Cabinet responded to rejection of its latest offer to striking doctors by freezing wage increases across the public sector until Salary Remuneration Commission is constituted. It also ordered a raft of expenditure cut-backs in Government, targeting low-priority areas such as foreign travel, purchases of vehicles, office furniture, printing, and advertising.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in conjunction with the Rory Peck Trust recently hosted a conference in Nairobi to improve assistance to the region's journalists in exile. Around 50 participants, including representatives of international and regional human rights advocacy organisations, press freedom groups, and journalists in exile, gathered at the Fairview Hotel to consider better strategies for emergency assistance.

A warplane bombed a Somali village held by al-Shabab fighters near the border with Kenya on Tuesday, killing several civilians, a Somali military official said. It was not immediately possible to identify who carried out the attack in the village of Hosungow, which is near the area of Dhobley - itself under the control of Somali government and Kenyan troops, as well as a militia allied to Somalia's government.

Trees are dying in the Sahel, a region in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, and human-caused climate change is to blame, according to a new study led by a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. The study was based upon climate change records, aerial photos dating back to 1954, recent satellite images and old-fashioned footwork that included counting and measuring over 1,500 trees in the field. The researchers focused on six countries in the Sahel, from Senegal in West Africa to Chad in Central Africa, at sites where the average temperature warmed up by 0.8 degrees Celsius and rainfall fell as much as 48 per cent.

South African authorities have announced the launch of a criminal probe against international news agencies The Associated Press and Reuters for installing cameras outside the home of anti-Apartheid figure Nelson Mandela, according to news reports. 'We call on the authorities to drop investigations that criminalize legitimate newsgathering activities that neither invade privacy nor endanger the security of Nelson Mandela. The National Key Points Act, in its current form, is an affront to the democratic constitution modeled by Mandela,' CPJ Africa advocacy coordinator Mohamed Keita said.

Mumia Abu-Jamal has been moved out of administrative custody and transferred to disciplinary custody at SCI Mahanoy after news that the prosecutor would no longer seek the death penalty. Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters gathered in Philadelphia to mark the 30th anniversary of his arrest for the killing of a white police officer. Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther, called it to the event to make his first public remarks since the prosecutor’s decision was announced. Read his comments on the Prison Radio blog.

Although Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down in February 2011, the uprisings in Egypt continue. While the uniting rallying cry may have been against dictatorship, the struggle in Egypt that took headlines across the world in early 2011 reflected deeper social, political, and economic problems. The key demands of the revolution have still not been met. The continuation of military rule and the promise of more neoliberal economic policies lead many to believe it will be a long battle. Protestors in Egypt are hopeful, however, as people all over the world revolt against an economic system that benefits the few at the expense of the many. This short documentary looks at the economic factors that led to the revolution, the reality of living under military rule, and brings up questions over the legitimacy of the current elections.

The death of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was captured and killed by fighters in October, may have been a war crime, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court [ICC] has said. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said: 'I think the way in which Mr Gaddafi was killed creates suspicions of ... war crimes. I think that's a very important issue.' Moreno-Ocampo's comments came a day after the former Libyan leader’s daughter, Aisha Gaddafi, called on the ICC to investigate the death of her father and brother at the hands of Libyan fighters.

Responses to climate change tend to focus on scientific and economic solutions rather than addressing the vitally significant human and gender dimensions, says this pack from Bridge. For climate change responses to be effective, thinking must move beyond these limited approaches to become people-focused, and focus on the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents in the struggle for gender equality, says the pack, which hopes to inspire thinking and action.

A study in the Czech Republic has found a link between exposure to certain air pollutants and an increase in DNA damage for people exposed to high levels of the pollution. They found that breathing small quantities of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), called benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), caused an increase in the number of certain 'biomarkers' in DNA associated with a higher risk of diseases, including cancer.

This report from the International Social Security Association identifies, synthesises and interprets the most important recent developments and trends in Africa in social security. A key observation is that extending effective coverage for essential cash benefits and health care remains the continent’s major social security priority and greatest social policy challenge – but rapid extension is possible.

Unions representing civil servants in the country have given the coalition government up until the end of December to review their salaries, or face crippling industrial action in the new year. The unions are demanding a minimum salary in line with the Poverty Datum Line, which is pegged at US$540. Tendai Chikowore, the chairperson of the Apex Council that represents civil servants, said they had a meeting with government representatives on Friday: 'It was clear that they (government negotiating team) had not been given the mandate by Treasury giving them the parameters within which to negotiate,' she said.

Nearly 25 years after the death of Thomas Sankara, signatories to the following petition continue the call for an independent investigation into his assassination.

In this episode, Africa Today interviews Kambale Musavuli from Friends of the Congo on the DRC elections and talks with Hank Jones of the San Francisco 8 on the campaign to free political prisoners Jalil Muntaqim and Herman Bell.

This report is the result of the work of an amazing group of women from Asia and Africa who came together to research the conditions of women in same-sex relations in their countries. With great determination and courage they set about revealing the many obstacles, humiliations and indignities these women face. They uncovered not only pain, invisibility and silence, but also the pleasures of bonding and the beauty of love.

?Journalist Carla Murphy had planned to cover a small protest in the Bronx and then head to brunch - but she went to jail instead. 'As officers encircled me, I kept my shoulders down and tried to moderate my tone. That sixth sense had nothing to do with journalistic training and everything to do with my being city kid. I grew up here in southeast Queens; NYPD ain’t never been nothing to fuck wit. I protested that I was a working journalist and asked if they were serious.'

On the occasion of this years' elections in Nigeria, the issue opens with an interview delivered by the Nigerian political scientist Sadeeque Abubakar Abba. The second contribution by Ubong Essien Umoh and Idara Godwin Udoh employs linguistic theory to explain the use of the numerous adjectives used when we talk about 'peace'. Bryan Nykon takes a closer look at the influence of feature films on our beliefs in the legitimacy of violence. Transitional justice is the topic of Padraig McAuliffe's article. In critically assessing the use of transitional justice mechanisms, he stresses the value of paradigmatic transitions sensitive to local conditions. Paul van Tongeren presents a policy brief on infrastructures for peace.

The Refugee Law Project (RLP), School of Law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, in collaboration with the African Transitional Justice Research Network (ATJRN) successfully held its 2nd Institute for African Transitional Justice (IATJ), an annual week-long residential programme with a focus on transitional justice issues in the context of Africa. The Institute, which took place from 20 - 27 November 2011, at the Kitgum Peace Documentation Centre (KPDC), Northern Uganda had as its theme: 'Whose Memories Count and at What Cost?' Click on the link provided to read about the debates that took place.

This multimedia presentation looks at the rich and deep history of music in Kenya. Although modern music faces some criticism from traditionalists, the art form is evolving, and new, talented artists are emerging and changing the face of music here.

Congo's top opposition figure has urged the armed forces to obey him after losing elections he says were fraudulent. Etienne Tshisekedi said he would offer a 'great prize' to anyone who captured President Joseph Kabila. A close aide to Kabila dismissed Tshisekedi's comments as showmanship and said the opposition leader had made similar calls against former President Mobutu Sese Seko that had been ignored by the people