Survivors of the tsunami in the battered Indonesian province of Aceh expressed frustration with the slowness of aid efforts as emergency workers struggled with a logistical nightmare.

South African Andrew Brown gave his little daughter Frankie "zero chance of survival" after a 10-metre wave crashed over his family on a tiny Thai island. Now the family is savouring a miraculous New Year gift of life.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said it had started distributing food to Somali survivors of the deadly tsunami wave that struck the country’s Indian Ocean coast at the weekend, as the death toll climbed to 132.

The Ugandan government and the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army have pledged a truce, raising hopes of an end to one of Africa’s most vicious conflicts. Negotiators are expected to sign a ceasefire which is to pave the way for talks to end an 18-year insurgency that has cost thousands of lives and devastated the north of the country.

It is almost impossible to escape the stench of decomposing bodies in Banda Aceh. It has enveloped the city on the northern tip of Sumatra like a sticky slime, carried on the wind to even the few places that survived last Sunday’s devastating earthquake and tsunamis.

Who are South Africa’s leaders of the future? The Mail & Guardian chose 20 hot under-40s, already making waves in a range of fields, to look out for. Our choices range from Tshilidzi Marwala, who was awarded the Bronze Order of Mapungubwe this year by President Thabo Mbeki, to Umgeni Water CEO Gugu Moloi.