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Morocco: Firing Squads Silent - But Death Hovers
Morocco's death row prisoners - some 150 inmates - are living in sub-human, "life-threatening conditions", according to leading NGOs and rights activists.

Algeria: Deadly Bombing Sparks Outrage From Security Council
The Security Council has strongly condemned today's suicide bombing at a gendarmerie training academy in Algeria that has left dozens of people dead and injured many more.

Ghana/Libya: Show Me What You've Got - Rajevac
Ghana's fringe players seeking to break into the Black Stars ahead of the resumption of the 2010 World Cup will have the first opportunity to impress new coach Milovan Rajevac later today in an international friendly against Tanzania.

Angola/Egypt: Angolan Al Ahly Striker Prominent in Champions League
Flávio Amado, Angolan striker, scored again on the weekend in the African Clubs Champions League, during his team Al Ahly of Egypt's victory over Dynamos of Zimbabwe, by 2-1, in the third and last round of the first phase of this competition.

Algeria: AU Chair Condemns Terrorist Attack
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Jean Ping, has learned with great concern of the terrorist attack that occurred in the town of Boumerdes, in Algeria, on 19 August 2008. The attack highlights once again the gravity of the threat posed by terrorism to Africa.

Kenya: Pattni Lawyer Acted for Libyans
A lawyer who appeared for Goldenberg scandal mastermind Kamlesh Pattni during meetings to explore recovery of his Grand Regency Hotel by the Government also represented a Libyan firm that eventually bought the hotel, it emerged on Tuesday.

Angola/Tunisia: National Team Already in Tunis for Friendly
Angolan national men's soccer team is in Tunis to face on Wednesday its counterpart of Tunisia, in a friendly match of the FIFA date, to prepare both squads for the qualifiers of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) and World Cup, in 2010, to be held in Angola and South Africa, respectively.

Zimbabwe: Libyan Envoy in Drive to Strengthen Ties With Country
A LIBYAN envoy from the Revolutionary Committees Movement is in the country to strengthen ties with the Zanu-PF Youth League following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two seven years ago.

Uganda: U-18 Girls Qualify for Africa Meet
UGANDA's U-18 girls basketball team will compete at the Africa Junior Championship in Egypt later this year.

Uganda/Tunisia: Cranes Draw Tunisia in World Cup Semis
UGANDA will face Tunisia in the semi-finals of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) Cup/ 2011 World Cup qualifier.

Angola/Tunisia: National Team Leaves for Tunisia
Angola's national team of football is travelling Monday to Monastir city, Tunisia, to play the local side on Wednesday in a friendly game under Fifa, Angop learned.

Angola/Tunisia: National Team Travel to Tunisia
The Angolan national football squad travel this Monday at 6:00 pm to Monastir City, Tunisia, where they will play a friendly match against the host country.

Egypt/Nigeria: Enyimba, Al-Ahly Top CAF Groups
Enyimba have moved to the top of CAF Champions League Group B after a hard-fought 2-0 victory over TP Mazembe on Sunday.

South Africa/Tunisia: We Are Way Better Than You
Kumasi Asante Kotoko have been told to expect their miserable form on the road in Africa to continue on Sunday in Sousse as take on 2007 Champions League winners Etoile du Sahel in the CAF Confederations Cup.

Uganda: Museveni's Fourth Term Team in Country
Over 20 members of a team spearheading President Yoweri Museveni's return to power has flown to Libya, for a two-week course.

Libya: U.S. Secretary Rice to Visit Tripoli
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said August 15 she will visit Libya before the Bush administration leaves office to celebrate this turnaround in U.S.-Libyan relations. She will become the first secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953.

Egypt: Editor Still Missing After Five Years
The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the failure of the Egyptian authorities to shed light on the disappearance of a prominent journalist, five years ago today, in one of the most secure districts in Cairo.

Egypt: Female Film Director Faces Possible Flogging At Behest of Lawyer Affiliated With National Democratic Party
One of the lawyers affiliated with the Egyptian National Democratic Party (NDP) who is a specialist in "Hesba" cases (which involve alleged insults to God, which are deemed harmful to Islamic society) against authors and artists has demanded the flogging of an Egyptian female movie director. He sent an official warning to the Sheikh of Azhar demanding the execution of his request, said ANHRI on 13 August 2008.

North Africa: Women Secure More Rights
ayet Laouni is a member of Tunisia's senate and an owner of her own maritime business. She credits her success to the liberal approach to women's rights that the government has shown since independence, and to its investment in education. "I am very grateful to my country," she says. "I was born and grew up in a part of the world where life is supposed to be hard for most people, but harder for women. In fact, I come from two parts of the world, Africa and the Arab Muslim world."

Angola: Interclube Coach Foresees Difficulties in Tunisia
The head-coach of Angola's Interclube, the Portuguese Augusto In á ¡cio, has admitted that his team will face difficulties next Saturday, in Tunis, against the Sport Club Ark Faccien, a match that will count for the first round (Group A) of the CAF Cup.

Angola/Tunisia: National Team Continue Training for Friendly With Tunisia
The Angolan national male squad, made up of players from the local first division league, continues working this Wednesday at Cidadela Stadium, in Luanda, to prepare for the August 20 FIFA friendly match, in Monastir, against Tunisia.

North Africa: Women Organize And Forge Alliances
In recent years women in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have secured more rights, greater access to education and a modest increase in their political representation. But entrenching those achievements will require joint advocacy by women's organizations, governments and religious groups, argues Leila Rhiwi of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). "To guarantee and consolidate the gains of the last few years we must follow through with the application of the reforms," she told Africa Renewal. "If you do not have advocacy, then no change happens because institutions are always reluctant to change."

Zimbabwe/Egypt: Dembare Abort Trip to Cairo
HARARE giants Dynamos were last night forced to abort their scheduled trip to Cairo, Egypt, for an African Champions League Group A showdown against five-time champions Al-Ahly on Sunday.

Sudan: Egyptian Engineers Join UN-African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur
The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reports that 129 Egyptian engineering personnel arrived today in the western Sudanese region to join the force that is trying to quell the deadly fighting and humanitarian suffering that has raged since 2003.

Egypt: Academic Sentenced to Two Years in Prison Over Articles Published Abroad, Threatened With Loss of Citizenship
On 2 August 2008, the Al Khalifa Misdemeanors' Court sentenced Dr. Saad El Din Ibrahim in absentia to two years in prison.

Morocco: Student Activist Arrested for Criticising Authorities
ANHRI calls on the Moroccan authorities to release Jadda Boubkar, a 22-year-old student and prisoner of opinion, who was arrested while leaving the university in Taza City on 21 July 2008 because of his student activity, his support for the boycott of complementary legislative elections and his criticism of educational policies and police repression against students.

Africa: How Continent's Olympians are Faring
AllAfrica's Aliou Goloko rounds up the African action at the Olympics in Beijing.

Sudan: Bashir Pushed, But Not Yet Into a Corner
Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested last month that the court's preliminary panel issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for crimes allegedly committed in Sudan's western Darfur region. The decision, which has drawn heavy criticism from most Arab and African leaders, marks the first ever move against a sitting head of state by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Aymen Abdelaziz Salaama, professor of international criminal law at Cairo University and a likely nominee for al-Bashir's legal defence team, spoke to IPS correspondents Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani about the ICC's controversial case against Khartoum.

Egypt: Issues of "Addustour" And "Al Badil" Newspapers Confiscated By Security Agency Following Article On Lebanese Singer's Murder
Security service agents recently confiscated copies of the independent newspapers "Addustour" and "Al Badil" from stores, following the newspapers' publication of a story about an Egyptian businessman's connection to the murder of the well-known Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim in Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates.

Kenya: Team Look for First Win
The national rugby team is upbeat ahead of their Rugby World Cup qualifier match against Tunisia on Saturday in Tunis.

Evaluation asks what value the IFC adds
An evaluation of the World Bank's private sector lending finds that amidst overall high development outcomes, poor environmental and social performance continues to plague projects in Africa. For the first time, the evaluators look at the sensitive question of 'additionality'.

Highlights: Meeting of UK NGOs with UK Alternate Executive Director to the World Bank
Meeting between UK NGOs and UK Alternate Execituve Director to the World Bank -Caroline Sergeant- on July 22, 2008.

Agribusiness vs. food security
The causes of and remedies for the food crisis are hotly contested; how this rupture in the status quo is resolved will have decisive implications for the roles of the IFIs as well as more broadly for global food security and ecological sustainability.

Rethinking the IFIs' roles in conflict states
A new report from NGO International Alert draws lessons for the Bank's work from its experience in Burundi, Nepal and the DRC. The IMF is struggling to decide how to engage in conflict-affected states.

Donor cartel undercuts finance for renewables
The World Bank and donors have finalised the design of the climate investment funds (CIFs) despite continued complaints over their governance and worries over their investment in non-renewable energy.

The IMF's regressive secret
While tax policy and reform is an election battleground in developed countries, the IMF has increasingly turned it into a secret technocratic exercise in developing countries. This briefing examines the IMF's involvement in providing advice on tax policy, particularly its recommendations for the imposition of value added taxes (VATs).

IFC's intermediaries neglect environment: evaluation
The Independent Evaluation Group found 'high development outcomes' in approximately two-thirds of projects funded by IFC-financed financial intermediaries (FI) which serve micro, small and medium enterprises.

All change at the top of the Fund
With 13 of the IMF's 20 Washington-based departments facing a change of leadership, the IMF may be at its most malleable state ever, offering managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn a chance to put his imprint on the institution.

UN calls for human rights accountability
A UN report says the World Bank's investment arbitration facility is at odds with the protection of human rights.

IMF challenged on accountability, governance
A scathing report from the Independent Evaluation Office highlights the IMF's lack of transparency and accountability, but there appears to be little shareholder agreement on the IEO's conclusions and consolidation of European board representation.

Evaluation faults Bank's 'same old formula' for public sector reforms
In May, the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) released its evaluation of Bank support for public sector reform, giving high marks for looking after the books, but failing grades for reforming the civil service and rooting out corruption.

IMF structural conditionality here to stay
Despite the criticism of Fund structural conditionality levelled in the IEO's January report, the management implementation plan of board-endorsed recommendations provides little confirmation that the IMF will solve the problem.

World Bank and poverty debates (II): Poverty reduction claims vindicated?
Two new World Bank working papers have rekindled the debate over how to count the poor, with the Bank asserting that even more people have been brought out of poverty in China than had previously been estimated.

Upheaval planned for IMF technical assistance
The Fund has finally decided to revamp one of its three main pillars of activity, technical assistance, but the changes threaten country ownership over TA strategies.

Everything old is new again: Growth Commission rediscovers the state
The Commission on Growth and Development, a group of policy makers, business leaders and scholars, has warmed to state intervention and cooled towards unfettered market-led reforms.

Lawyer wants movie director to get 80 lashes
The unidentified lawyer specialises in 'Hesba cases' seeking to eliminate harmful practices and events from Islamic society.

When rape victims are accused
In 1999, Egyptian women's groups successfully lobbied to change a law that forgave rapists if they married the victims. The Ministry of Social Affairs subsequently put in place 150 family counselling centres to help victims.

Young people arrested over facebook affair could be charged with attempt to topple gov't
It was unclear which way the government's hand will fall on these youth, but it is certain to

US senate moves to restore diplomatic ties with Libya
The State department previously resisted pressure to become involved in negotiating a settlement with the Libyan government, but came under pressure from

U.S. Company, Apache, announces significant oil discovery in Egypt
Shares of Apache rose by US$ 6.75, representing 6.3 per cent, to US$ 114.38 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange, out-performing a

Moroccan athletes promise to deliver
49 Moroccan athletes, 38 men and 11 women, selected to take part in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games have promised to bring medals home.

Islamic court rules against hereditary presidency
The ruling comes after years of speculation that President Hosni Mubarak is planning on stepping aside to allow

John R. Bradley's controversial book authorised to be sold in Egypt
The Egyptian government denied rumours that it had officially banned a book by a British journalist that is critical of Egyptian politics.

The government prepares a law banning smoking in public places
The government prepares a law banning smoking in public places in Morocco

Morocco's good economic health welcomed
Good economic health of Morocco

Peace agreement in Mali
Peace at last in Northern Mali

Morocco-Jordan: Signing of several cooperation agreements
Cooperation agreement between Morocco and Jordan

Morocco opposes European immigration initiatives
European immigration policies upset the Moroccan government

Moroccan women : A step beyond women from other Arab countries
The Moroccan government announced, last Saturday, the launching of an annual national women's day, as decided by the monarch who is interested in women's issues.

Tough court ruling against two Moroccan terrorists
The two terrorists, both engineers, were prosecuted for having constituted a criminal gang with the intent of preparing and committing terrorist acts, thus, undermining public order through terror and

South Africa: Rethinking Asylum
The backlog of applications for refugee status dates back to the late 1990's, when people from troubled African countries became attracted to South Africa after its transition to democracy.

Africa Struggles With Soaring Food Prices
Addressing an emergency summit on the global food crisis in Rome in June, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon underscored the threat to political stability and development.

Harvest of Shame: Former Sierra Leonean Ruler Valentine Strasser
The emergence of a power vacuum motivated Strasser and his men to seize power. His ascension to power inspired the youth, who believed that someone had finally emerged to champion their cause.

An Abhorrent Form of Censorship
Two Zimbabwean journalists from the state-owned Sunday Mail and Herald newspapers—Munyaradzi Huni and Caesar Zvayi—have been placed on the European Union's sanctions list.

Public in Zimbabwe Downbeat About Political Agreement
An agreement between Zimbabwe's political parties to pursue negotiations to establish a new constitution and bring an end to political violence has been met with skepticism by ordinary Zimbabweans.

Sierra Leone's Cocaine Plane Saga: Transport Minister Speaks Out
The July 13 impounding of a plane loaded with cocaine, and the subsequent arrest of alleged drug traffickers, overshadowed all government business in Freetown, Sierra Leone, for several days last week.

Thousands Still Live in Slavery in Northern Mali
People continue to be enslaved in northern Mali, according to Malian human rights organization Temedt, despite a widespread belief that slavery no longer exists in the country.

China's 'Panda' Imperialism
An interesting facet of the Sino-African project is the issue of standards diplomacy in the context of the evolving relationship between booming China and not-so-booming Africa.

Solar Powered Computer Center Opens in Sierra Leone: An Interview With Samuel Atere-Roberts
On June 10, Samuel Atere-Roberts participated as project manager in the commissioning of the solar powered computer center at the Prince of Wales School in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Second Wave of Reforms in Mozambique Aims to Share Wealth
Many have missed out on the economic boom of the past decade that has seen robust growth rates but which has been largely driven by huge capital investments that have created few employment opportunities.

Spate of Arrests Ahead of Elections in Zimbabwe
The detention of presidential contender Tsvangirai by police for nearly 12 hours on Wednesday is another instance of the orchestrated harassment of opposition supporters and other organizations.

The Bonfire of the Townships: Purging South Africa
Many left-leaning ideologues have responded to the spectacles of mass arson ongoing in the "townships" of Gauteng and elsewhere in South Africa with characteristic ambiguity.

In the Belly of the Presidential Convoy
I saw a willing president who, according to his presidential and public affairs minister, wants to "bring the State House closer to the people and the people closer to State House."

Congo: After Two Key Deals, What Progress Toward Peace in North Kivu?
Since the Congo government and various armed groups in the chronically unstable North Kivu province signed a ceasefire in January, the truce has been repeatedly violated.

Africa: Getting Old on ARVs
As H.I.V. becomes an increasingly manageable chronic disease, the question becomes how to help people living with the virus enjoy a relatively healthy old age.

Deadly bombings hit Algerian town
Two bombs hit a hotel and a military barracks east of Algeria's capital, killing at least 11.

Welcome for Kenyan ex-graft chief
Kenya's prime minister welcomes ex anti-graft chief John Githongo home after three years in exile.

Pirates 'seize ship' off Somalia
Somali pirates have hijacked a tanker with more than 20 crew, says a maritime watchdog.

Zambia's president dies in France
Zambian leader Levy Mwanawasa, a critic of violence in Zimbabwe, dies in a Paris hospital two months after suffering a stroke.

Zimbabwe parliament to reconvene
Offcials in Zimbabwe say parliament will reopen next week, despite no power-sharing deal.

Bombing kills dozens in Algeria
A bomb attack on a police college east of the Algerian capital kills 43 people, officials say.

Egypt's parliament hit by blaze
At least 13 people are hurt in a fire at the upper house of the Egyptian parliament in Cairo, officials say.

Uganda rejects more rebel talks
Uganda's government welcomes rebel leader Joseph Kony's approach about the failed peace process, but rejects more talks.

Zimbabwe inflation rockets higher
Zimbabwe's rate of inflation surges above 11,250,000% as an economic crisis continues to grip.

What made buildings shake in Nigeria?
There are scenes of joy in Nigeria after their football team reached the Olympics final.

Uganda name new coach
Uganda appoint Scotsman Bobby Williamson as their new coach, to replace Csaba Laszlo.

Appiah recovers and quits Turkey
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has recovered from the injury that ruled him out of the Africa Cup of Nations and wants to leaveTurkey giants Fenerbahce.

Adebayor signs new Arsenal deal
Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor signs a new contract with the Gunners.

Levy Mwanawasa
Zambia's late leader proved he was no puppet

Dumping scandal
Ivory Coast's forgotten acrid waste victims

Price of peace
Why Kenya has struggled to heal social divisions

In pictures
Helping outcasts in a South Sudan leper colony

Deal fears
Zimbabwe's MDC wary of power-sharing promises

Audio slideshow
British multi-ability team make it to 'roof of Africa'

Sudan's Bashir in visit to Turkey
Sudan's president makes his first foreign trip since being accused of war crimes.

Sudanese killed on Egypt's border
Egyptian police shoot dead a Sudanese man trying to cross illegally into Israel, Egyptian officials say.

Niger rebels deny ceasefire claim
Tuareg rebels fighting the Niger government say they will lay down their arms.

Sudan's 'sham' justice condemned
Amnesty International criticises death sentences passed on alleged Sudan rebels from Darfur.

Sex workers 'targeted' in Nigeria
Islamic authorities in Bauchi, Nigeria, reportedly detain sex workers identified in a census.

Kenyan claims 800m gold
Kenyan Pamela Jelimo, 18, wins gold in the 800 metres just four months after taking up the event.

Zambian leader's health worsens
The health of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa suddenly deteriorates, officials say.

Ancestor worship in Madagascar
The Madagascans who dance with dead relatives

Fear in Cameroon's Bakassi
Cameroon's newest region deserted as residents flee

Eviction orders for SA's migrants
Foreigners in South Africa fear for their future

New face for Ugandan boy
How film producers helped a Ugandan boy get a new face

Ghana seals telecoms takeover
Ghanaian parliament approves Vodafone's takeover of state-owned Ghana Telecom.

Logging firms 'avoid Congo tax'
The DR Congo and Congo are losing $12m annually in tax avoidance by logging companies, Greenpeace says.

Should national assets be sold?
Has your country benefited from the sale key state-owned assets such as telecoms, transport or utilities?

Does black sell globally?
US actor Danny Glover says he cannot raise money for a film because it has 'no white heroes'.

Your tributes to Levy Mwanawasa
Zambia's leader Levy Mwanawasa, 59, has died in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke in June.

Send us your pictures of Africa
BBC News website wants your digital photographs of life in Africa.

REFUGEES-ZAMBIA: Making a Home For Themselves
LUSAKA, Aug 19 (IPS) - Zambia is home to over 90,000 refugees, many of whom have been in the country for up to 15 years. A voluntary repatriation programme is now drawing to a close, but many of the refugees will likely remain in a country where they have established themselves.

DEVELOPMENT-ZAMBIA: Sharing the Copper Windfall
LUSAKA, Aug 19 (IPS) - Australian mining giant Equinox Minerals is developing the Lumwana Copper Mine (LCM) to take advantage of strong prices for copper on the international market. When it opens later this year, the mine will be the largest in Africa, but critics say Zambia's share of the profits of minerals is smaller than it should be.

ZIMBABWE: Farmers Can't Afford to Leave Markets -- Literally
HARARE, Aug 19 (IPS) - It is a wintry Tuesday evening at one of the tobacco auction floors in the Zimbabwean capital Harare. A group of small-scale tobacco farmers are preparing food for the night.

RIGHTS-MOROCCO: Firing Squads Silent - But Death Hovers
CASABLANCA, Morocco, Aug 19 (IPS) - Morocco's death row prisoners -- some 150 inmates -- are living in sub-human, "life-threatening conditions", according to leading NGOs and rights activists.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Human Rights Drowning in Oil
LISBON, Aug 18 (IPS) - The oil interests of Angola, Brazil and Portugal could pave the way for former Spanish colony Equatorial Guinea to become the ninth member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) two years from now, despite the country’s poor human rights record.

POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Ground-breaking Gender Protocol Signed
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 18 (IPS) - Gender activists breathed a sigh of relief when a long-delayed gender protocol was signed at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit this weekend. Women bear the brunt of social injustice and problems on the African continent, ranging from access to clean water, poor health care, access to economic opportunities or adequate protection before the law.

DEVELOPMENT-UGANDA: Looming Problems With Kampala's Water
KAMPALA, Aug 18 (IPS) - The water supply for two million residents of the Ugandan capital Kampala is threatened by a combination of ill-planned urbanisation and changing rainfall patterns.

TRADE-AFRICA: ‘‘An Injury To One Market Is an Injury to All’’
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 18 (IPS) - Southern African non-governmental organisations have put forward demands to their governments in resistance to the continuing talks on economic partnership agreements (EPAs) between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Civil Society Demands More From Talks
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 16 (IPS) - A barrage of banners denouncing Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe greeted passersby in the well-manicured gardens of Johannesburg's Sandton Convention Centre, where that country's political crisis is high on the agenda of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit.

ENVIRONMENT-CAMEROON: Operation Green Sahel Resumes
GAROUA, Aug 16 (IPS) - "I have come to plant trees -- that is why I have left my jacket and tie in Yaoundé" declared Cameroon's Minister of Forest and Wildlife, Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, as he launched the tree planting at a small village near the town of Kousseri, in the north of the country. In four minutes, the minister and his staff planted a hundred trees as a bulwark against rapidly encroaching desert.

POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: SADC Summit Under Way
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (IPS) - A free trade agreement is one of the main points on the agenda at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit presently under way in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit will also discuss political problems in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Lesotho and consider protocols on gender and poverty eradication.

ZIMBABWE: No Joy As Talks Drag On
BULAWAYO, Aug 15 (IPS) - As Zimbabwe's tripartite talks dragged on this week, the public remained in the dark about progres. Frustration is running high on the streets as protracted talks could mean further tough times ahead as the economy continues its free fall.

SIERRA LEONE: Partisan Politics Threatens Peace
FREETOWN, Aug 15 (IPS) - A violent showdown on August 13 in the heart of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, demonstrated the political tension that has been brewing between the country's two main political parties, the ruling All People's Congress (APC) and the main opposition Sierra Leone's People's Party (SLPP).

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Retailer Creates Jobs With Green Practices
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (IPS) - Seven years ago, 54 subsistence farmers in the Umbumbulu district on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa were struggling to feed their families. They could barely pay their children’s school fees.

DEVELOPMENT: Escaping the Poverty Trap
PRETORIA, Aug 14 (IPS) - What do they have in common -- the landless widow with a deaf son in Bangladesh, the 12-year-old miner in Kyrgyzstan, the Ugandan farming couple with 12 children and the South African domestic worker who loses her home when her husband dies and her job when she breaks a leg? They, and their children, are trapped in chronic poverty, even as their countries show economic growth.

Algeria bombing kills 43
A suicide bomb attack on a police school east of Algiers has killed at least 43 people and wounded 38, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country for years

UN warns of food 'neo-colonialism'
The race by food-importing countries to secure farmland overseas to improve their food security risks creating a 'neo-colonial' system, a UN official has cautioned

Foreign fields: Rich states look beyond their borders for fertile soil
Food importers led by Saudi Arabia are trying to acquire land in poorer countries, striking bilateral deals that would ensure exports even in a crisis

Why Arab states must embrace Iraq
To contribute to Iraqi stability – and reassure Iraqi Shia that this is indeed the intention – Arab governments' diplomacy has to be more dynamic and convincing. Cancelling the debt Iraq owes to its Arab neighbours, for example, is long overdue, writes Roula Khalaf

Gulf regulators crack down on abuse
Saudi Arabia's CMA leads the way in repairing the reputation for market manipulation now that it discloses large shareholdings

Privatisation turns round Egyptian bank
Privatisation has worked for Bank of Alexandria, but Gulf institutions passed up Banque du Caire

Beirut and Cairo in energy pact
Egypt agrees to supply Lebanon with electricity and natural gas to help alleviate its chronic energy shortage in a deal seen as support for the government of Fouad Siniora

Iranian 'cult' of imam sparks controversy
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has called those who have 'opened a business' and claim to have been connected to the holy figure Mohammed al-Mahdi 'liars'

US says Iraq may drop short-term oil deals
The Iraqi government is likely to abandon plans to sign short-term contracts with foreign oil companies, negotiations over which have stalled, a senior US diplomat in Baghdad said

Lebanon president's visit builds Syria bond
Border demarcation is on a list of agreements following the establishment of diplomatic ties between that two neighbours that pave the way for an easing of Damascus's reconciliation with the west

Dubai fund chief held as graft probe widens
Arrest highlights efforts by authorities to root out corruption in state-linked enterprises working in the emirate's booming property sector

Attack kills 18 in north Lebanon
A roadside bomb targeting a bus in the northern port city of Tripoli has killed at least 18 people, including nine soldiers, reviving concerns about stability after a considerable easing of tensions in the past two months

IMF urges S. Arabia to keep options open
The Fund has recommended that Saudi Arabia consider alternative exchange regimes to its 22-year currency peg to the US dollar if inflation persists and the creation of a Gulf monetary union is delayed

Landmark deal for Abu Dhabi bank
NBAD will return to its organic growth strategy after its first acquisition in four decades

Lebanon and Syria restore ties after blast
Lebanon and Syria have agreed to establish full diplomatic relations for the first time since both countries became independent in the wake of a bomb blast in the northern city of Tripoli which killed at least 18 people

6 Shi'ite Pilgrims Killed in Baghdad Bombing
Latest bombing targets pilgrims heading to Karbala for religious festival

Iran Rejects Nuclear, Terrorism Charges Against Banks
Iran sends letter to UN Security Council, calling allegations baseless; accuses France, Britain and US of trying to disrupt financial affairs of millions of bank customers

Iraqi Tent Camp Residents Live Grim Existence
IOM finds people who live in these remote, barren settlements have little or no basic services

Israel Approves Release of 200 Palestinian Prisoners
There are at least 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and Palestinian officials say they all should go free

Suicide Bomber Kills 15 People in Sunni District of Baghdad
Elsewhere, hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims headed home from annual religious festival in Karbala

Iran Launches Satellite-Carrier Rocket, US Expresses Concern
Officials correct earlier reports that rocket sent a domestic satellite into space

Suicide Car Bomber Kills 5 Police in Western Iraq
At least seven other people wounded in Monday's attack in  capital of Iraq's Anbar province

Local Iraqi Officials Protest Iraqi Military Raids in Diyala
Iraqi troops raid office of Diyala's governor, kill governor's secretary and arrest a member of Diyala's provincial council

Iraq, China Discuss $1.2 Billion Oil Deal
News report on Reuters says this is first big international deal since fall of Saddam Hussein

UN Commemorates Five-Year Anniversary of Headquarter Bombing in Baghdad
On August 19, 2003, United Nations headquarters in Baghdad was targeted in a massive suicide truck bombing that killed 22, wounded more than 150 people

Iraq:

The country is awash with oil money but still lacks a proper plan

IN THE second quarter of the year, an American military auditor recently reported, Iraq’s oil production averaged over 2.4m barrels a day, the highest level since America invaded Iraq in 2003, and a marked improvement on last year’s average of around 2m b/d (see chart). Rising output, along with the high (if now falling) price of oil, should pump up Iraq’s oil revenues to almost $80 billion this year. That, in turn, has allowed the country’s parliament to boost this year’s budget from $48 billion to $70 billion in a supplementary spending bill approved earlier this month. As security improves, the government has a lot more cash to spend than it did a year ago. Will it make the best of it?

For one thing, revenue from oil should go up more sharply still. Iraq produced 3m b/d as recently as October 2001, despite the crippling UN-enforced sanctions at the time. Iraq’s oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, has spoken of raising output to 6m b/d. In theory, that is possible. Iraq’s proven reserves, of 115 billion barrels, are the world’s third-largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yet Iraq ranks just 13th in terms of production, suggesting there is plenty of scope to pump more. Russia, for example, produced almost 10m b/d last year from reserves of 80 billion barrels. Only 27 of the 80 or so fields that have been discovered in Iraq have ever been tapped. ...

Syria:

A recent assassination makes Syrian politics look as mysterious as ever

THOSE who speak do not know and those who know do not speak. That classic adage of how information flows in a dictatorship has always fitted Syria rather well. But the fog in the Syrian capital, Damascus, has rarely been thicker than now.

Take the mysterious death of a top general, Muhammad Suleiman, at a seaside resort earlier this month. Was he shot by a lone sniper from a passing yacht, as first alleged, or killed at closer range, perhaps even by a masked hit squad? Was he targeted because he had fallen out with Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, or because he had angered Israel by funnelling Iranian and Syrian arms to Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia guerrilla group with which the Israelis fought a messy war in 2006? Or was he killed in revenge for his role in other assassinations, such as the lorry-bomb killing of the Lebanese leader, Rafik Hariri, in 2005, or, contrarily, in the death of Hizbullah’s elusive tactical mastermind, Imad Mughniyeh, whose car blew up last February inside a compound housing Syrian intelligence operatives? ...

Mauritania:

Africa’s reaction to the continent’s latest coup is being carefully watched

AFTER a decent election last year, Mauritania was held up as a fine new democracy for Africa. Alas, no more. The latest military putsch, on August 6th, put failed and successful coups in the last three decades into double figures and prompted a flood of international criticism, including suspension of aid and of membership of the African Union (AU). But will such remonstrations make a jot of difference?

The hopeful part of the story goes back to 2005, when soldiers including Colonel Muhammad Ould Abdelaziz overthrew Maaouya Ould Taya, a nasty dictator who had been in power for two decades. For once, the soldiers kept their promise to organise fair elections. But Colonel Abdelaziz stayed close to the centre of power, first by persuading Sidi Muhammad Ould Cheikh Abdallahi to compete in the presidential election of 2007, which he won, and then by serving as the head of his presidential guard. ...

Israel:

The issue of Jerusalem’s holiest site may again be dividing Jews

THE lead singer, with yarmulke, beard and guitar, appears with a sheep on the cover of the latest record by Lechatchila, a religious-rock group popular among Orthodox young Israelis. “Don’t stare at me,” the lyrics go. “The Temple is sure to be rebuilt right now. We’ve got to prepare, to believe, to make the redemption happen.”

For two millennia, ever since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, Jews have continued to study, write and indeed sing about the intricate rituals of service and sacrifice, in the belief that one day the Messiah would come and the Temple would be rebuilt. Meanwhile, the faithful were forbidden even to walk on the Holy Mount, let alone worship there. ...

Uganda:

Since peace talks with Uganda’s rebels collapsed, some say war must resume

IN MARCH, after nearly two years of on-and-off peace talks, negotiators for Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) announced that their leader, Joseph Kony, an elusive self-styled mystic, was at last ready to emerge from the bush and sign a deal to end one of Africa’s longest wars. For two decades, the conflict had brought misery to a region bordering several countries (see map), left tens of thousands of people in northern Uganda dead, and displaced nearly 2m others. Earlier this year, the date for signing a peace deal approached. But at the last minute Mr Kony called off the event and sacked his negotiators. Now there is a danger the war may resume.

It is yet another humiliating setback for those who have advocated talking to a man wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. So those who have always argued for taking a tougher stand against the LRA, such as Uganda’s senior soldiers, have the upper hand again. At the end of June, citing the lack of progress towards a peace deal, the leaders of Uganda, Congo and the autonomous region of south Sudan agreed for the first time to co-ordinate military efforts to stamp out the rebellion once and for all. ...

Zimbabwe:

Negotiations to resolve the country’s crisis are proving as sticky as expected

AFTER shaking hands in front of the cameras on July 21st, President Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, seem barely closer to resolving their differences than they were three weeks ago, when discussions over power-sharing began. Together with Arthur Mutambara, who leads a small opposition group that split off from Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), they have been locked in secretive negotiations under the eye of South Africa’s president, Thabo Mbeki, mandated by the region’s leaders to mediate such talks. But so far Mr Tsvangirai has refused to accept a deal that could leave Mr Mugabe still wielding most of the power.

Mr Mbeki, often accused of being too soft on Mr Mugabe, is particularly keen to clinch a deal before the 14-country Southern African Development Community (SADC), the region’s main club, meets in Johannesburg on August 16th. But as The Economist went to press, Mr Mbeki looked unlikely to succeed in time. ...

The Middle East and America's election:

Weighing up the relative merits of Barack Obama and John McCain

SIX months ago, in a mock poll conducted at the US-Islamic World Forum, a gathering of influential Muslims and Americans held every year in the Gulf state of Qatar, Barack Obama won a resounding victory as the preferred choice for the next American president. If one is to believe internet chatter from America’s extreme right, the Illinois senator’s popularity among Muslims in the Middle East might be due to the allegations that he is 43.75% Arab by blood, or that he has been secretly funded by Arabs with ties to terrorism. Then again, it might just be natural that a candidate who has some Muslim ancestry, and who has protested against the widely loathed policies of the Bush administration, would inspire more enthusiasm than a Republican opponent committed to continuing those policies. Oddly enough, however, recent statistical and anecdotal evidence from the region shows that enthusiasm for Mr Obama is less fulsome than might be expected.

The lukewarm feelings partly reflect the burgeoning over the past eight years of a more general cynicism towards America. In a global opinion survey taken last spring regarding expectations from a new American president, results from five Muslim countries polled clashed with more optimistic opinions elsewhere; large majorities expected that American policies under any new administration would either not change much, or change for the worse. “Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were both black, and they still invaded Iraq,” scoffs a Cairo taxi driver. ...

South Africa:

The African National Congress under Jacob Zuma shows signs of losing its way

A LITTLE over half a year after Thabo Mbeki was ousted as president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), worries are growing about the party’s new leadership and where it may take South Africa after a general election due next year. Arguments still rage over the corruption charges facing the new leader, Jacob Zuma, who is likely to replace Mr Mbeki as the country’s president. An unseemly fight within the ANC across the country is denting people’s confidence in their rulers.

Mr Zuma appeared in court this week in a bid to have the charges against him dismissed. Other appeals will probably follow and his trial—if it happens at all—is unlikely to start before the election. Critics accuse Mr Zuma of delaying tactics, but hundreds of supporters, including ANC bigwigs and some cabinet ministers, went to the small town of Pietermaritzburg to support their champion. They want the charges dismissed on the grounds that he is the victim of a political conspiracy and that a fair trial has become impossible. ...

Mauritania:

Why the world likes this coup less than the last one

WHILE the rest of Africa seems to be slowly ridding itself of its penchant for coups, Mauritania seems to be perfecting its ability to stage them. Such is the country’s current strike rate that the last two successful coups on the continent have both taken place in this Islamic republic, a vast, sandy country that sees itself as part of both the black and Arab parts of Africa. The latest victim is President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was arrested by his presidential guard and relieved of his duties on August 6th. Not a shot was fired and the news was spread mostly by the president’s distraught daughter, who telephoned journalists as dissidents occupied their house and whisked her father away.

According to script, state television and radio went off air, except to declare Mr Abdallahi a “former” president and to reinstate the senior army officers whose sacking had been announced earlier that morning. The coup was led by Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, the head of the presidential guard and one of the officers Mr Abdallahi had tried to fire. Even before the military dismissals, politics in Mauritania had been in a rotten state. In the space of three months one government had been sacked and another forced to resign. Complaints have ranged from poor management of rising food prices to the lack of transparency over the first lady’s finances. The army was believed to have instigated a mass resignation of the president’s supporters in parliament earlier this week. ...

Israel:

A politician hits back against a rampant judiciary

THEY are known collectively by their opponents as the “rule-of-law gang”, and for the moment they seem to be in the ascendancy. The gang is the collection of judges, prosecutors, policemen and journalists who last week forced the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to announce his resignation over allegations of corruption. They wear their sobriquet with pride; the gang members see themselves as having been vindicated, yet again, in their crusade against graft and sleaze in high places.

After all, they argue, the fact that Mr Olmert was only the latest of Israel’s four most recent prime ministers to have been involved in criminal inquiries while in office shows how bad things have become. Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud, 1996-99) was questioned about an alleged votes-for-influence conspiracy. Ehud Barak (Labour, 1999-2001) was implicated in election-financing irregularities. And Mr Olmert’s predecessor, Ariel Sharon, was interrogated both about breaking such financing rules and about much more serious allegations of bribery and breach of trust. None of them was actually prosecuted (although Mr Sharon’s son was and subsequently went to prison). Mr Olmert probably will be prosecuted. Indeed, two of his former ministers are already in court: Avraham Hirschson, the finance minister, on charges of theft and fraud, and Tzachi Hanegbi, minister of the environment, who is alleged to have handed out government jobs to political cronies. Thanks in part to the diligence of the gang, that particular practice, long customary in Israeli politics, is being rooted out. ...

Rwanda:

Exchanging unpleasantries about the genocide

DID France expect—and indeed help—the genocide that killed almost a million people in Rwanda 14 years ago? That is the claim made in a 500-page report published in Rwanda this week, accusing 33 French politicians and army officers, including France’s then-president, Francois Mitterrand, of complicity. But the report must be read with a pinch of salt. It is in part the product of a feud between the two countries.

The report was commissioned by Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president. Some will say it is a response to a French judge’s indictment of nine of Mr Kagame’s allies over the plane crash that killed his predecessor, Juvenal Habyarimana, whose death triggered the start of the massacres. But it is also part of a broader effort by Mr Kagame’s government to entrench its own narrative of the 100-day killing spree and refute revisionist histories that minimise the killings or, in some cases, deny that any genocide took place. ...

The Gaza Strip:

Hopes that Palestinian rivals may settle their differences are dashed once again

THE two main Palestinian groups, Fatah and its Islamist rival, Hamas, have been doing their utmost in the past fortnight to ruin the prospect of co-operation, let alone reconciliation, any time soon. Yet the chances of Fatah, which runs the West Bank, sealing on its own a durable agreement with the Israeli government by the end of the year, as negotiators previously sought, also looks increasingly unlikely. Indeed, with the Palestinians still bitterly divided and the Israeli government led by a prime minister who is about to step down with no successor yet chosen, the outlook for an early peace is bleak. At best, negotiators are relying on a new American president to inject a fresh dose of hope into the process.

Since July 25th the Palestinians have been engaged in one of their fiercest bouts of internal repression and counter-repression since Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip just over a year ago. The latest outbreak was sparked by a bomb at a beach cafe near Gaza City which killed five Hamas people and a six-year-old girl. A hitherto unknown militia group, the Al-Awda Brigades, said to be aligned with Fatah, claimed responsibility, but it was uncertain who the real culprits were. ...

Israel:

After months of suspense, Israel’s beleaguered prime minister announces that he will step down, probably in September. What next for his country?

FLOUNDERING beneath a welter of investigations into alleged corruption, Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, announced on July 30th that he would resign as soon as his Kadima party had elected a new leader in late September. The two front-runners to take over are his foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and his transport minister, Shaul Mofaz. But the operatic slowness of the process means that Mr Olmert may still be running the show into next year. In any event, no matter who grasps Kadima’s helm, a general election may take place in the spring, when the opposition Likud party, led by the hawkish Binyamin Netanyahu, may be favoured to win.

Ms Livni or Mr Mofaz may have to haggle long and hard after September to rebuild a viable coalition. Kadima’s partners, emboldened by Mr Olmert’s tribulations, have been brazenly bucking parliamentary discipline; the government has recently lost vote after vote but has staggered along. ...

Nigeria :

How student fraternities turned into powerful and well-armed gangs

A YOUNG man whispers a confession: as a university student, he killed six or seven of his peers. He cannot be sure of the number, since his shots were fired in gun battles. He intimidated professors, burned their cars, and helped kidnap—briefly—their children to force them to give good marks to certain students. He did it all as a member of a campus cult. When he renounced his membership, he got death threats and moved to another city, where he lives today.

Nigeria’s university system used to be the finest in west Africa, but today’s classes are overcrowded, buildings are crumbling and the curriculum has remained unchanged for years. The cults emerged from the shambles. Having started life as confraternities for the most academic students, they have deteriorated into gang violence. The Exam Ethics Project, a lobby group, says that inter-cult violence killed 115 students and teachers between 1993 and 2003. The real number may be much higher. ...

The Red Sea:

A fantastic plan to span the Red Sea’s troubled waters is raising eyebrows

ONE OF Osama bin Laden’s many half-brothers, Tarek bin Laden, this week signed a deal with tiny Djibouti which may—or may not—mark the start of one of the world’s boldest engineering projects. Djibouti’s president, Ismael Omar Guelleh, promised Mr bin Laden 500 sq km (193 sq miles) of land to start building Noor City, the first of a hundred “Cities of Light” the vast Saudi Binladen Group plans around the world. “A hope for all humanity, the first environmental city of the 21st century,” gushed the promotional video at the signing. The audience, mostly American military contractors near retirement age, clapped enthusiastically. Engineers elsewhere say the scheme is a fantasy.

Mr bin Laden, his sons, and their front man, Muhammad Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Saudi former shipping executive, say they have already invested “hundreds of millions of dollars” in a plan to build cities on either side of the Bab al-Mandib (Gate of Tears) strait at the foot of the Red Sea. Construction is supposed to begin next year, after the terms of sovereignty for the tax-free metropolises have been agreed. By 2025, says Mr Ahmed, Djibouti’s Noor City will have 2.5m people and its Yemeni twin 4.5m. Several million jobs will be created. An airport serving both cities will, he says, attract 100m passengers a year. A 29km bridge across the strait will connect Arabia and Africa by road, rail and pipelines, its towers among the tallest on earth. The cost? A mere $200 billion or so. ...

Iraq:

The politicians are still failing to take advantage of the lull in the violence

THE mood in Baghdad and most parts of Iraq is an odd mixture of hope, frustration and nervousness. Despite the occasional mass-murderous suicide bomb, such as the four that killed at least 50 people in Baghdad and the disputed city of Kirkuk on July 28th, the death toll is continuing mercifully to slide downwards (see chart); the month of July will probably have witnessed the fewest American military combat deaths—eight, as The Economist went to press—since the war began five years ago.

The month’s Iraqi civilian toll, though harder to count and still wretchedly high, will also be one of the lowest since the insurgency got going in 2004; some 500-odd violent civilian deaths were reported in July, compared with a tally of 3,700 at the height of sectarian mayhem two years ago. Irrespective of the different plans of the two American presidential candidates, a reduction of American troop numbers is also happening steadily, from 171,000 in October to 145,000 at last blush. At the same time, the size of the Iraqi forces is creeping up, from 115,000 two years ago to 229,000 today. This week the province of Kadisiya, south of Baghdad, became the tenth out of 18 to come under Iraqi, rather than American, operational command. ...

Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe’s ruling party and opposition are ready to negotiate. But does Robert Mugabe have any intention of losing power?

FOUR months after the elections on March 29th, which were followed by a campaign of ferocious violence meted out by pro-government militias, President Robert Mugabe and the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, have agreed to start talking. That is a big breakthrough. For the past 11 years, Mr Mugabe has not deigned to meet Mr Tsvangirai, and has sworn never to let him take over. Little wonder that there are still serious doubts whether Mr Mugabe or the men around him have any intention of losing power.

On July 21st both sides, together with a small opposition splinter group led by Arthur Mutambara, signed an agreement paving the way for negotiations over the country’s future. Messrs Mugabe and Tsvangirai, bitter rivals since the former trade unionist started challenging the veteran liberator’s rule in the late 1990s, actually shook hands. Mr Tsvangirai pointed out that it was quite an occasion “for the leader of the ruling party and the leader of the winning party” to be sitting down together in an effort to end the impasse. ...

Uganda:

Ancient animosities threaten an east African country yearning to be modern

ONE feature of Uganda is the persistence of its five Bantu kingships. They have no formal political power but centuries of powerful tradition behind them. Foremost among them, or so its subjects crow, is the kingdom of Buganda, from which the modern state of Uganda takes its name and whose people, the Baganda, were once the most numerous and powerful. For many years, however, they have felt unfairly treated—and are becoming ever-more-hostile to the 22-year-old regime of President Yoweri Museveni.

Once again, land is a burning issue. The now ghostly realm of the Baganda takes in the fertile lands in and around the capital, Kampala (see map). The Baganda number only 5m of Uganda’s 31m people, but are proud and prickly about their past. They say they were never conquered by the British, but entered voluntarily into a protectorate. Certainly they were favoured with a measure of autonomy. The tensions between their kingdom and the Ugandan state have never disappeared and are now as high as they have ever been since independence. ...

Africa and the Anglicans:

Why African prelates threaten to break up the worldwide Anglican church

AS ANYONE who has ever sampled it can confirm, Christianity in Africa is not easy to describe. In the course of a Sunday morning, as one service succeeds another, the style of worship can fluctuate from sober hymns to joyful ululation and dancing in the aisles.

But the generalisations—most of them half-true at best