Landmines Claim New Victims in Casamance - One man was killed and 20 passengers injured when a bus drove over a landmine near the village of Lefeu, 70km north of the Casamance capital Ziguinchor on 1 May police said. [AA Network - Senegal]

Peacekeepers Evacuate Darfur Villagers - The United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping operation has evacuated North Darfur villagers wounded in recent attacks by Sudanese forces that have left three dead and at least eight injured. [AA Network - Sudan]

Somalia is Accessible, Says Army Commander - THE success of the UPDF in Mogadishu disproved the myth that war-torn Somalia is a no-go area, Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala, the commander of the Land Forces, has said. [AA Network - Somalia]

Rebel Chief Killed in U.S. Airstike - Sources - The leader of Somalia's al Shabaab insurgent group was the target of a U.S. airstrike early Thursday morning in the central Somali town of Dhusamareb, reliable sources said. [AA Network - Somalia]

TENSIONS SIMMER OVER DISPUTED BORDER

Several years after Ethiopia and Eritrea ended a conflict that killed more than 70,000 people and displaced 1.4 million, the two countries continue to disagree over the demarcation of their shared border.
More than 70,000 killed in 1998-2000 war
Nearly 110,000 still displaced
Landmines thwart people's return

Democratic Republic of Congo's five-year war officially ended in 2003, but the country is still regularly listed as the site of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Despite having their first elected president in over 40 years and living in a country which should be rich from its gold, diamonds and minerals, millions of Congo's people still suffer from a lethal combination of disease and hunger caused by ongoing conflict and displacement.

= 3.9 million dead since 1998 from war-related violence, hunger and disease
= Congo is the size of western Europe
= 40,000 women and girls have been raped

The country formerly known as Zaire now has a democratic government - led by President Joseph Kabila, a former guerrilla - but insecurity continues in the remote, resource-rich provinces near the eastern border. The world's largest peacekeeping mission - a U.N. force of 17,000 soldiers and police - struggles to prevent violence and protect the population of almost 60 million.

At 77, Mahmoud Sehili Gives Dazzling Painting Exhibit in Tunis - Mahmoud Sehili, whose reputation as a dedicated and talented artist needs hardly be made, is currently exhibiting his canvasses at the headquarters of the Arab International Bank of Tunisia (BIAT), in Tunis .

Housing Boom Rides On a Time Bomb - Commercial banks and real estate dealers have joined forces to offer several avenues through which house buyers can access houses [AA Network - Uganda]

Soroti Municipality in Financial Crisis - Mounds of garbage, silted drainages, a stockpile of debts, poor delivery of essential services and unfinished work plans. This is what Soroti Municipal Council authorities are grappling with. [AA Network - Uganda]

Tunisia Receives United Nations 2008 Public Service Award - After Tunisia 's recent favourable rankings in the latest 2007/2008 Davos WEF global competitiveness survey, the country has received yet another international distinction consecrating the soundness of its policies. [AA Network - Tunisia]

Lecturer Killed in Crossfire in Uganda - A Kenyatta University lecturer has been shot dead in Uganda. [AA Network - Uganda]

World Bank Approves $160 Million in Grants - The World Bank Group today approved a total US$160 million IDA grant financing for three projects in DR Congo (DRC) that are designed to support the implementation of “Governance Compact” adopted by the Government and help laying the foundation for sustained growth and progress towards the MDGs. [AA Network - DRC Congo]

Belgian Ministerial Delegation Visits - A Belgian ministerial delegation, comprising of Foreign Affairs Minister Karel de Gucht, Cooperation Minister Charles Michel and Defence Minister Pieter de Crem are in the DRC for a one week mission. In a press conference in Kinshasa on Monday 21 April 2008, Ministers de Gucht and Michel explained that they were on a diplomatic, humanitarian and military assistance mission to the DRC. [AA Network - DRC Congo]

Rebels Attack Camps, Halting Aid Flow - Renewed fighting between DR Congo government army and Rwandan extremist rebels - the FDLR - has forced the UN refugee agency to suspend aid moving into camps in the North Kivu province, it reported Friday. [AA Network - DRC Congo]

Security Council Voices Serious Concern After Deadly Violence - The Security Council has condemned the recent deadly spate of violent confrontations between Burundi's National Defence Forces and the Palipehutu-FNL rebel group in and around the capital, Bujumbura. [AA Network - Burundi]