EAST AFRICA: Why Women Remain Trapped in Informal Trade

In Malawi up to a quarter of all households are headed by women. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and some 80 percent of Malawians directly depend on this sector. With an average of six children per household, most women embark on small business ventures to supplement their income from agricultural activities.

ENERGY-AFRICA: Big Potential and Challenges for Biofuels

Biofuels offer Africa the chance to supply itself with alternative energy sources, and also to become a major supplier of these sources for developed markets. Yet, challenges - from creating the relevant infrastructure to competition for biofuel crops from food markets - remain.

TRADE-EAST AFRICA: &#39&#39A Foreigner Cannot Develop Us&#39&#39

While east Africans still hold reservations about the benefits of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) currently being negotiated with the European Union (EU), both government and civil society representatives seem to be accepting that it is the best option available.

TRADE-EAST AFRICA: How to Safeguard Food Security in EPAs

Government leaders and exporters in east Africa are adamant that certain products be excluded from the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) to prevent detrimental effects on the livelihoods of the majority of people in the region.

TRADE-KENYA: Flower Industry May Wilt If EPA Deadline Is Missed

Failure to conclude an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) by the end-of-year deadline will have serious implications for Kenyan exporters, including those in the booming horticultural industry.

ENVIRONMENT: Parliaments Said to be "Weak" in Fighting Desertification

Legislatures have been taken to task over their track record in addressing desertification, this at the eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP8), currently underway in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

TRADE-UGANDA: Coffee Producers Are the Biggest Losers

Coffee producers in Uganda suffer from an unfair trade relationship with Europe, even though their beans produce some of the best quality coffee in the world, says the Ugandan coffee industry's governing body.

ENVIRONMENT-AFRICA: Game Parks Offering Protection in Name Only?

The sharp decline of Africa's abundant wildlife is now happening inside the continent's protected areas, a new analysis indicates. Africa's world renowned parks are destined to become isolated pockets of wilderness with few large animals left, as is the case in Europe, conclude the authors of an article in the current edition of the 'African Journal of Ecology'.

POLITICS-KENYA: “I Almost Have No Fare to Come Back to Nairobi”

Posters, campaign appearances, radio spots and television adverts: all are essential for winning office in Kenya's general elections, set for December, and all cost money that parliamentary candidates are responsible for raising in this East African country.

ENVIRONMENT: 21st Century May Belong to the Shrub

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to climb shrubs and other woody plants will likely dominate grasslands, altering pastoral lifestyles around the world, a U.S. study has found.

TRADE-MALAWI: Government Joins Chorus of Concern about EPA

Manufacturers, exporters and even government officials in Malawi are jittery about January 1, 2008. On that day the economic partnership agreements (EPAs), currently being negotiated between the European Union (EU) and six groupings of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, will come into force.

TRADE-EAST AFRICA: Learning From Past Glories

East African scholars are delving into history for clues on cultivating economic ties and dealing with challenges in a new era of expanding trade with China and India.

KENYA: Legislation to Get More Women in Parliament – the Next Chapter…

Activists in Kenya have resumed efforts to legislate an increase in the number of women occupying seats in the East African country's parliament, this after a constitutional amendment bill that would have created 50 special seats for women was thrown out by the governing body.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Protests Against a Law Aimed at the Heart of the Media

Members of the media in Kenya took to the streets Wednesday in a silent protest against a law that would compromise press freedom by forcing them to divulge sources. Passed by parliament earlier this month, the Media Council of Kenya Bill is now awaiting presidential assent.

BURUNDI: Population Growth and Poor Farming Methods Weigh on the Land

In Busoni, northern Burundi, the Mbarushimana clan is receiving a hard lesson in the limits of natural resources. Three sons, and other relatives, are trying to survive on land inherited from their father, amidst doubts that the small property is up to the task of supporting them.

KENYA: More Women in Parliament, Hopefully – By Way of the Constitution

Kenya's parliament will soon debate a constitutional amendment bill to improve female representation in the legislature by creating 50 special seats for women. At present, only some eight percent of parliamentary posts in the East African country are occupied by women.

DEATH PENALTY-RWANDA: Abolition Spurs Quest for Justice

Rwanda has moved swiftly to capitalise on the international approval it received for its recent abolition of the death penalty, and signalled that it will now actively seek the extradition of suspects in the 1994 genocide known to be hiding out abroad and evading justice.

DEVELOPMENT-UGANDA: A Dam That Activists Simply Can’t Make Peace With

As preparations for construction of the Bujagali dam on the Nile River in Uganda gain momentum, a local civil society coalition is calling on the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to reconsider their decision to release funds for this hydro-electric project - which the World Bank estimates will cost 799 million dollars.

EGYPT: Desert Reclamation the Country’s Best Hope – Or a Mirage?

"You can grow anything here," says 76-year-old Mohamed Ahmed, spreading his arms wide to point to the cascading bougainvilleas and an orchard of mango trees drooping with fruit. But, "When I first came here, there was nothing here but sand and more sand."

HEALTH: A New Weapon in the Fight Against Anaemia

A nutritional supplement known as Sprinkles, which is a simple powder that parents can easily add to their children's food, reduces childhood anaemia by more than half, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition.

Q&A: "What&#39s Important Is the Need, Not the Politics"

When conflicts and natural disasters flare up around the world, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) plays a critical role in delivering relief through a wide and complex array of U.N. agencies and non-governmental aid groups.