Efforts by Nigeria to mediate in resloving the political and economic crises engulfing Zimbabwe may get a boost as Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Sule Lamido, travels to Harare to deliver a letter from President Olusegun Obasanjo to his Zimbabwean counterpart President Robert Mugabe.

Continuing violence backed by Rwanda and Uganda in Ituri and Kivu provinces, as well as in other areas could "derail" the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warned representatives of the Congo government last Friday.

A student from the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights has been arrested in Zimbabwe, for allegedly being involved in a plot to overthrow the government.

The political controversy in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province is continuing, even if the "political crisis" has been called off. The Inkatha Freedom Party, which governs the province, is blamed by the local ANC opposition of blocking food distribution to communities that are being ravaged by hunger and poverty.

The aggressive and militaristic approach to the world at large had little to do with the war on terror and everything to do with United States political domination over the world and its plunder of the world's resources for its own interests, said a resolution on United States aggression issued by the African Social Forum, held in Addis Ababa on January 6-7 2003. The resolution said it was "appalled" by the insistence of the United States to declare war on Iraq and rejected the use of United States military bases in Africa, such as those in Djibouti and Diego Garcia, to carry out this military aggression.

Despite energetic denials from President Mugabe, speculation surrounding the future of his presidency intensified as more details emerged of an exit deal, put together by his closest associates. The latest initiative has placed Mugabe in a vulnerable position as his government openly admits its failure to cope with food and fuel shortages.

Former military rulers, who are blamed for much of Nigeria's woes, are back on the political stage - this time running as civilians in the April presidential election. And, no one is happy. "Unless a miracle happens, or less known parties form an alliance - none of them will pose a serious challenge to the big four parties which have nominated ex-military rulers as their presidential candidates," says Ronke Damilola, a political scientist in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.

Nigerian police have arrested three men allegedly contracted to print as many as five million fake voters' cards ahead of April's presidential and parliamentary elections. The operation, in which police also seized 500,000 faked voting documents, took place in Lagos following a tip-off a week ago but was only announced on Friday.

Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced the Africa Famine Relief Act, which would provide $900 million in emergency relief for Africa, including $600 million in food aid, $200 million in disaster assistance and $100 million in HIV/AIDS-related aid, the Associated Press reports.

The likely election of Libya to a key United Nations post on Monday will put a spotlight on its human rights record and on efforts by abusive governments to undermine the international human rights system, Human Rights Watch says.

The first of some 40,000 Liberian refugees are being repatriated from Ivory Coast. Hundreds of Liberian refugees have been cramming onto ramshackle buses in the southern town of Tabou in a desperate bid to go home, says the BBC's Tom McKinley.

Past and present economic policies implemented by African governments have failed to improve the lives of ordinary Africans, says the final statement of the Second African Social Forum (ASF), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in early January. The Forum concluded that only a dynamic civil society organised in strong and active social movements "can and must challenge the neo-liberal political economy of globalization. The consensus was that we need to build a new African state and society, where public institutions and policies will guarantee cultural, economic, political and social rights for all citizens." Over 200 African women, men and young people from 40 countries participated. They represented social movements, trade unions, peasants' organisations, NGOs and research institutions.

The 14 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have a mutual security pact as the centerpiece of their organisation, and if for no other reason than the tide of destabilising illegal arms that passes through their countries. ‘'The traffic in small arms and weapons of war through the region shows how closely linked our nations are in matters of security, and how vulnerable each state is to the security lapses in other countries, particularly neighbouring countries,'' an officer with the South African military told IPS this week.

Activists known as the Kensington 87, who were arrested in April 2002 for protesting water and electricity cut-offs in their communities that were linked to the ANC government's programme of privatisation, were due to appear in the Jeppe Magistrate's Court in Johannesburg for the fifth time on Wednesday. The Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) notes in a press release that the case has dragged on for over a year, during which time hundreds of activists from the APF, the Anti-Eviction Campaign and other social movement organisations have been harassed, arrested and detained for various lengths of time as a result of their struggles for basic people's rights and needs.

Celebrations at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day climaxed with the first meeting in public of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2003 presidential elections, with his rival, All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari. Clad in white flowing agbada, Gen. Buhari caused a stir when he entered the venue after the national anthem had been played and as President Obasanjo was about to march forward and lay his wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier.

UNHCR and its partners are currently providing protection and assistance to some 20 million people around the world, including refugees, internally displaced persons and others of concern. Each year, numerous dedicated individuals make enormous personal sacrifices while working to assist these people. The Nansen Refugee Award recognises and honours this spirit and dedication. The Award was instituted in 1954 and named after Fridtjof Nansen, the first League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. It is awarded annually to an individual or a group of individuals, whose support for the refugee cause has been demonstrated through an innovative approach to refugee protection or assistance. The deadline for submitting nominations to be considered for the 2003 award is 31 January 2003.

Several NGOs this week lobbied the United Nations Security Council at its open debate on children and armed conflict to take immediate action to protect children's security and rights in armed conflicts around the world. "The lives and futures of millions of children are at stake everyday in 35-armed conflicts worldwide. The major challenge for the Council is to ensure respect for international law and commitments to protect children in specific situations," the organisations said.

Fighting between the Burundian army and two rebel groups has displaced more than 30,000 people in two provinces, officials and aid workers said Wednesday. For two weeks, the Tutsi-dominated army has been fighting Hutu rebels of the National Liberation Forces, or FNL, in Bujumbura Rurale province, forcing more than 20,000 to flee their homes, said Ignace Ntawembarira, the province's governor.

The U.N. Security Council demanded Wednesday that rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose forces have been accused of cannibalism, rape and massacres, ensure an immediate halt to human rights violations in eastern Congo. The council statement was issued shortly after a U.N. investigation confirmed a horrifying campaign of atrocities against civilians in the forests of northeast Congo, with children among the victims.

In response to the recent upsurge of violent and sexual crimes, Themba Lesizwe this month approved R5 million in funding to over 35 non-governmental and community based organisations providing victim empowerment services to poor communities. The funding was made available by the Embassy of Ireland through their development cooperation programme with South Africa.