Dialogue Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide say, in a paper on their website on Africa and conflict prevention, that adequate capacity for an Early Warning System that provides advance information on the root causes of crises should be engineered. They say that democratic governance should be institutionalisedand concerted efforts made to deal with the problem of poverty.

I wonder how many people could name the capital of the Central African Republic? Or even locate it on a map. At the moment there is intense fighting going on there. This is the fifth day of fighting in the capital city of the CAR. The conflict centres on insurgents trying to oust the President, Ange Felix Patasse. These insurgents supposedly comprise the supporters of a former army chief, General Francois Bozize, who has just returned to France, says this commentary on the Dialogue Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide.

The 17,000 Sudanese refugees who fled ethnic violence two weeks ago in a refugee settlement, about 80 km west of the town of Aru on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, are "trickling back" to their settlements, Kitty McKinsey, regional public information officer with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told IRIN on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s top expert on Zimbabwe says the country is on the brink of an economic crisis that will make the current hardships seem like child's play. Gerry Johnson, the IMF's resident representative to Zimbabwe, said government mismanagement could soon plunge the nation into a hyperinflationary spiral that would bring the economy to its knees - possibly before year's end.

President Daniel arap Moi's maneuverings ahead of December 27 elections could be taking place with the tacit approval of the Bush administration. A Washington Post report emphasised the importance of Kenya within the Horn of Africa region and its strategic importance in the US government’s planned war against Iraq. “The future of this East African nation has become increasingly important to the United States because Kenya is a relatively stable American ally in a neighbourhood that includes the warring nations of Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and Congo. It may also be crucial if the United States decides to attack Iraq. Under agreements with the United States, Kenya could lend its Indian ocean bases,” the Post states.

How countries treat those who have been forced to flee persecution and human rights abuse elsewhere is a litmus test of their commitment to defending human rights and upholding humanitarian values. Yet, fifty years after its inception, the states that first established a formal refugee protection system are abandoning this principle, and the future of the international refugee regime is under serious threat.

The Centre seeks to appoint a dynamic and visionary Executive Director. He/she will ensure that the Centre fulfils its mission and goals; has a high level of expertise in relation to these goals; retains its national and international reputation for excellence; adapts to significant political and other changes in the external environment; conducts its business in a professional manner; is financially viable and sustainable; and has strict financial controls.

An outmoded land tenure system, poor farming methods and adverse weather patterns have subjected more than a quarter of the population to imminent starvation. The solution, the government says, is the formation of agricultural co-operatives.

The Danish government has given the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) US $2.6 million for refugees and their host communities in Zambia's Western Province. "The money will be spent on health, schools, community projects and social services in refugee hosting communities," UNHCR spokesman Kelvin Shimo told IRIN.

What started out as a peaceful demonstration against a proposed third term for President Bakili Muluzi turned violent last Friday when police clashed with protestors in Blantyre, the country's commercial centre. Shops remained closed as armed paramilitary police fought running street battles with demonstrators, barring them from continuing with a protest against a proposed third term for Muluzi.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said it is not aware of plans for the forced repatriation of Eritrean refugees from Sudan following assertions by Asmara that Eritreans are being "relocated" by the Sudanese authorities. According to the Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC), the Sudanese authorities have "started deviating" from agreed procedures on the repatriation of Eritrean refugees.

Eight members of the political wing of a Rwandan Hutu rebel group, who were refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were expelled from the country on Wednesday.

Burundian rebels have launched several fresh attacks against government forces despite progress at ceasefire talks between the two sides, being held in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

During talks held on 1 November in the South African administrative capital, Pretoria, Presidents Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Paul Kagame of Rwanda agreed to an extra 90 days to implement the Pretoria peace accord. The accord, signed on 30 July, committed Rwanda to withdrawing its troops from DRC territory in return for the demobilisation and repatriation of Rwandan Hutu Interahamwe militias and former armed forces, who had sought refuge in the DRC following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

The first soldiers of a 350-man regional peacekeeping force are due to arrive "early this week" in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), Gen Lamine Cisse, the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in the CAR, told IRIN on Sunday. The regional force is to replace a Libyan contingent of some 200 men that has been stationed in CAR since the failed 28 May 2001 coup by former President Andre Kolingba. It will be responsible for protecting President Ange-Felix Patasse, restructuring the CAR's armed forces, and monitoring the CAR-Chad border zones.

The next battle in Africa's ivory war will be far from the sun-baked savannah where it is usually waged against heavily armed poachers. It will be fought on a diplomatic level in Santiago, Chile, where the 12th conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will consider proposals by five southern African countries to loosen the 12-year-old ban on trading ivory. Kenya, which fears its elephants will be targeted by poachers seeking to "launder" dirty ivory with legal supplies, is leading the charge to keep the ban firmly in place at the meeting, which is due to run until November 15.

US defence officials have confirmed that they are planning to establish a military headquarters in the Horn of Africa to help in the hunt for suspected terrorists. The Horn of Africa has become a main focus of the Americans global war on terrorism and their hunt for suspected al-Qaeda members and their sympathisers.

The Kenyan authorities and relief organisations have launched an emergency programme to assist thousands of people who have been displaced by severe flooding in the eastern part of the country. A senior official at the UN Disaster Prevention, Management and Coordination Unit for Kenya told IRIN on Thursday that the floods had killed at least five people and displaced some 3,000 people in the Madogo division of Tana River district.

Thousands of people who have fled their homes since fighting began last week between the Burundian army and rebels have not yet received humanitarian aid, but the UN Office for he Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will soon investigate their situation, according to an OCHA official.

As weekend fighting in the Central African Republic (CAR) sent small groups fleeing into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday, UNHCR has expressed concerns that ethnic tensions could arise between the new arrivals and existing refugees.