A group of Chinese tourists have announced a travelling expedition from Ghana across the Sahara desert to help them learn more about Africa and also promote Ghana and the continent as a good tourist destination for other Chinese. The tourists will also serve as goodwill ambassadors for China by creating awareness among Chinese people about tourism opportunities and investment potentials on the continent.

Nigeria’s main militant group gave warning yesterday of further clashes with the military in the oil-producing Niger Delta and said it had moved two British hostages “out of harm’s way” in anticipation of unrest. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it would “join the fray” between the military joint task force and youths who it said were protesting against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell in the southern state of Bayelsa.

Since coming to power in 2002, President Kibaki has gazetted the creation of 124 new districts and there are rumours of a possible 15 more being created. Experts speculate the objective is to pre-empt the intended constitutional boundaries review. The ad hoc creation of new districts is a continuation of the government’s political manipulation of local development which in turn undermines the impact of the extensive resources channelled to through the districts and decentralised structures.

“Training in ICT skills gets the community to start thinking differently and to consider the sources of income available to them more clearly. From a commercial standpoint, they become aware of the fact that their products have to meet certain standards of quality in order to be sold at higher prices,” says Aura Elena Plaza from Villa Paz, an Afro-Colombian community in the Cali region. Dafne Plou reports for APCNews on her first-hand experience of the impact access to information has had on the lives of people in remote villages in Mali, Africa and Cali, Colombia.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's seizure of a ministry controlled by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is casting more doubt on his commitment to the fledgling power-sharing deal. The birth of the unity government on 11 February 2009 was designed to dilute the powers accumulated during Mugabe's nearly 29-year rule, which has reduced the once prosperous nation to penury.

Awa was killed by her husband last November in Guelendeng, 150km south of the Chad capital N’djamena. Her death was the tipping point for the town’s women, who, appalled by the rampant violence they face, have decided to fight for their rights. In December dozens of women took part in a protest march, the first of its kind in Guelendeng, to condemn the violation of their rights and to call the government to account over the impunity that prevails.

China isn't in Africa merely to snap up raw materials, exploit African labor, or build geopolitical influence. Rather, its goals blend a combination of all the above with a need to beta-test future global brands, open new markets, enhance its soft power through international organizations such as the International Standards Organization - where African votes carry more than a third of the weight - nurture a new diaspora and build a resilient microeconomic bridge by exporting entrepreneurs

South Africa, the self-acclaimed rainbow nation, is in the news again and for all the wrong reasons. The authorities of that country recently barred the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibet from participating in a peace conference slated for South Africa. No cogent reason was given for their action which has drawn an outcry from the rest of the world.

At least 20 million rural migrants have lost their jobs and returned to their home villages over the last year. Many have subsequently returned to the cities to look for new employment, but for many of those who remain behind, readjusting to life in the countryside can be a real challenge.

The title of this article is borrowed from what President Isaias Afwerki said in an interview with China Business Weekly Magazine in 2007, talking about Chinese and Eritrean relations and with particular reference to what Chinese investors see when they look at Eritrea. Indeed, Sino-Eritrean relationship goes far beyond what appears on the surface. Eritrea and China's friendly relationship dates back to 1993. China was in fact the first country to establish diplomatic relations with sovereign Eritrea in May 1993, and it has been contributing a great deal to various aspects of the Eritrean endeavors for economic rehabilitation and national reconstruction.

The Ministry of Commerce released its first guidelines for overseas investment by Chinese companies on Friday. The document, encompassing some twenty countries approved by the central government to receive Chinese investment, are part of the ministry’s strategy to assist Chinese companies abroad and come on the heels of last month’s relaxing of government requirements to invest abroad.

Petrochemical group Sasol and India's Tata are considering investing in a multibillion-dollar coal-to-liquid (CTL) plant in India that could produce up to 80 000 barrels of liquid fuel a day. The companies are launching a prefeasibility study on the viability of the project, which a securities company analyst said last week could cost $5bn-$7bn, about the same as the estimated value of the proposed CTL plant in China, which would also produce 80 000 barrels a day.

Zanzibar Chief Minister, Mr Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, has said that the 1964 declaration that Zanzibar land is government property has enabled the Isles to preserve land for future generations.He made the remark yesterday in the Zanzibar House of Representatives during questions and answer period, following an opinion from Mr Salim Abdallah Hamad, that it was wrong for the government to prevent Zanzibaris from owning land.

The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APHRA) pursues with great concern the case of Mrs. Nahla Bashir Adam, works in Youth Association for Child Rights in Kurdufan. Nahla had been detained by the Sudanese Security Forces in south Darfur in December 12, 2008. However, since that time, Nahla hadn't subjected to a trail or accused of any charges. Moreover, no one knows where she exists even their lawyers or colleagues in human rights domain.

A referendum on the revision of Comoros' constitution will be held on 17 May, President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi announced in a message broadcast on national radio and television stations, stressing that the referendum campaign would be held from 26 April to 15 May. “Those who do not want the revision of the constitution are free to campaign against it but they do not have the right to prevent the referendum from being held; a constitutional prerogative devolved on the head of state is a right of the people to exercise its sovereignty,” Sambi declared.

Botswana has offered a US$70 million credit line to help revive struggling Zimbabwean industries, a senior Zimbabwean official said on Thursday. “Botswana is proposing to provide US$70 million in credit support for some industries, all that is left is to tie up the agreement,” the official said.

The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to Human Rights Watch. The Horn of Africa nation is widely using military conscription without end, as well as arbitrary detention of its citizens, says HRW. Hundreds of Eritrean refugees forcibly repatriated from countries like Libya, Egypt and Malta face arrest and torture upon their return, says the group.

Kenyan authorities should clearly instruct all officials to protect refugees and asylum seekers in accordance with international law, Human Rights Watch has said. A senior Kenyan refugee official recently admitted that security forces might cause problems for asylum seekers arriving from Somalia because those forces “do not understand the implications of such actions.”

On paper rebels and the military in Chad are in agreement: a child should not be part of any armed forces. But renewed insecurity over the last few months has triggered an increase in child recruitment, humanitarian workers say. In May 2007, during a return to calm following a peace accord between the government of Chad and various rebel groups, the government signed an agreement with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to remove children working from armed forces and rebel groups and assist them.

The joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region has reported that the security situation remains calm as scheduled troop rotations begin among some units. The hybrid operation, which is known as UNAMID and is tasked with quelling violence and protecting civilians, had reported over the past month a rise in attacks on peacekeeping staff, armed banditry, the burning of shelters in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and harassment of civilians