All Africa
- Equatorial Guinea: Ignorance worth fistfuls of dollarsGuest blogger Vukasin Petrovic asks why US retains positive ties with Equatorial Guinea's long-ruling president Teodoro Obiang Nguema, despite evidence of brutality, corruption, and neglect of his people.
- Is there a "Kivu conspiracy" to undermine Congo? HardlyGuest blogger Laura Seay, during visit to the Congolese city of Goma, looks into allegations that the ongoing rebellion of Bosco Ntaganda is a conspiracy to undermine Congolese control.
- FocusRio+20 challenge: seeking sanitation in the slums of Lagos, NigeriaAs more and more Nigerians flood into Lagos in search of jobs and opportunities, the sanitation system is badly under strain.
- Kenya chopper crash takes out key foe of Al ShababA helicopter crash Sunday killed George Saitoti, Kenya's internal security minister and key hawk in the fight against Somali Islamist group Al Shabab.
- Liberia, Ivory Coast disagree over deadly ambush on UNLiberia says it cannot confirm that the perpetrators of Friday's ambush came from within its territory, while the Ivorian government firmly asserts they did.聽
- Is Liberia turning into a haven for militant groups - again?Human Rights Watch issues report saying Liberia is failing to control rebel groups launching raids into neighboring Cote D'Ivoire. Liberia rejects the charges.
- Mali: Clashes show cracks in alliance of Tuaregs and IslamistsAn alliance of Mali's ethnic Tuareg separatist group on one hand, and a radical Islamist group on the other was bound to be shaky. Now there are reports that fighting has broken out between them.
- African HIV activists want a new model for preventionThe old 'Abstinence, Be Faithful, and Condom use' model for combating HIV doesn't work well in Africa, where the stigma of sexual diseases prevents people from protecting themselves.
- Wanted in Somalia: US puts bounties on top Al Shabab leadersWhile multimillion-dollar bounties may not lead to the imminent capture of Al Shabab leaders in Somalia, such rewards do ensure there will be no 'soft landing' for terrorist suspects.
- How Many People Are Surviving on Leaves in the Nuba Mountains?New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof Tweeted that 800,000 people in Sudan's South Kordofan state are surviving by 'eating just leaves.' When does overestimation do harm to a just cause?
- Nigerian plane was faulty, airline official saysThe 22-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-83 plane had a history of mechanical problems, an unnamed Dana Air official told a Nigerian TV station. Airline officials insist it was fit to fly.
- Nigeria's Boko Haram a holy war? Maybe not entirelyNigerian Roman Catholic Archbishop John Onaiyekan, on a visit to Kenya, said the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency is as rooted in bad governance as much as in its push for Islamic sharia law.聽
- Nigeria plane crash: Was age of aircraft an issue?Nigeria plane crash: Nigerian law bans aircraft older than 20 years, but the average age of Dana Air's planes is 21.4 years. Sunday's Nigeria plane crash killed all 153 passengers and unknown numbers on the ground.
- Democracy 101: tiny Lesotho holds peaceful electionAfter a number of setbacks, with disputed elections leading to civil war, the African kingdom of Lesotho holds an election that boots the incumbent. A coalition government is in the works.
- Rebel alliances strengthen in Mali's north, rattling neighboring countriesThe northern two-thirds of Mali is now under control of Tuareg and Islamist rebels who want to redraw national boundaries and export revolution. Displaced minorities tell of brutality.
- Muslims accuse Ethiopian government of meddling in mosquesEthiopia's Muslims have been protesting 'state interference' in their affairs for the past six months. Could government accusations of Muslim extremism risk greater tension?
- Somalia famine has ended, but many still hungryGood rains and reduced conflict have helped aid groups reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Somalia who rely on their aid. The hunger crisis remains a delicate situation, though.
- Somalia: Al Shabab loses Afgoye and Afmadow. Is Kismayo next?Military advances by African Union troops and Somali forces have pushed the Islamist Al Shabab militia out of key towns. Is the Shabab headquarters of Kismayo next on the list?
- Taylor's 50-year sentence draws mixed reactions in LiberiaHuman rights groups welcomed the sentence for Liberia's former president Charles Taylor for his role in Sierra Leone civil war. Some Liberians argued he didn't get fair treatment.
- Nairobi blast: Could have been Al Shabab or a 'lone wolf' sympathizerMonday's explosion in a downtown market injured 38, the latest in a string of small attacks that may have been conducted by Al Shabab sympathizers both to kill and to create sense of insecurity.