Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the harsh, two-year jail sentence which a court passed yesterday on Hanevy Ould Dehah, the editor of the website Taqadoumy, at the end of an incomprehensible and arbitrary trial.

Kenya's failure to put in place a comprehensive disaster preparedness policy means its response to high-risk events such as droughts, floods, epidemics and major accidents tends to be slow, poorly coordinated and unnecessarily expensive, say specialists.

Although South Africa has almost a million HIV positive people on treatment, actuaries tell us that over 300,000 citizens are still being infected with the virus every year. This prompted health economist Professor Alan Whiteside to remark recently that “HIV treatment without prevention is like mopping the floor while the tap is running”.

As Tunisians prepare to abandon analog TV for digital terrestrial television by the end of March, the government mandate announced in late December continues to pose adjustment problems for providers and the public.

Hundreds of Bushmen were left angry and frustrated after the Botswana president refused to enter into discussions with them during a meeting on Thursday. President Khama, accompanied by four government ministers, met with Bushmen at the New Xade resettlement camp where they were dumped after being evicted from their lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002.

One of Senegal's leading lawyers has mediated labor strikes and defused election violence. Her name is Amsatou Sow Sidibe and Malena Amusa thinks she's a major reason why Senegal is relatively peaceful compared to neighboring Guinea.

Support is growing for a bid to persuade the G8+5 nations to fund 1,000 senior research positions in African universities. The Academic Chairs for Africa initiative would require the rich G8 countries and the emerging economies that now attend the group's gatherings — Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Mexico — to commit US$100m per year over a five-year period.

Younger teachers in South Africa are taking the lead in talking to students about HIV but are not practicing what they preach, according to new research.

Treating herpes does not reduce the risk of transmitting HIV, a New England Journal of Medicine study has found. The anti-herpes medication is dispensed from all South African Primary Healthcare clinics in the public sector and has been added to the sexually transmitted infection treatment guidelines.

The Ministry of Trade has moved to allay fears that Kenya may break ranks with the East African Community because of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) trade deal with Europe.

After 18 years of successful multi-party democracy, Ghanaians are bracing themselves to review the Fourth Republican Constitution. Following cabinet’s approval of a memorandum on the consultative review, government has established an independent body to spearhead the process.

Corruption is not a solitary activity, and the networks that promote corruption are rarely confined to one country or one continent. For corruption in Africa, countries outside the continent enter the picture not only when foreign companies pay bribes for access. They are also a preferred location for stolen wealth.

The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.

Major routes in Sudan have been cleared of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) but there are still areas where the devices threaten civilians, as well as affecting aid and development efforts, say officials.

Each year, the May 18 Memorial Foundation announces this award in a spirit of solidarity with those working towards democracy. The award goes to one individual or organization who has contributed to the promotion and advancement of human rights, democracy and peace in their work.

On February 3, 2010, the Brazilian Congress approved the Constitutional Amendment Project (PEC in Portuguese) 047/2003, to incorporate the Right to Food as a fundamental right in the national constitution. The Right to Food will be included in article 6 of Brazil’s supreme law that already contemplates other social rights such as the right to work, health, education, and social security.

Schools in Dongo, Equateur Province, in western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the scene of inter-ethnic clashes from October to December 2009, are still closed because parents are worried about security, despite a call for their reopening by the provincial government.

Jabulile Dlamini* is sweet sixteen and has never been kissed. And she is not expecting to be kissed any time soon or to even receive any gifts this Valentine’s Day.

The 2010 session of the CODESRIA sub-regional methodological workshops will explore the conditions for the employment and validation of qualitative perspectives in African contexts. To this end, the workshops will be open to all the social research discipline. The East and Southern Africa edition of the methodology workshops is designed for doctoral and masters students and young, mid-career African researchers resident in East and Southern Africa.

For the Foresight journal’s Special Issue on the theme “Is Africa the land of the future?”, we invite papers that look at the potential conditions and the roles of Africa and Africans in the future world. In addition to the exploration of possible futures, the theme of the Special Issue also calls for considerations for robust policies and creative strategies that could ensure sustained transformation within the African continent.