The ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its allies have vowed to put an end to political killings which have been on the rise in South Africa. The National Freedom Party has seen 21 of its members killed since last year, while the ANC has also seen an unidentified number of local politicians killed, according to the South African Press Association.

Drug-resistant HIV has been increasing in parts of sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade, according to experts writing in the Lancet. Studies on 26,000 untreated HIV-positive people in developing countries were reviewed by the team. They said resistance could build up if people fail to stick to drug regimes, and because monitoring could be poor.

Human rights groups under the umbrella of 'The Coalition for Human Rights in The Gambia' have called for an end to the 'reign of fear' in The Gambia. The call was made in a statement issued by the coalition and received by PANA in Dakar as the Gambian government marked the anniversary of the 22 July 1994 military takeover which it termed 'Freedom Day.' According to the coalition, the real situation of human rights in The Gambia 'is often subtly hidden' by the Yahya Jammeh administration on occasions like the celebration of the 22 July, which is a true 'black day' for human rights as it marks the seizure of power through 'a coup by the administration that has since then relentlessly engaged in several serious violations of fundamental human rights'.

South Africa has abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria, claiming the resolution was worded in favour of one side of the conflict. Western nations were left perplexed and other onlookers were just as puzzled. Just where does South Africa stand on Syria? asks this article from The Daily Maverick.

On 16 July, civil society organisations demanded the postponement of the elections scheduled for August 31 over claims of a lack of adequate provisions for free and fair polls. A day earlier, police arrested several hundred demonstrators for alleged public disorder at the Sao Paolo market. In the coming weeks, Luanda and major cities are likely to experience an upsurge in public protests from opposition parties, war veterans and civil society groups.

While global HIV funding has stayed flat in recent years, poorer countries have quietly been putting more of their own money into financing the HIV response. 'Something very interesting has been happening' in Africa, Bernhard Schwartländer, director of strategy at UNAIDS told a plenary session at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington DC. Treatment numbers are rising despite stagnant funding. 'A lot of very clever and dedicated people are working very hard in making sure that services are delivered more efficiently, and...more people receive HIV services with the same amount of money.'

Over the years, the ambiguous nature of the Zimbabwe prostitution law has subjected women to arbitrary arrests and detention if found walking at night in the streets of Harare. Those accused of loitering have to pay a maximum fine of 16.50 euros. Led by prominent activists – including renowned writer and politician Tsitsi Dangarembga, herself a victim of the arrests – over one hundred women rallied at the Africa Unity Square in Harare to express their anger at the ongoing injustice.

Can shopping save the world? The Story of Change urges viewers to put down their credit cards and start exercising their citizen muscles to build a more sustainable, just and fulfilling world.

Arbitrary arrests, kidnappings and torture by armed groups and government forces since the end of Côte d’Ivoire’s bloody 2010-2011 post-election unrest are stifling national reconciliation and causing fear and mistrust among civilians. A local human rights group estimates that around 200 supporters of ousted president Laurent Gbagbo have been detained, mostly in northern Côte d’Ivoire. In the western and central towns of Daloa and Issia, several civilians have been arrested and mistreated.

Madagascar’s army said Sunday 22 July it had put down a mutiny in a military camp Sunday, after clashes in which at least three people were killed. 'Mopping up operations are continuing,' said Rarasoa Ralailomady, the army's chief spokesman. 'A night operation has not been ruled out but the situation is under control.' The army also announced that they had neutralized the mutiny leader nicknamed 'Koto Mainty' aka Black Caporal.

The European Union is to suspend most sanctions against Zimbabwe once it has held a credible referendum on a new constitution, EU foreign ministers say. More than a 100 key individuals have been covered under an EU travel ban and assets freeze imposed in 2002. The sanctions were originally imposed a decade ago in response to human rights abuses and political violence. But sanctions would remain against President Robert Mugabe, AFP news agency quotes EU diplomats as saying.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Bert Koenders, has strongly condemned the attack carried out by some 300 individuals against a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Cote d'Ivoire, which resulted in seven deaths and injuries to 13 people.

It's a dream come true for African women, says Litha Musyimi-Ogana, the African Union's chief pointsperson on gender issues as she hails the election of the first female head of the AU Commission, saying more women in positions of power will spur the continent's resurgence. 'We are extremely elated about the election of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has broken the glass ceiling by becoming the first elected woman head of the AU Commission. It's good news for Africa and for the African women,' Musyimi-Ogana, director, women, gender and development directorate, in the AU Commission, said.

President Michael Sata says former president Rupiah Banda is trying to divide Zambians on ethnic lines. Sata says he does not understand why it should be up to Rupiah Banda to decide what race, tribe and region a president should come from. The Post, quoting unknown sources wrote that Rupiah Banda wants Hakainde Hichilema and Nevers Mumba to enter into an alliance but wants it to be led by Hichilema because he doesn’t want a Bemba to rule again, MMD sources have revealed.

International medicines financing mechanism UNITAID will invest more than US$140 million to evaluate point-of-care HIV diagnostic and monitoring technology in seven African countries. New technology could help put more people living with HIV on treatment faster and improve care, UNITAID partners said at the international AIDS conference in Washington DC. Point-of-care (PoC) technology provides health workers with access to complicated test results at the clinic level, but can also change how patients use the health system - not always for the better.

This course provides a policy lens on social exclusion and marginalisation, providing a theoretical framework for understanding the process by which certain groups are systematically disadvantaged. Furthermore, the course will look at the ways in which systematic discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, caste, descent, gender non-confirmation, age, disability, HIV status, migrant status or where they live, shaped certain communities’ social prospects, access to services and ability to mobilise in defence of their rights.

This Africa Today recording is of a special program highlighting the countries of Mali and Nubia and the efforts to prevent the destruction of Africa’s history. The guests include: Professor Manu Ampim, Dr. Runoko Rashidi, and Shayaam Shabaka.

An estimated one million people in Madagascar are diabetic, but only about half of them know it. Finding the other half presents a major challenge for this large, island nation in which 80 per cent of the population live in rural areas where few people have ever heard of this chronic and potentially deadly disease. With the country’s underfunded public health sector barely functioning, this task has mainly fallen to the Madagascan Diabetes Association which dispatches its doctors and nurses to the provinces to conduct blood sugar tests and raise awareness at fairs, schools and health centres.

The United States said Sunday it is suspending military aid to Rwanda because of 'deep concerns' over evidence it is supporting a mutiny in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. State Department spokeswoman Darby Holladay said Washington 'has decided it can no longer provide foreign military financing appropriated in the current fiscal year to Rwanda.'

Transnational organized crime activities, and the money they generate, appear to play a significant role in perpetuating the instability, lawlessness and violence, particularly in the East of the DRC. It is estimated that in the East of the DRC, there are still between 6,500 and 13,000 active members of armed groups who are benefiting from criminal activity. The Organized Crime and Instability in Central Africa threat assessment describes the interconnections between different criminal actors, outlines the various trafficking flows and identifies some possible options for intervention.