DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Putting Researchers and Policy Makers on the Same Page

Reports. They gather dust on the desks of journalists and bureaucrats - after having been opened with reluctance, and closed with speed. Months of work may have gone into their production; but all too often, the only use for these weighty tomes seems to be as doorstops.

POLITICS-CAMEROON: English Speakers Dream of “Le Divorce”

Members of Cameroon’s minority Anglophone population, which has long complained of discrimination at the hands of majority French speakers, say secession may become necessary if conditions for their community do not improve.

HEALTH-MAURITANIA: Low HIV Prevalence, Widespread AIDS Stigma

In the wooden shanty town of Elmina on the outskirts of Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, AIDS educators do not let religious or cultural conservatism get in their way.

RIGHTS-GABON: Hopefully, the Beginning of the End for Child Traffickers

Children’s rights activists have long expressed concern over the extent of child trafficking and exploitation in West Africa. Recent events in Gabon might give them cause for hope, however.

POPULATION-NIGERIA: Should Census Make Discretion the Better Part of Valour?

More than a decade after its last headcount, Nigeria is preparing to conduct the country's fifth census this year. However, religion and ethnicity - long the bane of national life - appear set to bedevil the process.

POLITICS-TOGO: No Peace at Home, No Peace Abroad

Togo's government found itself under siege both locally and regionally Saturday, as a protest in the capital, Lome, coincided with news that the Economic Community of West African States would impose sanctions on the administration.

HEALTH-GABON: Abortions – Mostly Illegal, But in Demand

Some women take the decision because they cannot contemplate supporting another child. Others are too young to take care of even one. Whatever their reasons, a growing number of Gabonese girls and women are choosing to have illegal abortions – often with disastrous consequences.

POLITICS-TOGO: Tensions Rise Over the "Unconstitutional Charade"

Reports from the Togolese capital, Lome, say police on Friday used teargas to halt a protest against the recent appointment of Faure Eyadema as the country’s new head of state.

CULTURE-NIGER: Archaeological Treasures May Soon Become a Thing of the Past

There’s no doubting that authorities in Niger have a host of problems to grapple with. United Nations estimates put the number of people living beneath the poverty line in this country in the region of 60 percent – while life expectancy stands at about 46 years.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: Will the National Dialogue Preach to the Converted?

From behind a curtain in her home in Kaduna city, northern Nigeria, Clementina Paul had an unwanted front seat to one of the worst bouts of violence to occur in her country during the past decade: the clashes between Christians and Muslims in 2000.

DEVELOPMENT-CAMEROON: Independence Via the Keyboard

As is the case in much of Africa, cultural and religious factors in Cameroon have proved formidable obstacles to the advancement of women in the workplace. Traditional beliefs dictate that a women’s place is in the home, prompting many parents to take their daughters out of school at an early age – and allow them to be married.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: Uganda, DRC in Sights of International Criminal Court

Luis Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC), is going to be a busy man this year as far as Africa is concerned.

POLITICS-IVORY COAST: Mbeki Soldiers On

The past few days have seen South African President Thabo Mbeki push ahead with his initiative to bring peace to the Ivory Coast, even postponing his departure for the World Economic Forum. As the week ends, however, it is clear that the future of the West African state still hangs in the balance.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Is It Africa’s Turn Next?

The World Social Forum (WSF), sometimes described as the "carnival of the oppressed", is about to get underway in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

ENVIRONMENT: Nigerian City Battling with Mountains of Garbage

Tonnes of garbage dot market places, bus stops and bridges, overwhelming efforts to clean up Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos.

ECONOMY-AFRICA: Debt Activists Keep the Champagne on Ice

Civil society groups and anti-debt campaigners in Africa have cautiously welcomed a British proposal for the debt of Africa’s poorest states to be cancelled.

RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE: War Crimes Court Opening Up Old Wounds

There has been growing anxiety in Sierra Leone about the commencement of the trials of three high-profile war crimes indictees from the former military junta, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), which seized power in a coup in 1997.

RIGHTS-BENIN: 2005 the Year of ‘No More Excisions’

For International Action Against Female Genital Mutilation, a German group active in Benin and other African countries, 2005 will be a year in which past successes in the fight against mutilation are celebrated – and efforts to eradicate it continue with renewed vigour.

POLITICS-AFRICA: A Challenging Road Ahead for the Peer Review Mechanism

Since the African Peer Review Mechanism was launched about two years ago, less than half of the African Union’s 53-member states have acceded to the process – designed to improve governance on the continent.

DEVELOPMENT-NIGERIA: Private Water, Public Good?

In Agege, a suburb of Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, Augusta Uyi-Evbuomwam has become indispensable.

EDUCATION-CAMEROON: Private Trumps Public – For Better and For Worse

In 1993, the government of Cameroon passed a law allowing private tertiary education institutions to be established in the country. Now, almost a decade later, is this decision still viewed as the right one? That depends on who you ask.