US Secretary of State Colin Powell left Washington late on Tuesday for his first African tour, a five-day trip that ends on Sunday. The trip is seen as an effort by the new administration to maintain US interest in Africa, building on the personal attention lavished on the troubled continent by former president Bill Clinton, and is to focus on promoting democracy and trade while also discussing the global fight against Aids and regional conflicts in Africa. He is due in South Africa on Thursday to discuss the political crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe with President Thabo Mbeki and will then travel on to Kenya for talks about Sudan and Uganda, to remind President Yoweri Museveni of his commitment to withdraw troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo. – AFP