under discussion.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Africa’s Longest Civil War Set to Conclude by End of Year

The Sudanese government and rebels from the south of the country pledged Friday to end their 21-year conflict by Dec. 31. This came during a two-day meeting of the United Nations Security Council in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Time is of the Essence for Darfur, Says Annan

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a speedy conclusion to peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and southern rebels from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army. He said this was central to resolving another conflict in the country – that in the western region of Darfur.

POLITICS-IVORY COAST: South Africa Attempts to Defuse Tensions

South African President Thabo Mbeki is engaged in political fire-fighting in the Ivory Coast, where fears of a full-scale civil war between government and rebel forces loom large.

RIGHTS-SUDAN: Arms Trade Said to Underpin Violence in Darfur

As the Kenyan capital prepares to host a two-day meeting of the United Nations Security Council this week, reports about the situation in Darfur, western Sudan, are piling up on the desks of bureaucrats and journalists.

RIGHTS-SUDAN: Rhetoric on Darfur Needs to be Backed by Action – NGO

Human Rights Watch has called on the United Nations Security Council to take substantive action against what it claims are ongoing rights violations in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

U.S. ELECTION: Africa Expects a "Business as Usual" Approach From Bush

While the American presidential contest was nail-biting, there appears to be little suspense amongst analysts about what George W. Bush’s re-election as head of state means for Africa.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: The President Without a Capital

When Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was sworn in as Somalia’s new president earlier this month in Kenya, cautious optimism was expressed at the fact that a new chapter appeared to be opening for the embattled East African country.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: A Herculean Task Faces New President

Political observers have welcomed the election of a new president for Somalia - but warned that stiff challenges lie ahead for the war-torn East African country.

GUINEA-BISSAU: Fragile Democracy Jeopardised by Military Revolt

A mutiny by army troops and the murders of Guinea-Bissau armed forces commander General Veríssimo Correia de Seabra and the director of military information Colonel Domingos Barros highlighted the fragility of the democratic institutions in that small West African nation.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Persistent Insecurity in Darfur, Despite Global Pressure

Saleh Mahmood Osman chooses his words carefully. The human rights lawyer makes it clear that, although he comes from strife-torn Darfur, he does not bear ill will towards the Sudanese diplomats who have come to listen to his address in the South African capital, Pretoria.

POLITICS-UGANDA: Amnesty Via the Airwaves

His left leg missing, Jackson Acama stands uneasily on crutches. At 42, he is one of the oldest former rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army to have taken up residence at the World Vision rehabilitation centre in Gulu, northern Uganda. By Acama’s own account, he was a major in the notorious guerilla movement.

POLITICS-AFRICA: The Continental Legislature Puts Down Roots

It was a telling incident. While several religious leaders were invited to say a prayer at Thursday's opening of the Pan-African Parliament's second sitting, an imam was not amongst them.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Ire on the Part of Government Officials

Sudan’s government has launched a scathing attack on the United States, accusing it of spearheading a campaign to have the United Nations apply sanctions against Khartoum over the crisis in Darfur.