Thabo Mbeki's presidency is dogged by a bizarre array of conspiracy theories yet he has done little to set the record straight, writes Chris McGreal.

A budget shortfall and donor fatigue has forced the United Nations' refugee program to launch a review of its worldwide activities in order to cut non-essential programs.

The government of Benin, UNICEF and the NGO 'Terre des hommes' have confirmed that a boat that left the port of Cotonou, Benin, in mid-March with presumed child labourers was, in fact, carrying victims of child trafficking.

A "critical" humanitarian situation is unfolding in the Angolan central highlands as a result of "persistent insecurity" that has driven people off their land, an OCHA statement has warned.

The Steering Committee of the Global Campaign for Ratification of the Convention on Rights of Migrants last week agreed to begin focused campaign activities on six countries being Bangladesh, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau and Zambia . The aim is to achieve the entry into force of the Convention by the time of the World Conference Against Racism and Xenophobia. For information, please contact Jonathan Hepburn.

Amnesty International today took note of the presidential decree pardoning 47 people arrested over last Easter and called for an impartial and independent investigation into the shootings, beatings and arrests by the Sudanese riot police on April 11, 2001.

Voices in Exile shows how the rights of refugees in Africa to freedom of expression and information are not adequately safeguarded by the UN and OAU Conventions and are often overridden by political or practical considerations. It cites examples of national authorities and UNHCR limiting refugees' expression or punishing them for speaking out, but also emphasizes the increasingly active role being played by African NGOs in supporting refugee rights.

Three Kenyan workers for the United Nations were arraigned Monday on charges of threatening to kill Ambassador Johnnie Carson of the United States, three international UN staff members and an employee of the U.S. Immigration and Nationalization Service in an attempt to cover up an extortion racket.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is very concerned about the death penalty to which 4 children were condemned by the Military Court (COM, Cour d’Ordre Militaire) of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Military Court is an
exceptional court from which no appeal is possible. In each of these cases the trials have allegedly been carried out summarily.

The provincial government of Namibe in southern Angola has appealed to the international community and non-governmental organisations operating in Angola to help victims of new flooding which has left more than 7,000 families homeless and in desperate need of food, shelter and medicines, World Vision reported on Thursday.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was scheduled to meet representatives of the Burundian army, leaders of religious groups and socio-professional groups in Pretoria on 4 May, PANA reported on Thursday.

Angola's Interior Minister Fernando da Piedade has said the country's army intervened in the DRC and also in the Republic of Congo (ROC) because of these countries rights to "legitimate defence against aggressor forces, national judicial fundamentals and respect for international law".

A wave of fighting between the Burundian army and rebel forces has caused "massive temporary displacement" although most of the victims tend to move back to their homes "when calm returns", humanitarian sources told IRIN on Thursday. The recent wave of fighting started on 24 February in Bujumbura-Mairie and resulted in the temporary displacement of 54,000 people, the sources said.

Tanzanian refugees who fled to Kenya from the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar have told UNHCR that they would be ready to return home "if talks between the government and the opposition [Civic United Front (CUF)] lead to a declaration that would ease tensions on the islands".

Western diplomats and members of non-governmental organisations met on Thursday to discuss tightening their security after reports that Zimbabwean war veterans were planning to raid foreign missions suspected of funding or supporting the opposition, AFP reported.

A former Eritrean Government minister has openly criticised the president. It is the first time in Eritrea that a leading politician has dared speak out against President Isaias Afewerki.

The National Survey of Human Rights Education in the United States has been completed and preliminary results are available for input and feedback. The initial results are based on the 20 states who responded that human rights education is mandated and/or part of their state educational standards.

The Council’s mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa will monitor the progress made by the parties in adopting the provisions of Security Council resolution 1341, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which urges respect for the ceasefire, cooperation with the UN Mission on the ground and the disengagement of forces to agreed positions. The mission will also encourage the parties to commit themselves to the next steps in the peace process.

Twenty members of the Tutsi Parena party in Burundi have been arrested after they visited their colleagues in prison. The group were detained when they went to give food and other supplies to two senior Parena party officials who had been arrested in connection with an attempted coup in Burundi earlier this month.

Leading members of South Africa's ruling African National Congress party have criticised the investigation into three of its members in connection with a plot to oust President Thabo Mbeki.