This study by Diana E. H. Russell and Roberta A. Harmes (Eds) finds that the lethal impact of AIDS on many women and girls must be recognised as a form of mass femicide that is devastating women throughout the world. These femicides are occurring as a result of the overlap of four gender-related problems: AIDS, male sexism and domination, genital mutilation, and rape.

Malawi’s Human Rights Commission has accused President Bingu wa Mutharika of inciting violence against critics that has led to petrol bomb attacks on the properties of two leading activists. Mutharika riled activists when he threatened attacks against his opponents who staged an unprecedented protest against his government in July.

In a post on the Huffington Post Union of Bloggers, the writer exerts that the 'people’s revolt' against another tyrant is unquestionably exciting, and the demise (political and/or otherwise) of Muammar Qaddafi will be widely hailed. But below the surface something else is going on, and it concerns not the Libyan people, but an elite. In reality, a narrowly-based Libyan elite is being supplanted by a much older, more enduring one of an international variety.'

Authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland are obstructing independent journalists from covering government politics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Four reporters have been harassed and arrested while on assignment since early September.

The South African Civil Society Information Service points to two reports that find that whites dominate management positions in South Africa and that white people continue to be appointed and promoted in empowering positions in the workplace while blacks are constantly overlooked. The 11th CEE Report further argues that employers are more likely to employ white females and Indians from the designated groups 'when compared to the African and Coloured population groups at nearly all occupational levels.'

Some 20 political parties and social movements from both sides of the Green Line issued an historic declaration in support of the social protests currently rocking Israel and their necessary linkage to the struggle against Israel’s occupation and colonial policies.

Deforestation worsens famine in Africa, but drylands restoration could help. Millions of people across the Horn of Africa are suffering under a crippling regional drought and tens of thousands have died during the accompanying famine. The best hope in the short-term is food aid and logistical support, but in the longer term, dryland reforestation efforts may help improve food security, argues a new report from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which links human-caused land degradation, including deforestation, to intensified drought.

Kenya's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife has come up with a new policy that will see the ministry take responsibility in wildlife conservation, compensation of wildlife related damages on crops, properties, death and injuries.

The latest release of leaked diplomatic cables by the whistle-blowing website, Wikileaks has revealed some persons around the presidency have tried to use their influence to manipulate control of the country's oil resources for their personal gain.

Africa Monitor reports (includes video) that higher global food prices are likely to spell trouble for aid organisations working to relieve famine in the Horn of Africa. Food prices are on the rise again, according to a new report issued last week by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) was granted government approval in July to officially register congregations throughout the country. Algerian Christians view the decision as a positive step toward repealing a law that restricts Christian worship.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is making an urgent appeal to warring parties in southern Libya to respect international humanitarian law and ensure no harm comes to the more than 1, 200 migrants seeking refuge at an IOM-established migrant transit centre in the town of Sebha while it works out how best to evacuate them, APA learns in a statement issued in Nairobi.

A ‘family’ campaign in Uganda is urging lawmakers to pass the notorious anti-homosexuality bill. The Family Life Network and Uganda Coalition for Moral Values says the government should do the 'right' thing, rather than bow to international pressure.

China’s deepening engagement with Africa is receiving increased attention from the global media, the public and private sectors and academic research. This should not however overshadow the activities of other emerging powers in Africa, including India, Brazil and the Gulf states. This call therefore seeks to develop African perspectives in the discourse surrounding the engagement between Africa and these emerging powers. Deadline for receiving applications: 12 October 2011.

For further details please download information .

Guest blogger, Ahmed Sule, shows that attacks on both African immigrants and black Libyans (part of the legacy of 19th Century slave trade) have largely remained on the periphery of mainstream media. The political establishment, supporting the rebels, have done even less to acknowledge these atrocities that tarnish the rebels’ pursuit of democracy.

The constitution-making process in Zimbabwe is being derailed by the existence of the unjustified sanctions imposed on the country by Britain the U.S. and the European Union, a senior Zanu-PF official has said.

While ICT continues to advance in western and Asian countries, African countries still experience a lag in its implementation, and that continues to widen the digital and knowledge divides. A study by Kiptalam et.al observed that access to ICT facilities is a major challenge facing most African countries, with a ratio of one computer to 150 students against the ratio of 1:15 students in the developed countries.

This past June, the National Popular Assembly (ANP) of Guinea-Bissau approved a law prohibiting female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) nationwide. The controversial law had been on the table for discussion for 16 years, before it was ultimately approved by 64 votes in favour to 1 vote against.

In a blog post, Peter Kenworthy explores how many African leaders in particular see homosexuality as 'un-natural' and 'un-African' and do not believe that homosexuals should have any rights at all. Homophobia is therefore not only illegal and punishable in many African countries, but also legitimised by the leaders of these countries, and African homosexuals are frequently assaulted, expelled from their jobs, or chased from their homes. The cultural claims that homosexuality is alien to Africa are rarely if ever substantiated, however, and homophobic laws and opinions could alternatively be seen as colonial imports based on European 18th or 19th century Puritanism.

While the rising economic involvement of China in Africa has drawn wide attention in recent years, there has been significantly less attention to the impact of the Chinese model in thinking about development strategies in Africa. A new joint report from the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC) and the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, made up of the developed countries, is an index of the growing impact of such reflection. The report excludes issues on which significant disagreement would be likely, such as the roles of democratic institutions and civil society.