Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, right, with Mbeki
The people of Sudan had cause for celebration on New Year's Eve. Negotiators in Naivasha, Kenya, announced that after 21 years of civil war, Sudan's Islamic government and rebels from the largely Christian and animist south had hammered out the final details of a peace deal. The agreement, to be signed on Jan. 9, will give the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement a share of political power and oil wealth during a six-year transition period, after which the south can hold a referendum on whether to secede. "Africa begins the year 2005 on a very good footing," said South African President...
