Two prominent Ethiopian opposition politicians have been detained, at least one of them on terrorism-related charges. But opposition leaders are questioning the charges, saying the detentions appear politically motivated.

This gathering, the PACAI, capitalises on the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, to make a difference to information access. The event is convened by the Windhoek+20 Campaign on Access to Information in Africa in conjunction with UNESCO, and possibly the African Union. It will be one of several conferences taking place simultaneously in Cape Town, and it will share an opening session with them. The totality of events will come together for a joint closing session, dubbed as the Africa Information and Media Summit (AIMS).

The Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative sent an appeal to the AU Peace and Security Council in January expressing concerns about the possible treatment of Southerners in the North following the secession of South Sudan. Since South Sudan became independent in July, the government of Sudan has adopted new legislation on nationality which may strip a large number of individuals of Sudanese nationality and create problems for southerners trying to regularise their stay in the north.

New research accuses the World Bank Group's policies of facilitating land grabs in Africa and favouring the interests of financial markets over food security and environmental protection.

Arguably the repression of activists and journalist by Egypt’s interim military government is a sign of how strong citizens’ movements are and how frightened the regime is of losing power as the country moves toward elections and drafting a new constitution, writes Rick Rowden for Goethe-Institut.

We are very pleased to announce that admissions are now open for five scholarships for candidates from African Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Masters in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford, starting September 2012.

The course website can be found , while details about the scholarships, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, can be found on the

International peasant's movement La Via Campesina (LVC) makes clear its intentions to bring together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. It defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity.

An IDN report finds that in the run-up to an important global forum on aid effectiveness, African leaders from fragile and conflict-affected countries have called for new approaches to development in the region and a reassessment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The call emerged from a regional meeting on peace- and state-building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 7-9, 2011.

Teachers across Kenya boycotted classes as schools in that country reopened for their final term in this academic year. A nationwide teachers strike now threatens to disrupt preparations in the run up to this year's national examinations by standard eight and form four candidates.

Voting equipment for Democratic Republic of Congo's election is stranded abroad and costs are spiralling, according to documents and officials, threatening to delay a poll that is due at the end of November. Opposition politicians have already accused President Joseph Kabila of trying to rig his re-election in the vast, mineral-rich country's second vote since its 1998-2003 war.

A South African court has found Julius Malema, the fireband leader of the youth brigade of the country’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), guilty of hate speech. The court ordered the youth leader to pay costs for singing an apartheid-era song that advocated the killing of white farmers.

The current state of the global economy poses an unsolvable paradox to the traditional neoliberal doctrine of development. While economic modernisation based on Western models has long become unattainable for developing nations, wealthy countries are proving to be less and less willing to assist poorer nations in their road towards 'development.' To overcome this paradox, Francine Mestrum of Global Social Justice calls for a new paradigm based on self-steered development and global solidarity.

Wikileaks has exposed a US cable examining Marc Ravalomanana's landslide re-election victory which saw him emerging ahead of 13 other candidates with 55 per cent of the vote. 'At the same time, rather than growing more relaxed and comfortable in power, he appears increasingly to see enemies around him, broaching little dissent as he becomes more isolated and autocratic,' says the cable.

Bisi Alimi contributes to a series by The Guardian on voices of people from around the world who have found themselves stigmatised for their sexuality. While at university in Nigeria and standing for election, a magazine wrote about him and exposed him as being gay. This led the university to set up a disciplinary committee.

STARS Foundation has announced the launch of the 2012 STARS Impact Awards recognising outstanding organisations working in children's health, education and protection. Organisations working with children in Africa, the Middle East, Asia or Pacific are invited to apply. This year, thanks to a partnership with the Ashmore Foundation, STARS is able to increase the number of Awards it intends to offer to 14. Of these, 6 Awards are made up of US$100,000 of unrestricted funding and additional consultancy support and the other 8 Awards will range in value from US$15,000 to US$60,000.

Most Somali women fleeing to Dadaab in northeastern Kenya have never visited an antenatal clinic, let alone given birth in a hospital. Most of the 470,000 refugees in Dadaab are from Somalia, where about 80 per cent of deliveries take place at home or with unskilled traditional birth attendants, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). With an estimated 1,400 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, WHO describes maternal and prenatal health in Somalia as being 'of pressing concern'.

The Obama administration has decided to add the Republic of South Sudan to the list of countries included under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme, Sudan Tribune has learned. The move comes as South Sudan gained its independence in July and the United States swiftly recognised it.

Understandable concern exists over the state of hunger in Africa: almost one third of the population are estimated to be hungry, while more than a quarter of infants are underweight in the countries to the south of the Sahara. Moreover, parts of Africa are all too often hit by sharp increases in hunger when harvests fail or strife breaks out. Can Africa feed itself? And what needs to be done? This report reviews the evidence and opinions drawing on available statistics, the considerable literature and interviews by telephone and email with key informants.

Liberian voters rejected plans to move the presidential election to November. The the poll will thus take place on its original date of October 11. Liberian lawmakers had proposed changing the date so that the vote missed the rainy season.

A new application called Bribespot helps ordinary people report on instances of corruption they witness in their daily lives. According to this piece, users can download a mobile app for Android, which they can then use to submit specific instances of bribes. (Users can also submit through a website). A central office checks the submission and removes identifying information before posting to a database.