One of Robert Mugabe’s fiercest critics, the Botswana Foreign Minister, on Wednesday launched a stinging attack on the ZANU PF leader, suggesting that the Southern African region should close its borders in an attempt to bring him down. As pressure mounted on Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai to agree to form a unity government to avert the humanitarian catastrophe, Phandu Skelemani told the BBC that SADC nations have failed to move Mugabe with mediation and they should now impose sanctions.

Retribution against political opponents is continuing in spite of the on going negotiations to form a power sharing government between ZANU PF and the two MDC parties. The Tsvangirai MDC claim two more activists were abducted from their homes on Tuesday night, while the 14 activists and a two year old baby are still missing.

Zambian President, Rupiah Banda, has requested Nigeria's assistance to tackle the effect of the global financial crisis on his country. He said the global crisis has hit Zambia's economy to the extent that the price of its main commodity which is copper had come down to $3,300 from $8000 per tonne.

The Security Council has strongly condemned the attempted coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau over the weekend and urged all political groups in the fragile and impoverished West African country to resolve their disputes peacefully. Dissident elements of the military launched an armed attack on the residence of President João Bernardo Vieira in the capital, Bissau, early on Sunday morning, using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. But they were unsuccessful and Mr. Vieira survived the attack.

A senior United Nations relief official has urged donors to generously support the $550 million appeal launched earlier this week to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, which she warned will get much worse without “massive” international assistance. The Southern African nation is mired in a crisis brought about by a confluence of factors, including three years of failed harvests, bad governance and hyperinflation, among others.

Congolese state security forces have killed an estimated 500 people and detained about 1,000 more, many of whom have been tortured, in the two years since elections that were meant to bring democracy, Human Rights Watch said in a report. The brutal repression against perceived opponents began during the 2006 elections that carried President Joseph Kabila to power, and has continued to the present.

Somebody coming from Mars would be forgiven for thinking that the era of black rule is rife with corruption and nepotism, writes Saliem Fakier.The white world would have been thought of as being better if one is to believe that its history was always populated with saints. History though. is infrequently remembered for what it is, seldom uncovered for all of its diversity and always selectively appropriated. Short memory, too, is the enemy of history -- and there is lots of it going around.

Rival Somali politicians have agreed to double the size of the parliament to bring in opposition representatives. The agreement at talks in neighbouring Djibouti is part of a UN-sponsored reconciliation process aimed at ending nearly two decades of conflict. Two hundred new seats in parliament will be allocated to an opposition alliance, and 75 will be reserved for civil society groups.

Kenya's cabinet has agreed to implement a controversial report into January's post-poll violence, which recommends prosecuting all those responsible. The meeting to approve the report had been delayed several times. But a statement from the president's office said there was consensus to carry through the recommendations.

South African state lawyers have appealed against the dismissal of corruption charges against African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma. The charges were rejected on a technicality in September, sparking a political row, which led to President Thabo Mbeki leaving office. The judge accused the state prosecutors of interfering in the case for political reasons.

Former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, wrote a letter to Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change party that may slow talks to end the country's political impasse, Business Day said, citing the letter. Mbeki, tasked by Southern African Development Community with mediating in Zimbabwe's dispute, told the MDC in the letter that it shouldn't' express contempt for the decisions of neighboring countries, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said. He added that the MDC is more influenced in its policies by the west.

Politicians named in the Waki list will have to quit their Cabinet posts and those found guilty of election violence offences barred from ever running for public office if proposals tabled before the Cabinet are approved. Sources who have seen the proposals prepared by a team headed by Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Martha Karua, on Thursday said this was the only way to end impunity and stop politicians from using their communities to cause violence every election year.

Two more Members of Parliament of Kenya have succumbed to pay tax barely four days after another MP voluntarily offered to have his salary and allowances taxed. They are Jeremiah Kioni of Ndaragwa and Francis Nyamu of Tetu constituencies. The MPs earlier this month objected moves to tax them.

As the world prepares for the UN Climate Change Conference beginning Dec. 1 in Poznan, Poland, we must send a clear, loud message opposing any role for the World Bank in an international climate regime. Please add your organization's name to the sign-on statement below (in English and Spanish) to help deliver this most important message. The World Bank is already positioning itself to control climate financing. The deadline for sign-ons is Friday, December 5. Please send organizational endorsements to [email][email protected]

It appears that the computer-produced register books (cadernos de recenseamento) were not completely accurate, and in many places voters names were left off. Most polling stations also had copies of the hand-written register made at the time of registration, and often people appeared in that register, and thus were able to vote. The Renamo candidate for mayor of Montepuez, Tomé Fernando, for example, was not in the computer-printed register but could vote because he was in the manual register.

“A massive presence” of people from outside all 43 municipalities who were brought in by the lorry-load in order to vote for Frelimo explains Renamo’s defeat, Renamo president Afonso Dhlakama told a press conference early Monday afternoon. This “flood” of outsiders was allowed to vote because all the people who were hired as polling station staff were members or sympathisers of Frelimo, he added.

Comrade President, it is with a heavy heart and great deal of hesitation that I have to direct this open letter to you, as our Head of State, following what occurred at Outapi on Saturday. I deliberately decided to make this an open letter, because I would like other citizens of this great country of ours to also read it and in order for them to take note of what I have said and, further, in order for them to be witnesses thereto.

Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA-Egypt) seeks a highly qualified Community Outreach & Development Intern to join the Community Team. The incumbent will work closely with different refugee communities in Cairo that have various problems and needs. The Community Development Intern will work within a community based approach framework towards an ultimate goal of achieving community's self-reliance. The Intern will report to the Community Team Leader and will collaborate with members from other teams whenever required.

The Development and Human Rights course will be held from 1 - 5 December 2008. The intricate relationship shared between two traditionally opposing concepts, development and human rights is explored in this course.

Dibussi Tande reviews the following blogs:

The Way I See It
Ethiopian Recycler
Mabi Fominyen
Epiphanies
Scribbles from the Den