KEEP UN TROOPS

DRC

Dr. Bent Francis Mboyo, a presidential hopeful for the 2011 elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said that the UN peacekeeping mission must stay in the country to prevent a return to uncontrollable chaos.

The current government, led by President Joseph Kabila, has argued that the national army is now in a position to maintain order in the departure of the UN forces.

"If the UN leaves Congo right now the country would be in a situation that we were before," Mboyo told AfricaNews from his U.S. base.

MEASLES OUTBREAK

Malawi

More than 3,000 people had taken ill and eight had died by May 10 in a measles outbreak in Blantyre, Malawi's largest city. Cases were also recorded in other districts. Health officials announced they would require $4.1 million to vaccinate 6 million children around the nation. The outbreak prompted the government to fast track its three-year interval measles civic education and vaccination campaign, and a number of districts saw the program roll out immediately.

IRAN BANK

Uganda

Uganda's New Vision newspaper reported that the Iranian business community is set to establish an agricultural bank in Uganda to promote the export of Ugandan produce to the Arab world. In particular, the Iranians are targeting meat, fish, coffee, cotton and horticultural processing.

The leader of the Iranian delegation, Mohammood Ali Musavir, said that Iran was in need of thousands of tons of agricultural produce from Uganda and he encouraged Ugandan investors to seek out opportunities for joint ventures with Iranian enterprises.

LIBYA-EU PARTNERSHIP

Libya

Libya and the EU are in negotiations that could result in the signing later this year of a partnership between the two sides. The partnership will involve agreements designed to increase free trade and improve cooperation on stemming the flow of illegal migrants from Africa to Europe.

PILOT BLAMED

Cameroon

A technical investigation has found that pilot error was probably to blame for the crash of a Kenya Airways jet in Cameroon in May 2007, which killed all 114 people on board. The Boeing 737-800 airliner crashed into a mangrove swamp in stormy conditions shortly after taking off from Douala, Cameroon's biggest city.

But Kenya Airways, which is 26 percent owned by Air France-KLM, has expressed doubt over the report's assertion that the pilot failed to correctly engage the autopilot after take off.

NO EXTENSION

Union of Comoros

In early May, after weeks of tension, the Comorian Constitutional Court annulled a law which would have extended the mandate of the island nation's leader to November 2011.

Earlier this year, the Comorian Parliament ratified the law aligning local and federal elections, which would have extended President Mohamed Abdallah Sambi's term by 18 months from the original end date of May 26, 2010.

Those in the Sambi camp claimed the change would reduce bureaucracy and save money, while opposition figures argued that the proposed change was simply designed to allow Sambi to extend his tenure.