Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced out of Haiti, but the suffering wrought by last month's earthquake has intensified calls for his return.

The United Nations special envoy for Somalia was in Washington on Friday to press for more attention on efforts to stabilise the country. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says that the West needs to exert leverage on power brokers in Somalia who have bank accounts abroad. Western countries can also help mobilise Somali expatriate communities to support peace talks.

The number of United States soldiers to die in Iraq has reached 4 000, the US military said on Monday, just days after the fifth anniversary of a war that President George Bush says the US is on track to win. The US military said in a statement four soldiers were killed late on Sunday by a roadside bomb.

In a country teeming with resources the world covets, United States President George Bush sought on Wednesday to soothe African fears about American interests on the continent. He said the US is not aiming to make Africa into a base for greater military power or a proxy battleground with China.

United States President George Bush travels this week to Africa, one of the few regions where he can claim globally recognised successes for efforts on Aids and development in a foreign-policy legacy dominated by the Iraq war. But conflicts in Kenya and Darfur will intrude on a trip intended to show the positive impact from US investment.

Kenya's opposition party, determined to bring down the government of President Mwai Kibaki, has called for another day of "peaceful rallies" across Kenya in defiance of a ban and despite the deaths of more than 20 people in this week's demonstrations.

The United States will slap travel and financial sanctions on about 40 more people with ties to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has cracked down hard on dissent, a senior US official said on Monday. "Mugabe's tyranny needs to end," said US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer.

Sudan has developed unmanned surveillance planes, is developing missiles, and is now "self-sufficient" in conventional weapons, a Sudanese state news agency reported. The rare public announcement on Sudan's military capability gave no details on how far missile development had progressed or where the surveillance drones might be used.

United States President George Bush hopes to spur momentum for a world trade pact and a global target on climate change at this week's Asia-Pacific summit but the Iraq debate at home looms as a distraction. Bush will meet in Sydney with the leaders of Australia, China, Japan, Russia and other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.