The United Nations and regional governments are deploying additional soldiers to Côte d'Ivoire's border area with Liberia after deadly attacks on villages in the densely forested West African region, a military official said.

Leading Malawi civil rights groups plan a new round of protests against President Bingu wa Mutharika, who received international condemnation after his forces killed 20 people when crushing anti-government rallies in July.

A record number of African countries are set to hold elections throughout 2011. This article analyses the political and internal situation of different countries that are currently facing unrest and revolt. Protesters ask for better social and economic conditions, the respect of their civil rights and the implementation of political reforms. Leaders have often responded to the opposition with violence and repression. It remains to be seen if real changes can occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Kenyan government is pushing fish farming to provide an alternative to small farmers who are scrabbling to eke out a living from poor soil.

It is not uncommon for elderly people on the streets of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (CRD), to be mistreated by their families. Unable to look after themselves due to a lack of income, most elderly people live with their children, where they encounter various forms of abuse, including at times, accusations of witchcraft.

Oracle Corp. is being investigated by US authorities on whether the business software maker violated federal anti-bribery laws, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Statistics show that chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes are on the rise in developing nations. A number of these nations are still battling infectious diseases such as HIV. Having to deal with both infectious and chronic diseases puts even more pressure on health systems that are already struggling to cope. Zimbabwe’s brain drain of medical professionals has further compounded this situation due to the shortage of nurses, doctors and specialists.

New research accuses the World Bank Group's policies of facilitating land grabs in Africa and favouring the interests of financial markets over food security and environmental protection.

Discover the ins and outs of Sodom and Gomorrah slum in this documentary. Close to 80,000 people live in Sodom and Gomorrah, a slum on the edge of the polluted Korle Lagoon. The processing of electronic waste near the lagoon leaches toxic substances like lead into the soil. The place sprang up in the 1980s when thousands of people fleeing bloody ethnic clashes between the Kokomba and Nanumba in the north poured into the capital.

The Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative sent an appeal to the AU Peace and Security Council in January expressing concerns about the possible treatment of Southerners in the North following the secession of South Sudan. Since South Sudan became independent in July, the government of Sudan has adopted new legislation on nationality which may strip a large number of individuals of Sudanese nationality and create problems for southerners trying to regularise their stay in the north.

Cameroon’s long-time president, Paul Biya, stands a good chance of re-election this October against what analysts say is a weak and divided opposition. Election officials in Cameroon are reviewing applications from 51 presidential candidates, including Biya, who filed his papers just before the deadline.

As people around the world celebrate the fall of repressive dictatorships at the hands of popular uprisings in North Africa, Tristan Gevers observes that even in the 'free world', the deepest and darkest forms of oppression remain. How can we attain ‘true humanity’?

As the Ivorian government works on security, reconciliation and economic recovery in the country, the issue of the youth is crucial. Myriam Wedraogo looks at the roles youths played in the post-election crisis and explores windows of opportunity for their empowerment.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/547/gay_wedding1_tmb.jpg[/img">http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/547/gay_wedding2_tmb.jpg[/img">http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/547/gay_wedding3_tmb.jpgOn 24 July 2011, New York State legalised same-sex marriage. Masotho Kelebohile Nkhereanye and her African-American wife Renee Boyd were among the couples that made US history by marrying that day. A few months later Nick Mwaluko spoke to them about their decision and what same-sex marriage might mean to Africans on the continent and in the diaspora.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki nominated the new Attorney General Githu Muigai because he does not care what the rest of the country thinks, asserts Samuel N. Omwenga, adding that it also shows how tribalism is deeply rooted in Kenya.

Camalita Naicker is convinced that racism is not yet dead, as can be seen from supposedly harmless everyday encounters. It is baggage from the past that should be thrown off to create new, inclusive identities.

Under Gaddafi, Dan Glazebrook contends, Libya was rising as a socialist, anti-imperialist and pan-Africanist nation spearheading African unity and independence. This threatened the West’s long imperialist interests in the continent, hence the NATO-led war.

Like Che Guevera, Steve Biko is the poster child for revolution. His face adorns the T-shirts and posters of a generation who may know nothing of his teachings except that his is a face with some erstwhile significance. Thirty-four years after his death, Steve Biko is an icon but he is also a lot more than a trifling symbol of an ancient idea. Khadija Patel talks to Steve Biko scholar, black consciousness thinker and organiser, co-editor of ‘Biko Lives!’ and publisher of the journal ‘New Frank Talk’ Andile Mngxitama about Biko’s legacy.

‘Amidst all the media furore about the fall of Tripoli from the grasp of the Libyan government, it's not easy to get a clear picture of what things look like under the new rulers,’ writes Lizzie Phelan.

The storming of the Israeli embassy by Egyptian protestors and a selection of stories on Nigeria, including bomb attacks, Boko Haram and a campaign to rebrand the country are the focus of this week’s review of the African blogosphere, by Sokari Ekine.