RIGHTS-KENYA: Gov’t Drags Its Feet Over Demands to Probe Past Abuses

Rights groups in Kenya are faced with a daunting task of persuading the government of Mwai Kibaki to adopt a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

POLITICS-KENYA: A Poor Report Card for Kibaki

A year ago, Kenya was buzzing with prospects for change. A new president, Mwai Kibaki, stood poised to end almost 40 years of rule by the Kenya African National Union. For ordinary citizens, it appeared that decades of political and economic mismanagement might finally be coming to an end.

RIGHTS-ERITREA: Revolutionary Fervour Dissipates In Climate of Fear

Young, restless, nothing to do and muted. That basically summarises life for the average youth in Eritrea where criticism of the government could mean indefinite jail sentences.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: Faction Leaders Give Ultimatum for Peace Talks

Somali faction leaders who are attending peace talks in Kenya say they will convene a separate round of negotiations in their own country if the current talks are not concluded by Jan. 20 next year.

POLITICS: Ethiopian-Eritrean Peace Process ‘Under Severe Stress’

The greatest irony in the peace process between

HEALTH: Ethiopia Blasts MSF For Advocating Alternative Malaria Treatment

Ethiopia’s health ministry and the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontiers are at loggerheads over the use of a cocktail of drugs for malaria treatment in an epidemic that is threatening 15 million Ethiopians.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: Sex Workers Seek Recognition

Sex workers in Kenya have demanded recognition of their profession to enable them to operate in a free climate - devoid of fear.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Child Abuse Sparks Debate on Castration

Recent demands by women legislators to have rapists castrated have sparked a debate that has left rights groups in Kenya divided.

POLITICS-COMORES: Island Leaders Try to Iron Out Differences

After two years of trying unsuccessfully to make their power-sharing constitution work, Comorians know they are running out of options.

EDUCATION-KENYA: Too Much, Too Soon?

As Kenya enters 2004, it appears likely that the country's education system will come under increased scrutiny. Many teachers want the current syllabus to be overhauled, saying it places undue pressure on staff and children alike.

POLITICS-KENYA: Draft Constitution Splits the Nation

Under Kenya’s current constitution, drafted during the colonial era, the president enjoys extensive powers. To reduce these powers - which have sometimes been abused - some Kenyans have called for the current process of constitutional review to allow for the post of Prime Minister.

COMMUNICATIONS: Mobile Phones in Vogue in Africa

Africans' insatiable appetite for cell phones has made the continent a profitable market for the high-tech gadgets, which were introduced only a decade ago. But in the intervening ten years, the sales figures have masked a larger social story: how the proliferation of cell phones is changing Africans' relationships with one another.

SOUTH AFRICA: Education a Beacon of Hope for the Girl Child

South Africa has become a beacon of hope for the girl child in Sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty and outdated traditions have prevented girls from attending schools.

POPULATION-SOUTH AFRICA: Skills, Experience of Refugees Go to Waste

South Africa appears to receive the cream of African refugees seeking safe new homes, in Africa, but their skills and experience go to waste, says a survey released Thursday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Terror Bill Sparks Controversy

Rights groups in Kenya have criticised government's decision to introduce anti-terror law to tackle terrorism.

RIGHTS-SUDAN: Civil Society Demands War Crimes Probe

Sudan's fledgling civil society organisations are demanding the setting up of a truth and reconciliation commission as soon as the final peace agreement between the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army is signed.

LABOUR-KENYA: Union Leaders Enraged By Plans to Trim Civil Service

Bowing to donor pressure, Kenya has announced plans to trim its civil service by about seven percent in the next two years.

COMMONWEALTH: Summit Focuses on Democracy, Development – and Zimbabwe

The bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting got underway in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Friday with traditional dances and a parade of flags from the group's 54 member states.

COMMONWEALTH: Over to CHOGM. Anyone Listening?

As the Commonwealth People's Forum heads toward the finish line, attention has shifted to the organisation's Heads of Government meeting which begins in Nigeria today.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Seeds of Hope in the Agriculture Sector

Africa and other parts of the developing world are preparing to negotiate better access to the markets of wealthy countries at the next ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation, Ugandan Agriculture Minister Wilberforce Kisamba-Mugerwa said in Pretoria this week.

COMMONWEALTH: Civil Society Prepares for ‘Civil War’

Civil society organisations are scheduled to hold talks with Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon Wednesday, in the Nigerian capital - Abuja.