American and Russian naval forces have been asked to deal with the mv Faina pirates firmly, but cautiously, to protect the crew being held hostage aboard the Ukrainian vessel.

The "severely stretched" United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, which has struggled to find enough countries willing to supply troops and equipment, should now reach two-thirds of its full deployment by the end of this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

The AU, UN, GoS tripartite committee for the deployment of the hybrid operation in Darfur has today launched its first meeting at the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry in Khartoum .

Nimule, a Southern Sudanese town on the border with Uganda, has boomed since war ended three years ago, but tension is brewing over land between returnees who fled the area years ago and more recent settlers.

A group of peacekeepers serving with the joint United Nations-African Union operation in Darfur were ambushed this afternoon while on patrol in the south of the war-torn Sudanese region.

At least 5,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have arrived in South Sudan in the past two weeks after fleeing "ferocious" attacks by the notorious Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

A France-based website blew the whistle on South Sudan's importation of weapons through Kenya in contravention of a UN embargo in February.

The present deadlock in finding a peaceful solution to the Darfur crisis in Sudan is frustrating, former head of state General Abdulsalami Abubabkar has said.

Members of the Eritrean Community in Port Sudan city formed a club in order to facilitate discussion on developments in the Homeland, as well as entertainment programs.

A high-level delegation, led by an adviser to Sudan's President, Dr Nafie Ali Nafie, started talks on Monday in Paris with senior French officials on a number of issues of mutual concern.

The head of United Nations peacekeeping today began a week-long visit to Sudan, where the world body currently has two operations - one to support the 2005 north-south peace deal and the other to quell the violence that has plagued the western region of Darfur since 2003.

ANOTHER Ugandan Police officer has died in Sudan. Assistant Inspector John Okwir was on a UN peace-keeping mission in the troubled region of Darfur.

Equity Bank has started recruiting key staff to spearhead its expansion to Southern Sudan, a month after it announced that it had secured the necessary approvals to start operating.

A total of 189 police advisers from 12 countries, including 17 female officers, have arrived in Darfur to join the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation (UNAMID), which is trying to quell the deadly fighting and humanitarian suffering that have raged since 2003 in the western Sudanese region.

AS SOUTH Africans reflect on the legacy of Thabo Mbeki's presidency, many have praised his foreign policy contributions.

Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo and two Darfurians at the meeting in New York.

Some members of the rebel faction that recently fought government troops in North Darfur have signed a peace agreement with the state, but the accord is insignificant because none of the signatories has any clout, analysts said.

A lion attempted to devour Dinka chief Makom Majong Makom once. It was during the long years of Sudan's north-south conflict that also saw a militia attack nearly destroy his rural South Sudanese community.

Singing about politicians pays, at least according to Loketo Lee. The karate champ turned singer first sang about former northern Uganda minister Betty Bigombe, in Bigombe, which won him a PAM Award for Best Artiste from northern Uganda in 2005.

Doubts grew on Wednesday over official claims that the battle tanks hijacked by Somali pirates belonged to Kenya.

Weeks after fighting between government and rebel forces in North Darfur, aid workers have yet to reach thousands of displaced civilians who sought refuge in nearby mountains and forests.

About 1,200 Congolese have sought shelter in southern Sudan in recent days to escape brutal attacks by members of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) that have included the abduction of children and the torching of homes, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

Ugandans plying their trade in South Sudan now have an option of mitigating potential risks involved in moving with huge sum of money.

Mariam Abdalla Omar has earned a reputation as both a fighter and a peacemaker in the troubled western Sudanese region of Darfur.

When Sabrina Dario Lokolong, the Speaker of South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria State Assembly, enters or leaves Parliament, all the other members of parliament must stand up.