It should be possible to glimpse light at the end of the tunnel as scenarios developed for the ending of such African conflicts as those in Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur, thanks to the road maps, timetables and scenarios developed by the international community, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Congo said this morning.

The President, who was briefing the Security Council in his capacity as the current Chairman of the African Union, said

Southern Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar said the talks would begin next week.

Sudan's Vice-President and President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, said, "When we start to talk with Kony and the Government of Uganda, in a very short time, we will bring peace to northern Uganda and by that we would also bring peace to southern Sudan."

The Ugandan ambassador to Khartoum, Mull

Banana Bacterial Wilt threatens livelihoods in the west

The frequency of attacked by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has declined in recent months, according to data from UN agencies monitoring civil security and humanitarian organizations working in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts of northern Uganda. Nonetheless, LRA rebels remain active, and the region remains insecure with regular abductions reported. Most of the estimated 1.45 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) still live in camps; only a few have moved closer or back to their homes.

On 27 May, an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale killed more than 5,000 people on Indonesia's Java island, and made tens of thousands more homeless. The tremor was centred just off the Indian Ocean coast near Yogyakarta, the former Javanese royal capital.

Government figures put the number of injured at 2,155, but the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said there were 20,000 injured and more than 130,000 homeless, of which 40 percent are children.

Hospital lists of the dead also showed

I. ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS - REGIONS AFFECTED BY HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
Cf full report for map

II. BASIC INDICATORS

THE World Food Programme (WFP) on Saturday distributed over 50 metric tonnes of food relief to 1,200 households in Lira district.

The food, aimed at improving the immunity of people living positively with HIV/AIDS, was distributed through the Community Seeking a Better Living (COSBEL) project under Lira Regional Referral Hospital.

WFP Lira sub-office leader Gilbert Buzu said WFP entered into partnership with COSBEL and Lira Hospital to support HIV/AIDS-affected persons with nutritious food and ARV drugs.

The food included 213.5 cartons of cooking

KAMPALA, 30 May 2006 (IRIN) - Uganda's health ministry has launched a programme to stem the spread of tuberculosis, a disease that afflicts at least 40,000 people in the East African country every year.

The new project, introduced on Monday, entails the provision of treatment and care for TB patients and awareness campaigns that will run concurrently with existing efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. The communication component involves public dissemination of information on hygiene and basic lessons on TB.

Ottawa, Monday, May 29, 2006 - The Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation, and her Parliamentary Secretary, Ted Menzies, met today with the World Food Programme Executive Director James Morris, during his official visit to Ottawa. Minister Verner noted that so far this year, Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has provided over $100 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to address emergency and chronic food shortages around the world.

"Canada is deeply concerned about