Now, almost 20 years later, after covering genocide, coups and famines, after witnessing the holocaust of Aids, I am still ambushed by this vitality every time I set foot on the continent. This was a caravan from the desert on its way to the camel market at Omdurman It was noisy and chaotic. Looking out, I saw men leading packs of donkeys and camels along the road. Placing my hand against the glass, I felt the heat of the day rising, pressing in against my air-conditioned cocoon. An Italian priest had just been given many lashes for fermenting some altar wine Don't drink the water Don't trust anybody Be prepared to pay lots of bribes Never criticise the government if you're talking to a local. As the door of the plane was opened, the heat rushed in, carrying with it the rich odour of river and vegetation Khartoum airport was dark when we arrived. The white-clad figures of customs officials and security men flitted across the Tarmac Soldiers lounged about the entrance to the arrivals area.

Khartoum airport was dark when we arrived. The proportion of children born outside marriage in England and Wales has risen to 40 per cent as more couples choose to make living together a permanent arrangement. Figures published yesterday revealed a 10 per cent rise in the number of babies born to unmarried parents, as well as an increase of more than a fifth in multiple births.The figures from the Office of National Statistics reinforced the trends of women becoming mothers at an older age and having fewer children. There were no relatives present; Mr Sparks' wife felt unable to attend so soon after her husband's death.. Despite Mr Green's increase in pay, overall remuneration of directors fell from just over £1m to £885,000.. Private shareholders in Railtrack disclosed yesterday that they had raised £1.6m towards a fighting fund to sue the Government and said they now planned to seek the support of big City institutions for legal action.

"The speed with which shareholders have backed our campaign with contributions indicates that there is still an enormous amount of shareholder anger towards the Government over the Railtrack fiasco," he added.The RPSAG is asking shareholders to contribute 10p towards the fund for every share they own. It anticipates a fresh flood of donations when the first instalment of a 250p to 260p-a-share settlement already agreed with the Government is paid out to shareholders in January.The group claims to have the support of several unnamed institutional investors speaking for 5 to 10 per cent of Railtrack shares. It now intends to seek donations from these and other companies.David Greene, senior partner at Edwin Coe, the RPSAG's legal advisers, said £2m would be sufficient to fund any legal action against the Government.The group has already spent £450,000, mainly on legal fees, including an opinion from Michael Crystal QC that it had a valid claim for compensation. A separate report by Smithers and Co said this could be as high as 950p a share.Mr Crystal, who has been involved in several high-profile cases including Polly Peck and BCCI, will be asked to represent the RPSAG if the case goes to court.. Amey, the troubled PFI contractor, indicated yesterday that it would plunge to a pre-tax loss of about £65m for the year after incurring heavy asset write-downs which are likely to put it in breach of its banking covenants. The write-downs will be offset by a £20m tax credit but next year there will be a further write-down of up to £20m on other assets.Analysts and investors again questioned whether Mr Staples could survive. But a spokesman for the company said Mr Staples continued to have the full support of the Amey board.The company ran into trouble in March when it announced a more conservative accounting approach that had the effect of turning a £56m profit last year into an £18m loss.