Barely seven days to Togo's disputed legislative elections, President Gnassingbe Eyadema has provoked a political and constitutional row with the country's opposition parties by promulgating two controversial decrees.

Amnesty International has called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of prisoner of conscience Ali-Salem Tamek, a human rights activist imprisoned for his views in favour of independence for the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

While the food shortage in Zimbabwe attracts major international attention, the internal displacement situation unfortunately remains poorly documented, says the Global IDP Project in its October review of the country.

The Angolan government aims to move all former UNITA rebels and their families out of reception areas and into a new phase of resettlement by the end of the year, a senior official told IRIN.

Kenya's opposition alliance have named a 71-year old former vice president as their candidate for presidential elections expected in December. Mwai Kibaki, the official leader of the opposition in parliament, will be the candidate for an alliance of more than 12 parties known as the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc).

About 20,000 people who fled fighting over the weekend in Uvira on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, have returned home, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday.

“I would like to pledge my support in raising the funds and resources necessary … to place your sculpture at the South Africa Nobel Laureates Peace Memorial.” These were the words of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu when he performed the symbolical unveiling of the statue the angel of the Marquette of the Spirit of Africa in Johannesburg Art Gallery.

Commercial farmers say the latest increase in the price of diesel will push up their annual fuel expenditure by more than 6 million Namibian dollars.

Eritrea on Monday again denied involvement in the fighting in eastern Sudan, saying the Sudanese government was making such accusations as a "pretext" to scuttle ongoing peace negotiations with Sudanese rebels.

The US on Monday dismissed allegations it had tried to overthrow the government of Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki. Last Friday, the Eritrean government reacted strongly to a statement by the State Department last week accusing it of human rights violations.

The current situation of some 11,000 refugees who have arrived in Burundi from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since fighting erupted in Uvira on Saturday is "under control", Stefano Severe, country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told IRIN last Friday.

Thousands of civilians continue to flee from the town of Uvira, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), after a rebel group recaptured it on Saturday from pro-government Mayi-Mayi forces.

Burdened by vast numbers of refugees from the war-torn countries in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa, the Tanzanian government has given all the 22,000 Rwandan refugees remaining in the country up to December 31 to leave its territory.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has pledged to crack down on human rights abuses such as those which left at least 100 people dead in two separate shooting incidents earlier this year. He said the government would take action against regional officials who may have been implicated in the killings.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), in conjunction with Save the Children-Sweden and other partners, has concluded plans to assist vulnerable children affected by the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, UNICEF reported last Wednesday.

In the absence of a minimum level of equity, no society is ever possible and nor, of course, is a public space. Instead a hotbed of potential conflict develops. Can the media contribute to defuse this? On what conditions? The Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA) and the African Institute of Political Geography (AFRIPOG) are organising a conference on: The Media and Conflict Management in West Africa.

The AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is exacerbating local and regional conflicts in the region and could threaten military capabilities, according to a report issued Thursday by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Agence France-Presse reports.

To mark African Day on Human and Peoples' Rights on 21 October, Amnesty International's Secretary General, Irene Khan, has written to South African President Thabo Mbeki expressing the organisation's concern regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Over 13,500 people from 126 countries signed an Amnesty International petition in support of the call for action from President Mbeki.

The Youth League of the Botswana National Front - the left of centre main opposition party in Botswana - has issued a press statement condemning the treatment of the Gana and Gwi 'Bushmen' from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).

Leaders of the disputed oil-rich Bakassi peninsular have reportedly threatened to secede if Nigeria hands it over to Cameroon, as ordered by the world court.