Peace has been elusive in Africa's largest nation for almost five decades, the bitter dispute between the Christian and Animist south and the Muslim north dominating the period. US relations with sudan are also ambivalent, as it seeks to place sanctions on Sudan, and wants its cooperation in the fight against terrorism. allAfrica's Charles Cobb Jr. spoke with Sudan's Ambassador to the United States, Khidir Haroun Ahmed.

THE European Union (EU), the American and British governments have suspended K1.5 billion worth of aid pledged for this year's budget because of top level corruption and the suspension of the Privatisation programme.

Some 16 women foreign ministers appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to make sure women in war zones get special treatment as victims and are invited to be partners at the peace negotiating table.

Clareville Primary, a school in Durban, South Africa, has a number of children of refugees at its school, and has gone out of its way to welcome them.