The News Review:

- Zimbabwe: Sierra Leone Poll – an Example of the Elections We Want
- From Economist.com
- Uganda: Cranes’ Maths to 2008 Finals
- Israeli Deportation of 50 Africans Sparks Concern

Zimbabwe: Sierra Leone Poll – an Example of the Elections We Want
AllAfrica.com – Sep 2, 2007
thezimbabwestandard. Most importantly, the Sierra Leone elections exhibited the gateway to electoral credibility in a country whose previous elections were littered with irregularities. GA_googleFillSlot(“AllAfrica_Story_Inset”); What struck the ZESN team most was the amount of trust that the electorate, the political parties, civil society and government had in the National Electoral Commission (NEC), the body tasked with running the elections in the country. Other than the fact that the commission is truly independent of government, the idea that it is headed by a person whose public profile attracts approval and contentment from all sectors of the society is neither here nor there. The Sierra Leone experience showed the need for a truly independent electoral commission headed by a credible individual whose moral aptitude is beyond reproach if elections were to be credible in this country.

From Economist.com
economist.com – Sep 2, 2007
A mammoth security operation is swinging into gear to protect world leaders, including George Bush, Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin, from the usual band of anti-globalisation protesters. For once the latter may have a small advantage—an outbreak of equine flu has prevented the deployment of police horses to control the crowds. • A RUN-OFF election to choose a new president for Sierra Leone is set for Saturday September 8th. In the first round of voting in August Ernest Koroma of the opposition All People’s Congress polled 44% of the vote and he is now backed by the third-placed candidate, Charles Margai, who got 14%. Solomon Berewa, the incumbent vice-president and candidate of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party, managed only 38%. Support for the two candidates is split along ethnic and regional lines, but a return to violence looks unlikely after the country endured a bloody civil war between 1991 and 2002.

Uganda: Cranes’ Maths to 2008 Finals
AllAfrica.com – Sep 2, 2007
It's Zambia and Benin who are cast as the chief protagonists!Possessing superior goal differences, the pair needs only match Cranes' result to deny Uganda its precious invite to Ghana. Benin is Cranes' principal rival since it holds a colossal four-goal cushion. The West Africans visit Sierra Leone in its last qualifier. Were they to win 1-0 away to a side they beat 2-0 in the first leg, Benin could end up qualifying as Group Nine leaders. But the likeliest – and worst case – scenario would see Benin finish second to either Togo or Mali in that Group, earning them a runners-up berth. That state of affairs could only be averted if the Cranes force five goals past Niger without conceding. In that case, Uganda and Benin would share the same points, same goal-difference and same goals scored but Laszlo Csaba's lot would tower above the West Africans on the best runners-up table due to a finer record in the 'Goal Against' column.

Israeli Deportation of 50 Africans Sparks Concern
BBSNews – Sep 2, 2007
“Some 2,500 African refugees and asylum seekers have entered Israel in the past two years. About 1,800 are from Sudan, including some 500 from Darfur, government data indicated. The rest are from various African countries (mostly conflict zones), including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. Many complained of ill-treatment while in Egypt – from daily discrimination and racism to extreme harassment and violence. Some of the 50 entered the country before dawn on 16 August, while most came through the following night. Menachem Mazuz, the attorney-general, said the asylum seekers were not “expelled” from Israel but rather “prevented entry”. Critics, however, said most had been inside Israel for more than 24 hours.