Cameroon's parliament stripped its electoral body of the right to announce provisional results in future elections, and opposition parties called the move a 'foul game' by President Paul Biya to steal another term. The government proposed the change in light of the violent post-election crisis in Ivory Coast, where electoral commission results showing incumbent Laurent Gbagbo's loss were quickly reversed by the country's highest court.

'As activists, health professionals, technicians, researchers, lawyers and other individuals and organisations concerned about the adverse consequences of inadequate and poorly maintained sanitation services, we hereby commit to working with local government to ensure that every person living in the City of Cape Town has their right to Basic Sanitation realised.'

Kenya's suspended Higher Education minister William Ruto has been cleared of graft charges involving irregular allocation of a forest land. Also acquitted were Ruto's co-accused Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita and Joshua Kulei.

The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA), representing over 1.3 million medical students worldwide, has expressed its solidarity with the students of health sciences in Côte d'Ivoire in opposing the months-long embargo of medications imposed on the West African nation. Concerns have been raised by the IFMSA regarding this restriction of access to essential medicines, while reminding the international community of their responsibility to uphold health as a human right.

Some 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of political and criminal violence, and no low-income fragile or conflict-affected country has yet to achieve a single Millennium Development Goal. Fixing the economic, political, and security problems that disrupt development and trap fragile states in cycles of violence requires strengthening national institutions and improving governance in ways that prioritise citizen security, justice, and jobs, according to a new report from the World Bank. The World Development Report 2011 notes that at least 1.5 billion people are still affected by current violence or its legacies.

Humanitarians do not yet make the most of new technology and virtual teams to expedite emergency response, and deal with 'exponential' information flow, says a new report. 'The humanitarian community, though relying on scarce resources in response, is still performing [basic] tasks that computers can handle,' John Crowley, from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and the lead author of 'Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Information Sharing in Humanitarian Emergencies', told IRIN.

Nigeria's ruling party looks set to see its grip on parliament weakened after results emerging from the first of three crucial elections this month showed it losing key parliament seats. Results by voting district began trickling through on Sunday, though some areas of the country's north voted late into the morning because of high turnout, residents said, possibly delaying announcements there. Early indications showed opposition parties making gains at the expense of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Join us for a short documentary film: ‘Assassination: Colonial Style – Patrice Lumumba, an African Tragedy’. The film will be followed by a discussion with Firoze Manji from Pambazuka News and Vava Tampa from Save the Congo. 50 years ago Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, was assassinated as part of Belgian and US plots only 10 weeks after he took power. The event has been described as 'the most important assassination of the 20th century'.

An Angolan journalist who was convicted for reporting on a local judge has been released on bail of $2,400. The Voice of America’s Armando Chicoca was sentenced on 3 March 2011, to one year in prison for criminal defamation against a judge in the coastal town of Namibe.

The party of Zimbabwe’s prime minister said on Thursday (07 April) that 14 people were hurt after youths attacked scores of mourners at a memorial service. The ceremony was being held to remember four party activists slain during the election violence in 2008. An independent Christian group known as Heal Zimbabwe Trust organised the ceremony. It has held services for victims of political violence across the country since the 2008 poll.

Management consultancy McKinsey & Co has been accused of giving inaccurate and unethical advice to countries such as Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, potentially driving deforestation while allowing the countries to generate revenue from new UN-backed forestry protection schemes. A report released by Greenpeace claims McKinsey has drawn up strategies that could help rainforested nations continue with logging practices, while still gaining access to millions of dollars from the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and REDD+ schemes. McKinsey has denied the accusations.

South Africa's the Mail&Guardian newspaper has obtained access to surveillance footage taken inside the Kimberley Prison, showing beatings and the humiliation of prisoners at the hands of warders. Visit their Youtube page to view the footage.

The runner-up in last year’s Guinean presidential elections is threatening a nationwide civil disobedience campaign if 67 members of his party are not released from detention by the newly elected government of President Alpha Condé. Cellou Dalein Diallo warned that the opposition in Guinea will not allow the government of President Alpha Condé 'to trample on the rights of citizens' as the military dictatorship did in the past.

Another war with Eritrea? A water war with Egypt? Alemayehu G. Mariam deconstructs Meles Zenawi's latest war talk.

Development is accelerated when a country is able to use its own resources effectively and efficiently, say the authors of this article. 'That is why the decision by the UK government, with France and Germany, to support reform of obscure European Union rules on financial reporting for oil, gas and mineral companies will have such far-reaching consequences,' they say. 'The importance of extractive industries to African development cannot be understated. In 2008, exports of oil, gas and minerals from Africa were worth about nine times the value of international aid to the continent ($393bn versus $44bn), and over 10 times the value of exports of agricultural produce ($37.9bn).'

Ivoirians who have fled across the border to Liberia have reported incidents of rape, sexual abuse and murder to NGOs and human rights groups working in Grand Geddeh and Nimba counties. Children in villages in Liberia’s Nimba County have told field workers at NGO Equip that they were forced to watch as their mothers were raped and then killed. In several cases, the children themselves were then sexually assaulted.

The Muslim Marriages Bill, which seeks to regularise and regulate Muslim marriages, has been characterised by extensive consensus building, negotiation and compromise between academics, activists, religious bodies, civil society organisations and women's groups, writes Shuaib Manjra, a doctor in Cape Town and a commentator on Islamic affairs. 'The Bill is not perfect, but there are insufficient grounds to reject it entirely. Compromises are necessary to achieve the ultimate object - the protection of Muslim women in marital relationships. All that is required now is the courage of legislators and the mobilisation of those who support the Bill.'

The president of Djibouti has secured a third term in office after a landslide election victory, despite recent protests against his rule. Ismail Omar Guelleh has won 80 per cent of the votes cast, according to the country's electoral commission. The opposition had urged a boycott of polls, alleging irregularities. However turn-out was reported to be high, with almost 70 per cent of the 150,000 people registered casting their vote.

'In recognition of his contributions to the development of CODESRIA and to the advancement of knowledge production in Africa and around the world, CODESRIA has planned to hold an international colloquium in honour of one of the greatest African scholars, the Malawi-born Professor Thandika Mkandawire. This event, organised by CODESRIA in collaboration with the University of Malawi and the South Africa-based Intellectual Heritage Project, was earlier scheduled to take place in his home country, Malawi, on 2-4 May 2011...However, the recent gross violations of academic freedom at the University of Malawi has made it necessary for us to postpone this historic occasion, until such a time when our Malawian colleagues feel less threatened in the exercise of their rights as scholars and the enjoyment of the freedom of research and expression, without fear of being persecuted because of their ideas.'

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe could be plotting his own downfall by attacking regional leaders who have in the past shielded him against mounting world pressure to leave office. President Mugabe last week appeared to be taking badly a mini SADC summit that encouraged him to respect the power sharing deal. He was also told to stop politically motivated violence, end the arrest of his opponents and follow a roadmap for fresh elections backed by the regional body. The veteran ruler appeared stunned by the rebuke.