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/ 27 February 2008

Talks fail: Army is Kenya’s best hope

Britain on Tuesday said that the Kenyan army is now ”by far the best option” to stop a sectarian bloodbath as peace talks in Nairobi between the government and opposition were suspended. Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan suspended talks between the government and the opposition negotiating teams after it became clear they were going nowhere.

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/ 26 February 2008

UN: Ethnic tensions splitting Kenya

Two months of violence in Kenya have split the country along ethnic lines and there is a risk of further clashes if the political crisis is not resolved quickly, a top United Nations official said on Monday. Exhausted by a post-election crisis that has killed more than 1 000 people, most of the 36-million Kenyans want a quick political deal.

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/ 25 February 2008

Kenyan political foes resume crisis talks

Kenyan leaders were due on Monday to resume power-sharing talks to end the political crisis in the East African state that has sparked violence which has claimed more than 1 000 lives. The negotiations on a power-sharing deal have stalled on the term and powers of a would-be prime minister, a position that currently does not exist.

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/ 23 February 2008

AU boss pushes for deal in Kenya

African Union Commission chief Jean Ping pushed on Friday for a quick resolution of Kenya’s political crisis, but there was no sign that a power-sharing deal was imminent. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, however, insisted he was Kenya’s rightful leader and refused to rule out further mass protests planned for next week.

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/ 21 February 2008

Kenya govt agrees to PM post

Kenya’s government said on Thursday it agreed in principle to creating a prime minister’s post demanded by the opposition, in a possible breakthrough for a political crisis some worry could explode into violence again. Local and international pressure has grown for a deal to end the stand-off over President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election on December 27.

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/ 20 February 2008

Kenya talks continue, deal remains elusive

Kenya’s feuding political parties returned to talks on Wednesday to end a post-election crisis, but remained stuck on how to share power. Kenyans and world powers have called on President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to agree to a deal to halt turmoil that has killed more than 1 000 people,

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/ 19 February 2008

Kenya crisis negotiations stall

Kenya’s rival parties were stuck on Tuesday over how to share power despite pleas for quick resolution to a crisis that has killed 1 000 people and wrecked a nation’s reputation. Foreign powers and the majority of Kenya’s 36-million people are impatient for President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to find a political solution.

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/ 19 February 2008

Ears ringing, Kenyans return to table

Kenya’s feuding parties resumed talks on Tuesday after a torrent of calls from home and abroad to solve a post-election crisis that has killed 1 000 people and jeopardised the East African nation’s reputation. ”The time for a political settlement was yesterday,” United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the end of a lightning trip.

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/ 19 February 2008

SMSs used as a tool of hate in Kenya

When Joyce Mandela’s cellphone beeped to signal she had a SMS, the 27-year old Kenyan expected a note from a friend. Instead, she found a message of hate. ”If your neighbour is a Kikuyu, just kick him or her out of that house. No one is going to ask you anything,” the SMS read.

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/ 18 February 2008

Rice arrives in Kenya to push crisis talks

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Kenya on Monday to push talks to end the post-election crisis but can expect a lukewarm welcome from the government, bristling at Western pressure for a quick deal. Rice, who was sent by President George Bush, is the highest-ranking US official to visit the country since a December 27 vote triggered ethnic clashes.

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/ 16 February 2008

Bush to bring ‘compassion’ to Africa

President George Bush set off on Friday on a five-nation tour of Africa, touting American compassion for the poor on a continent where he already basks in high approval ratings. Bush aims to use the week-long Africa voyage, likely his last as US president, to bolster his legacy and highlight efforts to resolve regional disputes.

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/ 15 February 2008

Annan says Kenya deal ‘very close’

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan said on Friday that a deal to end Kenya’s post-election turmoil was ”very close” and voiced hope that the ”last difficult and frightening step” would be taken next week. Annan has been leading talks between negotiators for President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition to end weeks of violence since a disputed December 27 election.

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/ 15 February 2008

Kenya crisis talks seen shifting to Constitution

Kofi Annan, the mediator trying to end Kenya’s violent post-election crisis, prepared to reveal a deal on Friday struck between the feuding parties that looked set to shift the dispute towards a battle over the Constitution. Annan is trying to bring an immediate end the crisis, which plunged the country into one of its darkest moments since 1963 independence.

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/ 15 February 2008

Rice to visit Kenya on February 18 in peace drive

President George Bush, ahead of a trip to Africa, said on Thursday he asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to go to Kenya with a message that there must be a full return to democracy. Kenya’s feuding political parties adjourned talks for the weekend, dashing chief mediator Kofi Annan’s hopes to have a final political settlement this week.

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/ 14 February 2008

Annan defuses row in Kenya crisis talks

Chief mediator Kofi Annan on Wednesday put Kenya’s crisis talks back on course toward a deal after defusing a row over his plan for a ”grand coalition” government to end post-election turmoil. Annan had irked negotiators for President Mwai Kibaki when he told Parliament on Tuesday that a power-sharing government could be a way out of the crisis.

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/ 13 February 2008

Seeds of class war sprout in Kenya’s crisis

Kenya is a land of stark contrast: the rich drive gleaming luxury cars and can afford to enrol their children in top British schools. But most live a hand-to-mouth existence and some Kenyans believe the bloody post-election crisis that has exposed the country’s tribal divisions could also inflame the gulf between classes and further exacerbate instability.

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/ 12 February 2008

Tourists abandon restive Kenya

The number of tourists arriving in Kenya last month was 90% less than anticipated, reports said, following weeks of violence and unrest that have marred the image of the nation known for its fabled game parks and pristine coastline. Only 8 000 tourists arrived to the country instead of the expected 100 000.

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/ 12 February 2008

Annan calls for Kenya deal within days

Kofi Annan urged Kenya’s rival leaders on Monday to hold urgent talks to find an end within 72 hours to the political crisis and unrest that has left more than 1 000 people dead. Annan was appointed as mediator by the African Union to try to broker an agreement to end weeks of violence since a disputed December 27 presidential election.

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/ 11 February 2008

UN: Up to 600 000 displaced in Kenya

The United Nations’s top emergency relief official said on Monday that as many as 600 000 people had been displaced following violence sparked by Kenya’s disputed elections. ”We estimate that 300 000 people were displaced and are now in camps,” John Holmes said, adding: ”There are probably as many displaced who are not in camps.”

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/ 11 February 2008

Optimism at Kenya talks, negotiators urge patience

Negotiators for President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga re-started talks on Monday in a mood of national optimism that a political solution to Kenya’s worst crisis since independence may be near. Mediator and former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has predicted the two sides will agree on a formula this week to overcome their dispute.

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/ 10 February 2008

Annan urges patience over Kenya deal

The chief mediator in Kenya’s crisis talks, Kofi Annan, urged Kenyans to be patient on Saturday with a deal to end weeks of violence expected to be finalised in the coming days. ”In negotiations, a deal is not a deal until it is done,” the former United Nations chief cautioned in a statement.