The world's favourite postie makes his big screen debut in this CGI-animated children's feature. Leaving behind those nearest and dearest to him when his head is turned by the chance of fame on a TV talent show, Pat (voice of Stephen Mangan) seems certain to discover that there is more to life than the lure of wealth, celebrity and some smart new clothes, and that the problems they cause are no match for the love to be found with his friends and family back in Greendale. Other cast members include David Tennant, Rupert Grint and Jim Broadbent.

At the end of 1984, Sudan shot into the headlines as a result of famines, floods, locusts, political instability and civil war. In describing the collapse of Sudan's state and economy, "Sudan After Nimeiri" emphasizes the extent of the country's current predicament and explains the difficulty of potential solutions. Amongst the issues discussed are environmental and ecological problems, economic collapse, famine, debt, refugees, the role of Islam in Sudanese politics, Nimeiri's downfall and the administrative problems facing the transitional and present governments. This book should be of interest to lecturers and students of development, Middle East studies and geography.

Places Sudan's oil industry (examined here in macro, micro and political terms), its economy, external relations and changing politics under the impact of the Darfur conflict and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, in the wider context of the expansion of Asia's global economic strength. By successfully turning to China, Malaysia and India from the mid-1990s, amidst civil war and political isolation, Khartoum's 'Look East' policy transformed Sudan's economy and foreign relations. Sudan, in turn, has been a key theatre of Chinese, Indian and Malaysian overseas energy investment. What began as economic engagements born of pragmatic necessity later became politicized within Sudan and without, resulting in global attention. Despite its importance, widespread sustained interest and continuing political controversy, there is no single volume publication examining the rise and nature of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian interests in Sudan, their economic and political consequences, and role in Sudan's foreign relations. Addressing this gap, this book provides a groundbreaking analysis of Sudan's 'Look East' policy. It offers the first substantive treatment of a subject of fundamental significancewithin Sudan that, additionally, has become a globally prominent dimension of its changing international politics. Daniel Large is research director of the Africa Asia Centre, Royal African Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and founding director of the Rift Valley Institute's digital Sudan Open Archive. Luke A. Patey is a Research Fellow at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

Examining US involvement in the Horn of Africa, this volume addresses the relationship between the US and the Islamic movement in this region. Peter Woodward explores the interests of the United States in the region through two cases: Sudan and Somalia. He also discusses the effects of the Eritrean-Ethiopian war on US policy and posture in the region, along with the effects of other regional wars. The book looks at the relationship between US perceptions of Islamism and brings a unique perspective to the ongoing debate over US policy in the Islamic world. It will be of interest to those working in or researching foreign policy, as well as peace, security and conflict issues.

The most dangerous corner of Africa is its north-eastern Horn where instability reigns and terrorism thrives on the antagonisms of all it governments. The Horn of Africa comprising Ethiopia,Sudan and now South Sudan,Somalia,Djibouti,Eritrea,and stretching to include Kenya and Uganda, is a pivotal geopolitical pressure point in world politics.It stands at the hinge of Africa and the Middle East.It was of vital interest to the superpowers during the Cold War,attracting constant and unprofitable intervention.In the post-Cold War period regional political chaos,including failed states,terrorism and international piracy,has struck the death blow to the ambitions of the International Community's New World Order. The problems of the Horn,political,ideological,religious and ethnic, are compounded by natural disasters of widespread drought and famine,and have invited intervention by governments and NGOs.Tony Blair in his speech on the 'Doctrine of the International Community' referred to the suffering of Africa as 'a scar on the conscience of humanity'.But the New World Order's aim of 'good governance'-free elections,a free press,independent judiciary,recognition of human rights,gender equality and effective government free of corruption- seems as far off as ever. Of the many striking examples perhaps Somalia stands out as a failed state- and predatory state to the majority of its peoples-and as a seat of international terror and a society which has even spawned the present scourge of international piracy.International attention on the Horn is not limited to altruism in face of suffering with the burgeoning economic superpowers,China and India,exploiting mineral and land resources.So international rivalry-a traditional factor in the Horn's instability-will continue to haunt both its peoples and the international community. Peter Woodward's survey of the history, and regional and international relations of the Horn of Africa shows the crises have deep historical roots predating present state boundaries. These have been shaped by imperialism, sharpened by independence and by the Cold War. Chaos in the Horn has frustrated the ambitions of the post-Cold War's New World Order. This book is essential reading for all students of history, international relations and policy planners.

Based on the work of Ahmed Karadawi, Refugee Policy in Sudan discusses Sudanese government policy towards the refugee flows from Ethiopia into the Eastern Region of Sudan in theperiod 1967 to 1984, arguing that there were two underlying assumptions behind successive governments' policies: that refugees were considered a security threat and a socio-economic burden. In response,the policies incorporated the Organization of African Unity norms, which offered a platform to depoliticise the refugees, equally with the international conventions relating to refugees, which assured the externalization of responsibility and access to aid. This prescription, however, ignored the dynamism of the conflict that continued to generate refugees - and, as numbers accumulated in Sudan, the international aid regime did not act as a willing partner of the government. The consequences of a sizeable refugee population revealed a serious conflict of priorities, not only within the Sudanese government of the day, but also between the government and aid donors - thus, the objectives of the government policy were seriously undermined.

Nowhere is the crumbling of state structures more self-evident than in Somalia, the Sudan and Ethiopia. Drawing on a wide range of little-known material, this book presents an overview of structural disintegration in the Horn of Africa from the dual perspectives of domestic and international political developments. The breakdown of these three major states is due, according to Woodward, to the ravages of civil war. He argues that, while all three conflicts arise from domestic issues, their scale has been magnified by international involvement which has also linked the three countries together, with Ethiopia as the crux. The Horn of Africa is a study of the national and international dimensions of these conflicts, examining not only the relations between the three countries, but also their relations with a variety of regional actors as well as with the superpowers.

The Sudanese peace agreement reached a crisis point in its final year. This book offers an analysis of the impact of the implementation of the agreement on different Sudanese communities and neighbouring regions. After a long process of peace negotiations the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed on 9 January 2005 between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The CPA raised initialhopes that it would be the foundation block for lasting peace in Sudan. This book compiles scholarly analyses of the implementation of the power sharing agreement of the CPA, of ongoing conflicts with particular respect to land issues, of the challenges of the reintegration of internally displaced people and refugees, and of the repercussions of the CPA in other regions of Sudan as well as in neighbouring countries. Elke Grawert is SeniorLecturer at the Institute for Intercultural & International Studies (InIIS), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Bremen, Germany.