Closing date: 28 November 2001

Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network has collected millions of dollars in the past three years from the illicit sale of diamonds mined by rebels in Sierra Leone, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

Climate talks have resumed to finalize the procedures and institutions that will make the Kyoto Protocol fully operational. The world’s governments are meeting here from today through November 9 to work out exactly how to reduce the emissions of six greenhouse gases that are linked to global warming.

The Kenyan government has announced that it will go ahead and collect more than 170,000 acres of public forest for private use. Among the targeted forests is the one inhabited by the Ogiek indigenous community who may finally lose their cultural land.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) said on Tuesday that it aimed to shut down all the oilfields run with government backing in southern Sudan.