WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Cynicism and Hope Ahead of the Bamako Gathering

With just a day to go before Africa's first-ever World Social Forum (WSF) gets underway in Mali, attitudes towards the meeting appear somewhat mixed in the West African country.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Will the Bamako Meeting Tackle Africa’s Sore Spots?

The African leg of the World Social Forum (WSF) kicks off next week in the Malian capital, Bamako, with a host of issues on the agenda: war and militarism, global trade and debt, to name just a few.

POLITICS-BENIN: A President Tempted to Outstay His Welcome?

Politicians and civil society groups in Benin have launched a scathing attack on President Mathieu Kérékou for his failure to disburse the balance of funds pledged to the Independent National Electoral Commission, to enable it to organise presidential elections scheduled for March.

POLITICS-IVORY COAST: A Baptism of Fire for the New Prime Minister

2006 may be just a few days old, but it has already presented the Ivory Coast's new prime minister, Charles Konan Banny, with a substantial challenge: how best to deal with the attack staged Monday on Akouedo military base in the east of the financial capital, Abidjan.

POPULATION: Morocco, Spain Get Tough on Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigrants seeking to start a new life in Europe will now find it impossible to jump the border after Moroccan and Spanish armies have erected a barbed wire between their common frontier.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/CHALLENGES 2005-2006: New Year Offers Little Hope for Oil-Producing Chad

Chad has become an attractive destination for international investment since a group of multinational oil companies put together a financial plan in 2000 to explore and ship the new oil to the market.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Senegal Stemming Migration Flood to Europe

More than three months after his forced repatriation from Morocco, Mamdou Diop, 28, still harbours bitter memories of his odyssey toward Europe.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: An Assured Power Supply a Distant Dream in Nigeria

At the end of a year that was meant to solve Nigeria's chronic electricity problems, an assured power supply is still a distant dream in this oil-rich nation.

WTO-SPECIAL: Disillusion in Southern Africa Ahead of Trade Summit

Campaigners from Southern Africa are bracing for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks to be held in Hong Kong later this month. Some plan to send representatives to the meeting, to protest against unfair trade legislation – particularly as this relates to agriculture.

IVORY COAST: The Kindest Cut of All – Severing a Harmful Tradition

Thirty practitioners of female circumcision in the Ivorian financial capital, Abidjan, have publicly laid aside their blades, knives and scissors. This is the result of an ongoing campaign in the West African country to eradicate the practice, estimated by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to affect 40 percent of women living there.

POLITICS-LIBERIA: New President Faces Enormous Challenges

Excitement runs high in the streets of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, as thousands of residents rejoice over the announcement of the country's first woman president.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: A Season of Ethnic Discontent

The release and re-arrest of members of a Yoruba organisation this week have marked the latest chapter in Nigeria's bid to contain ethnic unrest in various parts of the country.

HEALTH-BURKINA FASO: Putting ARVs on TAP

For Zenabo Nikieme, a Burkinabé woman who has been HIV-positive since 2000, the future once again offers a glimmer of hope. Last year it was a very different story - something that prompted her to pen an open letter to Burkina Faso's Minister of Health.

DEVELOPMENT: Cameroon Adds Famine to Its List of Woes

As a result of two decades of decreasing economic activities, Cameroon is now in a serious financial crisis that is threatening the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

EDUCATION-NIGERIA: Making School a Tasty Experience

A government programme to provide primary school children with free lunches has been launched in Nigeria, to encourage parents to educate their children - and to ensure that pupils learn effectively.

POLITICS-LIBERIA: Better Some Right to Vote Than None?

Liberians go to the polls next week for their country's first general elections since civil war was brought to a halt in the West African state in 2003.

AFRICA: Fuel Reserves Oil the Wheels of Corruption

Corruption is costing Africa's oil industry billions of dollars annually says Peter Eigen, founder and chairman of Transparency International (TI) - a non-governmental group based in Berlin which monitors and fights graft.

ECONOMY: Africa Given a Small Slice of the Investment Pie

Africa must redouble its efforts if it wants to attract more investment, an official from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Thursday at the launch of the agency's annual 'World Investment Report'.

EDUCATION-BURKINA FASO: For Greater Literacy, Go Local

In 1990, Burkinabe linguist Benoit Ouoba used his own funds to set up a teaching programme with a difference: it focused on using local languages to develop literacy, rather than the customary French.

DEVELOPMENT: Women’s Rights Crucial for UN Summit Agend(er)

Three international rights organisations have joined forces to ensure that women’s voices will be heard at the United Nations 2005 World Summit, scheduled to take place later this month (Sep. 14 to 16).

ECONOMY: Nigeria Woos South African Investors

A three-day conference which took place this week in Johannesburg has highlighted the possibilities for increased trade between South Africa and Nigeria.