Indian agribusiness companies are ready to spend $2.5bn buying, or renting for decades, several million hectares of cheap land in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda in what could be some of the largest farming deals struck in Africa in the last 50 years.

The African Union (AU) is to launch the Pan-African Media Network (PAMEN), a platform run by the African Forum for Media Development of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and the African Media Initiative (AMI).

The BBC has produced a podcast about Zimbabwe as part of their BBC documentaries podcast series Assignment. In 'Assignment - Zimbabwe's Child Migrants' (25min) Mukul Devichand goes on the road with young children travelling alone on a journey of desperation, danger and hope - south from Zimbabwe and across the border to South Africa.

Somalia has the world's highest mortality rate for children under age 5, according to data released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Organisations in Africa have been urged to develop and enhance partnerships amongst governments and other stakeholders in order to promote gender equality. International Federation of Journalists General Secretary Beth Costa made the statement during the All-African Conference on Gender and Media held in Kigali. Issues of gender inequality took centre stage as sexual harassment, poor pay, lack of training, unfavorable working conditions and little or no maternity leave were identified as some of the major challenges facing women journalists.

This project was formulated by the EU Delegation with full participation of NAO, EPA, MoA and MoWE aims to contribute towards the construction of a carbon neutral and climate resilient economy through the corresponding socio-economic development program (CRGE). Identification of Services is a key aspect of the project which focuses advisory and support functions.

Human rights advocates watching Gambia are worried that abuses against perceived dissenters will rise as the November presidential election nears, killing any chance of a free and fair poll. Already the official campaign period - the only time opposition parties are given access to the media and allowed to actively campaign - has been shrunk to 11 days from four weeks, sparking concern among political leaders.

The Kenyan government is pushing fish farming to provide an alternative to small farmers who are scrabbling to eke out a living from poor soil.

The 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development finds that women's lives around the world have improved dramatically, but gaps remain in many areas. The authors use a conceptual framework to examine progress to date, and then recommend policy actions.

Lifestyle influenced non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer, kill about 36m people each year – 80 per cent of them in developing countries. The rate is growing fastest in Africa, where it will overtake the death toll from infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV by 2030.

South Sudan’s new minister of higher education said during a visit to Uganda that 'a lot of changes' will be made to processes of awarding scholarship to students due to lack of transparency and corruption at his ministry.

REDD+ intends to develop financing mechanisms that will compensate developing countries as an incentive for changing the way forest resources are used to curb CO2 emissions. The performance based compensation will pay for actions that prevent forest loss or degradation, conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks. Isilda Nhantumbo argues that REDD+ is now driving a race for land in Mozambique.

Amnesty International has welcomed the release of Kenyan human rights activist, Al-Amin Kimathi by a Ugandan court. The charges against NGO director Al-Amin Kimathi and four other defendants were dropped by the Kampala High Court at the start of their trial.

An Eritrean Ministry of Education statement issued in connection with International Literacy Day has found that the nation's illiteracy rate has been reduced by 45% and attributes progress to the preparation of textbooks as well as an adult education programme.

Libya's interim prime minister says his administration will form a new government within the next seven to 10 days. Mahmoud Jibril spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He said Libya's National Transitional Council is finalizing decisions on the exact number of ministries and whether they would all be located in the capital, Tripoli, or divided between eastern and western Libya.

Famine in the Horn of Africa and surging food prices are concentrating the minds of policymakers on the need for long-term solutions, particularly for small farmers. If they can become as productive as their peers in Asia, the argument goes, they can move from self-subsistence, make a decent livelihood, and ultimately drive economic development on the continent.

The mobile learning toolkit is an open source resource that can be used in the delivery of all kinds of training in any developing context. It has been designed to be as inclusive as possible, with most of the methods requiring only low end devices (basic mobile phones with voice calling and SMS capability). In this way the toolkit can be used to deliver interactive distance learning experiences to participants even at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).

Gambian National Environment Agency, NEA said recently that the country is already facing the worst ramifications of the climate change. NEA’s executive director, Momodou B. Sarr said in Banjul that already climate change impact on agriculture is attributed to 40 per cent drop in groundnut yields due to rising temperatures and the disappearance of freshwater swamps, and soil salinization in lowland areas resulting from sea level rise is likely to impact negatively on rice production and the lives of women farmers in these areas.

A document shows that South Africa’s government is far behind land reform efforts, a setback that could prove explosive in a country with staggering inequality almost a generation after white rule ended.

A record number of African countries are set to hold elections throughout 2011. This article analyses the political and internal situation of different countries that are currently facing unrest and revolt. Protesters ask for better social and economic conditions, the respect of their civil rights and the implementation of political reforms. Leaders have often responded to the opposition with violence and repression. It remains to be seen if real changes can occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.