Two leading HIV researchers say that countries worst affected by HIV should test whether promoting a national month of sex abstinence could slow the spread of HIV, by interrupting the chain of transmission during the primary, highly infectious stage of HIV infection. Professor Alan Whiteside of the Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD) at the University of Kwazulu-Natal and Dr Justin Parkhurst of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) say that if mathematical modelling shows the idea to have possibilities, national campaigns to test the hypothesis should follow.

Zimbabwean researchers in HIV&AIDS are afraid of including the homosexual and intarvenous drug using communities in the national HIV&AIDS priority research document they are working on because of the criminalization of these areas by the country’s government. These two areas among other minority groups are key drivers of HIV&AIDS and researchers said there was need for the nation to prioritize them and have national campaign programs targeted at them.

The agency tasked with implementing the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 in Kenya is unaware of the Constitutional Court’s suspension of the law’s application to medicines. Moreover, a large multinational pharmaceutical company has offered to assist the agency in implementing the law with regards to medicines despite the court decision.

Kenyan politicians have been accused of plundering state coffers after awarding themselves a monthly pay rise of nearly 25%, making them some of the best-paid legislators in the world. After resisting calls to pay income tax for years, MPs finally agreed to pay the tax, but only after giving themselves a sweetener of 240,000 shillings (£1,960) taking their monthly pay to 1,091,000 shillings (£8,920).

The Journal of Pan African Studies (JPAS) invites papers for a special issue on Politics and African Literature. This issue will explore how writers create, address and interrogate Pan-African solidarities through works of fiction, poetry, prose and other communication arts

The Together We Can End Human Trafficking radio spots and presenter's guide are designed to help radio stations join in the fight against human trafficking leading up to, during, and after the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. 3 radio spots were produced to address various aspects of human trafficking, and provide information on resources of where to go to report cases of trafficking.

In this week's roundup of emerging powers news, inviting Africans to G8 meeting termed as " just window-dressing", Nigeria's First Bank eyes equity stake in Chinese Bank, the effect of a strong Yuan on Kenyan consumers, and ICBC loan for Gibe Project draws controversy.

ABANTU for Development in collaboration with the United Nations Millennium Campaign- Africa Regional Office, FEMNET and other partners, launched the East African Caravan on Maternal Health in one of Kenya’s biggest slum, Kibera. The launch welcomed the attendance of rural women and men, school boys and girls, UN representatives, Ambassadors, medical doctors and other dignitarie

DRL seeks proposals to build the capacity of local civil society and nongovernmental organizations to advocate against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Capacity building may include, but is not limited to, efforts on coalition building within the countries and the region, decriminalization efforts, public advocacy, legislation, litigation strategies, strategies for promoting advocates’ safety, and media sensitivity (including building professionalism). T

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the University of Ghana are pleased to announce the international symposium ”The Dream, The Reality: Re-assessments of African Independence”, to be held in Accra, Ghana, from 27th to 29th of September 2010. The symposium constitutes the central event in the inaugural issue of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Intellectual & Cultural Festival Week, a bi-annual event to be held under the Kwame Nkrumah Chair in African Studies.

Can sports—and if so how—serve as a vehicle for reconciliation and increased social cohesion in countries wrecked by civil conflict? This article analyses the case of South Africa and its experiences in the sports sector since the fall of apartheid, in an effort to explore the processes necessary to understand the potential sports may hold for peace building. By identifying initiatives in South Africa employed at the national, community and individual level of analysis, the article outlines the possible effects of sports on reconciliation in divided states.

July 1 marked the moment when the East African Community common market protocol kicked into operation. But Ugandan women face several obstacles before they will benefit from the boost that the protocol gives to the free movement of goods, labour and capital. Regional integration, which began with the signing of the east African customs union protocol in 2005, has increased export opportunities and expanded production in the agricultural sector where women predominate, cultivating 80 percent of agricultural products taken across borders.

As the SADC Heads of State will be meeting in Windhoek, Namibia in August 2010, the ordinary peoples of Southern Africa will also converge at the Catholic Cathedral Hall in Windhoek on the 15th – 16th of August 2010 under the auspices of the Southern Africa Peoples’ Solidarity Network (SAPSN).

Ubhejane is marketed by a charlatan named Zeblon Gwala as a cure for AIDS. On 22 June 2010 it was incorrectly reported in Business Report that Ubhejane was registered with the Medicines Control Council (MCC). Ubhejane has not been registered as a medicine in South Africa. There is no evidence that it is of any benefit to people with HIV.

Call Mr. Robeson, an award-winning one-man play about the famous African American actor, singer and civil rights pioneer is to be performed at Rich Mix, Bethnal Green on Thursday to Saturday 29 to 31 July 2010. The play ends its current Spring/Summer tour of England and Northern Ireland with these Rich Mix dates before settling into a three-week residency at Edinburgh Fringe in August. Oliver Carruthers, Arts and Cultural Officer at Rich Mix said, “Rich Mix’s raison d’aitre is to showcase culture from and about BAME artists of the highest caliber, and from what we have heard of Call Mr. Robeson, this really is just such a piece – one which we are very proud and pleased to present to the people of London.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received credible reports that in the last two days 250 Eritrean refugees were forced into trucks “like cattle” and transported from Misrata prison in Libya to Sabha detention centre, situated on the edge of the Sahara. CSW has spoken directly to some of the refugees, who report that prior to being relocated, the group endured beatings, electric shocks and other mistreatment administered by members of the Libyan military, who had suddenly descended on the prison.

Part of improving the levels of quality in education and health is providing infrastructure that responds to global needs in terms of skills, technology and sports, writes Victor Modiba. One of the critical success factors to the growth of the South African economy is infrastructure investment. Key areas of government expenditure, which account for more than half of the total public sector infrastructure investment and incorporate all spheres, are: provincial and local roads, bulk water infrastructure and water supply networks, energy distribution, housing, schools and clinics, business centres, sports facilities, and multi-purpose government service centres, including police stations, courts and correctional facilities.

Southern African trade ministers have pledged to sign a significantly scaled down economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) before the end of 2010. Could this be the conclusion to years of divisive negotiations? It was a mere sentence in the draft minutes of the meeting of Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministers in Gaborone on Jun 17: "Ministers noted the strategy proposed by senior officials aimed at concluding an inclusive EPA by the end of 2010."

Mamadou Goïta

Samba Diouldé Thiam

Football is by far the most popular sport throughout Africa. More than a sport, football in most African countries has deep political, social and economic ramifications. Yet, the game that garners this position is explicitly the men's game. What of the women's game? African women are playing football. In some nations, officials, both in sport and political realms, have actually prioritized the development of the women's game.