- At last, Sudanese authorities gave the greenlight for the crucial census to take place after being postponed twice.
There has never been a census in Sudan since 1993. Its population is estimated at 37.8 million.
Census, which is expected to wind up on 6 May, has been one of the crucial demands outlined in a 2005 Comprehensive Peace Accord signed by the Khartoum government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
The census is expected to establish the parameters for the distribution of resources between the SPLM-controlled South and central government in the North. It will also facilitate the demarcation of constituencies for next year's national electional and a referrendum on the independence of South Sudan.
South Sudan authorities said they will neither dispute the census results, nor take it seriously, considering the absence of a demarcated frontier between the North and South and the presence of about two million South Sudanese in the North.
The SPLM also querried the central government's failure to include the ethnic origin and religion in the demographic questionnaire questions. The conflict in Sudan's Darfur region is also expected to derail the census.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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