UGANDA: Missionary killed in the troubled north, 31/Mar/04
KAMPALA, 31 March (IRIN) - The Roman Catholic missionary community in northern Uganda says it is "saddened and shocked" by the murder of a 76-year-old Catholic priest at his home in the troubled region on Wednesday night. ... Full Report... Email Report

ZAMBIA: DRC refugees could go back by this weekend, officials say, 31/Mar/04
JOHANNESBURG, 31 March (IRIN) - More than 1,000 Congolese refugees sent fleeing into northern Zambia earlier this month by renewed fighting near the border could return home by this weekend, Zambian officials told IRIN. ... Full Report... Email Report

SENEGAL: Japan helps to reduce dependency on rice imports, 31/Mar/04
DAKAR, 31 March (IRIN) - Japan has agreed to grant Senegal US $5 million to help the government improve food security and reduce the countrys dependence on imported rice. ... Full Report... Email Report

SWAZILAND: Textile industry under threat over AGOA rule, 31/Mar/04
MBABANE, 31 March (IRIN) - Swaziland's flourishing textile industry is experiencing a crisis, caused by delays in US legislation that would extend a deadline in the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), and enable Swazi exports to continue entering the market duty-free.... Full Report... Email Report

SOUTH AFRICA: Army to investigate officer's death, 31/Mar/04
JOHANNESBURG, 31 March (IRIN) - The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has launched an investigation into the shooting of a senior officer in the country's peacekeeping contingent in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the official news service, BuaNews, reported. ... Full Report... Email Report

LIBERIA: Former warlord warns against war crimes tribunal, 31/Mar/04
MONROVIA, 31 March (IRIN) - Prince Yormie Johnson, a former rebel leader, has returned from nearly 12 years of exile in Nigeria, to carve out a new career for himself in civilian politics. ... Full Report... Email Report

SIERRA LEONE: UN extends mandate of peacekeepers until June 2005, 31/Mar/04
ABIDJAN, 31 March (IRIN) - The UN Security Council has voted to extend the presence of the UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone by six months until June 2005 amid concerns that security in the West African country remains "fragile." ... Full Report... Email Report

COTE D IVOIRE: Ivorians pessimistic about future of peace deal, 31/Mar/04
ABIDJAN, 31 March (IRIN) - After the violent repression of a banned opposition demonstration last week, in which dozens of civilians were killed by security forces, Ivorians are wondering whether a 15 month old peace accord can be salvaged. ... Full Report... Email Report

RWANDA: EU to grant 8 million for renovation of parliament, 30/Mar/04
KIGALI, 30 March (IRIN) - The EU has signed an agreement with Rwanda for a 8-million (US $9.7 million) grant for the renovation of the parliamentary complex and for a new building for the Ministry of Justice and Supreme Court, the EU Ambassador to Rwanda told IRIN on Monday.... Full Report... Email Report

RWANDA-UGANDA: 1,000 refugees return from Uganda, 30/Mar/04
NAIROBI, 30 March (IRIN) - At least 1,000 Rwandan refugees have returned home from Uganda since January, in a repatriation programme organised by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the agency reported on Monday. ... Full Report... Email Report

BURUNDI: Focus on displaced Batwa, 30/Mar/04
BUJUMBURA, 30 March (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

DRC: Jailed journalist freed, 30/Mar/04
NAIROBI, 30 March (IRIN) - The publications director of the satirical Kinshasa biweekly Pili-Pili, Jean-Denis Lompoto, has been released from prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo after posting a US $100-bail bond, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists... Full Report... Email Report

BURUNDI: Medical personnel trained on prevention of mother-to-child HIV infection, 30/Mar/04
BUJUMBURA, 30 March (IRIN) - African Synergy, an initiative of African first ladies on HIV/AIDS, begun on Monday a five-day training programme for 73 medical doctors, nurses and social workers on the prevention of mother-to-child HIV infection.... Full Report... Email Report

IRAQ: Focus on poor mental health care, 30/Mar/04
BAGHDAD, 30 March (IRIN) - Ahmed, 22, was busy working at a restaurant in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, when he started to speak of the horrifying images he saw of people getting killed when he closed his eyes. ... Full Report... Email Report

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Special envoy to discuss humanitarian situation, 30/Mar/04
NAIROBI, 30 March (IRIN) - The UN secretary-general's special envoy for the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa will start a two-day visit to Eritrea on Wednesday, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced. ... Full Report... Email Report

UGANDA: Army rejects reported rebel offer for talks, 30/Mar/04
KAMPALA, 30 March (IRIN) - The Ugandan army has nipped in the bud a move by Joseph Kony, the leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), suggesting that he wants to open up the way for peace talks towards ending the country's 18-year-long war. The army said the offer was... Full Report... Email Report

SUDAN: Tribal fighting reported in Bahr al-Ghazal, 30/Mar/04
NAIROBI, 30 March (IRIN) - Fighting has broken out between the Dinkas of Aluakluak Payam [location] of Yirol County and those of the Akot and Pacuong payams of Rumbek County, resulting in a number of deaths, injuries and displacements, according to a report issued by the NGO... Full Report... Email Report

ETHIOPIA: Parliament votes for independent probe into violence in Gambella, 30/Mar/04
ADDIS ABABA, 30 March (IRIN) - The Ethiopian parliament has decided that an independent body be set up to investigate reports of violence between different ethnic groups in the western Gambella region, in which hundreds of people are believed to have been killed. ... Full Report... Email Report

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Tripartite refugee commission meets, 30/Mar/04
ISLAMABAD, 30 March (IRIN) - A three-way commission, mandated to oversee the repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland, held its fourth meeting in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday. A spokesman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees... Full Report... Email Report

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Treatment programmes skewed in favour of urban males, 30/Mar/04
JOHANNESBURG, 30 March (IRIN) - The shortfall in extending antiretroviral therapy (ART) to HIV positive people in Southern Africa is "enormous", with mostly educated, urban males benefiting from existing programmes, says a new report. ... Full Report... Email Report