DEVELOPMENT: Kenyans Worry over the Unending Circle of Famine

Kenya is not giving agriculture the seriousness it deserves, even though some 75 percent of the country's economy depends on the industry, campaigners say.

RIGHTS-SUDAN: Gov’t, Rebels Agree to Clear Mines

Sudanese government and rebels in the south, who are about to sign a comprehensive peace deal, met in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, this week to explore ways of clearing landmines planted during the country’s 21-year civil war.

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.

TRANSPORT-KENYA: Has Commuter Safety Succeeded in Taking the High Road?

They inconvenienced commuters, and drew the wrath of taxi drivers...But, have Kenya’s new transport regulations also managed to make traffic conditions in the country less hazardous?

ECONOMY-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Energy Shortages a Pressing Concern

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) this week voiced concern about energy shortfalls in the region.

CULTURE-KENYA: The Churches That Aren’t

A curious case involving 13 so-called "miracle babies" has sparked concern about the proliferation of new church groups in Kenya.

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: Helping the Continent to Grow Old Gracefully

"If only I can stop sewing for a month, my cough will come down...I spend the money from my sewing for buying food and making sandwiches for my grandchildren to take to school," says an old South African woman captured on video while working at an archaic sewing machine.

TECHNOLOGY-KENYA: Giving Civil Society a Voice in ICT Policy

Representatives of civil society in Kenya have called for its inclusion in the redrafting of a policy on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the East African country.

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.

RIGHTS: Kenya Sacks Teachers Who Sexually Abuse Their Pupils

With only one year left for African countries to achieve gender parity in schools, doubts are beginning to be cast on whether Kenya will be able to meet its deadline.

ECONOMY-KENYA: Hawkers – Blessing and Bane

The informal sector features prominently in many discussions about Africa’s economic health. "Encourage it," some say. After all, it’s a lot better than having citizens turn to crime in their effort to survive.

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.

CULTURE: Congolese Welcome Swahili As Official African Language

News that Swahili has been adopted as one of the African Union’s working languages has been well received in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where nearly half the population speaks it, writes it, or understands it.

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-RWANDA: Should the Bones be Silenced?

A decade after the genocide in Rwanda, citizens of the country are divided over whether victims’ remains should be preserved at the sites where they can still be viewed.

RIGHTS-SOMALIA: Calls Made To Rein In Warlords

Somalia?s warlords, who have caused so much suffering during their country?s 20-year conflict, will be brought to book if human rights groups have their way.

/REPEATING/POLITICS-SUDAN: Officials ‘Split’ Over UN Sanction Threat

Sudan has 'accepted' a UN resolution to rein in pro-government militias, known as Janjaweed, in the western region of Darfur, within 30 days, a surprising move that seems to reflect a split in the Islamic regime.

HEALTH: The New Face of AIDS in Uganda

They meet every week at a small, government-funded health clinic in Kawempe, the poorest and most crowded suburb of the Ugandan capital. They vary in age, but nearly all are married or widowed. Most contracted HIV from a husband or long-term partner.

RIGHTS: Don’t Worry About Hostage Taking, Kenyans Still Love Middle East

Poverty has often played the leading role in driving Kenyans to look for employment in the Middle East. But last week’s kidnapping of three Kenyans by Iraqi militants is set to change all that, if government has its way.

HIV/AIDS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: The War On The Pandemic Reaps Positive Results

Southern Africa is responding to its AIDS pandemic with new programmes that promoters say must be as adaptable as the HIV virus itself.