"NATIVITY NONSENSE: The Christmas Story"

World's poorest pay for WTO compromise: Africa
Africans reacted with dismay on Monday to a World Trade Organisation compromise deal on global trade, saying the world's poorest continent would pay the price for the intransigence of rich nations. "The developed countries once again failed to extend a hand of solidarity to the poor," South Africa's powerful COSATU labour federation said in a statement, calling Sunday's last-minute WTO agreement in Hong Kong an 'abysmal failure'.

Thousands of Displaced Dinkas Trek Home to Southern Sudan
The International Organization for Migration says it is helping some 3,500 vulnerable people from Sudan's Dinka tribe return to the homes they fled in Bor, southern Sudan 14 years ago. The agency says the Dinkas are part of a larger group of 12,000 who are spontaneously making their way home on foot.

NATIVITY NONSENSE: The Christmas Story
For most Xians the story of the birth of the Jesus figure is pretty much clear cut; simply turn to the New Testament and there outlined is everything one needed to know about how the saviour, god incarnate came into being. Exactly how Dec 25th came to be the celebrated date may pose a bit of a problem for some but that is hardly a problem worth graying hairs over. After all, the main thing is that "He" was born and he was born to save mankind from eternal damnation.

French 'complicit' in genocide
The prosecutor of a French military court has opened an inquest for "complicity in genocide", following accusations against French troops stationed in Rwanda in 1994.

MDC expels Tsvangirai
Senior officials of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) say they have officially expelled party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Ethiopia complies with UN border deadline
Ethiopian troops began moving back from the tense border with Eritrea as a United Nations deadline for both sides to pull soldiers back by midnight on Friday drew near, a UN source said. The UN Security Council set the deadline in November, when it ordered the Horn of Africa neighbours to reduce troop levels at the frontier, scene of a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70 000, and threatened economic sanctions if they did not obey.

Ethiopian leader targets Make Poverty History in mass clampdown on dissent
An Ethiopian court has charged 131 politicians, journalists and activists with treason and genocide as the Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, continues to suppress all dissenting voices in the country.

LIBERIA: War is over, but the rebuilding has barely begun

Chad leader accuses Sudan of 'direct aggression'
Chadian President Idriss Deby on Thursday accused his Sudanese counterpart of plotting to destabilise his country, blaming Khartoum for a rebel attack on the frontier town of Adre.

Analyst Doubts Third Term Try by Nigeria's Obasanjo
Nigeria is rejecting US concerns about the debate over whether President Olusegun Obasanjo should run for a third term. The US State Department says allowing Mr. Obasanjo to seek re-election again would undermine democratic values. However, a presidential spokesman says the president has not indicated he would seek a third term and that he respects the constitution.

Third Term Debate Divides Nigeria
Debate is raging in Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, over whether the constitution should be changed to allow President Olusegun Obasanjo to seek a third term. The debate features those who strongly support Mr. Obasanjo's economic reform programs, against those who fear a change could lead to dictatorship.

Australian charged for race violence
An Australian man has been charged over the circulation of mobile phone text messages inciting racial violence, the first arrest of its kind since race rioting hit Sydney beaches almost two weeks ago.

The Anglo-American War of Terror: An Overview

What White America Doesn't Hear

"Big Lies" and "Small Lies": White (Phosphorous) Christmas