A Southern Sudan Air Connection aircraft has crashed today in Southern Sudan, killing over a dozen people, including the area's defense minister.

The international community is urging Sudan's ally China to pressure the Khartoum government to stop the deadly attacks in Darfur, where 200,000 people have been killed and two million displaced in the past five years. China's envoy for Darfur, Liu Guijin, stopped in London recently on his way to Darfur. He said his government is doing its utmost to bring peace to Sudan. Tendai Maphosa files this report for VOA.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor Sunday said China is very much welcome in helping the country find a solution to the Darfur issue.

U.S. film director Stephen Spielberg has stepped down as artistic consultant to the Beijing Olympics due to China's policy on Sudan and the conflict in Darfur.

Chadian rebels and military sources report fierce fighting today less than 100 kilometers from the capital, N'djamena. Meanwhile, the European Union has delayed the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Chad.

The U.S. government says it deplores Sudan's decision to name a suspected Darfur militia leader to a senior government position.

A U.S. based rights group is urging Turkey to press Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is in Ankara for a three-day visit Monday, to end atrocities in the Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

Hundreds of Sudanese Muslims have taken to the streets of Khartoum demanding death for the British school teacher convicted of insulting Islam after her class named a teddy bear Mohammad.

The U.K. foreign secretary said on Thursday that he hopes "common sense" will prevail in the case of a British teacher on trial in Sudan after naming a teddy bear Muhammad.

A British school teacher in Sudan was arrested today after allowing her students to name a teddy bear after the Islam prophet Muhammad, a charge that carries 40 lashes and up to six months in prison.

An outbreak of Rift Valley fever has killed up to 100 people in Sudan and is threatening the lives of many more. For humans, contracting Rift Valley fever is often fatal, as there is no effective vaccine and the disease is easily spread from animals to people.

Sudan's Government has announced a unilateral ceasefire at the start of talks with several rebel groups from Darfur to try to end four and a half years of war in the province.