POLITICS-SOMALIA: Women’s Representation in New Parliament at Issue

Women from Somalia have expressed concern at the fact that they risk being under-represented in their country's new transitional parliament, which was sworn in Sunday, Aug. 22.

POLITICS-EAST AFRICA: Inclusive Government Crucial for Burundi – Ambassador

Burundi’s ambassador to Kenya has reiterated the importance of establishing an ethnically-inclusive government in his country. This came after a massacre last week, in which about 160 people were killed in a refugee camp for Congolese Tutsis in Burundi.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: Revived Spectre of Genocide in Great Lakes Region

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour may suggest the urgent creation of an international commission to investigate the recent massacre of around 160 Tutsi refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Burundi, a U.N. spokeswoman said Tuesday.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Foreign Troops Run Gauntlet of Government Displeasure

Television footage aired over the weekend showed a group of Rwandan soldiers dancing and clapping their hands. With AK-47 assault rifles firmly strapped across their shoulders, the 150 troops sported green berets adorned with African Union badges as they waited to hear a speech from President Paul Kagame.

POLITICS-SUDAN: A "Clear-Cut Goal of Extermination" in Darfur

The political and humanitarian situation in Sudan’s western region of Darfur was again in the spotlight, Tuesday, thanks to a visit to south Sudan and Chad by the United States’ Senate Majority Leader, William Frist.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Needed in Darfur – Water, but not Rain

While the flurry of diplomatic activity around developments in the western Sudanese region of Darfur continues, heavy rains are complicating efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis there.

POLITICS-LIBERIA: Policing the Police

Since the start of a United Nations disarmament programme in Liberia in December 2003, much attention has been paid to the painfully difficult process of reintegrating the country’s rebel troops into society.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Women Legislators Lobby for Peace

In a bid to promote peace in Africa's conflict-ridden Great Lakes region, women parliamentarians from the area say they intend taking a more prominent role in talks to end fighting.

POLITICS-EAST AFRICA: “It Is Not Our Intention to Stay Here Indefinitely”

The United Nations has voiced fresh concerns over the stalemate in efforts to end the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, saying it poses a security threat in the Horn of Africa.

HEALTH-SIERRA LEONE: Drug Abuse a Threat to Enduring Peace

The guns may have fallen silent, the killings stopped and the terrorising of civilians ended. But, the problem of drug use is still a reality in Sierra Leone, opening a new battlefront for the authorities of this impoverished country.

POLITICS-SUDAN: No Peace in the South Without Stability in Darfur – Annan

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan says mediators in peace talks for south Sudan should turn their attention to the western region of Darfur, as any peace deal for the south will be compromised by a continued humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Champagne Tastes on Beer Money?

It was billed as a summit where a new future for Africa would be unveiled. African Union chief Alpha Oumar Konare laid out a 1.7 billion dollar plan that would help revitalise the troubled and marginalized continent.

POLITICS: An African Army, for Africans?

As the third annual summit of the African Union (AU) draws closer, the spotlight is falling on the organisation's newest branch: the Peace and Security Council, and its proposed standby force.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Women Charting the Continent’s Future

"We must congratulate Rwanda for achieving 48.8 percent of women representation in parliament. This is the highest in the world. It means gender parity is no longer a dream but a reality in Africa," said Lulu Xingwana, South Africa's Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy, to thunderous applause from over a thousand women who gathered in the capital, Pretoria, this week.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Jitters About the Congo

A substantial build-up of troops along the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border with Rwanda has sparked fears of renewed conflict in central Africa.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Bringing the Protocols to the People

An association of churches, donor organisations and other groups has unveiled a plan to acquaint Sudanese communities with peace protocols that have been signed to end their country's long-running civil war.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Peacekeepers a "Drop in the Ocean" – But Welcome Nonetheless

Rebels in south Sudan have welcomed the United Nations’ weekend decision to send a peacekeeping mission to the country to monitor agreements that would end Africa’s longest running civil war.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Arab Leaders Steal the Show At G8 Summit

Kenyan civil society activist Edward Oyugi says Africa's relations with the developed world amount to the continent holding out a begging bowl. But, African leaders insist they have a partnership with wealthy nations - one based on investment in return for good governance.

DISARMAMENT: Illegal Arms Sales Have Climbed Since 9/11

The trafficking of arms through countries allied with the United States has increased since the Sep. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, Amnesty International's head of international relations in Spain told IPS Wednesday.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Worth the Paper It’s Written On?

In the latest attempt to curb the circulation of small arms in Africa, foreign affairs ministers and other representatives from eleven countries signed a protocol on weapons control recently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. But, the jury is still out on whether this initiative really has the ingredients for success.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: Porous Border Fuelling Gunrunning

Nigeria’s police are cracking down on illegal firearms which, they say, are threatening Africa’s most populous country.