In Brief

* LIBERIA NEW START – The United Nations mission in Liberia celebrated the end of an aid programme for internally displaced persons (IDP) with the symbolic demolition of huts in Salala camp in Bong county, about 200km northwest of Monrovia.

* CAMEROON PLANE CRASH – A Libyan military cargo plane crashed in the Cameroonian town of Kousseri near the border with Chad, killing all six crew, the town’s deputy mayor said. * NILE DAM PROTEST – Three civilians were killed in violent clashes between Sudanese police and residents protesting the construction of a dam on the Nile river north of Khartoum, police said.Up to 1 000 people attacked police forces as the authorities prepared to conduct a census in the area, whose population will be displaced by the dam’s reservoir, projected to be some 200 kilometres long.* IMF TRANSFORMATION – The IMF took a first step toward a major transformation by agreeing to boost the role of emerging market countries in its decision-making and to overhaul its economic surveillance mechanism.* IRAQ UNREST – Six people were killed and two wounded when insurgents fired three mortars at Iraq’s defence ministry building inside the high-security Green Zone, an interior ministry official said.* BUSH WARNING – US President George W Bush warned that rising oil prices meant a “tough summer” for US consumers as the high cost of petrol showed signs of becoming a big political issue.* SOLOMONS UNREST – Australia and New Zealand sent more troops to the Solomons to bolster security amid fears the opening of parliament could trigger further riots in the impoverished South Pacific island nation.* RUSSIA EARTHQUAKES – Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Kamchatka peninsula in northeastern Russia a day after a series of violent earthquakes shook the region, injuring dozens of people and causing serious damage to buildings.* SAHARA PRISONERS FREED – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has decided to free all prisoners from the disputed territory of Western Sahara currently being held in jails in the kingdom, an official source told AFP.* ENERGY PACT – China and Saudi Arabia signed energy, defence and security deals on the first day of a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the oil-rich kingdom focusing on economic and energy cooperation.- Nampa-AFP* NILE DAM PROTEST – Three civilians were killed in violent clashes between Sudanese police and residents protesting the construction of a dam on the Nile river north of Khartoum, police said.Up to 1 000 people attacked police forces as the authorities prepared to conduct a census in the area, whose population will be displaced by the dam’s reservoir, projected to be some 200 kilometres long.* IMF TRANSFORMATION – The IMF took a first step toward a major transformation by agreeing to boost the role of emerging market countries in its decision-making and to overhaul its economic surveillance mechanism.* IRAQ UNREST – Six people were killed and two wounded when insurgents fired three mortars at Iraq’s defence ministry building inside the high-security Green Zone, an interior ministry official said.* BUSH WARNING – US President George W Bush warned that rising oil prices meant a “tough summer” for US consumers as the high cost of petrol showed signs of becoming a big political issue.* SOLOMONS UNREST – Australia and New Zealand sent more troops to the Solomons to bolster security amid fears the opening of parliament could trigger further riots in the impoverished South Pacific island nation.* RUSSIA EARTHQUAKES – Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Kamchatka peninsula in northeastern Russia a day after a series of violent earthquakes shook the region, injuring dozens of people and causing serious damage to buildings.* SAHARA PRISONERS FREED – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has decided to free all prisoners from the disputed territory of Western Sahara currently being held in jails in the kingdom, an official source told AFP.* ENERGY PACT – China and Saudi Arabia signed energy, defence and security deals on the first day of a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the oil-rich kingdom focusing on economic and energy cooperation.- Nampa-AFP