Chad's government has imposed a state of emergency in its eastern regions bordering Sudan's Darfur and in its remote desert north following recent ethnic clashes that killed at least 20 people.

The fate of hundreds of refugees from Sudan's Darfur region rests in the hands of Britain's House of Lords. The highest British court, the Law Lords, is to decide within the next few weeks whether it is safe to return three Darfuri asylum seekers to Sudan.

The human rights group Amnesty International has teamed up with John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, to raise awareness and money for the victims of the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan.

American actor George Clooney thanked France for its efforts in the Darfur crisis on Sunday as he accepted a prestigious government award marking his achievements in cinema.

A spokesman for Steven Spielberg says the film director may quit his involvement with the 2008 Beijing Olympics unless China does more to stop the violence in Darfur.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the “constructive outcome” of a well-attended international meeting on the situation in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged to push for action to facilitate the speedy deployment of peacekeepers to the troubled Darfur region of Sudan, while at the same time moving decisively to foster a lasting political settlement to the conflict there.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says stopping the killing and finding a political solution in the Darfur region of Sudan remain his highest priorities. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London, the U.N. chief has been meeting with Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair.

A conference in Paris aimed at finding a solution to the crisis in Darfur has ended with an agreement to coordinate future measures in the troubled region. But as Anita Elash reports for VOA from Paris, most of the key players did not attend the gathering.

Human rights groups say they'll call for a boycott of next year's Olympic Games in China, unless the country does its best to secure a lasting peace in Darfur. Thousands of people have been killed, and millions displaced, since conflict broke out in the region in 2003.

Some of the biggest names in music have come together to raise money and awareness for Amnesty International's human rights work, with an emphasis on the Darfur crisis. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA from London.

Sudan rejected Wednesday the idea of holding an international conference on the situation surrounding the western province of Darfur, the SUNA national news agency said citing the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.