The Nation

Dollar slumps to fresh record low against euro
LONDON (AFP) - The dollar hit a new record low against the euro Friday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke painted a gloomy picture of the US economy that fuelled speculation about another US rate cut, dealers said.
The euro jumped to an historic high of 1.4752 dollars in early European trade, also a day after the European Central Bank kept its key interest rate at 4.00 percent. The European single currency later stood at 1.4737 dollars, from 1.4676 in New York late on Thursday.
“Not even Bernanke’s reference to the upside risks for inflation has been able to deter (US) rate cut expectations among investors, in particular as the economic slowdown against the background of rising inflationary pressures can only be considered to be detrimental for the dollar,” Commerzbank currency strategist Antje Praefcke said.
In his testimony to Congress Thursday, Bernanke focused on the risks to growth and expectations of a significant slowdown in the fourth quarter and into 2008.
“Further sharp increases in crude oil prices have put renewed upward pressure on inflation and may impose further restraint on economic activity,” Bernanke told lawmakers.
He said consumer spending was likely to grow more slowly in view of higher energy prices, credit issues and continuing weakness in housing.
“The market is firming up for another rate cut in December,” said Tim Condon, research head at ING Financial Markets, who expects the Fed to trim rates by 25 basis points.
US interest rates stand at 4.50 percent after being cut by 75 basis points in two moves since September, making the dollar less attractive as an investment compared with the euro.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/bnews4.php



EC sees markets stress, oil prices weighing on growth
BRUSSELS (AFP) - European economic growth will be weaker than previously expected next year, the European Commission warned Friday, blaming distressed financial markets, a relentless rise in oil prices and a weakening US economy.
In an autumn update of its economic forecasts, the European Union’s executive arm cut its 2008 growth estimate for the 13 nations sharing the euro to 2.2 percent from the 2.5 percent projected in May.
But the European Commission lifted slightly its 2007 estimate to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent previously despite the growing risks facing economic growth in Europe.
In the broader 27-nation EU, economic growth was forecast to slow from 2.9 percent this year to 2.4 percent in 2008.
“Clouds have clearly gathered on the horizon with this summer’s turbulence in the financial market, the US slowdown and the ever-rising oil prices,” said EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
“As a result, economic growth is becoming more moderate and the downside risks have recently increased,” he added.
A steep and rapid housing downturn in the United States rattled nerves on financial markets in recent months, raising doubts about the health of the world’s largest economy.
However, the slowdown in Europe’s biggest trade partner would be in part offset by still solid growth in major emerging economies such as China, the Commissionn said.
As European businesses struggle to cope with tight credit conditions and high oil prices, private consumption has become the major engine driving growth, with falling unemployment boosting consumer confidence.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/bnews8.php



Pakistan may face 10pc gas shortage by 2010
Energy shortfall to hinder growth in SA: WB
SHAHBAZ RANA
ISLAMABAD - The World Bank warns that lack of adequate infrastructure and reliable energy are the key impediments in achieving and sustaining economic growth at the targeted rates in South Asia, especially in Pakistan and India.
A new WB report on South Asia says that energy hungry countries such as India and Pakistan have energy demand more than their outstripping domestic supply. The report estimates that power needs in the region is expected to grow in the range of 6.6 per cent to 11.5 per cent annually during the next 15 to 20 years.
The report, received here on Friday, suggests that widespread cross border electricity and gas trade not only within South Asia but also with its neighbors in the West including Central Asia and Iran, and in the East, Myanmar could provide significant relief from energy constraints to rapid economic growth in the large energy importing countries
India and Pakistan had total annual gas consumption of about 2.5 trillion cubic feet in the financial year 2006-07. The gas demand in India and Pakistan are forecast to grow annually at the rate of 8 per cent and 7 per cent respectively in the next 25 to 30 years. But in Pakistan supply shortfall would be about four per cent to ten per cent by the financial year 2010 and thereafter widen to 20 per cent or more.
India’s import dependency for gas is expected to increase from the present modest level of seven per cent to in between 49-58 per cent by 2032.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/bnews3.php



ADB approves $200 million for gas-fired power plant project
javed mahmood
ISLAMABAD - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved investment in a gas-fired power plant project in Pakistan that will provide additional low-cost electricity to consumers to address a looming power shortage.
The project is estimated to cost approximately $200 million and will be the first gas-only plant developed under the 2002 power policy of Pakistan. The estimated time of completion is two years and it will be operational by the end of 2009.
The scheme involves the development of a 171-megawatt combined cycle low-BTU gas-fired power plant that is expected to supply base load power to the national grid. The facility will be located in Daharki, district Ghotki, in Sindh. The gas will be supplied from the nearby Mari fields.
The ADB has approved an equity investment of up to $2.75 million in the project’s holding company and a guarantee for a $44 million loan for the company. However, subject to approval of concerned authorities, both the guaranteed loan and equity investment will be contributed by the holding company, as equity in Foundation Power Co. Daharki Ltd.. The project is sponsor by the Fauji Foundation.
Proceeds from the equity investment and guaranteed loan will be used to partially fund the costs of designing and constructing the project. A consortium of local and international banks has provided $150 million in debt financing for the venture.
The power plant will increase the net electricity generation capacity of Pakistan, which would reduce constraints on economic growth caused by power shortages. About 60 per cent population has access to electricity from the national grid. The rest of the population uses kerosene, wood and other bio-fuels for lighting, cooking and heating. The average annual electricity demand of Pakistan is currently increasing by 11 per cent, with urban areas experiencing significantly higher demand growth. However, power supply has not kept pace. The ADB estimates that Pakistan needs to add about 2,000 megawatts of new capacity every year to avoid power shortages.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/bnews5.php



China threatens to block industrial goods deal at WTO
GENEVA (AFP) - China has threatened to veto any proposals on cutting customs tariffs on industrial goods at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if its requests are not met, trade sources said on Friday.
During a meeting of the negotiating group on non-agricultural market access (NAMA), China’s delegate said he had received instructions from Beijing to veto any revised text put forward by group chair Don Stephenson if it “propose(d) flexibilities that failed to meet China’s minimum requirements,” the sources said.
China did not make clear what its precise requirements were, they added. The move was seen as a bid to put pressure on the negotiations in the Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks. But sources said it would be very difficult for China to veto the whole Doha package as Beijing stands to make substantial gains from a successful WTO deal.
“It could just be grandstanding,” a trade source said. Back in July, Stephenson, who is also Canada’s ambassador to the WTO, issued draft proposals that called for a cut in industrial tariffs charged by about 30 developing nations to less than 23 percent.
For China, this would mean a cut to between 6.1 and 6.5 percent on average, from 9.0 percent currently.
China would “not accept a provision in the new text that would be discriminatory,” the sources cited the delegate as saying. The European Union reacted sharply to the Chinese intervention, warning it could spark “political reactions” given China’s weight in the world economy, the sources added.
The United States did not react directly however, they noted.
Stephenson was due to issue a revised “modalities” text on November 15 but trade sources said last Monday that this will now be delayed by one or two weeks. He said there is a need to narrow differences and clarify the options for the negotiations, the sources added.
Developing and emerging nations in the six-year-old Doha Round of trade talks are seeking cuts in rich country subsidies and in import tariffs for agricultural produce. Developed nations want better access to industrial markets in poorer economies in return.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/bnews6.php



Wheat growers facing severe water shortage
Naqi Akbar
LAHORE - The less-than-expected water availability at the start of Rabi 2007-08 season coupled with the fact that there is discrepancy in the Punjab view about IRSA, the farmers in the key wheat-sowing areas of south Punjab are facing extreme difficulty in the water supply, as there were frequent canal closures in the area.
It may be pointed out here that the south Punjab cotton belt depends upon the Tarbela command area and being at the tail end has a greater risk of being left out in the water supply allocations.
In this context, Hamid Malhi of Punjab Water Council when contacted in this regard said that the farmers from the area were facing difficulty in getting the first watering resources as there was a discrepancy between the Punjab and IRSA forecasts. He argued that this estimation conflict was compromising the actual indent estimates and due to the resultant canal closures the wheat farmers were in the dire straits. He argued that with such a state of affairs the wheat sowing can affect the wheat production estimates for the current season.
Malhi also took exception to the fact that while IRSA was insensitive to the issues of Punjab farmers, the Punjab representative in IRSA was not doing the needful, he noted. He said that such situation could be ill afforded by the south Punjab farmers. Here it is pertinent to note that the much delayed IRSA meeting to decide the Rabi 2007-08 award ended on the note that while Punjab pleaded more than 25 per cent shortage, IRSA stuck on to 22 per cent advising the provinces to design canal operations in accordance with the 22 per cent shortage. The Punjab irrigation experts however pleaded review over which the award would be decided in the third week of the current month.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/bnews1.php



'Pakistan cricket strengthens with new Constitution, governing board'
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
LAHORE -The new PCB constitution having already been promulgated and Dr Nasim Ashraf appointed as chairman for a fresh term of three years, the newly anointed governing board replacing the advisory council of the long ad hoc years, met here Friday for its first session.
And after a whole day's deliberations, the governing board gave its seal of approval on a raft of issues that are likely to determine how the PCB and Pakistan cricket would be managed from now on.
In a press conference afterwards, Dr Ashraf, quite visibly upbeat after Pakistan's best victory ever in a run chase in India, said, "Pakistan cricket would be strengthened with the adoption of the new Constitution and the ushering in of this governing board - which has a term of two years.
"For the last one year, our emphasis has been on reform, to change the culture both of the team and the PCB. The induction of this governing board brings in participation from the regions, former cricketers and technocrats and their input is likely to stand Pakistan cricket in good stead", said he.
Other than the chairman and chief operating officer, Shafqat Naghmi, this governing board consists of 13 members, five representing the 11 regions, two former cricketers and a smattering of management, financial and legal minds.
To introduce this governing board with the PCB's affairs, CFO Hasan Ahmed, Director Cricket Operations Zakir Khan, Director Game Development Mudassar Nazar and Director Human Resources Nadeem Khan also attended the meeting.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/sports1.php



Benazir put under house arrest
Asks govt to arrest bombers instead of stopping her from going to rally; vows she won't let Pakistan become Iraq; says talks with govt abandoned after emergency: police baton-charge protesters: MPs among hudreds arrested: Govt withdraws detention order late on Friday
NAVEED BUTT AND SHAHID RAO
ISLAMABAD — Former Prime Minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto was put under house arrest on Friday to prevent her from addressing a protest rally against the state of emergency.
The police also rounded up hundreds of PPP activists to foil the public rally at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi. Earlier, the PPP Chairperson, boarding a car, twice tried to leave her residence to attend the rally, while asking police not to raise hand on women. “You are Muslims. This is un-Islamic,” she said. However, they ignored these remarks and put her back in her residence.
Benazir had planned to defy the government ban on political rallies and address at the public meeting at Liaquat Bagh, but the police resorted to teargas and baton-charge to disperse hundreds of Benazir supporters.
Commenting on the house arrest of Bhutto, Minister of State for Information, Tariq Azim, said there was a restraining order against Bhutto and she had been told to stay home and not to proceed to Rawalpindi in the face of growing security threat.
Meanwhile, addressing the party activists from the other side of the barricades after her second foiled attempt to escape, Bhutto said, “We have suspended negotiations with Musharraf after the emergency was imposed. She also repeated demands that General Musharraf must step down as army chief by next week, when his presidential term expires.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/index1.php



Emergency to be lifted in a month: Malik Qayyum
A state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf is likely to be lifted within one month, the country's attorney general said Saturday. "The emergency is likely to be lifted in a month," attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum told a private TV channel. "It is mainly because of the law and order situation in some parts of the country. We hope it will continue to improve as it is improving now," Qayyum added. Qayyum, the government's chief lawyer, said earlier this week that the emergency would be lifted in one or two months, ahead of elections that Musharraf has said will be held by February 15. Military ruler Musharraf imposed the emergency a week ago citing a surge in Islamic militant attacks and interference in government by hostile judges.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/latest.php



Move to suspend F-16s' sale to Pakistan initiated
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON: - In a first legislative move aimed at penalizing President Pervez Musharraf's government for imposing emergency rule, two key Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Thursday called for the suspension of certain U.S. military sales -- including the sale of F-16 fighter jets -- if the Constitution is not restored.
In a resolution, Senator Joe Biden, a presidential candidate and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator John Kerry urged a careful review of U.S. military assistance to Pakistan after Gen. Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
According to the text, U.S. "assistance for the purchase of certain weapons systems not directly related to the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban should be suspended if President Musharraf does not revoke the state of emergency and restore the Constitution, relinquish his position as Chief of the Army, and allow for free and fair elections to be held in accordance with the announced timeframe."
The United States has given Pakistan $10 billion in aid over the past five years, and has agreed to sell Pakistan up to 36 new F-16 fighter jets together with refurbished F-16s.
Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon's No. 1 contractor, won a $144 million contract last year for materials needed to build the F-16s.
Biden told reporters he addressed the issue of the F-16 sales in a conversation with Gen. Musharraf.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/index3.php



Police ring Imran Khan's cancer hospital
Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE - PTI has announced to set up a ‘Save Judiciary Fund’ to extend financial assistance to those daunting judges who denied taking oath under PCO, saying party would not leave the judges in lurch in critical time and boycott the general elections under current unlawful dispensation. On the other hand, police sealed off Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital as they sought to track down the cricketer-turned-politician who has escaped arrest under the state of emergency.
However, PTI Chairman Imran Khan made the announcement of setting up of the Fund while addressing a hurriedly-called Press conference organised at the residence of a party leader instead of party’s provincial office here on Friday. PTI Punjab President Ahsan Rashid, vice president Mehmoodul Rashid, central vice president Javaid Chaudhry and other office-bearers were present on the occasion.
Imran Khan said he would monitor the fund by himself. He said that account number of the fund would be delivered to masses in couple of days. He appealed to masses to put their share in the fund to provide pecuniary help to brave judges.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/index6.php



US poll monitors arrive on 20th
Hunt asks Musharraf to restore democracy quickly
MUBASHIR HASSAN
LAHORE - The United States Friday urged President Musharraf to restore democracy in Pakistan “as quickly as possible”, and said it remained committed to supporting free, fair and credible elections in Pakistan.
“We also expect President Musharraf to step down as army chief and begin his promised transition to civilian democratic rule”, said US Counsel General Bryan D Hunt while talking to reporters on Friday following his meeting with Ms Asma Jehangir, chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan at latter’s Gulberg residence, which has been declared as sub-jail by the authorities after her house arrest. He, however, said that US welcomed President Musharraf’s statement that he would hold elections by February 15, and maintained that it was important for the Pakistani people to hear that message.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/index8.php



Arrests and fall-out
THE moderation-promoting government seems to be pathetically out of tune with its declared policy when its minions start mercilessly using batons against unarmed liberal forces for protesting against the imposition of emergency and the actions taken under it. Even a week after the President took this extra-constitutional step, a cross-section of the public – lawyers, political workers, students, human rights activists and others from civil society – continue to express its disapproval, undeterred by the harsh treatment the official law enforcement agencies have been meting out to the protesting crowds.
The authorities have arrested thousands, indiscriminately in the sense that even those suspected to be planning to make trouble have been taken in custody. Charging campaigners against the emergency with treason and sedition – 12 persons have been booked on these two charges – sounds too severe. The number of lawyers and civil rights activists runs into hundreds, while of only PPP supporters detained yesterday to forestall Ms Benazir Bhutto’s Friday rally at Rawalpindi, which was not held, is reported to be of the order of 5,000. Inevitably, the already overcrowded prisons in the country are now literally overflowing with newcomers. The Punjab jails, for instance, have a total capacity of 22,000 inmates but have 60,000 to accommodate. Besides, a number has been put under house arrest, including Ms Bhutto.
The extraordinarily severe action by the administrative machinery that tends to put the drive towards full-fledged democracy on the backburner has, quite expectedly, drawn strong worldwide condemnation and led to domestic outcry. Even close allies of the government have taken exception to the promulgation of emergency. With a view to keeping law and order, the government has been forced to make excessive security arrangements across the country. Lawyers have continued to stay away from the court proceedings, compelling litigants, who at times come from long distances, to ask for adjournments. The solution lies in a studied and dispassionate assessment of the situation by the powers that be to come to a decision that promotes the national interest, over-riding any other considerations. An immediate reversal of the November 3 order; honouring the commitment to hang up the uniform that has become an intensely acrimonious issue; putting in place measures that can ensure free and fair elections on schedule; and a peaceful transfer of power to the elected representatives would not only serve the national interests but also put an end to the turmoil presently engulfing the country.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2007/10/editorials2.php



All Africa

Rwanda: PL Triumphs in Court Battle
10 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
Felly Kimenyi
Kigali
The Liberal Party (PL) have won the much publicized lawsuit filed by expelled former senior party executives contesting what they called illegal sacking.
"There is no content in the complaint filed by the plaintiffs because they were expelled according to procedure and should pay Frw5 million for tarnishing the party image by dragging it in unnecessary legal battles," High Court President Justice Johnston Busingye ruled yesterday.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100010.html



Uganda: LRA Leader Speaks Out on Deputy Otti
8 November 2007
Posted to the web 9 November 2007
Alfred Wasike, Dennis Ojwee and Caroline Ayugi
Kampala
LORD'S Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony has said his deputy, Vincent Otti, is under house arrest on charges of plotting to kill him and "conspiring with the enemies of the LRA".
Speaking by satellite phone to Gulu district chairman Norbert Mao yesterday afternoon, Kony clarified that Otti was alive but detained, and that five other commanders involved in the plot, including Opiyo Makasi, had escaped.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711090002.html



Nigeria: FG Pegs Budget At N117 to $1
8 November 2007
Posted to the web 9 November 2007
Ayodele Aminu, Stanley Nkwazema, Juliana Taiwo and Sufuyan Ojeifo
Lagos
The 2008 budget of the Federal Government has been based on a presumed exchange rate of N117 to US$1, although the current official rate is N122.
Presenting his first budget - which has a deficit of N0.56 trillion - to a joint session of the National Assembly yesterday, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua projected a total revenue of N1.986 trillion, 80 per cent of which will come from crude oil sales.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711090005.html



South Africa: Treat MDR TB in the Communities
10 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
Anso Thom
Cape Town
Decentralising the treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) to community level is gaining popularity as the way forward.
Researchers, scientists, activists, doctors, nurses, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations and other agencies agree that the sheer numbers will become so big that it will be impossible to continue putting patients in hospital beds for six months.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100022.html



South Africa: Treat TB, HIV As 'A Single Threat'
7 November 2007
Posted to the web 7 November 2007
Chris Van Gass
Cape Town
Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV should be thought of as a single challenge instead of two separate diseases, Dr Greg Hussey of the University of Cape Town's Institute for Infectious Diseases said yesterday.
Hussey called for TB to be considered not only as a medical problem, but also as a social and community problem that required a "broader approach" if it was to be solved.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711070322.html



Benin: Agricultural Techniques Adapted to the Constraints of HIV/Aids
29 October 2007
Posted to the web 29 October 2007
Cotonou
Comlan Houessou, head of the network of people living with HIV/AIDS in Benin, was fascinated to learn about projects by the Songhaï Centre in the capital, Porto Novo, to develop inexpensive agricultural production systems based on agrobiology.
"We are realising that it's not necessary to have a large area of land to be able to farm," said Houessou, a 42-year-old farmer. He visited the centre as part of a conference on mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture and food security in West Africa, held in early October in Cotonou.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200710291773.html



Nigeria: Country is World's Fastest Growing Economy - Yar'Adua
9 November 2007
Posted to the web 9 November 2007
Philip Nyam
Abuja
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday declared that the Nigerian economy is the world's fastest growing with a sharp increase in Growth Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of over US$1,000. This is even as 50 per cent of the nation's population still lives below the poverty line.
The president disclosed this while presenting the 2008 budget proposal to the joint session of the National Assembly, yesterday, saying the country had experienced significant progress since the turn of the century.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711090139.html



Nigeria: Niger Delta, Internal Security, Energy Take Priority in 2008 Budget
8 November 2007
Posted to the web 8 November 2007
Abuja
President Umar Musa Yar'Adua on Thursday November 8 presented the 2008 Appropriation Bill to a Joint Session of the National Assembly, which placed emphasis on the development and security of the Niger Delta region, as well as improved funding of national security, energy and education sectors.
The President presented a budget proposal of over N4.5trillion in the Appropriation Bill, his first in office, to a full session of the Senate and House of Representatives which had Senate President David Mark and House Speaker Hon Dimeji Bankole presiding.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711081122.html



Namibia: Survival Forces Underage Girls Into Sex Trade
8 November 2007
Posted to the web 8 November 2007
Charles Tjatindi
Windhoek
In an effort to cover basic necessities and provide for themselves more and more young girls are allegedly turning to sex work, or prostitution.
Fuelling this development are their parents, who are allegedly supporting the practice by offering their children to older men for payment. New era caught up with a few of these children, whose ages range from 15 to 16, most of whom reveal that they have been in the sex trade for more than three years.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711080462.html



South Africa: Cabinet Approves Justice Turnaround
9 November 2007
Posted to the web 9 November 2007
Wyndham Hartley
Cape Town
In a major admission that the government is not coping with SA's rampant crime rate, the cabinet has approved a major turnaround strategy to revamp the criminal justice system after accepting that parts of it were "dysfunctional".
A key element of the plan is for a "champion of the criminal justice system" to be established, probably at ministerial level, who will head up a council of all the relevant security departments in order to address practical matters in the criminal justice system.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711090247.html



Uganda: Coffee Risks Being Blacklisted
7 November 2007
Posted to the web 8 November 2007
Peter Kaujju
Kampala
UGANDA'S coffee may be blacklisted on the international market following a spate of thefts of coffee in transit this year worth billions of shillings, industry sources have said.
Kyagalanyi Coffee, a leading exporter, has been one of the hardest hit.
"Between May and October, we have lost about $500,000 (sh860m) in container thefts. In 2006, we lost two boxes but this year alone, 16 boxes have been stolen. They manipulate the doors without breaking the seals," Kyagalanyi's managing director David Barry said.
It is safer for the coffee to go by railway Barry said, as opposed to road but most of the exporters use road transport because it takes about 10 days to get to Mombasa. He said rising coffee prices this year could be one of the reasons for the thefts.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711080038.html



Sudan: Ban Ki-Moon Warns Against Delays in Deployment of Hybrid Force
9 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
New York
The hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission to the war-torn Darfur region (UNAMID) still lacks critical transport and aviation units and the Sudanese Government has not responded yet to the UN-AU submission on the force's composition, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, warning that delays to deployment will only exacerbate the humanitarian situation.
In his latest report on UNAMID, Mr. Ban says the combination of the delays and the recent spike in security incidents across the western Sudanese region has left Darfur "at a crossroads."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100007.html




Sudan: New Details On Garang's Death
10 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
Angelo Izama and Rodney Muhumuza
Kampala
The former Sudanese interior minister who lost his job for claiming that John Garang was killed "by his friends" has given a new interview in which he once again points a finger at Uganda.
Mr Aleu Ayieny Aleu, who is in the United States, told the New Sudan Vision that former Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi knows something about Garang's death.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100001.html



Zimbabwe: Trouble Brews for Tsvangirai As Youth Council Meet Over Matibenga
9 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
Lance Guma
Trouble is brewing for MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai after the party's Youth Assembly called an emergency meeting of its National Council to discuss the controversial dissolution of the Women's Assembly.
Although press reports suggest Tsvangirai is trying to appease ousted women's chairperson Lucia Matibenga with a post as Deputy National Chairperson, Matibenga is not interested and the youths in the party are backing her to the hilt. A Youth National Council member who spoke to Newsreel on Friday ahead of the Saturday meeting said the Youth Assembly did not recognise Theresa Makone as chairperson and will use the platform to make their position clear to Tsvangirai.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100006.html



Burundi: Heavy Rains Destroy 100 Houses in Kanyosha
9 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
Bujumbura
Heavy rains that hit the city of Bujumbura on 08 destroyed more than 100 houses in the commune of Kanyosha according to administrative sources who already have started counting the damages.
The rains also destroyed crops, houses and plantations in Mutambu commune in Rural-Bujumbura province. The power plant of Mugere was also damaged by the rains causing electrical disturbances in the city of Bujumbura.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100094.html



Ghana: Words of Wisdom From the Diaspora
EDITORIAL
10 November 2007
Posted to the web 10 November 2007
A statement issued by "citizens of Anlo state in the Diaspora" has reached us. See story on page 3. We are editorializing on it because we appreciate the tone of the message.
Though it concedes the "most deplorable development in Anlo state" it is couched in conciliatory language devoid of any rabble rousing and partisanship - a far cry from some of the fiery statements coming from the factions here at home.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200711100185.html

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