A military court in Egypt has acquitted an army doctor accused of carrying out forced 'virginity tests' on women protesters, state media reports. Ahmed Adel was cleared because the judge found contradictions in witness statements, the state news agency said. The case was brought by one of the women, Samira Ibrahim, who said the 'tests' took place after they had been detained during protests last year. Demonstrators gathered outside the court to protest against the ruling.

The Prison Radio newsletter features posts about - and writing and commentary by - Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is serving life imprisonment without parole in the US for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, but whom many activists consider to be innocent. It also contains other news about prisoner campaigns and solidarity.

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has cautioned against blindly supporting President Jacob Zuma in his court battle with the DA as divisions among the federation’s leaders intensify. The Supreme Court of Appeals is expected to deliver its judgment on the application by the DA to set aside the decision of former National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, to halt prosecution on fraud and corruption charges against Zuma. In his political report to the federation’s central executive committee, Vavi said they could no longer use political excuses to protect Zuma.

Tanzanian doctors have suspended a nationwide strike after the country's president met union representatives to defuse a row with government, the doctors association said. The more than 1,000-strong Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) is demanding better pay and conditions and the sacking of Health Minister Hadji Mponda and his deputy, whom they accuse of being 'enemies of doctors and the health sector as a whole'.

The Secretary-General of Angolan opposition party Democratic Bloc (BD), Mr Filomeno Vieira Lopes, said he was brutalised by the police during a weekend protest demonstration. Mr Lopes told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that he had received medical treatment for three fractures on his left arm, a severe blow to the head, which required three stitches and for several bruises all over his body. He accused Angolan police of orchestrating the attack during a demonstration against the appointment of Ms Susan Inglês as the National Electoral Commission boss.

Acting deputy chief justice Zak Yacoob has responded indirectly to president Jacob Zuma's concerns about the power and intellectual vibrancy of the Constitutional Court. Zuma has questioned the split decisions emanating from the Constitutional Court: 'It is after experience that some of the decisions are not decisions that every other judge in the Constitutional Court agrees with...How could you say that [the] judgment is absolutely correct when the judges themselves have different views about it?' Yacoob said he would be 'perturbed if the 11 judges of the Constitutional Court agreed with each other, judgment after judgment, year after year' as it would suggest a court lacking in rigour and debate. Yacoob's statements come at a time when there is increasing public debate around the role and powers of the constitutional court. Both the government and members of the ruling ANC have made critical noises about the incursions of the judiciary into the political sphere.

Students in Swaziland will have their scholarships revoked if they engage in political activity, if the Swazi Government has its way. New rules for students presently being drafted state that ‘at its discretion’, the Scholarship Selection Board can terminate a scholarship ‘when a student is a member, supports or furthers the activities of a banned entity’. In Swaziland all political parties are banned, as are a number of pro-democracy organisations, including the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and the Swaziland Solidarity Network.

Reporters without Borders has said that Egypt remains on the list of countries 'under surveillance' in the area of freedom of internet activity and online content filtering. The North African country steered clear of the newly updated 'internet enemies' list, which along with the report was impacted by the so called Arab Spring. The report cited attacks against cyber dissidents, activists, and journalists seeking to expose alleged violations by military officers against peaceful protest movement trying to organize its second wave against the military rule.

Western companies should guard against high risks involved in doing business as usual with African countries that have recently discovered offshore oil. A new report asks them to be prepared to manage the perils stemming from 'resource nationalism' in institutionally fragile and politically volatile nations. The warning by UK-based Maplecroft risk analysts refers particularly to countries 'where we see a disenchanted poorly educated youth, many of whom following war torn years out of school, are finding reintegration back into society particularly challenging.' New oil frontiers which the risk analysts have in mind include Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Congo, all of which are classified in the index as 'high risk' countries.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, guilty of recruiting and using child soldiers. It is the court's first verdict since it was set up 10 years ago. He will be sentenced at a later hearing. The charges relate to a conflict in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between 2002 and 2003.

A total of 120 Nigerians who have been deported from Britain for various immigration offences arrived in Nigeria on Friday (9 March). The 120 deportees, comprising mainly young men and women, narrated their unsavoury experiences, saying that they were brought back home unprepared by the British authorities, the source added.

The latest INTERIGHTS Quarterly Update, a regular email containing summaries of recent news, including updates on litigation, events and publications, with links to full details on their website, is available. It contains news about the repeal of death sentences in Egypt, a ruling on hate speech against the LGBTI community in Sweden and news on resources and publications.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's romantic partner Gugu Mtshali has allegedly been linked to a scheme to 'buy' government approval for a plan to sell helicopters to Iran, according to a report by the Sunday Times. Mtshali, former De Beers executive Raisaka Masebelanga and others allegedly met with representatives of 360 Aviation to solicit a bribe of R104 million.

At the same time that we increasingly see the advance of new technologies which facilitate communication and information, such as smartphones, tablets, Twitter and Facebook, in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, the People's Wall has emerged: an extensive outer wall of the newspaper Jornal@Verdade, where the population can write letters and direct reflections to the governing leaders. It is an original form of communication, whose effectiveness and accessibility are inherent in its very simplicity. In a way, it acts as an authentic offline Facebook wall.

Civil Society Organisations in Malawi have called on the government to withdraw threats targeted at the media and civil rights groups. Led by Council for Non Governmental Organisations Chairperson Voice Mhone, the NGOs have again denied they are party to any plans to topple Bingu wa Mutharika regime. President Mutharika has accused CSOs of organising a meeting to demand a referendum and/or nationwide protests to unseat the government.

Damaging new claims have emerged about the funding of Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign and his links with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The French investigative website Mediapart claims to have seen a confidential note suggesting Gaddafi contributed as much as €50-million to Sarkozy's election fund five years ago. But Sarkozy has angrily denied receiving funds from the slain Libyan dictator.

The lower house of the Egyptian parliament has unanimously approved a text declaring that Israel is the number one enemy of Egypt and calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and a halt to gas exports to Israel. Egyptian MPs voted by a show of hands on the text of a report, which was compiled by the Arab Affairs Committee of the People's Assembly (lower house of parliament).

The struggle for justice, freedom, equality and dignity for all people especially working-class women and men requires leadership based on knowledge of history, politics, economics, science and culture. Historical knowledge is indispensable to constructing the traditions of progressive struggle for freedom and creating new generations of leaders to transform our world, write Thuto Thipe and Zackie Achmat on the blog Ndifuna Ukwazi, in a post that pays tribute to Black women who created a mass movement that came to build the best traditions of the ANC.

Key staff from Al Jazeera’s Beirut Bureau have resigned citing “bias” in the channel’s stance on the conflict in Syria. Bureau Managing Director Hassan Shaaban reportedly quit last week, after his correspondent and producer had walked out in protest. A source told the Lebanese paper Al Akhbar that Al Jazeera’s Beirut correspondent Ali Hashem had quit over the channel’s stance on covering events in Syria.

A strike by health workers entered its 10th day on Sunday as private and referral hospitals struggled to cope. 'I am concerned about the anxiety, including psychological torture, Kenyans have gone through in the last few days due to the industrial action,' Health minister Anyang’ Nyong’o said in a notice. 'We are working around the clock to address the issues and reach an amicable solution,' read the statement, dated March 9.