Reports from Sudan say that President Omar el-Bashir and the former parliamentary speaker, Hassan el-Turabi, have resolved their differences after a six-week power struggle.

President Bashir dissolved parliament and declared a state of emergency last month to thwart attempts by Mr el-Turabi to curb his powers.

An extraordinary meeting of the ruling National Congress party is reported to have agreed that President Bashir would be allowed to run the government without interference from the party which Mr al-Turabi heads.

Correspondents say the news has been greeted with disappointment on the streets of Khartoum; exiled opposition groups have also expressed concern. A spokesman for one party -- Mohammed el Moetassem Hakem of the Democratic Unionist Party -- said he believed that Mr Bashir had exploited the struggle to normalise relations with neighbouring countries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service