KAMPALA: Reports say five Ugandan soldiers have been killed and several others wounded after one of many bombs being transported in a convoy of military vehicles exploded between the northern towns of Acholi Bur and Pajure. An army spokesperson confirmed the incident, but said the authorities had yet to verify the number of dead and injured. The wounded soldiers were rushed to Kitgum district hospital. Observers note that there has been a history of faulty bombs in the Ugandan army's stocks which have killed soldiers before.

TREASON TRIAL OF ZIMBABWEAN OPPOSITION LEADER CONTINUES.

HARARE: The key state witness in the treason trial of Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says his consulting firm had destroyed evidence, which defense lawyers say could prove the veteran activist was framed. The witness, Ari Ben-Menashe, told the Zimbabwean High Court the invoices for the work he did for the Zimbabwean government were destroyed due to security reasons. Lead defence attorney George Bizos said the destruction of the invoices could prove that Ben-Menashe made a videotape expressly to frame Tsvangirai. The opposition leader and two colleagues in the Movement for Democratic Change could be sentenced to death if convicted of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe. All three deny the charges. The videotape contains a conversation in which Tsvangirai allegedly discussed the elimination of Mugabe.

UGANDAN NGO's DENOUNCE POSSIBLE WAR ON IRAQ. KAMPALA:

Uganda's non-governmental organisations have issued a statement denouncing a possible American-led war on Iraq. The groups sounded a warning that conflict would further destabilise the Middle East as well as encourage Islamic fundamentalists to spread hatred across the world. The statement was signed by, among others, members of the Ugandan Civil Society Organisation and the Ugandan Joint Christian Council. The statement was forwarded to the American embassy in Kampala.

NAM SET TO CALL FOR RESTRUCTURING OF U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Non-aligned Movement is set to call for the restructuring of the United Nations security council during the former organisation's six-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur next week. Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar says the security council with its five permanent members is not representative of the countries of the world. On the issue of Iraq, he warned that war will result in disastrous consequences for member states of the Non- aligned Movement..

18 MILLION CHILDREN IN ETHIOPIA LIVE IN POVERTY: MINISTRY.

ADDIS ABABA: The Ethiopian Labour and Social Affairs Ministry has pointed out that over 18-million children in Ethiopia between the ages of five and 17 years of age live in poverty, and have been forced into work. The Ministry said the figures represent over 52 percent of Ethiopian children in the age group. The figures illustrated the need for family labour assistance to supplement household income.

BP SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHES NEW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PETROL.

JOHANNESBURG: British Petroleum South Africa has launched a new environmentally friendly petrol. The new fuel, called, B.P. cleaner, super, is completely lead free. The company has made it in good time to beat the 2006 deadline set by the South African government for petroleum companies to move towards lead free fuel. British Petroleum spokesperson, Uwe Kutu, says the new fuel is four cents cheaper than leaded fuel and it does not require any vehicle modifications.

FORMER ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT LOSES APPEAL TO REINSTATE IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION.

LUSAKA: Former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, accused of corruption by his hand-picked successor, has lost a Supreme Court appeal to reinstate his immunity from prosecution. Parliament lifted Chiluba's immunity last year after President Levy Mwanawasa said the former president should be prosecuted for corruption during his ten years in office. Chiluba has not been formally charged, but many former officials in his government are facing graft charges.

MASSIVE GAS PROJECT INVOLVING S.A. AND MOZAMBIQUE TO BE OPERATIONAL NEXT YEAR.

JOHANNESBURG: A multi-million dollar natural gas project involving South Africa and Mozambique is expected to be operational by May next year. The project is being undertaken by South Africa's synthetic fuel producer, SASOL. The one-point-eight- billion dollar project, which has created many jobs for rural communities in both countries, will make environmentally-friendly gas available for use by both small and large business. SASOL Executive Director, Pat Davies, says there will be significant social and economic benefits for communities in both countries.

S.A GOVERNMENT TO LOOK AT REPARATIONS FOR APARTHEID VICTIMS.

JOHANNESBURG: The South African government is taking a renewed look at compensation for the victims of Apartheid. A Justice Ministry spokesperson, Paul Setsetse, says compensating victims by paying them money is not government's only concern. He says reparations can take on many forms.

IVORY COAST REBELS TO JOIN UNITY GOVERNMENT: TOGOLESE PRESIDENT.

ABIDJAN: Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema says Ivory Coast's rebels will join a unity government to end a five-month war. The Ivorian army says it will accept the insurgents in a compromise administration, but not in the defense or interior ministries. After meeting French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, Eyadema said that Ivorian Prime Minister Seydou Diarra would discuss the posts to be allocated to the rebels with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo. Eyadema did not give a date for the formation of a new government to end Ivory Coast's conflict which began after an attempted coup in September last year.

LIBERIA CRITICISES U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST PRESIDENT CHARLES TAYLOR.

MONROVIA: Liberia has accused the United States of using its power of veto in the United Nations to stop President Charles Taylor, who is under UN sanctions, from going to France for a regional summit this week. The sanctions, imposed on Taylor for allegedly funding war in neighbouring countries, include a travel ban. However, he has occasionally been allowed to leave his country and had planned to attend the Franco-African summit in Paris, France. Liberia's information ministry says Taylor decided to cancel his trip in the wake of objections raised by the US at the UN Security Council. The sanctions were imposed because of Taylor's alleged support for rebels in Sierra Leone in arms-for-diamonds trading.

MILITARY PLANE CRASHES IN IRAN, KILLING 302 SOLDIERS.

TEHRAN: A military plane carrying 302 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has crashed in the mountains of southeastern Iran, killing everyone on board. Reports say the plane was en route from Zahedan, on the Pakistan border, to Kerman, about 800 kilometres southeast of Tehran. The crash is the latest in a string of plane accidents the Iranian government has blamed on United States sanctions, arguing that they have prevented the country from repairing and replacing its ageing fleet.

LEADING HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER RELEASED IN GUINEA-BISSAU.

LISBON: State police in Guinea-Bissau have released a leading human rights campaigner who had been held behind bars in the country for 21 days without being charged with a crime. The vice president of the country's Human Rights League, Joao Vaz Mane, says he will not let the issue drop and will file a suit against Interior Minister Antonio Sedja Man and the police officer who arrested him. Mane says he was never told why he was arrested and was not allowed to contact his family or a lawyer while in prison. He was arrested shortly after he criticised President Kumba Yala in an interview on Guinea-Bissau's most influential private broadcaster, Radio Bombolom. The government has since ordered the closure of the radio station.

STRIKE BY NIGERIAN LECTURERS ENTERS SEVENTH WEEK.

LAGOS: A strike by Nigerian university lecturers for higher pay and better funding of the country's university system has entered its seventh week. However, officials say an end to the stoppage is in sight. University lecturers, under the umbrella of their union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, or ASUU, began the strike at the beginning of last month. The ASUU has complained that universities are under-funded. It says this had led to the universities turning out thousands of half-baked students every year. Nigerian Education Minister Babalola Borishade has promised that the strike will end soon as the government and the ASUU discuss their demands.

CRICKET WORLD CUP: ENGLAND BEATS NAMIBIA BY 55 RUNS.

PORT ELIZABETH: Turning to cricket World Cup news: England have survived a scare to beat a gutsy Namibia side by 55 runs in their World Cup match in South Africa's eastern city of Port Elizabeth. England posted a total of 272 all out from 50 overs, and Namibia finished on 217 for nine. Earlier, Sri Lanka beat Canada by nine wickets in Paarl in South Africa's Western Cape province. It was one of the shortest ever one-day international matches and Sri Lanka's batsmen knocked off the 37 runs required for victory in only four-point-four overs. Canada were dismissed for 36 -- the lowest ever score in one-day internationals.

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