African nations can break dependence on food imports and produce enough to feed a growing population within a generation despite extra strains from climate change, a study said last Thursday. About 70 per cent of Africans are involved in agriculture but almost 250 million people, or a quarter of the population of the poorest continent, are undernourished. The number has risen by 100 million since 1990.

In the issue, you will find progress on the controversial purchase of radar for Tanzania and an exclusive media investigation linking Tanzania’s politicians to money laundering. There is also an article on corruption and poaching in Tanzania and an exposure of how some government agencies may be flouting the law to engage in questionable commercial dealings.

Reporters Without Borders has awarded its 2010 Press Freedom Prize to two symbols of courage, the jailed Iranian journalist Abdolreza Tajik and the embattled Somali news radio station Radio Shabelle. 'This year we are honouring a courageous journalist, Abdolreza Tajik, and a beleaguered radio station, Radio Shabelle,' Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. 'These laureates work into two countries, Iran and Somalia, where reporting the news is a constant battle.'

The Foreign Minister of Djibouti, in talks with the US Embassy, called President Issaias Afwerki of neighbouring Eritrea 'a lunatic'. He also revealed Eritrea opposes any real Somali peace talks. According to US Embassy wires leaked by Wikileaks, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in April 2008 widely distrusted the government of neighbouring Eritrea.

The man widely recognised as winner of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential poll has said incumbent Laurent Gbagbo must concede power to allow for talks. A spokesman for Alassane Ouattara said he did not oppose dialogue but no talks could take place until he was recognised as president by everyone. The African Union has suspended Ivory Coast while Mr Gbagbo stays in office.

Venance Konan

Malick Ndiaye

Amy Niang

The NamRights 2010 human rights report for Namibia notes that experience has 'strongly shown' that a systematic disregard for the democracy, human rights and good governance principles, rather than the absence of the law, constitutes 'the biggest root cause of the multitude of the interrelated, intertwined and interdependent civil, cultural, economic, environmental, political and social problems afflicting the Namibian people.' The report covers the period between 10 December 2009 and 10 December 2010. However, it is only an interim report deliberately released for the purposes of marking the 62nd Anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The Western African country of Sierra Leone is gradually emerging from a protracted civil war, which poses unique problems for mothers-to-be. In 2009, Amnesty International named the maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone a 'human rights emergency', which at 1/8 is one of the highest in the world. But recent changes in policy and support from NGOs like Life for African Mothers have increased the potential for markedly improving maternal and child health.

The International Organisation for Migration in South Africa has launched 'Spaces, Places & Faces...the Unseen Side of Human Trafficking' a virtual photo gallery containing photographs with accompanying narratives that capture the trafficking story in pictures. The gallery features true stories and pictures of four women who became victims of human trafficking in South African after being deceived with offers of a better life by their traffickers.

The build-up to the 29-30 November Africa-EU summit in Libya often felt like two continents perfecting their best laid plans. In the end, constant deviation from the script highlights why Europe-Africa relations require smaller, firmer steps rather than big, oversized strategic ambitions. The conference adopted a modest focus - investment, jobs creation and economic growth – but was dodged at every turn by assorted thorny issues, including Europe’s perceived economic bad-faith.

Thousands of people who fled a 24 November rebel attack in the northeastern Central African Republic (CAR) town of Birao, Vakaga Province, urgently need humanitarian assistance, says a UN official. 'The whole population, about 8,000, stayed a week in the bush, with no access to drinkable water, no protection from mosquitoes...' said Jean-Sébastien Munie, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in the CAR.

'GALZ deplores actions by the Zimbabwe Republic Police against Sexual Rights Centre, members of the LGBTI community and activists at a recent event organised by Musasa Project to mark 16 days of activism in Bulawayo. The uninformed and arbitrary decision to ask these members to leave the event
only serves to reinforce the bigotry and discrimination of sexual minorities at a platform where organisations such as these are working tirelessly to eradicate sexism and its effects.'

Algeria will launch a program of renewable energy development over the next 20 years, expected to increase its production of electricity from alternative sources such as solar or wind, Algerian Ennahar newspaper said on Monday. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Sunday ordered the government to present to the Council of Ministers in 2011, a 'genuine national development plan of new and renewable energy'.

When the name al-Qaeda is mentioned in the Maghreb, it is often connected to kidnapping, drug trafficking or the robbing of a bank. This link between organised crime and terrorism has become so strong that some experts now claim that rather than committing crimes to finance terrorism, al-Qaeda now uses terrorism as cover for their criminal activity.

Africa will be amongst the hardest hit regions of the world as the climate heats up, threatening the continent’s food security, experts agree. If global temperatures rise 2.0 degrees C, southern Africa will warm an additional 1.5 degrees to a 3.5-degree increase on average. Such temperatures could be reached as early as 2035.

Although we share a recognition that hunger, poverty, and climate change are inter-related through the medium of agricultural policies, we are writing to express our strong concerns that the Foundation’s approach to these issues—directly and through its Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) subsidiary—is unlikely to adequately address them and may well aggravate their underlying causes.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and humanitarian partners are scrambling to help over 3,000 African migrants stranded at the Yemeni border with Saudi Arabia, where 30 migrants have died in recent weeks. 'We are seeing a dramatic increase in migrants needing help,' IOM Senior Operations Officer Bill Lorenz said in a press release on 3 December. 'Over the past week, the number of migrants being referred to IOM has jumped to about 76 a day.'

The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed a new rapid test for tuberculosis, which it says could revolutionize the way the disease is tackled by providing an accurate diagnosis in about 100 minutes, compared to current tests that can take up to three months. 'This new test represents a major milestone for global TB diagnosis and care. It also represents new hope for the millions of people who are at the highest risk of TB and drug-resistant disease,' said Mario Raviglione, Director of WHO's Stop TB Department.

The illicit diamond trade in Zimbabwe has led to the murder of thousands, enriched those close to President Robert Mugabe and been financed in part by the central bank, according to US documents on WikiLeaks. In the classified documents that date from before the unity government came to power, US diplomats cite a well established British mining executive as saying those close to Mugabe, including his wife, 'have been extracting tremendous profits' from the Chiadzwa mine in the eastern part of the country.

US Army Africa Commander Major General David R. Hogg has praised the 'leading' role of Algeria in fighting terrorism in the Sahel region. Speaking at a 6 December press conference after his two-day visit to the country, the US military official lauded the 'impressive progress' that has been made. 'AFRICOM and the Algerian armed forces are co-operating, and that is the objective of the visit. We are here to discuss what we can learn from one another,' Hogg emphasised.