Ethiopia has expelled a delegation of international rights group, the Amnesty International, and detained two opposition party leaders. Amnesty said its delegation was on an official visit to the Horn of Africa country. The opposition leaders were arrested on the back of individual meeting with the expelled delegation, a statement issued by Amnesty said. 'We are extremely concerned that the arrests of the two men occurred within days of talking with our delegates. Although the government denies it, we are worried that their arrests are not a coincidence,' said Michelle Kagari, deputy programmes director for Africa.

Kenya's anti-corruption chief and his deputies have been given seven days to leave office after lawmakers adopted legislation establishing a revamped anti-graft watchdog enshrined under the new constitution.

According to the novelist Helon Habila, editor of Granta’s forthcoming Book of African Short Stories, to put together a collection representing every African language, people and nation is impossible. Instead, Habila has compiled Granta’s new collection to showcase what he sees as a ‘new generation’ of emerging African short story writers.

The recent Paris meet was a grim victory celebration by the NATO powers who wanted non-European poodles on the bandwagon, writes M.K. Bhadrakumar.

In response to reports that British scientists are about to test the hardware needed to put sulphur particles in the stratosphere as a climate technofix, international technology watchdog ETC Group is calling on the UK government to halt the controversial test and respect UN processes underway to discuss these issues.

The Government of Somaliland announced that it will expel about 100,000 illegal immigrants from the country. The government set one month for illegal immigrants to leave Somaliland, or face punishment, warning Somalilanders found hiding illegal immigrants will also be subject to punishment. The Government plans to repatriate about 80,000 – 90,000 illegal immigrants mainly Ethiopians in one month.

Rising demand for the dominant form of renewable energy worldwide – wood – could drive yet more acquisitions of land in developing countries where food insecurity is rising and land rights are weak, say researchers at the International Institute for Environment and Development. In a briefing paper published August 30, they warn that this new trend needs greater public scrutiny and debate.

Even as Kenyan LGBTI activists fight for legal recognition they are confronted by the spectre of violence against community members based upon their sexual orientation. Many members of the LGBTI community have faced violence in the course of their lives and as a result are psychologically affected by this. Behind the Mask’s Melissa Wainaina interviewed two LGBTI individuals about such violence and the effect it had on them.

An iWatch News report finds that as the famine in southern Somalia worsens, aid experts fear that corruption and the politics of terrorism are crimping the flow of humanitarian relief to areas where starvation is worst. Abundant U.S. aid targeted for the Horn of Africa cannot directly reach starving people in southern Somalia because it’s blocked by Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-aligned Islamist group labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

The new . This issue includes breaking news about Australia's plan to 'swap' asylum seekers with Malaysia; an in-depth article on the issue by Dr Savitri Taylor; a trio of pieces about the situation faced by Rwandan refugees, including an important statement, which you can sign on to, against the planned invocation of the Cessation Clause; a review of issues faced by LGBTI people in Sudan, a little-known topic; case notes on rulings about Dadaab camp and UK-Cyprus return; discussion of a recent review of asylum in Poland; and a report from visits to Syrian refugees in camps in southern Turkey – as well as our usual announcements of opportunities, requests and relevant new resources.

With fear still rife among the Ivoirian refugees remaining in eastern Liberia, NGO the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which is managing refugee camps in Grand Gedeh County, is working to ensure refugee camps are apolitical and weapon-free.

'Thinking Africa: Liberation, Race and Higher Education' supplement was published by South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper (26 August 2011) and contains reflection pieces from Rhodes University's 'Thinking Africa: Fanon 50 years later' (6-9 July 2011) colloquium as well as the 'Race in Higher Education Roundtable' (11-13 July 2011) organised under the auspices of the university's Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning.

A report by Climate Exchange Network for Africa includes five chapters, which cover: the impacts of climate change in Africa; options for adapting to climate changes; an assessment of the economic costs of climate change and adaptation; mitigation scenarios; and policy recommendations.

The National Elections Commission on Tuesday September 6, 2011, met with lawmakers, asking them to consider a way out of a possible constitutional crisis likely to result from the ensuing legislative and presidential Elections. The NEC delegation, headed by Chairman James Fromayan, wants the legislators to fashion a way to save the commission the unreasonable costs of rerunning the legislative elections pursuant to an absolute majority requirement to win.

Kenya is losing its grip in the battle for foreign direct investments (FDI) to Uganda and Tanzania as heightened political tensions and restrictions on foreign ownership in some sectors turn away multinationals. The FDI inflows to Kenya dipped from Sh67.8 billion in 2007 to Sh13.1 billion in 2009 and Sh12.4 billion last year, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Last year, Uganda’s FDI inflows jumped to Sh78.8 billion from Sh75.9 million while Tanzania’s increased from Sh60 billion to Sh65.1 billion—making the twin countries the key beneficiaries of the region’s common market.

infoDev's Climate Technology Program published an article in The Africa Energy Yearbook 2011, co-written with the Kenyan government and private partners. The publication discusses the Climate Innovation Center (CIC) in Kenya and how it will support the government's objectives in the Greening Kenya Initiative.

This new report by Economics Research Foundation and GRAIN provides a detailed examination of the role of the Indian government and Indian companies engaged in overseas agricultural land acquisitions in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A report in the FT states that Libya’s rebels are examining possible corruption at the country’s $65 billion sovereign wealth fund and its links to the family of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi, according the man in charge of the investigation. Mahmoud Badi, a former technocrat with the Gaddafi regime, has been appointed by the National Transitional Council to track Libya’s foreign assets, including those held by the Libyan Investment Authority.

Opposition parties urged the ANC to strike a provision from the Protection of Information Bill that would allow intelligence agents to classify any part of their work, but the ruling party refused.

Research on futurechallenges.org, including an African climate vulnerability map via finds that floods, droughts, desertification, coastal storms and famine are just a few of the impacts of climate change in Africa. Climate change is endangering the lives and livelihoods of millions of Africans and also hindering the continent’s economic growth and social progress.