Some cried. Some were confused. They looked on in disbelief as a local female surgeon tried in vain thrice, probably using a very blunt knife, to cut off a girl’s clitoris. Once cut, the girl was pushed aside. Then seven other girls were circumcised. The eight are part of over 120 girls who have been mutilated in Sebei region since the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) season kicked off in Sebei in eastern Uganda. The government passed a law prohibiting FGM in December 2009 but nobody in the FGM areas seems to care.

The United States and its allies should give much more attention - and resources - to ensuring that weak West African governments along the oil- and gas-rich Gulf of Guinea can protect their territory and coastal regions from terrorists, drug and human traffickers, and other threats, according to new report by an influential think tank released here this week. The 80-page report, published by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, warns that current economic and political conditions, as well as regional demographic trends are 'creating a fertile environment where illicit groups including acolytes of radical Islam can readily win new adherents'.

Egypt does not want to see a divided Sudan after the 9 January 2011 referendum, fearing an independent South will threaten its stranglehold on the River Nile waters, a leaked US embassy cable has revealed. In the cables published by online whistleblower WikiLeaks, Egypt had even asked the US government to help postpone the referendum by four to six years. The position is radically divergent from that of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) which on behalf of African Union has been pushing the Sudan parties to adhere to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and hold the referendum next year as scheduled.

Mauritanian newspapers this week devoted a large part of their analysis and comments to President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's offer of dialogue to the opposition during the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. In its Wednesday 1 December edition, 'Le Quotidien de Nouakchott' asked if the Coordination of Democratic Opposition (COD), which brings together nine political parties, has swallowed the precondition of the points included in the Dakar agreement. The Dakar agreement led to the holding of the 18 July, 2009 presidential election, which helped the country return to the rule of law after the 6 August, 2008 coup.

As online whistleblower WikiLeaks started publishing hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. embassy cables this week, from unflattering assessments of world leaders to secret plans to topple governments, here's what three IFEX members - ARTICLE 19, Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - had to say. 'We're more or less satisfied with WikiLeaks' evolution,' the head of RSF, Jean-Francois Julliard, told AFP. 'We like this partnership with the newspapers and this work to put things in context, verify the information and draw lessons from it,' he said. ARTICLE 19 reiterated its call for governments to improve the public's access to information, and only limit access if governments can demonstrate it would cause a specific and articulated harm.

Compelling new evidence suggests the Nigerian military killed four Ogoni elders whose murders led to the execution of the playwright and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995. The evidence also reveals that the notorious military commander Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Okuntimo, whose troops were implicated in murder and rape, was in the pay of Shell at the time of the killings and was driven around in a Shell vehicle.

The New Age newspaper has finally hit the streets, with editor Henry Jeffreys launching into whether it was an African National Congress (ANC) mouthpiece. 'Contrary to popular [mainly the media] opinion - we are not The New Agent,' read a strapline preceding his maiden editorial.

Award-winning South African author Annelie Botes recently revealed in an interview with the Rapport newspaper that she dislikes and fears black South Africans. Her comments have sparked outrage and debate. Commentaries like 'Hands off Annelie Botes' by Andile Mngxitama (http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-01-hands-off-anneli-botes) and 'Hiding in a Cave' by Pierre De Vos (http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/hiding-in-a-cave/) have led to a discussion about race and racism in the country.

African democracy institute Idasa, with the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) have conducted research on Zimbabwean women's views on transitional justice, looking at how women in that country have been affected by the elections, the inclusive government, transitional justice mechanisms and law enforcement, amongst other topics. The research was based on a survey of more than 2,000 woman, as well as discussion groups on the research finding.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is moving to support its member countries to tap into benefits from the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) framework. Destruction of forests both contributes to carbon emissions and deprives the planet of an important mechanism to soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming.

In the aftermath of the referendum and simultaneous failed putsch, a veritable waltzes of arrestations and investigations are shedding a sad shadow on the island, says this Global Voices post. The referendum lowers the presidential age to 35 years old (from 40 years old), allows Andry Rajoelina (now 36 years old) to participate in presidential elections, to stay in power indefinitely during the transitional period, however long that period becomes.

No one but the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) seems to dispute the fact that there was massive fraud during the first round of the parliamentary elections on 28 November. Many journalists were physically prevented from covering the widespread irregularities. Such incidents are unfortunately expected to recur during the second round on 5 December. Reporters Without Borders has drawn up a non-exhaustive list of cases of abusive behaviour towards journalists by NDP members and supporters with the complicity of the police on 28 November.

Cameroonian journalists Robert Mintya and Serge Sabouang were released conditionally on 24 November on the order of President Paul Biya, report Journaliste en danger (JED), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). They had been in prison since March 2010.

With the climate world focused for the next two weeks on a summit in the Mexican city of Cancun, various players are questioning the role of the UN's climate change negotiations, writes Rehana Dada.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is supposed to create global governance for a global resource, putting into place international legislation that would prevent a human-caused planetary catastrophe by reducing and controlling greenhouse gas pollution. Hopes have already been dismissed that the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cancun will produce a binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Africa’s lead negotiator, Ethiopian Premier Meles Zenawi, said Cancun would be a 'total flop'.

The 31 December deadline for Zimbabwean immigrants to apply for the necessary permits to allow them to stay in the country will not be extended, Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has said. Zimbabweans in South Africa who attempted to register for business, study or work permits after the deadline would not be processed, she said, speaking in Pretoria after meeting representatives of the Zimbabwe Stakeholder Forum.

The process of statement taking from security chiefs has been suspended, meaning the Kenya chaos case will now be filed without their testimony. Judge Kalpana Rawal put the process on hold Tuesday to await the outcome of an application filed by the security bosses' lawyers at The Hague. The lawyers want assurances from the ICC that any evidence provided by their clients will not be used against them as the court's prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo puts together his case on post election violence.

Senegal is in talks with Saudi Arabia to lease farmland to grow food of an area nearly four times the size of Manhattan, an official in Senegal involved in the deal told Reuters. Like other wealthy Gulf states Saudi Arabia has been buying farmland in Asia and Africa to secure food supplies after inflation had nearly doubled the price of food in 2008.

Furious demonstrations continued across Haiti last Wednesday following the 28 November highly contested election in which thousands found themselves unable to vote. Rock-throwing and road-barricading protests were reported in Les Cayes, Hinche, Petit Goave and Archaie. On Tuesday, demonstrators clashed with United Nations peacekeeping troops in St. Marc and Gonaives. The UN mission issued several alerts to its personnel restricting movement.

Bloggers have reacted to documents published by WikiLeaks (Cablegate) that disclosed classified communication between the US State department and its embassies worldwide. The documents make reference to African countries and its leaders. In this Global Voices post, the views of bloggers are summarised, but there are also lists of stories related to Africa and relevant WikiLeaks documents.

The Guinea Supreme Court last Thursday confirmed Alpha Conde, leader of the Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG), winner of the 7 November presidential run-off vote in the country. The 72-year-old Conde therefore becomes the fifth president of the Republic of Guinea, following the Supreme Court announcement which barely beat the Thursday midnight dateline set for the release of the results.