* Niger and West Africa
Thirteen charities have joined together to form the Disaster Emergency Committee for the crisis in West Africa. The charities in the DEC include Tear Fund, World Vision, and Christian Aid. According to the Red Cross, the combination of drought and a locust plague has left almost 8 million people at risk of hunger in Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. Aid is beginning to arrive, but more help is needed. You can donate online at www.dec.org.uk.

* Sudan
John Garang, the newly-appointed vice-president of Sudan has died in a helicopter crash, provoking riots on the streets of Khartoum. He signed a deal to end 21 years of civil war in January, and his apppointment was bringing hope of peace for the future. It seems from the peace agreement that whoever became SPLM leader will also take over as Sudan's vice-president, but tensions are high.

Darfur is still in turmoil, with new accusations of clashes and that women there are suffering rape at the hands of militiamen and soldiers, who are not being brought to justice.

For more detail on the situation in Sudan, see Sudan Watch

* Bloggers Unite for Africa.
Garth has posted an idea called Bloggers Unite for Africa. He is trying to encourage bloggers to raise awareness and funds for the different crises in Africa such as Sudan and the Sahel food crisis that is hitting West African countries including Niger, and Burkina Faso. He is suggesting people do a yard sale or garage sale, and you can add your name to say you'd like to join in.

Tags: burkina faso africa aid burkina niger sudan