May 5, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government today admitted that two members of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) were behind the investment fraud row that erupted last month causing violent clashes between the victims and police in North Darfur capital state of El-Fasher. Ponzi schemes are named after a 1920s con artist in the United States, Charles Ponzi. They rely on a pyramid of investors who contribute money to a fraudulent operation under which money from newer investors is used to pay off earlier investors until the whole scheme collapses. At a press conference in Khartoum today at......

May 6, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration will be paying a visit this week to the Ethiopian capital where he will attend a meeting organized by the African Union on Sudan’s future. Currently, Gratian is in Sudan as part of his one week-long visit to the two east African countries. In Sudan he visited Khartoum, Juba, and El-Fasher (Darfur); to pursue efforts to stabilize both southern and western parts of the country. Gration will leave Friday for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in African Union meetings on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace......

May 6, 2010 (WUNROK) – GOSS Presidential Advisor for Political Affairs, Lual Diing Wol, on Thursday has disclosed his intention to decline another appointment in the upcoming government expressing his discontent with elections results. The first multiparty elections since 24 years conducted last April were marred by irregularities, logistical problems, intimidations and accusations of riggings. Also, international observers said it failed to meet international standards. Southern political parties equally accused security elements alleged loyal to Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to have been employing restrictive behaviors against their political activities throughout campaigning and voting periods. But both National Congress Party......

May 6, 2010 (KHARTOUM) —Japanese experts will travel to Sudan on Friday to study the feasibility of dispatching military helicopters to join the UN peacekeeping mission operating in southern Sudan. If the decision is taken, it would be Japan’s first group of helicopters to participate in a peacekeeping mission. Since June 2008, U.N. chief Ban Ki Moon requested that Japanese Self-Defense Force troops (SDF) participate in peacekeeping operations in Sudan. The Japanese choppers will help the UNMIS to transport the ballots boxes of a referendum on southern Sudan self determination scheduled to take place in January 2011. However, the Japanese......

May 6, 2010 (JUBA) - The ruling political party in the semi-autonomous Southern Sudan, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), may soon be forced to take one official position between unity of Sudan and secession of the South to form its own independent country, says the Deputy Chairperson of the party and Vice President designate in the Government of South Sudan (GoSS). Riek Machar, on Thursday, during his meeting with the visiting British Special Representative for Sudan, Michael O’neil, told the Envoy that unless the dominant National Congress Party (NCP) in the North refrained from taking official position on unity,......

May 7, 2010 (MAGWI) — Despite efforts by local authorities, murder, rape and defilement practices still continue to dominate reported cases of conflict among most communities in Eastern Equatoria State’s Magwi County, a new assessment conducted by a civil society organization has revealed. The one-week assessment, exclusively by Generation Agency for Development and Transformation–Pentagon (GADET-Pentagon); a none-partisan none-governmental civil society organization aimed at assessing the current state of affairs as well as key actors in community planning activities among others. Reacting to the results of the assessment yesterday, GADET-Pentagon’s Executive Director, Taban A. Christopher told Sudan Tribune that the......

May 7, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Ahmed Hussein Adam, the spokesperson of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) denies that his seeks to transfer the venue of peace process to Egypt. The denial comes as Khalil Ibrahim JEM chairman will pay a visit on Saturday to Cairo and the foreign Egyptian minister is expected to arrive in Khartoum on Sunday. JEM suspended its participation in the peace talks, hosted by the Gulf state of Qatar since 2008, after accusing the Sudanese army of attacking its positions in Darfur breaching a truce they signed last February in Doha. Adam in statements......

May 7, 201 (KHARTOUM) — A Sudanese Presidential adviser travelled recently to the Lebanese capital to ensure the support of the Arab League member to its positions in the United Nations. Since January 2010, Lebanon is elected as non-permanent member of the Security Council. The Arab country will serve a two-year term. Khartoum faces international pressures over its rejection to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Arab and African countries asked the 15 member council to suspend the jurisdiction of the war crimes court on Darfur but Britain, France and the US showed opposition. Last April the ICC prosecutor......

May 8, 2010 (BOR) – Abraham Dau Nyok left his ancestors home in Bor in 1987 at age 13 years for a long journey that took him to Ethiopia, Kenya and Australia and finally return home with a "satisfactory asset." He owns a hotel in Bor town, the capital of Jonglei State. Costing approximately US $ 150,000 the three brothers’ pooling eventually succeeds to building of Cold-inn Comfort Hotel in eastern Bor town and serves to "inform (Sudanese) citizens overseas to put example here. Security is okay and we don’t wish for war." Dau Nyok is one of the......