The United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) has called for a prompt resumption of voter registration to allow for broad participation in the November presidential elections. UNOCI spokesman Hamadoun Toure told reporters in Abidjan that the Mission “stresses the importance of a strong commitment to expedite the remaining tasks for organizing free, fair and transparent elections in the country.”

A Security Council delegation on a week-long visit to Africa met with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today to assess efforts by the Government and the United Nations to consolidate peace and security in the area, a spokesperson for the world body said.

The deafening silence from the unity government on the ongoing and increasingly violent land invasions has continued, despite promises by government leaders that the rule of law will be respected in Zimbabwe. The Prime Minister’s media conference on Thursday, to provide details about agreements reached during talks about the Global Political Agreement, was an ideal platform to denounce the ongoing attacks.

Discord continued for a second week between the leadership of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) and other union members over recent allegations of poor representation, raising concerns that the conflict would negatively affect the country's press industry if left unresolved.

This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from an interview by Violet Gonda with Zimbabwean analysts Raftopoulos and Alex Magaisa, reflecting on the first 100 days of the unity government in Zimbabwe, passed earlier this month. Results continued ambiguous this week, as the MDC headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formally appealed to the African Union and the Southern African Development Community to intervene to resolve remaining roadblocks to implementation of the Global Political Agreement.

Reporters Without Borders has voiced its concern for journalist Sylvia Blyden, forced into hiding after receiving death threats, and for Umaru Sitta Turay, who suffered a vicious knife attack. Both journalists were targeted for attack because they had allegedly “libelled” Sierra Leone’s president, the worldwide press freedom organisation said, urging the head of state to call off the “witch-hunt” against them.

Aid agencies are far more accountable to disaster affected people than they were a decade ago, says the latest Humanitarian Accountability Report, but problems remain in transparency about interventions, communication with aid recipients, monitoring and reporting on sexual abuse and eliminating corruption

Following a concerted campaign, the Kenyan government has published amendments to the Communications Act, which will delete a controversial clause that allows the government to raid broadcasting stations, report the Africa Free Media Foundation, the Media Institute and local news reports.

Dadaab, in north-eastern Kenya, is the world's biggest refugee camp, home to 260,000 people. It was built in 1991 for Somalis fleeing the fighting that erupted with the collapse of Siad Barre's military regime. Eighteen years on, conflict is still raging and Somalis continue to seek safety there.

As funds begin trickling in for Zimbabwe"s reconstruction efforts, the rebuilding of infrastructure battered by years of neglect is set to gobble a huge chunk. As Zimbabwe's national unity government approaches 100 days in office, Finance Minister Tendai Biti - tasked with wooing donors to pour resources into support for the fragile coalition - has said it will take some time for the country to return to 1996 standards, before what was once southern Africa"s second largest economy went into a tailspin.

Every day, almost everywhere around the world, Transexual, Transgender, Intersex people face violence, abuse, rape, torture and hate crimes. The only motive : they are not conforming to social stereotypes about the way they should appear and behave in society as men or women. Be it out of ignorance, prejudice, fear or hate, Trans people overwhelmingly face daily discrimination, which results in social exclusion, poverty and poor health care, with little prospects for employment.

The United Nations humanitarian wing is urging greater protection for civilians in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has witnessed a surge in sexual violence since the beginning of this year. Some 463 women were raped in the first quarter of 2009, more than half of the total number of violations registered for the whole of last year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has declared in Abuja that about $450 million out of the over $3 billion alleged to have been stolen by the late Head of State of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha, could not be traced.

2009 is the year of the Big Change. Cheaper and more abundant international fibre capacity will come to East Africa and 2010 will see the same happen in West Africa. New cross-border fibre connections will tie more countries together: two announcements are in the news sections below. But Africa is in danger of getting all the pipes and hardware in place and missing out on thinking about the user and the services and applications they might use.

Months have passed since Hoda's husband paid smugglers to take him from this port town in northern Somalia across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, but she has not heard a word from him. She now believes he probably drowned at sea. Despite such a vivid lesson in the risks of the Gulf crossing, Hoda plans to make the journey herself, leaving her youngest children in the care of her eldest daughter, who is just ten.

A senior Catholic bishop has denounced homosexuality, stating that it is against both African culture and biblical teaching.Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth of Kisumu, who is also the chairman of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, made the remarks while addressing an international seminar on the role of universities in peace building at the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA) last week. The conference was organised by CUEA’s Centre for Social Justice and Ethics.

The Map-the-World and Map-Maker teams at Google have been making some major, and much needed, additions for Africa. With a large data push yesterday, Google Maps has one of the most impressive sets of maps on Africa that you can find. There are now 27 more African countries that now have detailed maps.

Several large African cities are at risk from rising sea levels and intense storms, experts warn. Poor neighbourhoods and slums in Bugama and Okrika in Nigeria, Freetown in Sierra Leone, Bathurst in the Gambia and Tanga in Tanzania, are especially vulnerable.

There is an African saying that when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In South Africa lately, the elephants have been the two biggest winners in the April elections-the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA). The grass is democracy and women’s rights.

Kenyan authorities Wednesday sacked the Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), Umuro Wario, citing graft. But insiders were quick to point out that Wario was a victim of boardroom politics. Wario’s sacking was effected by the Fund’s Board on 11 May, as various arms of government continued with investigations into allegations of mismanagement.