DEATH PENALTY: Congolese Minors Sit on Death Row

In a dank dormitory lit only by shafts of sunlight from holes in the roof, a hundred Congolese prisoners lie silently on straw mats and soiled blankets, some of them waiting to die.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Politics and Gathering Water Don’t Mix, Say Women Activists

Women in Kenya’s North Eastern Province (NEP) say they will not be able to play a more active role in politics unless concerted efforts are made to provide basic services in the vast and arid region.

SUDAN: Putting the First Tarred Roads “Since Creation” in Place

For about two decades, aid agencies have been airlifting relief supplies to south Sudan because of the poor condition of the roads in this region - devastated by more than two decades of civil war.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Tough Questions for Former Heads of State

A public discussion with eleven former African leaders attending an African Presidential Roundtable, crowned the two-day event held at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg recently.

TRADE: Caution in South Africa About Sudanese Investment Opportunities

Officials in south Sudan are looking for foreign investment to develop the impoverished but oil-rich region that has been devastated by a 21-year conflict which ended last year.

POLITICS: Showing Former African Leaders the Carrot, Rather Than the Stick

With eleven former African heads of state gathered at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa (Wits) for the fourth African Presidential Roundtable, questions are being asked as to what they can achieve after leaving office.

KENYA: Mother Tongue Education Both Effective and Elusive

A debate about the extent to which mother tongue schooling improves the quality of education is emerging in Kenya, with certain experts campaigning for children's mother tongue to be used as the language of instruction in schools.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: Genocide Survivors Tire of “Unrealistic Promises”

More than a decade after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the need for compensation to victims of this tragedy continues to present difficulties for government and genocide survivors alike.

TRADE: U.S. Farm Subsidies Hurting Africa’s Development

In a renewed campaign, African trade ministers have urged the United States to remove agricultural subsidies that are hurting African farmers.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: A Plane Crash That Took More Than Lives

There have been intensified calls in Kenya for an end to inter-clan hostilities in the arid north - this after a plane crash claimed the lives of six members of parliament (MPs) and a bishop who were on a peace mission to the region.

HEALTH-AFRICA: “An Opportunity to Change the Course of History”

An Africa-wide campaign has been launched to halt HIV infections, this as the continent continues to be the worst affected by AIDS globally.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Shower That Washed Anti-AIDS Efforts Down the Drain

AIDS activists have expressed concern about a remark by former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma that he minimised his risk of contracting the AIDS virus during unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman, by taking a shower afterwards.

EDUCATION-AFRICA: Spare the Plough, and School the Child

Delegates to a workshop held recently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have highlighted concerns about how child labour is undermining efforts to achieve universal primary education.

POLITICS: Uganda Seeks Arrests of Rebels Hiding In Congo

Uganda has appealed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to disarm and arrest rebels hiding in the vast central African country.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Kenyan Medics Deplore Low Pay, Scarce Incentives

As the international community prepares to commemorate this year’s World Health Day (Apr. 7), the issue of poor remuneration for health workers in Kenya is being debated.

AFRICA: Resources for Development “Scarce and Grossly Mismanaged”

The first United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) could arguably be seen as the mother of MDGs, as a country's ability to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty will be a determining factor in whether it attains the other seven goals.

POLITICS-KENYA: Anti-corruption War Stalls

More than a month has passed since authorities in Kenya pledged a fresh drive against high-level graft in the corruption-riddled East African country, but no assets have been seized, as promised.

HEALTH-KENYA: The Little Pill That Could

Misoprostol. It's not exactly a household name as far as drugs are concerned; however, it has the potential to improve - and even save - thousands of women's lives in Kenya.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Different Continents, Similar Problems

There is much that separates Africa and Asia, not least ethnicity, culture and language. But, as the third and final leg of this year’s World Social Forum (WSF) gathers momentum in the Pakistani financial centre of Karachi, the hope is that civic groups will build on common aspirations for the two continents.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A Somber Outlook on AIDS

A former director of the United Nations Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa has painted a gloomy picture of efforts to bring the pandemic under control across the continent.

POLITICS-SUDAN: No “Happily Ever After” Just Yet

Fifteen African heads of state were in attendance, and thousands of spectators - witnesses to the signing of a peace deal more than two years in the making, that was ending war between Sudan's government and southern rebels.