January 6: Egypt

Iran’s vice president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, announces that Iran and Egypt are restoring full diplomatic relations after Iran fulfilled Egypt’s main demand to rename a street bearing the name of the assassin of Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat. Relations between the two countries were cut off in 1980 after Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel.

January 7: Nigeria

The insurrection of radical Muslims that started in the Nigerian state of Yobe spills over to the neighboring state of Borno. Local people fight back, killing seven radicals during clashes. The fighters, who call themselves Taliban, want to establish an Islamic state.

January 7: Sudan

The Sudanese government and rebels sign an agreement on wealth sharing, primarily covering the revenues from oil, in an attempt to build trust between the Muslim north and the Christian south. Representatives still have to agree on the administration of the three disputed areas as well as the sharing of government and civil service jobs.

January 19: Congo

The Republic of Congo plants the first trees in the country’s first privately run forest as part of the United Nations agreement on reforestation and sustainable development. The objective is to limit the abuse of natural forests that belong to the state.

January 20: Liberia

China starts deploying 500 peacekeeping troops to Liberia. The contingent represents China’s largest contribution to a United Nations peacekeeping operation. The deployment is the result of China’s strong political and economic relations with Africa. It also reflects the fact that the new Liberian government switched its recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China.

January 25: African Union

The 53-member African Union establishes an African human-rights court, which is intended to strengthen Africa’s ability to address human-rights abuses. The court will draw its laws from the African Union’s charter of human rights and laws on human rights ratified by the Union’s member states.

January 29: Somalia

Somalia’s main rebel leaders and politicians sign an agreement to establish a new national parliament, which will elect a president. When implemented, the deal will create the first nationally recognized government in Somalia since the fall of President Siad Barre 13 years ago.

February 10: Libya

The United States appoints a permanent envoy to Libya, marking an improvement in relations between the U.S. and Libya. The first American diplomat in 25 years will be stationed in the U.S. interests section of the Belgian embassy in Tripoli.

February 13: Sudan

The Sudanese government gives humanitarian aid agencies access to the Darfur region where rebels have been fighting with the army and government-backed militias. There are about 1 million people in need of aid in the region. The conflict in western Sudan is separate from the 20-year conflict with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army based in the south.

February 19: Zimbabwe

The European Union extends sanctions against Zimbabwe for a third year. The sanctions include a freeze on the financial assets of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his associates, an arms embargo, and a travel ban.

March 5: Libya

Libya destroys 3,000 unfilled chemical bombs and provides the United Nations with a full report on its chemical weapons program, which includes 20 tons of deadly mustard gas and other chemicals used to make nerve gas. The report is a major step toward destroying Libya’s weapons of mass destruction.

April 1: Côte d’Ivoire

The United Nations deploys the first peacekeepers to Côte d’Ivoire to replace French and African troops that are guarding the buffer zone between the rebel-held north and government forces in the south. The UN force, known as UNOCI, the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, is expected to employ 6,240 personnel.

April 3: Sudan

UN emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland accuses the Sudanese government of carrying out ethnic cleansing in the western region of Darfur and urges the world to put pressure on Sudan and the rebels to end the atrocities. Egeland describes the situation in Darfur as a humanitarian crisis.

April 15: South Africa

The African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa wins general elections and obtains 70 percent of the vote, which gives it the two-thirds majority in parliament required to make changes to the country’s constitution. With the ANC’s victory, President Thabo Mbeki will be sworn in for his second five-year term in office.

April 19: Algeria

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is sworn in to his second term in office after he won 80 percent of the vote in the election, promising national reconciliation. Algeria has been struggling with violence, which involves Islamic militants.

April 20: Swaziland

Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III of Swaziland, celebrates his 36th birthday with a lavish party estimated at $600,000 of the taxpayers’ money. The celebrations spark anger in the country, where AIDS and unemployment are rampant.

April 21: Sudan

Rebels from Sudan’s Darfur region start the second round of peace talks with a Sudanese government delegation in Chad to discuss a cease-fire monitoring committee. Rebels and the Sudanese government have recently signed a 45-day cease-fire agreement.

April 22: Burundi

Burundi’s rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (FNL), declares a unilateral cease-fire on the condition the government forces would not engage in military action. The truce brings hopes of an end to a civil war that has lasted for a decade. The FNL refused to join the power-sharing agreement last year and found itself increasingly isolated.

April 23: Sudan

Human Rights Watch reports that a pro-Sudanese government militia has committed new atrocities in western Sudan by executing 136 people in a coordinated operation. Talks held in Chad aimed at ending the crisis are making little progress.

April 28: South Africa

South African President Thabo Mbeki reshuffles his 49-strong cabinet, keeping several key ministers, including finance, foreign affairs, health, and defense, and adding five new women, which now constitute nearly half of the cabinet. He also dismisses Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the head of the main Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which fought against Mbeki’s African National Congress (ANC) during the campaign.

May 6: Libya

A Libyan court sentences five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death by firing squad for deliberately causing the deaths of 40 children and infecting 400 people with HIV. They worked at a children’s hospital in Benghazi and were arrested five years ago. Bulgaria’s government calls the verdict unfair and absurd. The international community calls on Libya to revise the verdict.

May 10: Angola

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos arrives in the United States for talks, which will focus on oil and the Angolan elections. Angola has one of the largest oil reserves in Africa and the U.S. hopes to use it in the interest of limiting its reliance on oil from the Middle East. It is suspected, however, that dos Santos wants the U.S. to endorse the extension of his 25-year rule in exchange for a promise for more transparency in the country’s oil industry.

May 11: Malawi

Malawi’s government announces a $196 million new program to provide free anti-retroviral drugs to all people with AIDS. Malawi estimates that 14 percent of its population is HIV positive. Critics accuse the government of politicizing the issue because it is announcing the new program just weeks before the presidential election.

May 19: Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire’s main rebel group, the New Forces Movement, withdraws its ministers from the power-sharing government after President Laurent Gbagbo imposes sanctions on them as a punishment for boycotting cabinet meetings. The former rebel group and main opposition party, the Rally of the Republicans, and the former ruling party, the Democratic Party, also recently pulled out of the government.

May 21: Burundi

The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to send peacekeeping troops to Burundi to enforce cease-fire agreements, investigate violations, monitor the illegal flow of weapons, and carry out the demobilization of rebels. The 10-year Burundi civil war started in 1993 after Tutsi militants killed the democratically elected Hutu president.

May 25: African Union

African leaders launch the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, whose goal is to deal with wars between nations and within nations on the African continent. The council will also work to achieve a common defense policy and develop a united defense force. The council’s greatest challenge will be the large number and scale of conflicts.

May 27: Sudan

The Sudanese Islamic government and southern Christian rebels sign a final peace deal, bringing hopes for an end to the country’s 21-year civil war. The agreement solves the disputes in three contested areas, including the oil-rich Abyei, and establishes power-sharing. However, the deal does not include the conflict in the western region of Darfur.

June 9: Nigeria

Millions of Nigeria’s workers go on a three-week nationwide strike to protest rising fuel prices. There are fears that an interruption of Nigerian oil production could hike already record-high world oil prices even higher.

June 14: Malawi

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika forms a new cabinet a month after winning disputed elections. Despite the fact that the president’s coalition government includes three members of the opposition Republican Party, its leader, Gwanda Chakuamba, who took the election results to court, did not receive a post. Election observers say there were serious problems in the polling.

June 16: Madagascar

Civil unrest in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, enters its tenth day, resulting in hundreds of injuries. The immediate cause that sparked multiple protests has been the high cost of oil. The long-term cause, however, is an ailing economy and a rising cost of living.

June 25: Kenya

The World Bank approves $200 million in grants and loans to Kenya, rewarding its attempts to fight corruption in civil service. Some of the money will be used to improve airport security and for agricultural projects.

June 28: Libya

The United States opens a new American liaison office in Libya, thus officially renewing its relations with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s government. The absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries lasted 24 years.

July 1: Nigeria

Nigerian police launch a crackdown on the recently proliferating ethnic militias, which are illegal under the constitution. Since the return of civilian government to Nigeria in 1999, more than 10,000 people have died in ethnic clashes.

July 4: Democratic Republic of Congo/Rwanda

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda open their borders following an agreement by both countries’ presidents to respect an existing peace deal. The opening of borders is seen as a step toward the stabilization of relations between the two countries.

July 15: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda/Rwanda

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Rwanda’s former finance minister, Emmanuel Ndindabahizi, guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, and sentences him to life in prison. The Tribunal proved that he instigated mass killings of ethnic Tutsis in the Kibuye district of western Rwanda.

July 21: Kenya

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announces the creation of a national anti-corruption committee, which will educate Kenyans as to the importance of fighting this social vice. The move follows the European Union’s warning to withhold aid to Kenya.

July 30: Sudan

The UN Security Council passes a U.S.-drafted resolution demanding that the Sudanese government halt atrocities by Arab militias in Darfur within 30 days or face economic and diplomatic measures. It also calls on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to issue a follow-up report in 30 days. Since the beginning of the conflict in early 2003, 50,000 people were killed and more than a million were forced to flee the area.

July 31: Côte d’Ivoire

Two-day talks mediated by 13 African presidents and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan result in an agreement between the government of Côte d’Ivoire, former rebels, and opposition groups. The accord, which sets a schedule for settling main issues, such as the law of citizenship and who can be a president, also says that the rebels must start disarming by October.

August 4: Sudan

Tens of thousands of demonstrators march through Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, in a pro-government rally, protesting any possible foreign intervention in its region of Darfur. They say they are ready to die in a jihad if any foreign troops enter Sudan. The African Union prepared to send 2,000 troops to the region.

August 4: Egypt

Representatives of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, visit Egypt to discuss an Egyptian plan to provide security for the Gaza Strip after Israel withdraws its troops in 2005. Egypt also offers to send 200 security advisers to train a Palestinian security force.

August 16: Kenya

The Kenyan government rejects demands by ethnic Maasai for a return of their ancestral lands leased to British settlers 100 years ago, saying it does not honor the colonial-era treaties. The lease on one million hectares of land expired this weekend and is subdivided among some white ranchers and black farmers.

August 22: Kenya/Somalia

After long-lasting mediated talks, members of a newly nominated parliament for Somalia are sworn in in Kenya, which is hoped to bring order to Somalia after years of anarchy. The new parliament is supposed to select a president who will set up a new government in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

September 20: Sudan

Sudan reluctantly confirms it will comply with a new UN Security Council resolution to disarm the militias and end the conflict in the region of Darfur. However, Sudan condemns the threat of sanctions included in the resolution. The resolution also asks UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to set up a commission to investigate whether the killings in Darfur constitute genocide.

September 20: Libya

U.S. President George W. Bush officially lifts all remaining trade sanctions on Libya, which affected trade, aviation, and imports of Libyan oil, as a reward for Libya’s decision to abandon its ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. also lifts a freeze on Libya’s assets. However, the U.S. decides to keep some terrorism-related sanctions.

September 23: Sierra Leone

Two years after the civil war in Sierra Leone, UN peacekeepers hand over control of security of the country’s capital, Freetown, to local forces. This is the next step toward withdrawing the remaining 8,000 UN peacekeepers. The UN has already withdrawn from parts of the north, south, and east of Sierra Leone.

September 29: South Africa

South African unions reach an agreement with the government to end one of the biggest public-sector strikes in the country’s history. The agreement allows for a 6.2 percent pay increase and an additional one percent for satisfactory work. Not all unions, however, sign the agreement. The South African Police Union (SAPU) and nurses union (DENOSA) say the agreement does not serve the needs of their members.

October 14: Somalia/Kenya

Somalia’s new president, Abdullahi Yusuf, takes the oath of office in Kenya during a ceremony attended by heads of state from other African countries. Abdullahi, who was elected by the parliament, is expected to form the first national government since 1991.

October 15: Cameroon

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is reelected with 75 percent of the vote. Opposition parties accuse authorities of massive election rigging.

November 1: Botswana

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) wins general elections, which gives President Festus Mogae a second term in office. Voters elect the National Assembly, which then elects the president. Botswana is one of Africa’s most stable countries with the oldest multiparty system uninterrupted by coup d’etat.

November 16: Côte d’Ivoire

More than 10,000 people flee Côte d’Ivoire to neighboring Liberia and 4,500 foreigners are evacuated amid renewed civil war. The UN Security Council votes unanimously to impose an arms embargo on the Ivorian government and the rebels. Both sides have a month to revive the peace process or they will face more sanctions.

November 21: Namibia

Hifikepunye Pohamba, the candidate of Namibia’s ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), wins 76 percent of the vote in the presidential election, becoming the third president of independent Namibia. The SWAPO party also secured 55 out of 72 seats in the parliament in the general election. Incumbent President Sam Nujoma stands down after 15 years in power.

November 22: Sudan

An African Union helicopter rescues at least 30 employees of the Save the Children aid agency from Tawilla in Sudan’s Darfur region amid renewed fighting between government troops and rebels. The clashes erupt despite a recent African Union-backed agreement with the rebels to end the conflict.

November 25: Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government says it will accept an independent commission’s ruling on its border with former foe Eritrea, which would end a long dispute that has lasted since their 1998-2000 war. At the same time, Ethiopia still considers the border decision as illegal and unjust.

December 2: Burundi

The Burundian government and the United Nations operation in Burundi begin a program to disarm thousands of soldiers and rebels and to form a new national army, which is expected to take up to four years. The program ends 11 years of conflict between the ethnic Hutu rebel groups and the Tutsi-dominated army.

December 9: Democratic Republic of Congo

The International Rescue Committee aid agency reports that more than 1,000 people are dying daily in the Democratic Republic of Congo from easily preventable diseases and calls for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid. The situation is caused by years of war that destroyed hospitals and other health-care infrastructure.

December 10: Kenya

Kenyan authorities begin repossessing millions of hectares of illegally seized land since the time of independence in 1963. Distribution of land to government officials and their allies was a common practice during previous administrations. Land has already been reclaimed from 60 individuals, including former President Daniel arap Moi.

December 10: Ghana

Ghana’s president, John Kufuor, wins a second term during a peaceful and democratic presidential election, securing over 52 percent of the vote. His New Patriotic Party also gains a majority in parliament, winning 129 seats out of 230.

December 13: Egypt

Hundreds of Egyptians demonstrate in Cairo, demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak’s 23-year presidency and opposing hereditary succession. President Mubarak is believed to be preparing his son to take over as president. The mostly silent protest is an unusual occurrence in Egypt, where public protests are banned.

December 21: Democratic Republic of Congo

The United Nations deploys peacekeepers to the Democratic Republic of Congo to stop a fresh outbreak of violence in the eastern part of the country between government troops and pro-Rwandan rebels, who demand the government’s withdrawal from the area. The peacekeepers will set up a buffer zone between the towns of Kanyabayonga and Lubero to keep the two sides apart.

December 31: Sudan

The Sudanese government and the southern rebels sign a permanent cease-fire agreement as part of a peace deal to end the civil conflict that started in 1983, when the Christian south demanded autonomy from the Muslim north. Both sides agree on power and wealth sharing, the formation of a decentralized administration, and a referendum on secession for the south in six years.