You will know that government proposals to end the state subsidy on oil products came into effect yesterday, sparking anger, confusion and additional expense.

A coalition of labour, civil society groups and others has said it will start a nationwide strike today over the removal of the fuel subsidy that has pushed the price of petrol to at least N138 (or 65 cents of a euro) a litre from N65.

Public transport fares have risen by as much as 120% according to The Guardian.

The Federal Government has said the deregulation of the retail sector of the oil industry is not aimed at causing hardship to Nigerians but opening up the sector for growth and investment.

The Herald in Harare reports that the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Senate has been admitted to a Paris hospital after being attacked in the French capital.

Police are investigating the New Year's Eve attack on Senate President Leon Kengo Wa Dondo. Kinshasa has demanded an explanation from the French authorities.

The Foreign Ministry in Paris said Kengo Wa Dondo was in the city on a private visit and had not informed French authorities of his arrival.

Security forces came to his aid as quickly as possible and he had been admitted to hospital. There was no comment on his condition or the possible motive for the attack.

Joseph Kabila was sworn in as Congo's president on 20 December for a new term following his victory in a disputed election.

Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi has denounced the vote as fraudulent and his supporters have staged violent protests against Kabila in Brussels and London.

Kengo Wa Dondo has since been released from hospital.

The Herald also confirms that leaders of the three political parties in Zimbabwe's inclusive government will next month hold joint rallies to urge their supporters to refrain from violence .

The leaders will use the rallies, to be held in all the country's provinces, to preach co-existence and tolerance ahead of elections.

The rallies are a follow-up to the conference on political violence held in Harare in November. That meeting was jointly addressed by President Mugabe of Zanu-PF, the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T and Professor Welshman Ncube of the MDC.

The Times of Zambia reports that the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy has warned of disciplinary action against Members of Parliament who have been appointed deputy ministers by the ruling Patriotic Front.

MMD national secretary, Richard Kachingwe said in Lusaka yesterday that the ‘treacherous’ MPs had been given enough time to reflect on their actions and that the party was now going to takedisciplinary action against them.

Elijah Muchima who is an MMD MP for Ikeleng’I in North Western province said he was working with the Government in trying to develop the country.

Muchima said the idea of appointing MPs from the opposition to ministerial positions was not new, since the MMD had done the same under former presidents Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda.

The Zambia Daily Mail gives pride of place to the news that Andrew Banda , the oldest son of the former president has become the latest sibling to be caught up in suspicions of corruption surrounding the former first family.

The Daily Mail claims to be in a position to reveal that the former President’s son coerced and threatened in order to receive about 300,000 euros in two instalments as a “kick-back” from the Italian construction company retained to build the road that connects Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Nairobi, The Daily Nation says that Kenya has promised to investigate reports that a Ugandan rebel group is recruiting Somali refugees in Kenya with the aim of toppling the government of President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala.

Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojode denied knowledge of the presence of Allied Democratic Forces elements in the country.

A report released by the United Nations claims that the rebel group is using Nairobi as its economic and financial hub.

Described in the report as “a Ugandan Islamist rebel force” seeking to overthrow the Ugandan government, the ADF is said to include about 1,000 combatants.