World powerless to stop Darfur's killing and carnage

Diplomatic wrangling dashed hopes for an end to the killing and rape in Darfur this year and a new United Nations-backed peacekeeping mission scheduled to start on January 1 faces an uphill struggle. The combined effects of war and famine have killed at least 200 000 people with more than two million displaced.

Sudan pardons UK teacher over teddy-bear insult

A British woman jailed in Sudan for insulting religion by naming a teddy bear after the Prophet Muhammad was to be released on Monday after being granted a presidential pardon. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir signed the pardon after meeting two British Muslim peers who flew to Khartoum on a mercy mission.

British peers in Sudan to seek teddy teacher's release

Two Muslim members of Britain's House of Lords were in Khartoum on Saturday to seek the release of a British woman teacher jailed for insulting Islam after she named a teddy bear Muhammad. Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, from the upper house of Britain's Parliament, were to meet with Sudanese officials in a bid to free Gillian Gibbons (54).

Sudanese protesters demand death for teddy-bear teacher

Hundreds of Sudanese Muslims took to the streets of Khartoum on Friday demanding death for the British school teacher convicted of insulting Islam after her class named a teddy bear Muhammad. "No one lives who insults the Prophet," the protesters chanted, a day after Gillian Gibbons (54) was sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation.

British teacher in Sudan court in teddy-bear case

A British teacher accused of insulting Muslims after her class called a teddy bear Mohammad spent more than five hours behind closed doors in a Khartoum courtroom on Thursday as a judge heard the case against her. She was arrested and charged after one of the school staff reported her to the authorities.

Sudan charges UK teacher with insulting religion

A British teacher detained in Sudan after her class called a teddy bear Muhammad was charged on Wednesday with insulting Islam in a move that sparked a diplomatic row. Gillian Gibbons (54) was also charged with inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs. If convicted, she could face 40 lashes, a fine or one year in jail.

Sudan may charge teacher over teddy bear

Sudan could charge a British school teacher within 24 hours for insulting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad by naming a teddy bear, the deputy justice minister said on Wednesday, adding that she is being well treated. "A criminal case has been opened against her," Abdel Daim Zamrawi said.

China 'deeply concerned' over threats in Darfur

China on Tuesday voiced deep concern about the safety of its peacekeepers in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region after rebel groups boycotting the peace process declared they were not immune from attack. "Up to now there has been no incident, but we are deeply concerned about the matter," the Chinese ambassador to Khartoum, Li Cheng Wen, said.

Sudan questions British teacher over Islam insult

Sudanese authorities began questioning a British teacher on Tuesday arrested for insulting Islam after her young students named a teddy bear Muhammad. Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher at the Unity High School in Khartoum, was arrested on Sunday after complaints from parents.

Thousands of Sudanese to return from Ethiopia in 2008

Close to 30 000 Southern Sudanese who fled the country's 21-year north-south war are to return home from camps in neighbouring Ethiopia during 2008 as part of an agreement between the governments of the two countries and the United Nations Refugee Agency, which was signed on Thursday in Khartoum.

Sudan president promises no return to war

Sudan's president promised on Wednesday there would be no return to civil war in Africa's biggest country in a speech that sought to calm tensions over a growing stand-off with the south. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir called on his political opponents to work with him "for the homeland".

Sudan charges politicians in alleged overthrow plot

Sudan has formally charged 28 opposition politicians and army officers with plotting to overthrow the government, more than four months after they were arrested, their supporters said on Monday. The 28, including the head of the opposition Umma Party for Reform and Renewal, Mubarak al-Fadil, were taken from their homes at gunpoint in July.

Sudan's president 'threatens war'

Former southern rebels on Sunday accused Sudan's president of "threatening and calling for war" in speech he gave in honour of a government-allied militia charged with a string of atrocities. Pagan Amum, Secretary General of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, said he deplored the comments by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Sudan's president refuses to budge over oil region

Sudan's president said on Saturday he would not budge "an inch" on the contested borders of the oil-rich Abyei region. Khartoum and former southern rebels the Southern People's Revolutionary Movement (SPLM) are divided over the demarcation of Abyei, the source of much of Sudan's energy reserves.

Sudan's former foes agree timetable for peace deal

Sudan's former foes have agreed on steps to implement a 2005 peace deal, First Vice-President Salva Kiir said on Sunday, indicating the country's worst political crisis in years may be resolved soon. The announcement raised hopes that ministers from the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement's will soon return to the national coalition government.

Darfur force 'may be' operational by early 2008

A bolstered United Nations-African Union force charged with bringing peace to Sudan's ravaged Darfur region "may be" operational by early next year, the head of the mission said on Wednesday. Rodolphe Adada made the announcement during the inauguration of the new force's headquarters in Darfur's main city of Al-Fasher.

Envoys to meet Darfur rebels over talks boycott

Darfur rebels boycotting peace talks in Libya said on Tuesday they would meet envoys from an African Union-United Nations mediation team but specified conditions that gave little hope they would change their positions. Mediators had hoped to unite the rival rebel factions before peace talks opened in Libya on October 27.

Darfur rebels accuse Sudan govt of attacks

Darfur rebels accused Sudanese government forces of attacking an area along the border with Chad in violation of a unilateral ceasefire the government declared at the opening of peace talks in Libya. Rebels from two factions, which did not attend the talks, said on Monday the government had attacked the Jabel Moun area along the Chad-Sudan border on Saturday.

Two main Darfur rebel groups to boycott talks

Darfur's two main rebel groups will not attend United Nations-African Union mediated peace talks in Libya, their leaders said on Friday, dashing any chance of a peace deal to end four-and-a-half years of conflict. "We decided not to go," said Justice and Equality Movement chief negotiator Ahmed Tugod Lissan.

Darfur rebels kidnap foreign oil workers

A Darfur rebel group has attacked a Sudanese oilfield and kidnapped a Canadian and an Iraqi worker, a leader of the group said on Thursday, vowing further attacks. "We attacked Defra oilfield and kidnapped two foreign workers, one is Canadian and another is Iraqi," said Abdelaziz el-Nur Ashr, field commander for the Justice and Equality Movement.

Rebel boycott of Darfur peace talks deepens

The Islamist Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) announced on Wednesday that it would boycott Darfur peace talks due to open in Libya on the weekend, bringing to seven the number of rebel groups intending to stay away. The JEM said it had taken its decision in the light of consultations with six other rebel groups.

Blow for Darfur peace as rebel factions boycott talks

A prominent Darfur rebel figure and five other smaller factions will not attend peace talks due to start this weekend in Libya, leaders said on Tuesday, casting doubt on prospects for peace. Ahmed Abdel Shafie told reporters that African Union and United Nations mediators had not heeded rebel requests for a delay to allow them to form a united position.

Three soldiers die in Darfur camp attack

Three Sudanese soldiers were killed when government forces attacked a refugee camp in Darfur, the second assault reported on a shelter for displaced people in less than a week, the United Nations said on Monday. The fighting was the latest in a series of clashes just days before planned peace talks.

Fifty dead in Sudan tribal clashes

Around 50 people have been killed in three days of tribal clashes in the western Sudanese region of Kordofan, government officials were quoted as saying on Sunday. Dozens were wounded in the fighting sparked by the killing of one person in a land dispute.

Sudan militias accused of attacking refugee camp

Government-backed militias have attacked a refugee camp over the past three days, killing six people and injuring 14 during their search for rebels from Sudan's Darfur region, witnesses said on Friday. The United Nations confirmed there had been shooting in the Kalma camp outside Nyala, capital of South Darfur, over the past two days.

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