The National Press Council (CNP), the statutory print regulatory body, on 7 September 2012 imposed a ban on six publications of privately-owned Notre Voie, a pro-Gbagbo daily over a publication. In a communiqué issued, the regulatory body rebuked the newspaper for publishing photographs of personalities of the fallen regime and with the caption 'Minister' thereby creating the impression of 'the existence of two governments in Cote d’Ivoire'.

Lack of adherence to the full course of Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) treatment is threatening the effectiveness of the drug recommended as first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in countries where the disease is endemic, according to recent studies. In Siaya district of western Kenya, where malaria is particularly prevalent (38 per cent incidence in 2010), a study revealed that only 47 per cent of participants reported completing the given doses.

Ethiopian authorities blocked the publication of a prominent independent newspaper over the weekend in connection with its stories on the health of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, according to local journalists. The state-run printing company Barhanena Selam told the weekly Feteh early Sunday morning that the government had ordered that week’s edition of the paper, about 30,000 copies, to be blocked on grounds of inciting national insecurity and endangering the government and the public, local journalists said.

Disparities on land access are one of the major causes for social and gender inequalities in rural areas. Gender differentiated rights to land have implications on rural food security and nutrition as well as on the wellbeing of rural families and individuals. This online database from the Food and Agricultural Organisation explores the issue.

Dioncounda Traore, interim president of Mali, has moved to stifle Cheick Modibo Diarra, his prime minister, by announcing the creation of new bodies tasked with ending the ongoing crisis in the west African nation. In an address delivered on television on Sunday, Traore announced he would be in charge of a High Council of State, lead talks for a unity government himself and create a committee to negotiate with the fighters who currently control the north of the country.

Threats and violence against women journalists are on the rise in many regions of the world. In their work exposing injustices and bearing witness to human rights violations, women journalists are women human rights defenders and as such are in need of better security and protection mechanisms.

Conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where M23 rebels and other armed groups are fighting government forces, is dangerously undermining efforts to combat a cholera outbreak. There has been 'a sharp increase in the number of cholera cases in the armed conflict area of North Kivu' Province, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. Between 11 June and 1 July some 368 new cases were reported.

Nigeria's main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on Sunday asked the Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to resign immediately, after his son's indictment in connection with the US$6 billion fuel subsidy scam, being described as one of the biggest corruption cases in Nigeria's history.

Irresponsible transfers of weaponry, munitions, armaments and related equipment across borders have resulted in the loss of millions of lives and livelihoods and the violation of fundamental human rights. In particular, the widespread availability of small arms and light weapons increases the risk to both men and women’s security, and impedes their enjoyment of their civil, political, social and economic rights in different ways. There is a gender dimension to the trade whereby women are disproportionately affected by armed gender-based violence.

Thousands of people have been left homeless in the Nigerian city of Lagos after a recent government-led eviction of an almost 200-year old shantytown. During last week's eviction of the Makoko slum, home to about 100,000 people, residents were given only 72 hours to evacuate before men in speedboats were sent to destroy their houses.

Foreign companies operating in Africa siphon US$ 1.5 trillion illicitly every year from Africa in the form of hard currency, leading to high inflation and deepening income gaps, a report by an African Union-backed think-tank said Friday. The report by the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial flows from Africa, a group created by the African finance ministers in 2011, under the leadership of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said the funds were wired back to rich states, draining hard currency reserves in Africa.

This report by the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK) examines the policy and practice of Kenya’s refugee protection framework. Although much has been written on the situation in the Dadaab camps, there has been no holistic examination of the legal and policy backdrop to refugee protection in Kenya. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to establish the range of rights to which refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya are entitled under national law (as well as international and regional legal frameworks), and to identify and assess the current implementation gaps.

Contributors from the African continent and other developing countries are invited to write on the topic above – addressing the theme of Gender and - from either a research or an activism perspective. Abstracts and contributions must be written in English and in a style accessible to a wide audience. Please submit abstracts to [email][email protected]

Zambia must engage the public and other stakeholders before deciding whether to start accepting Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or not, the country’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has said. NBA registrar Alfred Sumani said that the Zambian public and stakeholders need to be given balanced information on the merits and demerits of accepting GMOs into the country.

Recent weeks have seen demonstrators, for the most part students, take to the streets of Khartoum - and to a lesser extent other Sudanese cities - to protest against the rising cost of living and call for an end to the 23-year rule of President Omar al-Bashir. This IRIN Africa post is a brief overview of anti-government forces which, despite some alliances, lack strong cohesion or coordination among their various elements.

Led by Community Media For Development Productions, Youth Fit Africa is a new online magazine featuring sport, fitness, and health information for youth, by youth. The magazine was launched with a two-day basketball tournament and fitness event with ten under-19 clubs; winning teams received a full team kit sponsored by Swoosh, and there were sponsored prizes and giveaways courtesy of NBA Africa, PVM Energy Products, and Umoja. YFA includes feature stories, youth profiles, health and fitness tips, events, and opportunities.

The new government of Senegal has cancelled the licences of 29 foreign fishing trawlers, demanding that they offload their catches in the capital Dakar before leaving the west African country's territorial waters. The dramatic move on Tuesday by fisheries minister Pape Diouf follows growing resentment at overfishing and alleged corruption of the previous government's licencing system. It is expected to defuse threats by Senegal's 52,000 small-scale inshore fishermen to take direct action against the owners of foreign trawlers.

More than 100 people in the Zimbabwean capital Harare and Chitungwiza, a dormitory town 35km southeast of the city, have contracted typhoid this month, and the dilapidated water and sanitation systems are again being blamed for another round of water-borne diseases. According to health officials cited in the local media, 83 cases of typhoid have been confirmed in Chitungwiza and a further 28 in Harare, of which 25 were linked to a supermarket in the Avenues area of the city centre.

The Pentagon is seeking to send hand-launched drones to Kenya as part of a $40 million-plus military aid package designed to help four African countries fight al Qaeda and al Shabaab militants, notably in Somalia, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kenya would get eight 'Raven' unmanned aerial systems - an unarmed drone that can be use to identify targets for strikes by ground forces or other aircraft.

Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo has introduced his model skirt that is just two inches below the knee in a bid to quell the storm over the miniskirt row. Mutula’s new move unveils a skirt length which appears long enough to sooth the anger of clerics and conservatives, and short enough to appease the teenagers. He chose Rwathia Girls Seconday School to unveil the official skirt length recommended by his ministry. Mutula said that the Rwathia administration erred in imposing changes without consulting students, and that is why he supported the students. The Rwathia students who went on strike three weeks ago had complained that their new purple skirts were too long, ugly and not meant for their age.