Sudan cancels death sentences for Darfur rebels

Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday said his government had signed an agreement with Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and claimed it would help resolve the Darfur conflict.

"Today we signed an agreement between the government and JEM in N'Djamena and in N'Djamena we heal the war in Darfur," Bashir said in a speech on Sudanese state television. He did not go into details but earlier JEM delegates in the Chadian capital had told Reuters they were poised to sign a "framework agreement", which was not a full peace deal but would set out the terms for future negotiations. (Reuters)