The Pan African Parliament (PAP), now in its third five-year term in Midrand near Johannesburg, is urging the continent's leaders to start taking it seriously by giving it the powers to do the real work of legislation and oversight that it was created to do. The continental institution, created as part of the African Rennaisance vision, has been little more than a talk shop since its inception in 2004.

Ghana’s former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, was on Saturday endorsed as the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP) as she continued pushing her ambition to lead the West African state where she was first lady for 19 years. Her breakaway party, formed in May following her humiliating defeat by the late President John Evans Atta Mills at the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) primaries last year, endorsed her by popular acclamation at its maiden national delegates’ congress Kumasi, central Ghana.

Loud explosions and gunfire have rocked Nigeria's northern city of Maiduguri, which has seen growing violence by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Details are unclear, but reports said at least 10 people had been killed, including several soldiers. A primary school and a radio tower were reportedly set ablaze.

Developed by the GBV Prevention Network in collaboration with over 100 Network members, 'In Her Shoes' is an interactive, educational tool that raises awareness about the day-to-day reality for women experiencing violence and encourages activism among service providers and community members. By 'walking in the shoes' of survivors, participants gain powerful insight into the many obstacles women face as a result of violence. Click on the URL provided to download in English or Swahili or to find out more.

The correctional services department owes about R1.3-billion in damages to prisoners and former inmates for bodily injury and rape while in prison. A recent report by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (Jics) – the government-appointed oversight body – identified R71-million in wasteful expenditure and R215-million in irregular expenditure. There also appears to be confusion over how many prisons exist in South Africa. According to the department's annual report, there are 243 correctional centres, but according to the report there are 236. The department has not explained the discrepancy.

Kenya is seeing a rapid rise in the number of mobile phone apps built by local designers - and both farmers and cash-strapped councils are reaping the benefits. In Nairobi, 'tech-incubators' are springing up, places designed to give young IT entrepreneurs the space - and sometimes a bit of cash - to develop their ideas.

The UN Security Council has approved a resolution that presses West African nations to speed up preparations for an international military intervention aimed at reconquering northern Mali. The text unanimously approved by the council also urges authorities in Bamako and representatives of 'Malian rebel groups' controlling the north to 'engage, as soon as possible, in a credible negotiation process'.

Many Sierra Leonean women who are unable to repay small debts end up in prison for want of decent legal representation after their creditors report them to the police, meaning that civil disputes turn into criminal cases. An estimated 10 percent of all charges issued by the Sierra Leonean police involve the failure to repay small debts. The criminalization of debt upsets the livelihoods of the accused who are mostly petty traders. Their children at times are forced to live with them in detention and their incarceration often breaks up families and deepens poverty, said Advocaid, a Sierra Leonean civil society group helping women and children offenders.

South African police have arrested 90 people after a protest at a mine turned violen, officials say. The miners were from the Gold Fields KDC Kloof mine in Westonaria, about 45km west of Johannesburg. More than 5,000 workers reportedly staged a sit-in there to demand better pay.

Blog Africa is a Country has a post about the furore caused when one of Sweden’s most prestigious national dailies blew up an article on its front page about cultural director at Stockholm Culture House Berhang Miri (a Swede of Iranian descent) reshelving Hergé’s Tintin books because of their perceived colonial taint, generating heated press and internet debate. The blog post is an interview with Nathan Hamelberg, member of The Betweenship group (which probes racist structures from a young, mixed-heritage perspective), to explain the discussion and its wider implications in Swedish society.

The last part of Africa to be decolonised, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, remains one of the most peaceful. Yet, despite comprehensive protocols and agreements, SADC faces acute challenges characterised by tensions between member states, resource deficits, citizens’ exclusion, social discontent and limited internal and external coordination. Regional security cooperation requires adept infrastructures underwritten by political commitment; but the organisation’s Secretariat appears powerless to ensure policy implementation, says this International Crisis Group report.

Countries where people lack adequate access to land rights, water and energy - are among the worst performers in the annual Global Hunger Index (GHI). 'We find there is a definite correlation between these resources and food insecurity,' said Claudia Ringler, a co-author of this year’s GHI study, which was produced jointly by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the NGOs Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.

Ghana says it takes strong exception to the contents of the purported United Nations Group of Experts report on Cote d’Ivoire, which was prematurely leaked to the media. The state-owned Graphic on Saturday quoted a statement signed by Mr Chris Kpodo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as saying it was grossly abnormal for such a report to appear in the public domain before it was received by the Security Council Sanctions Committee, which was scheduled to meet to receive the report on 12 October. 'The Government of Ghana, therefore, takes strong exception to the contents and leakage as it sought to give credence to repeated allegations that Ghana is being used as a base by Ivorian refugees and exiles to destabilise the Ivorian Government.'

Over 56 million young people in sub-Saharan Africa have not completed primary school and lack basic skills for employment, according to a report. These young people are aged between 15 and 24. The African leg of the UN Global Monitoring Report on Education was released by the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in Soweto.

The Civil Society Associations Gambia (CSAG) has filed an application against the government at the ECOWAS Court of Justice regarding the West African country’s 38 death row inmates at Mile 2 Central Prisons. Banka Manneh, chairman of the CSAG, made the announcement in a statement released by the West African bloc ECOWAS on Monday in the Nigerian capital Abuja. The group accused the Gambian government of violating the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Customary International law.

A Sunday Times report has said that government planned to pump partially treated acid mine drainage (AMD) into the Vaal River. Earlier, the weekly reported that underground pumps would be used to pipe water from the central basin - underneath Johannesburg - into a treatment plant where it would be partially cleaned, or neutralised. This water would then be released into the Vaal, diluted with clean water from the Lesotho Highlands Project to minimise the harmful impact.

Gunmen have killed at least 20 people in a dawn attack in a remote village prone to bandit attacks, in northern Nigeria's Kaduna State, reports say. Residents of Dogo Dawa said the attackers stormed the village, shooting and stabbing anyone in sight. Many of those targeted were worshippers leaving a mosque.

Egyptian doctors, who have been waging a partial strike since 1 October, are now ratcheting up pressure on Egypt's health ministry by threatening to submit their resignations en masse. According to the strike's general committee, at least 15,000 doctors' resignations will be tendered within coming days if their demands go unmet.

In Lakes State more than 10 children are admitted to hospital every month with acute malnutrition. John Kennedy, a nurse working in the children’s ward in Rumbek State Hospital, explained that most children admitted were severely malnourished. He said that July, August and September are the worst months for food shortages in the state.

King Mswati III of Swaziland is refusing to recognise the vote of no-confidence in his government, an international news agency has revealed for the first time. He is said to be ‘extremely upset’ by the vote and is refusing to meet with the Speaker of the House of Assembly on the issue. The crisis began on 3 October 2012 when the House of Assembly passed a vote of no-confidence in the Swazi government by a majority greater than three-fifths. According to the constitution when this happens the king must sack the cabinet.