POLITICS: Controversy Follows Gaddafi’s Rapprochement With Europe

The re-emergence of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi into the diplomatic good graces of Europe has met with a decidedly mixed response, even in some of the governments ostensibly courting his favour.

CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Support Pledged for Women in S. Leone&#39s Local Elections

Sierra Leoneans will doubtless celebrate the past year as one in which their country distanced itself still further from a war-torn past, by holding general elections in August that were broadly viewed as free and fair.

CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Different Kind of Battle for Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s economy has, over the years, relied heavily on the mining sector in general and diamonds in particular. However, between 1991 and 2000 the country was comprehensively destroyed in a brutal civil war that engulfed the West African state.

ENERGY-SOUTH AFRICA: Food Security Hobbles Biofuel Strategy

Worried that it may be seen as insensitive to the food needs of Africa, the South African government, which is facing a general election in 2009, has chosen food security in framing a biofuel policy.

COTE D’IVOIRE: A Call for Solidarity in Resolving Fate of Missing Reporter

Early one afternoon nearly four years ago, journalist Guy-André Kieffer was thrust into a waiting car by several armed men in a supermarket parking lot in Abidjan. He has not been seen since.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Whose Quota, Exactly?

A campaign to bring about greater gender balance in Sierra Leone's government has sparked debate on issues of class, with some fearing that a proposed quota for women could be monopolised by candidates who are unrepresentative of Sierra Leonean women overall.

AFRICA: Money, Media and Tradition Complicate Women&#39s Political Aspirations

The challenges confronting women politicians in Africa were given an airing recently during a press conference in South Africa's commercial hub, Johannesburg.

ECONOMY: The Bitter Taste of Cocoa in Cote d&#39Ivoire

Hacking his way through the lush forest with a machete, his rubber boots sinking into the moist earth, Lambert Kwame surveys the plot of land that his family has worked for over 30 years, harvesting cocoa.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Farewell to a Unique Forum for Dialogue

The Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy was launched five years ago by Finland and Tanzania with the aim of addressing international divisions, to achieve an inclusive globalisation process based on human and environmental security.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Pushing For Progress in the Great Lakes Region

Continued strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has dealt a blow to those hoping for peace in Central Africa. However, Liberata Mulamula, executive director of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), remains optimistic about the future of this part of the continent.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Democracy as an Antidote to Extremism

The director of Panorama - the Palestinian Center for the Dissemination of Democracy and Community Development - has condemned those who carry out terrorist acts in the name of Islam, saying they are not representative of the global Muslim community.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Globalisation in the Dock

The latest conference to be held under the Helsinki Process opened in Tanzania's commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, Tuesday, with calls for the gains of globalisation to be shared fairly amongst nations.

HELSINKI PROCESS: More Development and Security in Exchange For Small Arms

Increasing international co-operation in exchange for guns and improving the sense of domestic security are promising strategies for reducing the number of small weapons in the hands of civilians in developing countries, a leading expert on the matter says.

COMMONWEALTH: Waiting on Pakistan, Acting on Climate Change

The latest Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) came to a close Sunday with leaders and government representatives reiterating the need for restoration of democratic rule in Pakistan, while calling on Islamabad to maintain lines of communication with the 53 member organisation.

Q&A: "A Threat to One Is a Threat to All"

The past year has marked the half-way point for realisation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight goals were agreed on by global leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, with 2015 set as the deadline for achieving the MDGs.

COMMONWEALTH: Poverty and Climate Change in the Spotlight

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) has opened with calls for the gap between rich and poor countries in the 53-member grouping to be addressed.

COMMONWEALTH: "Get Rid of Your Agricultural Subsidies" – McKinnon

The political crisis in Pakistan and global trade negotiations are amongst issues set to dominate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that starts Friday in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Q&A: "The Presence of Women in Local Councils Is in Itself a Revolution"

As local elections in Benin draw closer, activists are pushing ahead with efforts to have more women voted into local government. Just 45 of the 1,189 councilors currently in office are women.

ENERGY-CONGO: Extracting Honesty for an Extractive Resource

As 2007 draws to a close, citizens of Congo can look back on another year in which the challenge of introducing greater accountability into the Central African country's opaque and corrupt oil sector loomed large.

Q&A: "TB and XDR-TB Are Not an African Problem Only"

In a world where countless humanitarian causes clamour for action and funding, raising money to combat tuberculosis (TB) can prove a challenge.

HEALTH-AFRICA: TB and AIDS Campaigns Urged to Co-operate

Tuberculosis (TB) in Africa cannot be dealt with while TB and HIV/AIDS organisations refuse to set aside their differences, health experts said Friday during the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.