In Brief

ANGER – China will have “nothing to do” with Zambia if opposition leader Michael Sata wins this month’s general elections and recognises Taiwan as a sovereign state, Chinese ambassador Li Baodong told AFP late Monday.

Sata, a veteran politician and leader of the opposition Patriotic Front, is the main challenger to incumbent President Levy Mwanawasa in the September 28 elections and has been tipped by analysts as a serious contender. He ruffled feathers recently by accusing China of “dumping their people here to take up shops meant for our people”.He also angered Beijing by describing the rival regime in Taiwan as “a sovereign state”.*TRUCE – A Ugandan rebel leader left his hideout and met Ugandan army officers in the highest-level contact yet between northern guerrillas and the army they battled during 20 years of brutal conflict.The confidence-building session on Monday between Dominic Ongwen and Ugandan army officers was the latest step in a process to end one of Africa’s longest wars following a truce which took affect last week.Ugandan forces claimed to have killed Ongwen last year, ending the hunt for one of five Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) guerrilla leaders accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its first indictments.*FINAL RULING – Mexico’s top electoral court began its long-awaited session yesterday to announce a final ruling in the hotly disputed July 2 elections – an unappealable decision expected to favour ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.His rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has already vowed to ignore the decision.The long-awaited ruling by the Federal Electoral Tribunal – which comes two months, three days, and tens of thousands of pages of legal challenges after voters cast their ballots – is unlikely to end potentially explosive protests or close the growing political divide gripping the country.Supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set up an overnight camp at the court’s headquarters late Monday, vowing to prevent the judges from declaring Calderon president-elect.Nampa-AP-AFP-ReutersHe ruffled feathers recently by accusing China of “dumping their people here to take up shops meant for our people”.He also angered Beijing by describing the rival regime in Taiwan as “a sovereign state”.*TRUCE – A Ugandan rebel leader left his hideout and met Ugandan army officers in the highest-level contact yet between northern guerrillas and the army they battled during 20 years of brutal conflict.The confidence-building session on Monday between Dominic Ongwen and Ugandan army officers was the latest step in a process to end one of Africa’s longest wars following a truce which took affect last week.Ugandan forces claimed to have killed Ongwen last year, ending the hunt for one of five Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) guerrilla leaders accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its first indictments.*FINAL RULING – Mexico’s top electoral court began its long-awaited session yesterday to announce a final ruling in the hotly disputed July 2 elections – an unappealable decision expected to favour ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.His rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has already vowed to ignore the decision.The long-awaited ruling by the Federal Electoral Tribunal – which comes two months, three days, and tens of thousands of pages of legal challenges after voters cast their ballots – is unlikely to end potentially explosive protests or close the growing political divide gripping the country.Supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set up an overnight camp at the court’s headquarters late Monday, vowing to prevent the judges from declaring Calderon president-elect.Nampa-AP-AFP-Reuters