At the end of 2010 at least 4.5 million people were internally displaced in Darfur, the Greater Khartoum area, South Kordofan and the ten states of Southern Sudan. It is thought that in December 2010 there were between 4.5 and 5.2 million IDPs, in the western region of Darfur (where estimates ranged between 1.9 million and 2.7 million), in and around Khartoum, in the state of South Kordofan and in Southern Sudan. In addition, there were unknown numbers of IDPs in the other northern and eastern states.

In what is being hailed as a victory by human rights activists, a Ugandan court has issued an interim order restraining the editors of the Rolling Stone tabloid from any further publication of information about anyone alleged to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Kenyan journalists assumed senior politicians from the ruling party and opposition would be singled out for inciting the public to kill after the 2007 presidential elections - but they were shocked to find out last year that one of their own has been named by the International Criminal Court. While most local journalists supported the decision, some fear the government will use this case as a basis to silence the press. The Information Minister often uses the alleged role played by the local media during the post-election violence as a justification to crack down on the media, the chairman of the Kenya Editors Guild, Macharia Gaitho, said.

Citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) expelled from neighbouring Angola continued to arrive in their country of origin this month, with many reporting that they were subjected to mistreatment, including sexual violence, the United Nations humanitarian office said on 29 December. Some 1,355 expellees have arrived in DRC’s Bas-Congo and Kasai provinces since 11 December, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press release.

The Global Fund has once again rejected Malawi’s request for funding which it submitted last year amounting to about $560million to support its national response towards HIV/AIDS for a five-year period. Principal Secretary in the Office of the President responsible for HIV/Aids and Malnutrition, Mary Shaba, confirmed the board’s rejection but said the country was still waiting for official communication from the Global Fund on the reasons that led to such decision. However, other reports indicate that Malawi’s proposal was rejected because the country’s laws are rigid and do not favour the marginalised groups. Malawi still criminalises homosexuality and prostitution.

While some African companies are nervous about Asian competition on their own turf, the arrival of Chinese industrialists signals an important opportunity for Africa to assert itself while absorbing new technology and expanding the continent’s export capacity from raw materials to finished products. The Chinese are queueing up to start businesses in Africa. 'In France it was so-so,' says Joseph Kosure, the CEO of Kenya’s Export Processing Zones Authority, who is on a worldwide tour to showcase Kenya’s potential. 'The hall was half-full of French businessmen. But in Shanghai, two weeks ago, we had to change rooms! People were standing in the aisles.'

Henry Kosgey faces 10 years in jail if he is convicted on 12 charges of abuse of office filed in a Nairobi court last Tuesday, reports the Daily Nation. Each of the 12 charges carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, but if convicted he would most likely be ordered to serve them concurrently. The veteran politician was arraigned in court just hours after announcing that he was stepping aside as minister for Industrialisation following Attorney-General Amos Wako’s authorisation that the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission could arrest and charge him for illegally allowing the importation of an over-age vehicle.

The Accra-based sub-regional rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has decried the 'high-handedness' of Ghana’s security agencies against media workers while calling on authorities 'to ensure that journalists pursue their legitimate duties without fear or intimidation', PANA reports. MFWA made the call in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Prof. Kwame Karikari, following the arrest and detention of a radio journalist, Issah Murtala Kpambe.

Sudan VoteMonitor is a pilot project led by the Sudan Institute for Research and Policy (SIRP) and Asmaa Society for Development, in collaboration with other Sudanese civil society organisations, and supported by eMoksha.org and Ushahidi.com (technical partners). The purpose is to use information and communication technology (ICT) to support the independent monitoring and reporting of the election process and results.

Up to 80 African migrants are feared to have drowned off the south coast of Yemen after their boats capsized, Yemeni officials say. The migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, were travelling in two boats which were hit by strong wind and waves, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Namibia is set to develop its rich uranium resources and intends to pursue uranium enrichment locally. It also plans to build its own nuclear electricity plant. Nuclear energy experts from Finland’s Nuclear and Radiation Authority are currently helping the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) to draft Namibia’s first ever nuclear policy, which is to be completed mid-2011, together with relevant laws. Namibia plans to generate electricity from its own nuclear reactor by 2018.

Unrest following Côte d'Ivoire's presidential election is blocking a nationwide vaccination drive against yellow fever, a fatal mosquito-borne disease that is affecting people throughout the country. In the past month 11 people have died in the centre-north departments of Séguéla, Katiola, and Béoumi; two cases of yellow fever have been confirmed and there are a further 21 suspected cases in those departments and in nearby Mankono, according to local health workers and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Beatrice Namuzibira’s class of 90 pupils is not even considered a large one, compared to classes in other schools. Universal primary education has filled classrooms beyond capacity across Uganda, putting a strain on teachers. But her teaching - and her home life - have received fresh inspiration, thanks to innovative online modules for teachers offered by the Teacher Education for Sub-Saharan Africa project (TESSA), a network created to support effective teaching in every subject area.

Thirty-four per cent of Moroccans admit to having paid a bribe in the past 12 months, according to a recent study by Transparency International. For its 2010 Global Corruption Barometer, released on 9 December, the Berlin-based organisation interviewed more than 91,500 people in 86 countries and territories. Nearly one thousand heads of household, including 483 women, participated in the survey.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasised his warning against attacks on the United Nations peacekeeping force in Côte d'Ivoire or attempts to obstruct their work, saying there will consequences for those responsible, as the UN human rights arm reported 'massive violations'. In Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, expressed deep concern over the growing evidence of massive violations of human rights taking place in Côte d'Ivoire since 16 December, and reiterated her determination to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.

For Geneviève Zongo, every 13 December revives excruciating memories of the loss of her husband Norbert Zongo, editor of the weekly L'Indépendant. He was assassinated in 1998 while investigating the murder of a driver working at Burkina Faso's presidential palace. More painful still is that the killers who ambushed Zongo's car, riddling it with bullets and torching it, have never been brought to justice.

As families count the cost of another military operation against militants in the Niger Delta, analysts say up to now government efforts to quell violence are hampered by corruption and fail to get at the deep-seated causes of unrest in the region. Residents told IRIN hundreds of families are still displaced more than two weeks after the crackdown. According to the military's Joint Task Force (JTF), the 1 December attack by its troops on the village of Ayakoromor, 50km south of Warri, was a planned operation, targeting suspected criminals. But the Red Cross says thousands of people fled, many taking refuge in swamps, then heading to nearby villages.

South Africa is no stranger to hosting major United Nations (UN) events. In 2001 the World Conference Against Racism was hosted in Durban and in 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) took place in Johannesburg. In late 2011 the contentious climate change negotiations will continue at the UN 17th Conference of the Party (COP 17) in Durban where the South African government is hoping they could clinch the deal for a 'fair, balanced and ambitious outcome', on climate change. Judging from the outcome of the recently concluded COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico; obtaining a multi-lateral agreement through which those most to blame for causing climate change take responsibility for the damage they are causing to those most affected by climate change, is unlikely to happen, writes Michelle Pressend, who coordinates the Trade Strategy Group (TSG) at the Economic Justice Network and Global Network Africa at the Labour Research Services in Cape Town.

The north of Sudan will reinforce its Islamic laws if the south secedes as a result of next month's referendum, President Omar al-Bashir has said. Bashir said the constitution would then be changed, making Islam the only religion, Sharia the only law and Arabic the only official language. Correspondents say his comments are likely to alarm thousands of non-Muslim southerners living in the north.

Tunisian activists pounced on the latest Wikileaks US Embassy Cables, dedicating a new website to republish and discuss the revelations related to their country, reports Global Voices. Tunileaks, was launched by Nawaat one hour after the whistle-blowing site unleashed the cables on 28 November. The first release contained 17 cables issued from the US Embassy in Tunisia. They mainly dealt with the neglect of human rights in Tunisia and the restrictions on freedom of expression.