Annan suspends Kenya crisis talks

Kofi Annan, the former head of the United Nations, suspended crisis negotiations in Kenya because the talks were, in his words, going in circles. Annan has spent most of the last month trying to hammer out a power-sharing agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Odinga lost the presidency in December to Kibaki in an election that most observers say was rigged - sparking violent protests and threatening to plunge the country into a civil war.

Both sides so far have agreed on the idea of creating a Prime Minister's post to be filled by the opposition as a way of sharing power. But after weeks of negotiations, they cannot agree on just what the PM will do and what powers he will have. Annan has finally gotten fed up and has called a halt to the talks.

Odinga's opposition movement is now trying to organize a mass protest for Thursday. The government is asking Kenyans to boycott it since past rallies have lead to outbreaks of violence.