Full Coverage: North Africa

31.12.2004 The UK government daily cranks up its tsunami aid pledges; rich governments everywhere boast of their generosity - but does this mean less for Sudan, Congo and other disaster zones? Oxfam is already concerned.

28.12.2004 As Tunisia prepares itself to host the second phase of WSIS on November 16-18, 2005, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali expressed his hope in the Summit saying that it will help in "reducing the digital divide between the industrialized nations and the developing countries.”

23.12.2004 One of Sudan's two deadly conflicts may be close to ending this week as officials said they expect to finalize a comprehensive peace agreement within a few days. The deal would cover national power-sharing arrangements and administration of territories while imposing a permanent ceasefire after 21 years of fighting.

22.12.2004 From Dec. 11-14, Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) in cooperation with its partner in Morocco, Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM), convened the Maghreb Regional Learning Institute to train women's rights activists to become better trainers and advocates for women's equal participation in civil society. Institute participants included 26 activists from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia. They discussed how to communicate effectively to influence decision-makers and mobilize the public, and how to translate organizational visions into compelling messages that resonate with various groups and constituencies. Participants plan to work together to build regional cooperation as well as strengthen national advocacy networks to advance women's rights.

22.12.2004 Following the deaths of four staff, the Director-General of Save the Children announces with great regret that the charity's presence in Darfur will have to be suspended.

17.12.2004 The UN has suspended its relief operations in parts of the Sudanese state of South Darfur due to fighting between government and rebel forces, and a reported build-up of armed groups in the area.

16.12.2004 The Sudanese government has agreed to suspend its military operations in the beleaguered region of Darfur in order to bring the two main opposition movements back to the negotiating table.

16.12.2004 The UK should be more active in pressurising the international community to get tough with the Sudan government. Waging Peace has all-party support for some clearly-stated actions and a chance for you to email Tony Blair

15.12.2004 Peace talks to end the conflict in Darfur derailed on the first day of face-to-face negotiations Monday as rebel groups walked out in protest over ceasefire violations by the Sudanese government. The talks are hoped to put an end to the nearly two-year conflict in western Sudan that has driven 1.6 million from their homes and been called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

14.12.2004 Save the Children has suspended operations in Darfur following a second incident in which field staff have lost their lives

10.12.2004 Marking international Human Rights Day Friday, activist and human rights groups called on the United States and the UN Security Council to take much stronger action to stop the killing by government forces and government-backed militias of thousands of members of several African ethnic groups in Darfur, Sudan.

10.12.2004 It's been nearly 100 days since U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that genocide is occuring in Sudan, yet the U.S. still has not taken adequate action to help stop the atrocities, says a U.S.-based Africa advocacy group, laying out an intervention plan for the U.S. and UN in Sudan.

09.12.2004 "The United States and European Union have rewarded Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi and the Libyan government for renouncing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction ... but internal repression remains intense," said a human rights group whose team of fact finders were denied visas to enter the country.

08.12.2004 November was characterized by a marked deterioration in the security situation and access to vulnerable people has slipped from 90 percent to 80 percent, said a UN official at the Security Council this week. The official called on the international community to send an unequivocal message to all parties that hostile military actions are not an acceptable means to achieving political gains.

08.12.2004 Although Sudan has been all over the global news of late, the people of Southeast Sudan have had to rely on broadcasts from London or Khartoum--or word of mouth--for crucial information about their own affairs. Finally, a new bi-weekly newspaper directed at the region's literate youth is being distributed by the many aid planes that regularly cross the region.

06.12.2004 A Unesco-supported three-day conference in Marrakech has concluded that freedom of expression and press freedom are vital to creating a knowledge society under the WSIS framework. The conference was attended by more than 270 representatives of international and regional media groups, NGOs and academic institutions.

03.12.2004 Sudan's Khartoum Radio launched a new Arabic-language dramatic series in late November dealing with AIDS, women's education, and other societal health issues. "Sails of Hope" will run for approximately 18 months.

03.12.2004 Ongoing Sudanese peace talks--scheduled to reconvene next week in Nigeria--must consider the immediate need to reform the country's judicial system to protect civilians from arbitrary arrests, detention without trial, and torture, human rights advocates said Thursday.