This Cameroon Elections 2011 page from Google displays which party leader people are searching Google for the most and which issues are most important in the election campaign.

Some 25,000 people have arrived in Ethiopia over the last three weeks to escape fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in Blue Nile state, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said. 'Since 3 September, when the influx into Ethiopia started, an estimated 25,000 refugees have found refuge in Ethiopia,' said Adrian Edwards, UNHCR spokesperson. Fighting between government forces and rebels from the northern wing of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement broke out earlier this month, after the SPLM-N refused to disarm.

Four people were found guilty of the murder of lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana in a judgment handed down in the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court on Friday, SAFM reported. Magistrate Raadiya Whaten said the testimony of two witnesses led to the conclusion that Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase, Luyanda Londzi and Mbulelo Damba took part in the stoning and stabbing of Nkonyana in 2006 when she was 19. Some civil society groups believe Nkonyana was murdered because of her sexuality.

A Moroccan soldier on a motorbike who struck and killed a Sahrawi pedestrian has not been prosecuted for his actions.

One of the striking features of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is that it is mainly being signed by Western/'developed' countries, says this post from ACTA is the last-gasp attempt of the US and the EU to preserve their intellectual monopolies. Much of the challenge to the old order is coming from the BRICS group of emerging countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Of those, the one in the vanguard of adopting innovative approaches to making knowledge widely accessible in the Internet age is Brazil. One of these approaches is a draft bill for a civil rights-based framework for the Internet.

On 22 September, a shocking study from Oxfam International provided the evidence and insight on how the World Bank, coupled with the United Nations, used the carbon credit scheme introduced by Al Gore, and other green advocates, to literally rob landowners in the country of Uganda of their property, and even bringing about the death of a child when they burned down homes and villages. All so that a grove of trees could be planted on that land.

Sierra Leone's opposition parties have announced an indefinite suspension of their participation in parliament, citing 'attacks on democracy' they say are being perpetrated by the governing All Peoples Congress (APC) party of President Ernest Bai Koroma. Among other things, they demanded the 'immediate' lifting of a ban by the police on political processions, rallies and public meetings.

In August, SA's minister of water affairs and Lesotho's minister of natural resources signed an official agreement to implement Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The LHWP has been fraught with problems since the treaty was signed in 1986, says this article from Business Day, which
notes that there are good reasons why the public should be paying more attention to the huge development and that there are better alternatives to building more huge dams in Lesotho.

Government has secured 300 acres of land to set up a multi-functional prison for terror suspects.
The disclosure was made by the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija. He said the new detention centre would also accommodate cyber crime suspects and drug traffickers.

As Occupy Wall Street protests in the US enter their fourth week, the size of the crowd has begun to grow. 'But as the nascent movement gathers steam, struggles and problems are apparent. Is their message clear enough? Who is their leader? How long can they last, camped out in a concrete park as the weather chills? Who will control it?'

Thousands of Americans have non-violently occupied Wall Street - an epicentre of global financial power and corruption. You can sign a petition in support of the movement: 'If millions of us from across the world stand with them, we'll boost their resolve and show the media and leaders that the protests are part of a massive mainstream movement for change.'

The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has welcomed President Michael Sata’s directive to the Ministry of Labour to immediately revise the minimum wage. Sata last week directed the minister of labour Fackson Shamenda to work at revising the minimum wage from the current 419 Kwacha.

A bomb blast outside a government compound in Mogadishu has killed at least 70 people and left many others wounded, in one of Somalia's deadliest ever suicide attacks, officials and witnesses said. The attack was claimed by al-Shabab, the armed anti-government group, and came as the rebels launched attacks in the country's west and south.

Tensions between the Burundi government and the local press are bound to increase as several media defied an order not to investigate or discuss a recent massacre. While officials say the measure is 'temporary' and necessary to safeguard national unity and the course of justice, independent journalists are asserting their right to publish information in the interest of public accountability.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has criticised Algeria’s new media bill, saying the new legislation does not liberate the media. ANHRI released a statement calling the new media bill endorsed by the Algerian Ministers Council a step forward in terms of abolishing the imprisonment penalty for journalists in publication cases, but the wording of the bill itself, along with the severe fines which replace the jail time, still restricts freedom of expression.

The International Monetary Fund's forecast mistakes on the global economy would be forgiven if they came from a teacher, a lawyer or a surgeon. But, says this article on there should be no pardon for well-paid 'experts', whose job is to supervise the world economy and alert when things are going wrong. 'What makes things worse is that those experts are not inclined to admit their mistakes and apologize - not to speak of offering their resignation - as if their blunders were inconsequential, and just a minor oversight in a cooking recipe.'

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the Action Group of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (Collectif des Familles de Disparus en Algérie, CFDA), and the Algerian Human Rights League (Ligue Algérienne pour la défense des droits de l'Homme, LADDH) have strongly condemned the intensifying harassment campaign against trade unionists and human rights defenders in Algeria. 'Our organisations call upon the Algerian Government to put an end to all harassment directed against human rights defenders, including union leaders and to suspend all judicial procedures launched against them.'

Tunisian authorities refused to grant Palestinian bloggers visas to attend the Third Arab bloggers meeting taking place in Tunis from the 3-6 October, 2011. The meeting is an attraction to Arab bloggers and activists, and an opportunity for them to exchange expertise and learn from each other. The event is co-hosted by Global Voices, Nawaat and Heinrich Böll Foundation and is attended by around 100 bloggers from nearly all Arab countries.

This article on the World Socialist website argues that the handling of the Eurozone financial crisis points to a policy of 'pushing Greece over the edge, with devastating consequences for the Greek working class, while allocating hundreds of billions more in public funds to cover the potential losses of banks across Europe - a new bailout that will inevitably be paid for at the expense of the jobs, wages and social conditions of workers in every European country. These attacks will set a new benchmark for attacks on the working class in the US and internationally.'

Tortured for taking part in political protest, a young Sahrawi has lost his childhood ambitions for a better life.