Malawi will devalue its currency, the kwacha, by 40 per cent to unlock blocked aid by meeting conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, President Joyce Banda said. The government has resumed relations with the UK and held talks with the IMF, World Bank and U.S. after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika, the leader who clashed with western donors, Banda said. She was sworn-in as president of the southern African nation this month after Mutharika died of a heart attack on April 5.

Madagascan security forces Saturday fired tear-gas to disperse a crowd of opposition supporters who attempted to gather in the capital Antananarivo. The meeting had been organised by deposed President Marc Ravalomanana allies to discuss development issues. About three people were arrested and about forty injured during the fracas.

Togolese students arrested on 28 March and 3 April, following demonstrations at the University of Kara, have been released. Students Agnité Massama, Bitsioudi Birénam and Sidiba Mohamed who were arrested on 28 March at the University of Kara, have been released. They are members of the National Union of Pupils and Students of Togo (Union nationale des élèves et étudiants du Togo). A fourth student, Alinki M’claw, was arrested on 3 April and was also released. They had been charged with 'incitement to revolt' (incitation à la révolte) after they organized a general assembly to discuss the government's failure to honour its promise to grant benefits to support students, and scholarships on the basis of merit.

Freedom and democracy in post-apartheid South Africa has meant white minority rule being replaced by rich minority rule.

Algeria is a key player in the Sahel, perhaps now more than ever. The crises in Libya and Mali will likely bolster the geopolitical rent that has benefited the Algerian regime since 11 September 2001.

A critical analysis of different ‘solutions’ to improve the situation for rural women in Africa within the context of an iniquitous global food system.

While a large-majority boycott of the polls would no doubt be a strong symbol of the regime’s illegitimacy, it is not clear how this would add to what is felt by most within Algeria already.

‘Like the formation of the Black Consciousness Movement did in the 1970s, we need to unite in our own space, define our own struggle and politics, and shake the barricades of neo-liberalism.’

Thousands of people took to Cairo's Tahrir Square 20 April to protest against the handling of the nation's transition period by the ruling military council following the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak. The demonstrators called for a quick exit of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and that officials from the ousted president's government be barred from May's upcoming presidential election.

Citizen Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU), Citizens’ Manifesto Coordination Office, Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP) and Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), said the debate to restore term limits should not be partisan because it affects the whole country. 'It is unfortunate that the NRM party organs are making an attempt to trivialise an issue of national importance to a partisan conversation. All Ugandans who have suffered at the hands of political instability and uncertainty know that the issue of presidential term limits is colourless.'

African women are dismayed at the fact that this racist project which was supposed to bring awareness of the very painful and complex issue of genital cutting has ironically had the completely opposite effect.

King Mswati III of Swaziland has received a luxury jet as a gift from 'anonymous sponsors', a government spokesperson has confirmed to the BBC. The DC-9 twin-engine aircraft is for the use of the king and his 13 wives, Percy Simelane said. Swazi's banned opposition party says taxpayer money must have been used to buy it, but Mr Simelane denies this.

A Nigerian pressure group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate an alleged US$6 billion fuel subsidy loot in the West African country. It said in its petition to Luis Moreno Ocampo, ICC Prosecutor, that the ICC should examine and investigate whether 'the widespread and systematic corruption and theft of over US$6 billion in the fuel subsidy scheme over a period of three years and its devastating effects on millions of Nigerians amount to inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health as provided by Article 7 of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court'.

Statement from Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) in response to Pambazuka News article titled ‘As a Ugandan citizen, I demand justice or death’

Elizabeth Michael, better known in the Tanzanian film industry as Lulu, is a prime suspect in the death of famous actor Steven Kanumba early this month. The 17-year-old has been charged and will appear in court on May 7.

Sign the civil society statement and join the campaign to stop UN corporate capture!

The very first plank of the Kenyan people’s agenda should be a departure from elite pacting: the noxious, personality-driven “succession” political maneuvering.

The sickening signs of Kim’s retreat in the face of power were unmistakeable beginning in early April, just after his nomination was announced by Obama.

cc W E Ccc WikimediaSomalia and Ethiopia’s expected entry into the East African Community will significantly transform the region’s geopolitical security architecture.

Safety nets - programs that invest in poor people and help them enhance their livelihoods and productivity by transferring resources to poor households - have been on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa. These programs either transfer money directly to vulnerable households, or offer labor-intensive public works jobs such as building rural roads to adults who need temporary employment during the agricultural lean season. World Bank analysis shows that over the past 10 years, 120 cash transfer programs have been rolled out in Africa.