US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says there has been progress in Darfur but the world will not accept mere promises from Sudan’s new government to halt the violence.

CHEERING crowds and a brass band greeted UN chief Kofi Annan yesterday on his first visit to south Sudan, but he was also met with a stark message on the desperate need for aid in the war-battered region.

UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanded speedy prosecution of Sudanese officials and militiamen guilty of crimes against humanity in Darfur, as members of the Security Council came under renewed pressure to tackle the issue.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanded speedy prosecution of Sudanese officials and militiamen guilty of crimes against humanity in Darfur, as members of the Security Council came under renewed pressure to tackle the issue at last.

Sudan’s vice president and the country’s main rebel leader signed a comprehensive peace agreement to end Africa’s longest-running conflict today, concluding an eight-year process to stop a civil war that has cost more than two million lives since 1983.

Sudanese government and rebel negotiators today resolved differences that delayed the signing of a deal on a permanent ceasefire and endorsement of a plan to end a 21 year civil.

Sudanese government and rebel officials signed an agreement today promising to end the 21-year civil war in Sudan by the end of the year.

Sudanese government and rebel officials overcame a significant hurdle toward reaching a comprehensive peace agreement today by signing a protocol on how to share the nation’s wealth, one of the major issues in the 20 year civil war.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said today that the Sudanese government and rebels fighting a 20-year civil have committed themselves to reaching a comprehensive peace deal by the end of December.