The whole of drought- and conflict-wracked southern Somalia is heading into famine as the Horn of Africa food crisis deepens, the United Nations said yesterday.

Every 20 minutes, two laptops from India relay their location to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The United Nations on Wednesday officially declared Somalia

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki set fire to five tonnes of contraband ivory on Wednesday, a symbol of his and Africa's renewed commitment to fight poaching.

Elephant numbers had started to recover after the ivory trade was banned in 1990, but observers say the rising wealth of east Asian countries has caused a price and demand spike in recent years.

Mirroring a ceremony by former Kenyan presid

The United Nations said Monday that it had started airlifting food aid to rebel-held parts of drought-hit Somalia and that Islamist insurgents had abided by a pledge to allow relief workers free access. The United Nations has described the drought as an emergency, and said some 10 million people were affected in the region near the borders of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it was struggling to keep up with an exodus of hungry Somali refugees and many emaciated children were dying of malnutrition along the way or after arriving in neighboring countries.

More than 11 million people in the Horn of Africa now need assistance to survive the crisis sparked by the worst drought in decades, U.N.

The lives of half a million children in the Horn of Africa are at risk, international aid agencies said on Friday, as the worst drought in decades forces thousands of people to flee their homes each day.

High food prices and the driest years since the early 1950s have pushed many poor families in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti into desperate need, UNICEF said.

"We have over two millio

Biggest ever aid campaigns to tackle

Kenya's state-run National Safety Authority is set to approve importation of genetically modified maize into the country for the first time to mitigate a looming shortage, its head said on Wednesday.

The Kenyan government last week forecast a shortfall in the supply of maize, a staple in east Africa's biggest economy, of 14.8 million 90-kg bags in the 2011/12 season due to drought.

"With the

Ten million people in the Horn of Africa have been hit by the worst drought in 60 years, with some areas on the verge of famine and thousands on the march in seach of food and water, the UN said Tuesday.

A poor rainy season coupled with rising food prices have led to severe food shortages in countries including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.

Cattle and sheep are dying at high