[Nad]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr Yeah, I don't think the lessons of history were learned at all here. Because it's happening right now in Darfur and no one's doing anything about it. Now we know better and we'll prevent future genocide? Please. It's happening right now.

Yeah, Darfur has been a hot topic for quite some time now and yet no one really wants to do something about it. The genocide in Rwanda should never have happened and neither should the one in Darfur. Apparently this part of history does repeat itself over and over again

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Hostage captain rescued, 3 pirates killed (CNN) -- U.S. forces killed three pirates Sunday and rescued cargo ship Capt. Richard Phillips, held hostage in a lifeboat since Wednesday, after seeing him in "imminent danger," a senior defense official told CNN. The official contradicted earlier reports that the captain jumped into the water off Somalia on Sunday. Three of the pirates on the lifeboat with Phillips were shot and killed, the official said. A fourth pirate was aboard the nearby USS Bainbridge negotiating Phillips' fate when the shootings occurred, he said. Phillips was uninjured and in good condition after his rescue at 7:19 p.m. (12:19 p.m. ET), according to a senior U.S. official. Phillips has contacted his family and received a routine medical exam, the U.S. Navy Central Command said in a statement. Alison McCall, a spokeswoman for Maersk, owner of the Alabama, read a statement from Phillips' family to reporters: "The Phillips family wants to thank you all for your support and prayers. They have felt the caring and concern extended by the nation," McCall said. "This is truly a very happy Easter for the Phillips family." Video Watch spokeswoman read statement from Phillips' family » Phillips offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed the U.S.-flagged ship Wednesday morning, according to Maersk. The pirates retreated to the lifeboat with Phillips, leaving the Alabama with its crew. Phillips tried to escape by diving off the 28-foot, covered lifeboat Thursday night, but one of the pirates dove into the Indian Ocean to retrieve him. Maersk Line Limited, owner of the Maersk Alabama, issued a statement saying it was informed at 1:30 p.m. Sunday by the U.S. government that he had been rescued. John Reinhart, president and CEO, called Phillips' wife, Andrea, to tell her the good news. Maersk Alabama crew members, who guided the ship to Kenya over the weekend, were "jubilant" when they received word of the rescue, the statement says. Reinhart told reporters Sunday afternoon that the company and Phillips' family was ecstatic that he was rescued. "He's a leader of men. He's a brave and courageous man. He persevered through difficult times," Reinhart said. He said he talked with Phillips after his rescue, and that he asked Phillips whether he had a message for the news media. "He said ... 'The heroes are the Navy, the SEALs, and those who brought me home,' " Reinhart said. Video Watch Massachusetts Maritime Academy celebrate rescue » A man who answered the door at Phillips' home in Underhill, Vermont, on Sunday afternoon told CNN's Stephanie Elam that the family had known the news for hours. He said details would have to come from Virginia, apparently referring to Maersk's home base in Norfolk. Video Watch community's reaction to Phillips' rescue » At the White House, President Obama issued a statement saying he is "very pleased that Capt. Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer." "His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew," Obama's statement said. "We remain resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region. To achieve that goal, we must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes. On Saturday, the FBI launched a criminal investigation into Wednesday's hijacking of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship by Somali pirates, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which is responsible for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region, the officials said. Snippets of information started to emerge Saturday about how the Maersk Alabama's crew managed to retake the ship after it was hijacked by pirates Wednesday about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean. The Alabama reached port in Mombasa, Kenya, on Saturday. Crew members aboard the freed cargo ship described how some of their colleagues attempted to "jump" their pirate captors. A scuffle ensued and one of the sailors stabbed a pirate in the hand in the battle to retake the container ship, one of the sailors told CNN. Crew members smiled broadly as they stood on the ship's deck under the watchful eyes of security teams. Although the crew was kept away from the media, CNN's Stan Grant got close enough to ask crew members what happened after the pirates climbed aboard the ship. One crew member said he recalled being awakened around 7 a.m. as the hijacking began. View a timeline of the attack and its aftermath » "I was scared," Grant quoted the man as saying. Some of the crew managed to hide in a secure part of the Alabama as the pirates stormed the ship, the sailor said. As the sailors described their clash with the pirates, a crew member pointed to one shipmate and said, "This guy is a hero. He and the chief engineer, they took down the pirate. ... He led him down there to the engine room, and then they jumped him." The shipmate added that he stabbed the pirate's hand and tied him up. advertisement "Capt. Phillips is a hero," another crew member shouted from the deck of the freed ship. Maersk CEO Reinhart told reporters Saturday that the crew will stay on board in Mombasa while the FBI conducts an investigation.

Source

[Bella Grint]

Agreed on Darfur and Rwanda. And let's add Congo to the list among many others. I feel like they have had media attention but only by certain celebs..or the attention comes years later.

The pirate hostage stuff was extreme. I didn't know it had become such a big issue.

[Callace]

More pirate stuff: BBC NEWS | Africa | French warship captures pirates

I really hope they work out this problem somehow. I t is getting bad. It is sad if European and american watr ships is the only way to keep the pirates at bay

[sunnykerr]

African pirates, like African genocide, have been a problem for years now. They've slowly built their arsenals and refined their techniques and now we're seeing the results of years and years of this happening with no one doing anything about it.

[sunnykerr]

Russia Captures Somalia Pirates A Russian warship has seized a pirate vessel with 29 people on board off the Somali coast, Russian news reports say. Guns and navigation equipment were found during a search of the pirate boat, officials were quoted as saying. They said the suspected pirates were thought to have launched two unsuccessful attacks against a tanker with a Russian crew. Russia is one of the countries that has deployed naval ships against pirates operating in the area. Navies from NATO, the EU, Japan, China, India, Yemen, US Malaysia and Singapore have also been patrolling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. However, the number of attacks has continued to rise. Somali pirates have hijacked 25 vessels since the beginning of this year and are holding more than 260 crew around the stronghold of Eyl in northern Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Naval patrols have captured pirates on a number of occasions. Some have been put on trial in Kenya, while France has charged three suspected pirates and a Somali teenager is facing trial in the US. Earlier on Tuesday, regional leaders in Somalia's northern Puntland region told the BBC they have put together a militia of fishermen to catch pirates. Twelve armed pirates in two boats have been captured by the vigilante groups, they said.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Russia captures Somalia pirates

Well, good job, Russia!

[wanderer78]

I didn't even know pirates still existed until all the news about the Somalian pirates came out.

[sunnykerr]

Well, like ten years ago or so, there were stories about... I want to say Kenyan pirates, but I may be getting the country wrong. It's been a while. But they were inland, sorta. They would target lakes, which can be large in Kenya (if indeed it was Kenya).

The Somali situation, we've only been hearing about for maybe a year, certainly not more than that.

[sunnykerr]

Bad weather likely brought down Ethiopia jet - official An Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed into the sea off Beirut was probably brought down by bad weather, Lebanon's defence minister has said. But Elias Murr said the cause of the crash could only be established after the flight recorders were recovered. The Addis Ababa-bound flight plunged into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off from Beirut in a storm. All 90 people on board the Boeing 737-800 are feared dead. At least 24 bodies have been pulled from the sea. An air and sea search is continuing in the area. 'Flash in the sky' "Bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash," Mr Murr told reporters at Beirut airport. "We have ruled out foul play so far," he added. Flight ET409 disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off at about 0200 on Monday (0000 GMT), near the village of Naameh, about 3.5km (2 miles) from the coast. One witness, Abdel Mahdi Salaneh, told the BBC he saw the plane fall into the sea in flames. "We saw a flash in the sky," he said. "We saw a flash over the sea and it was the plane falling. The weather was really bad, it was all thunder and rain." There has been speculation that it was struck by lightning. Some relatives of those on board have been asking why the plane was allowed to take off in such poor conditions, the BBC's Andrew North in Beirut reports. Officials said that 83 passengers and seven crew were on board the Boeing 737-800, which can take up to 189 passengers. Most of those on the flight were Lebanese or Ethiopian. The UK Foreign Office said there was one British national and one person of dual nationality. The other passengers included citizens of Turkey, France, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq, Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement on its website. Among them was Marla Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut. Some of the foreign passengers are reported to be of Lebanese origin. Debris washed up Helicopters and naval ships are continuing to search the crash site. It is still being described as a rescue operation, although officials say that in such bad weather it is unlikely anyone will be found so long after the crash. The United Nations peacekeeping operation in Lebanon has sent three ships and two helicopters, and a British RAF helicopter is also involved. Lebanese soldiers are also combing nearby beaches, where pieces of the plane and debris including passenger seats, a fire extinguisher and bottles of medicine have washed up. The BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi says the crash is likely to invite comparisons with the Kenya Airways crash in Cameroon in 2007, in which 114 people died. Both incidents involved Boeing 737-800 aircraft taking off in bad weather. Relatives of the passengers, some of them sobbing, gathered in the airport's VIP lounge. A tearful Andree Qusayfi told the Associated Press that his brother, 35-year-old Ziadh, had left for Ethiopia to work for a computer company. "We begged him to postpone his flight because of the storm," he said. "But he insisted on going because he had work appointments." Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and other officials went to comfort families. Both Ethiopia and Lebanon have declared a national day of mourning. Fleet expanding Ethiopian Airlines operates a regular flight between Addis Ababa and Beirut. Our Nairobi correspondent says that along with South African and Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines is widely considered to be among sub-Saharan Africa's best operators. And on a continent with a history of national airlines folding often due to reckless financial mismanagement, he says, Ethiopian Airlines is expanding its fleet and was the first African airline to order the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It has also just announced the purchase of another 10 737-800s, at a cost of $750m. Its last major crash was in 1996, when a hijacked Nairobi-Addis Ababa plane ditched into the sea off the Comoros Islands after running out of fuel. Of the 175 people on board, 123 were killed.

BBC News - Bad weather likely brought down Ethiopia jet - official

I saw this on the news. It's just such a tragedy and for an airline that seems to be among the few in the region to actual be trustworthy. This will not help customer confidence.

[sunnykerr]

South Sudan hunger rises sharply The number of people needing food aid in south Sudan has quadrupled in a year to more than four million, the UN's World Food Programme says. The WFP wants to ensure the people have enough food to last until their next harvest in October. Southern Sudan's agriculture minister Samson Kwaje blamed the surge on internal conflict and drought. The region is recovering from a two-decade civil war and remains one of the least developed parts of the world. Although the civil war with the north ended in 2005, some 2,500 people died in conflicts between rival communities in Southern Sudan last year - far more than in Darfur, the UN says. Cash Shortfall Since the end of the war, millions of former refugees have returned home to start their lives again from scratch. The BBC's Peter Martell, in the southern capital, Juba, says the situation in the region is grim. And many in the south fear that tensions will rise further in the run-up to elections in April, our correspondent says, potentially putting even more people at risk. The WFP is preparing thousands of tonnes of food to feed some of the millions it fears will be cut off when the rains start. But the organisation also says it remains more than $480m (£300m) short of the food aid needed for Sudan. Mr Kwaje - who said the WFP's figures represented half of the region's population - blamed the rising hunger on conflicts between rival ethnic groups. But he also blamed incursions by the Lord's Resistance Army - a feared guerrilla army originally based in Uganda but now marauding across several countries. The new WFP figures come from an annual assessment in which some 2,000 people across Southern Sudan were asked about what food they ate and where it came from. The WFP's Leo van der Velden said: "This spike in the number of hungry people in Southern Sudan comes just ahead of the rainy season when roads become blocked and communities are cut off from food assistance." As well as preparing for the first national multi-party elections in 24 years, Southern Sudan is also due to vote in an independence referendum next year.

BBC News - South Sudan hungry 'quadrupled in a year'

Did you guys know the life expectancy in Sudan is 42 years old? It's unreal in this day and age...

[sunnykerr]

Sudan signs ceasefire deal with Darfur rebel group Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has signed a framework ceasefire deal with one of Darfur's main rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem). The power-sharing agreement in Qatar is seen as an important step towards peace, though the other main rebel group has refused to enter talks. Jem said it would now be observing a ceasefire, from midnight local time (2100 GMT). Its leader, Khalil Ibrahim, said the deal was "a very important step". But, he added: "The road to peace still needs much patience and honest concessions from both sides." United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed the framework agreement as "an important step towards an inclusive and comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur". He added that he looked forward to "the full implementation of the agreement's provisions". Power-sharing The mood at the signing ceremony was quite jubilant, with cheerful scenes of handshaking and back-slapping, reports the BBC's Stephanie Hancock from Doha. ANALYSIS James Copnall, BBC News, Khartoum This framework agreement will be a tremendous relief for President Omar al-Bashir and his government. If the ceasefire is respected - and it's a big if - a major military threat will have been neutralised. Aid agencies and human rights groups have warned of a possible return to North-South conflict. Whether or not this happens, minimising the threat in Darfur will give the North a much stronger hand. Few people saw this deal coming. Whether it ultimately succeeds or fails, it will undoubtedly have changed the dynamic in Darfur. The deal was brokered by neighbouring Chad. Sudan says Chad has backed and armed Jem. According to the text of the accord, obtained by the BBC, the rebel group will constitute a political party after the signing of a final agreement. As well as the immediate ceasefire, the agreement includes an outline deal on the sharing of power "at all levels", which means the rebels will be offered seats in the Khartoum government. The text also specifies that changes in the administration of the Darfur region will form part of the final accord and that death sentences imposed on 100 Jem fighters will be cancelled. The International Criminal Court (ICC) last year issued a warrant for Mr Bashir's arrest for war crimes in Darfur. But Qatar has not signed the ICC charter, which obliges member states to arrest indictees on their territory. After the deal was signed, Qatar said a $1.5bn (£969m) fund would be established for the development of Darfur. 'Redouble peace efforts' The BBC's James Copnall, in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, says the deal is a major breakthrough. SEARCH FOR PEACE # May 2006: Khartoum makes peace with main Darfur rebel faction, Sudan Liberation Movement; Jem rejects the deal # May 2008: Unprecedented assault by Jem on Khartoum # Jul 2008: ICC calls for arrest of President Bashir # Nov 2008: President Bashir announces ceasefire # Nov 2008: ICC calls for arrest of three rebel commanders # Feb 2009: Army says it has captured key town of Muhajiriya # Feb 2009: Khartoum and Jem sign a deal in Qatar The power-sharing agreement, our correspondent adds, has shaken the political establishment. Two years ago, the Darfur rebel group took its fight to the heart of the country, attacking the city of Omdurman, where parliament sits. The government said that more than 200 people were killed in the attack and sentenced more than 100 Jem fighters to death by hanging for their involvement. The seven-year war between forces loyal to the government and rebels in Darfur has lost intensity in recent years. But the UN estimates 300,000 died in the worst years of the conflict. Some 2.5 million people are still displaced. The UK's Africa minister, Glenys Kinnock, hailed the ceasefire and power-sharing agreement, while urging all sides involved to "redouble their efforts for peace". Southern fighting Meanwhile, in Southern Sudan, several days of fighting in the Lakes State region has killed at least 28 people, including seven soldiers. The fighting started when Gok Dinka gunmen attacked a military base in an attempt to seize more weapons, following fighting with the rival Rek Dinka clan. It was only the latest in a string of violent clashes between rival ethnic groups and the army, reports the BBC's Peter Martell from the southern Sudanese capital Juba, and the scale and the frequency of those is worrying many. Although the civil war with the north ended in 2005, some 2,500 people died in conflicts between rival communities in Southern Sudan last year - far more than in Darfur, the UN says.

BBC News - Sudan signs ceasefire deal with Darfur rebel group

Well, here's to hoping against hopre that this works. But I agree with Copnall's analysis. First of all, there is very little to indicate a real willingness to cease fire, so it's a big if. Second of all, even if this particular agreement works, there's no guarantee that it will lead to peace.

Nevertheless, it's always good to see that the idea hasn't been totally forgotten.

[sunnykerr]

Rwanda president's widow arrested The widow of former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, whose assassination triggered the Rwandan genocide, has been arrested in France. Agathe Habyarimana is accused by the current Rwandan government of helping to plan the 1994 genocide, and has long been sought by prosecutors there. Mrs Habyarimana, who has been living in France for several years, denies the accusations. More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in the massacres of 1994. French officials said Mrs Habyarimana was detained in the Paris region by police executing a Rwandan-issued international arrest warrant. Mrs Habyarimana, who was flown out of Rwanda by the French military in the early days of the violence, has been seeking political asylum in France, without success. Her arrest follows a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, when he admitted that France - and the wider international community - had make "mistakes" over the genocide. His comments followed years of strained relations between the two countries. Extradition? Diplomatic relations were restored late last year having broken down after a French judge said President Paul Kagame had been behind President Habyarimana's assassination, and Rwanda accused France of arming the Hutu militias involved in the 1994 genocide. Mrs Habyarimana's lawyer said her arrest was directly linked to Mr Sarkozy's visit. "You can't not draw a link," said Philippe Meilhac. "The extradition request from Kigali dates back to November and was obviously re-activated." Rwanda has welcomed her arrest. "We are encouraged by these new developments and the fact that the long arm of the law has finally taken its course," said Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama. Mrs Habyarimana has now been freed on bail. The BBC's Catherine Zemmouri in Paris says it is not clear if France will extradite her to Rwanda. She says that French magistrates have recently refused to send three suspects to Rwanda fearing they would not receive a fair trial - an argument repeated by Mrs Habyarimana's lawyer. France has, however, extradited suspects to the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania. President Habyarimana died in April 1994 when his jet was hit by a missile over the Kigali airport. Hardline ethnic Hutu supporters of the president then launched the apparently pre-planned massacres.

BBC News - Rwanda president's widow held in France over genocide

And here I thought I knew so much about the genocide in Rwanda...

I did not know about this. Am I the only one who was ignorant of this fact?

[sunnykerr]

Nigerian president's health remains a mystery Umaru Yar'Adua has not addressed the public since November. Aides say he's fine, but his political rivals are suspicious, and the West fears the crisis could destabilize the oil-rich country. Nigeria's ailing president may still be flat on his back in the ambulance that rushed him from the airport to his residence after his secretive return last week from Saudi Arabia, where he was treated for heart-related health issues. Or sitting in a hard-backed chair in his official residence, while nieces, nephews and grandchildren tear up and down the stairs. Or working out daily on an exercise bike and walking up and down stairs. Any of the scenarios, reported by Nigerian newspapers or by President Umaru Yar'Adua's supporters, could be true, false or somewhere between, but they're all that Nigerians have to go on: The president has not addressed the public since he left the country for treatment in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, for pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart, in November, not even after he returned Feb. 24. One thing that does seem clear is that since the president's return, acting President Goodluck Jonathan has been unsuccessful in several attempts to see him. Yar'Adua's supporters put this down to the president's introverted personality and insist that he's on his feet and doing well. His opponents in the ruling party counter that if Yar'Adua is able, he should address the nation, and they accuse his aides of running the country without authority. The Cabinet is divided between the largely Muslim north where Yar'Adua comes from and the predominantly Christian south, Jonathan's home region. Nigeria's political culture is replete with secret deals, betrayals, bitter lifetime feuds and scandals. As the crisis drags on, northern and southern power brokers grow more suspicious of one another's motives. Nigeria, with a history of military coups and rigged elections, is Africa's most populous nation, with 150 million people. Western powers are watching the impasse anxiously, given Nigeria's oil riches and geopolitical importance. The British Embassy released a statement recently calling on Nigerian politicians to avoid a constitutional crisis. A U.S. statement on Yar'Adua's return was more blunt. It said Nigeria needed a strong leader, adding that reports suggested Yar'Adua was frail. "We hope that President Yar'Adua's return to Nigeria is not an effort by his senior advisors to upset Nigeria's stability and create renewed uncertainty in the democratic process," the statement read. Those words have riled Yar'Adua's supporters while prompting speculation in the news media that the United States had intelligence from Saudi Arabia that Yar'Adua is on his deathbed. Northern power brokers took it as evidence that the Americans dislike northern leaders. One scenario reported in the Nigerian daily the Punch on Monday said that U.S. intelligence sources had informed President Obama that Yar'Adua was in dire health and that Obama had "demanded" to know his condition. Nigeria's political stability hangs on a gentleman's agreement in the ruling People's Democratic Party to rotate the country's leadership: eight years to the south, then eight years to the north. If either side reneged, it would shatter the ruling party and potentially plunge the country into turmoil. The PDP met Tuesday to reaffirm the deal, undercutting any ambition Jonathan and his backers might have to take power and run him for president in the 2011 election. The nation's 36 state governors also met Tuesday and agreed that for the sake of Nigeria's stability, the leadership should remain in northern hands till 2015. "If Goodluck reneges, some people in the PDP would support him, but the majority would not support him. It would be very difficult for anyone in the north to support him," said northern power broker Tanko Yakasai, a former presidential liaison officer to the National Assembly. Yar'Adua, 58, was elected in 2007 in a vote that led to allegations of ballot-rigging and intimidation. Yakasai said Yar'Adua had been endorsed as successor by former southern President Olusegun Obasanjo in a plot to maintain southern control. "He picked Yar'Adua because of his ill health history so that Yar'Adua would not survive to the end of his term and if Umaru [Yar'Adua] died, then power would rotate back to the south," Yakasai said. He said Obasanjo hoped either to dominate Yar'Adua or watch him die in office. Obasanjo called on Yar'Adua to step down in January. Yakasai said the confusion and anger over Yar'Adua's failure to appear in public have been deliberate over-dramatization from the south. "You have to appreciate the kind of politics we play in Nigeria." Information Minister Dora Akunyili, a Jonathan ally and the only minister who has spoken out on Yar'Adua's health, risks dismissal should Yar'Adua return, analysts say. She has called on Yar'Adua to address the nation if he is healthy enough to do so. "The cabal [Yar'Adua's aides] wants to continue with their usual statements of 'The president said and you must comply.' They want to continue dishing out instructions even when the president did not say so," she told Reuters. Yakasai said that if Yar'Adua recovered, many people in the ruling party would advise him not to seek a second term.

Nigerian president's health remains a mystery - latimes.com

I know nothing of Nigeria's political history, so I welcome anyone who has any light to shed on the implications of what's going on right now.

Having said that, it doesn't sound like a good sign to me that he's not meeting with the guy who's been doing his job in the meantime. I mean, I don't care how introverted you are, if you're the president, you get over it!

[sunnykerr]

Evacuation after Uganda mudslide Thousands of people are being evacuated from hillsides in Uganda where a mudslide is believed to have killed more 350 people. The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala says about 4,000 people are being removed from their homes on the slopes of Mount Elgon as heavy rains continue. Three villages in the eastern district of Bududa were buried in a cascade of rocks and mud earlier this week. Only about 90 bodies have been recovered so far. The dead include about 60 schoolchildren who had taken shelter in a health centre. Entire families have been wiped out, our correspondent says. As the evacuation operation began, Bududa district chairman Wilson Watira told AFP news agency that in the "longer term" up to 35,000 people might need to move. Authorities have blamed the disaster on local people cutting down trees on the hillsides to cultivate crops. Uganda's minister for disaster preparedness, Musa Ecweru, told the BBC that the government wanted to move people away from areas at risk from mudslides. "These people must be located to areas which are safe, and we must find land and re-locate them," he said. "But there is a big problem about separating people from areas that they have traditionally known for ages." He said essential supplies were being distributed to those made homeless by the mudslide. The Ugandan Red Cross says it is distributing food and other aid to some 1,500 households. Teams of volunteers and soldiers are still trying to recover bodies under as much as 5m (16ft) of mud. The operation has been slowed down because the terrain is too steep for heavy machinery and rescuers are having to use hand-held tools.

BBC News - Uganda mudslide prompts evacuation of thousands

I saw this on the news tonight. The thought of those children who ran to safety and were still slaughtered will keep me up tonight, I just know it.

Man this is so horrible. I'd say "I hope everyone is alright," but of course that's ludicrous.

[sunnykerr]

Luxury South Africa train crashes A luxury tourist train has derailed near the South African capital, Pretoria, killing at least two people and injuring at least 25 more. The dead include a woman and her baby, who was born moments after the derailment, reports AFP news agency. The train is run by Rovos Rail, which offers "unique train safaris" in its wood-panelled carriages, some of which have hot showers and air conditioning. The nationalities of the casualties are not known. "We are dealing with a mixture of foreigners and South Africans," said Johan Pieterse, spokesperson for Emergency Medical Services (EMS), reports South Africa's Business Day. A spokesperson for Rovos Rail told AFP that most of its customers were from Europe and the US. Line closed "It's absolute carnage," emergency worker Chris Botha told AFP. "Some of the railway coaches are lying on top of each other and absolute wreckages. "They had to use hydraulic rescue equipment to cut some of the people free," he said. The train was carrying 55 passengers and had come from Cape Town. The derailment occurred outside the Blue Train depot in Pretoria, says AFP. The Blue Train is another luxury tourist train which runs between Cape Town and Pretoria, but only Rovos Rail uses restored antique trains. Safety inspectors told AFP that it appeared the accident happened during the switch from an electric locomotive to the steam engine Rovos Rail sometimes uses to pull its carriages. The part of the line affected by the accident has been closed until further notice.

BBC News - Rovos Rail train derails in South Africa: Two dead

Well, fortunately, there the death toll doesn't seem to be too bad, but it makes you wonder, if something like this can happen in South Africa, what's preventing more train accidents from happening.

Kinda scary, really.

[sunnykerr]

DR Congo mission for top UN man The UN's top humanitarian official has flown into the troubled Democratic Republic of Congo as armed groups continue to spread insecurity. John Holmes will travel to three provinces where humanitarian workers face increasingly difficult conditions. He will also visit a region where tens of thousands of people have reportedly been forced to flee their homes. Human rights abuses such as rapes and lootings are reported regularly in the country. Fighting and banditry Mr Holmes will visit the Kivu region, where a military campaign backed by the UN against Rwandan Hutu rebels has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Aid workers say better protection for civilians was promised at the end of similar joint military operations last year. But, in reality, human rights abuses such as rapes and lootings are reported regularly. And, they say, displacements of populations are constant. The situation is becoming increasingly difficult for humanitarian workers whose operations have been restricted by fighting and banditry. As a result, thousands of people in need are left with no assistance. Mr Holmes is also travelling to the north-eastern part of the country, where attacks by Ugandan rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army on villages are still frequent. His Congo tour will eventually take him to the western province of Equateur, where a recent insurgency by Enyele fighters has pushed thousands of people into the bush. The Congolese authorities have asked the UN mission to prepare for a withdrawal; Mr Holmes will be discussing civilian protection issues with President Joseph Kabila on Monday.

BBC News - Top UN man in DR Congo mission as unrest escalates

It's a decade or so on the late side, but who's counting?

It's about time someone did something about it. It stopped in Rwanda so we all clapped ourselves in the back, but they just moved to the Congo. That's all that happened there.