HAARLEM, the Netherlands, February 1 (UNHCR) - Holland's National Postcode Lottery (NPL) has awarded 4.4 million euros to the "Safe in Southern Sudan" project run by UNHCR and three of its partners.

At a ceremony in the Dutch city of Haarlem on Wednesday, the main charity lottery in the Netherlands also donated 1.3 million euros in unearmarked funds to the UN refugee agency. Nick Van Praag, head of UNHCR's department of external relations, accepted a cheque on behalf of the agency.

The refugee agency and its "Safe

Cairo, 1 February 2007 - WFP has condemned a kidnapping and armed attack on a WFP-contracted convoy in Eastern Chad early on Sunday (28 January).

According to the Libyan company which leased the trucks to WFP, unknown gunmen attacked the convoy of 48 empty vehicles as it was returning from Eastern Chad to Khufra, South Libya, over the weekend.

The convoy had delivered food assistance to some 220,000 people living in refugee camps in Eastern Chad.

The driver was safely released today, together with his truck, after his four day ordeal which began when the

Promises to address issues of child soldiers, sexual violence and humanitarian access

Khartoum, 1 February 2007 - Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, accompanied by the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms. Rima Salah, has concluded a 7 day visit to Sudan. The objective of the visit was to assess first hand the situation of the war-affected children and to address the pertinent issues with the Authorities of Sudan and various stakeholders.

The visit was carried out following the

Khartoum, Feb. 1 (SUNA) - Protocol on unification of the stances of the movements signatory to the Darfur Peace Agreement and the forces of the civil society in the region was signed at the Sudanese Media Centre Thursday. Rapporteur of the Political Office of Sudan Liberation Movement- Peace Wing Ismail Aghbash signed for the movement, Ismail Yahya signed for Sudan United Forces organization and Alyas Mohamed Ahmed signed for Future Forces Movement. The parties that signed the protocol affirmed at a press conference organized by the Sudanese

HIGHLIGHTS

Favourable prospects for 2007 world cereal crops, mainly following expansion of plantings in Europe and North America, coupled with generally satisfactory weather conditions.

FAO's latest estimates put global cereal output in 2006 at just under 2 billion tonnes, 2.7 percent lower than in the previous year but still above average. In percentage terms production of wheat declined the most, then coarse grains, while the reduction for rice is seen to be marginal.

The bulk of the decline in the 2006 world cereal output was among the major producing and exporting countries.

The situation in Sudan, the problems involving Somali refugees and the challenges facing Africa's Great Lakes region topped the agenda today during talks between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi.

Mr. Ban and Mr. Kibaki also discussed the partnership between the UN and Kenya, which is home to one of the Organization's larger duty stations, during their morning meeting, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York.

Mr. Ban then visited UN headquarters in Nairobi, speaking at a closed meeting of the Staff Management Consultative

Unified Mission Analysis Centre (UMAC)
United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Khartoum, Sudan

Highlights:

The SAF reportedly bombarded Dobo Umda, east of Jabal Marra.

Four restriction of movement cases reported in N. Darfur, in violation of SOFA

General:

On 29 January, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon met with President Omar al-Bashir in the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, during which UNSG Ban made a strong case for Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur. Following the meeting, Presidential

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

AM-DAFOCK, 31 January (IRIN) - Since fleeing his home in northern Central African Republic (CAR) on 3 December 2006, Abdoulay Douga Mandja Noel, 40, has lived rough in a border town called Am-Dafock shared by the CAR and Sudan.

Abdoulay fled months of fighting between the army and a rebel coalition, the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR), which is seeking inclusion in the government of President François Bozize, whom they accuse of sidelining them.

"We were living under permanent

Washington - Plan International has begun a $500,000 appeal to provide emergency assistance to children and other internally displaced Sudanese in North Darfur.

Donations will provide: Medical care; Food; Clean water; and Child protection

As the conflict in the Darfur region of the Sudan continues since 2003, ongoing fighting beeetween the Sudanese Government and rebels has resulted in indiscriminate attacks on villages and the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of people. Millions of highly vulnerable and traumatized people have been forced to flee their