The Lords Resistance Army leader, Joseph Kony, has lashed out at Members of Parliament from northern Uganda, currently in Juba on an observation mission, accusing them of taking an inducement of Shs60 million each to "to mess him up."In a two and a half hour teleconference with the MPs and members of the LRA peace negotiation team, a rather infuriated Kony told off the legislators and said, "You MPs are all useless, you have been bribed with Shs60 million each to come and mess me up."

West African leaders began talks in the Nigerian capital on Friday aimed at breaking a political deadlock in Cote d'Ivoire that threatens to further destabilise the country. A key issue to be resolved is the status of President Laurent Gbagbo. A United Nations-backed peace plan extended his term in office by one year until the end of this month.

Almost 70,000 people from four countries have been displaced by floods from seasonal rains and need food, blankets, mosquito nets and other assistance, according to a report from three United Nations agencies.Niger is the worst-affected with 46,472 people displaced, followed by Burkina Faso with 11,170, Mauritania with 9,000 and Guinea with 1,200, said the October report by the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA), the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) and the UN World Food programme.