The national executive council of the MDC has resolved that SADC should be called in to mediate in the long running stalemate between parties in the Global Political Agreement. Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said his party had evaluated the political landscape currently prevailing in the country and found out ‘things were going backwards instead of forward.’

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has accused leaders from across Kenya's political divide and businessmen over their role in the post-election violence. Details of Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s submission to the Pre-Trial Chamber show how the suspects planned and executed what he refers to as a “criminal policy” against civilians.

The UN has begun talks with Democratic Republic of Congo on withdrawing its peacekeeping mission - the biggest UN operation in the world. UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said his officials would take a month to assess how the pullout of 20,500 personnel could be carried out.

Fifty Congolese human rights and civil society organizations, along with Human Rights Watch, have lodged a formal complaint against Colonel Innocent Zimurinda, a senior army officer based in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

After the Democratic Republic of Congo cancelled an IFC backed mining contract over disputed payments, the World Bank arm has declared that it will not begin new projects in the country until the dispute is resolved. The IFC is currently active in nine projects in Congo with a commitment of $104.6 million.

Following a request for additional information from the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this month, its Prosecutor has named the 20 people he says are most responsible for the deadly post-election ethnic violence which swept Kenya in December 2007 and January 2008.

A dispute could break out between Ghana and neighbouring Ivory Coast, if immediate steps are not taken to enter into appropriate negotiations to redefine the international boundary between the two nations. Ghana's Western neighbor Ivory Coast is reportedly laying claims to portions of the huge oil wealth in the deep waters of the Western Region of Ghana.

In the context of its ongoing work on new trade and development partners in Africa, the Development Centre hosted a presentation and debate of Asia/Africa expert Deborah Brautigam’s new book The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. Professor Brautigam began by explaining away the greatest myths surrounding China’s engagement in Africa and ended with a summary of the different approaches to development held by China and traditional donors to the region.

The University of Sussex Students’ Union has called for global resistance to the United States' plans to establish and consolidate AFRICOM on the African continent.

Any popular movement that is serious about building the power of the poor and about demanding the full recognition of the equal humanity of the poor will face many challenges and tests, write Abahlali baseMjondolo: 'We have confronted and passed many challenges and tests since 2005. The attack on our movement in Kennedy Road has been the greatest test that we have faced so far. But we have passed it.'

The Conflict, Security and Development Group (CSDG) at King’s College London together with the Africa Leadership Centre (ALC), is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women for 2010/2011. These Fellowships are intellectual and financial awards for personal, professional and academic achievements, as well as the recognition of future potential.

The 45-member Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), presiding over one of the largest gatherings of women at the United Nations, listened Monday to dozens of speakers spelling out the successes and failures of gender empowerment worldwide.

This is a plea to MPs to sign EDM number 960 Chagos Islands, as below as soon as possible, since Jeremy Corbyn has secured a debate on Chagos in Parliament on Wednesday 10 March:
That this House believes that the interests of the Chagossian people and of Mauritius must be fully protected in the proposed Marine Protected Area; urges the Government to withdraw its case from the European Court of Human Rights and to settle out of court, as already suggested by the Court; and requests the Prime Minister to engage with Mauritius and the Chagossians, before the general election, in order to initiate discussion on an overall settlement of the issues, including timetable for eventual transfer of sovereignty of the Outer Islands to Mauritius and provision for a limited settlement on the Outer Islands.

Every day, around the world, people are working hard to make a difference in cardiovascular health. The most effective work is often not by big organizations or government agencies, but by local individuals working in community programs. The Louise Lown Heart Hero Award was created to recognize individuals and programs for their innovative, preventive approaches to promoting cardiovascular health in low-resource settings.

Nigeria's Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has barred ministers from making public comments as the country's leadership crisis continues. The order was sequel to stinging comments by Minister of Information and Communication, Dora Akunyili, on the secrecy surrounding the lingering ill-health of President Umaru Yar'Adua and the clandestine manner in which he was ferried to Nigeria last week, after spending 93 days in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Gambian authorities had carried out satisfactory economic policies that have contributed to robust economic growth and low inflation. But it warned that Gambia still remained at high risk of debt distress even after extensive debt relief.

Sitting in my office in Johannesburg reading the daily newspaper published for the Beijing+15 Review at the Conference on the Status of Women in New York, I feel a sense of discomfort, a sense of a world going wrong. First, I read the article ‘Playing it safe or losing ground?’ where we find out that the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, is not present at the meeting. Second, the governments' have agreed to come out with a Declaration after the Review, not an outcomes document.

In accordance with its vision of “promoting credible elections and democratic governance in Africa”, EISA plans to deploy a 3 member pre election assessment mission to the Central African Republic (CAR). This forms part of EISA’s election related activities in the CAR which will include the deployment of a continental observer mission to the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections scheduled for April 2010.

Zimbabwean activist Tichaona Masiyambiri narrowly escaped death with the help of local police, after a gang of armed youths attacked him following his address to villagers as part of a civic education programme at Nhakiwa Shopping centre in Uzumba.

Building on last year’s successful launch of PLURAL+, a youth video festival on migration, diversity and social inclusion, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) again invite the worlds youth to submit dynamic and forward-thinking videos focusing on these issues.