Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has added his voice to the growing international condemnation of the political violence in Zimbabwe.

In his first public comments about the crisis, he noted “the tragic failure of leadership” of President Robert Mugabe. More on Mandela condemns Mugabe ‘failure’

LONDON – Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai issued a 24-hour deadline to President Robert Mugabe on Thursday to negotiate or face being shunned as an illegitimate leader responsible for the killing of civilians.

WASHINGTON – Global warming is likely to increase illegal immigration, create humanitarian disasters and destabilize precarious governments and could add to terrorism, all of which could threaten U.S. national security, according to an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies.

With all diplomatic efforts exhausted for ending the aggression that had been sparked on 10 June along Djibouti’s border with Eritrea, the Prime Minister of Djibouti, Deleita Mohamed Deleita, announced today at a Headquarters press conference that he was presenting the situation to the Security Council on behalf of peace and security for the troubled Horn of Africa region. More on Press Conference: Djibouti Prime Minister, Deleita Mohamed Deleita

General Ban Ki-moon to send a fact-finding mission to the border between Djibouti and Eritrea, where several days of fighting earlier this month led to several deaths and dozens of wounded.

Council members also reiterated their call to the two countries, especially Eritrea, to withdraw their forces to the status quo, according to a statement to the press read out late yesterday by Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff of the United States, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month. More on Security Council calls for UN fact-finding team to visit Djibouti-Eritrea border

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — FERRYING passengers around in a Melbourne taxi, Abdalla Ahmed might seem to be one more refugee dreaming of bringing out those he left behind.

But Mr Ahmed harbours a grander vision, one that has embraced an entire town in Ethiopia and inspired support from around the world. More on One man’s quest to build a hospital

By Frank Nyakairu

KAMPALA (Reuters) – The Nigerian military has sent a reconnaissance team to Somalia and is expected to deploy troops there soon as part of an African peacekeeping force, a spokesman for the force said on Tuesday.

The African Union had planned to send 8,000 soldiers to the capital Mogadishu to support the U.N.-backed interim government, which faces an insurgency by Islamist rebels. More on AU says Nigeria will send peacekeepers to Somalia

Drought in the Horn of Africa is deepening after the failure of annual rains, and the UN estimates that more than 14.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The BBC’s Adam Mynott reports from Somalia, one of the worst affected countries.

A hapless shell of a government. A nasty Islamist insurgency. A looming humanitarian disaster. Somalia is the most dangerous failed state on the planet, and even international troubleshooters are keeping their distance.

Thirty-thousand feet is about as close to Somalia as the United Nations Security Council is willing to get these days. In early June, the 15-member Council embarked on a 10-day, five-country tour of African crisis spots, and Somalia topped the agenda. There was only one catch: U.N. security advisors nixed the idea of the Council landing in Somalia itself. The failed state was just too dangerous for the peacemakers to enter. More on Where the Security Council Fears to Tread

By James Blitz in London

Published: June 24 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 24 2008 03:00

Somalia has for the first time been ranked as the most unstable country in the world, while Israel has fallen into the ranks of the 60 weakest states, according to an annual assessment of the world’s most troubled nations. More on Somalia tops list of world’s most unstable nations