Sierra Leone: Women Confront Obstacles in Politics

When Iyesha Josiah told people last year that after the August 2007 general elections, she would stand before them as a new member of parliament for Sierra Leone, they thought she… Read more »

Sudan: UN Says Ailing Environment a Key 'Stress Factor'

A report by the U.N. Environment Programme assessing Sudan's environmental degradation, scheduled for a national launch in Khartoum on Jul. 8, has spurred debate for linking… Read more »

Ethiopia: Ogaden Crackdown Carries High Human Cost

An intensified counter-insurgency campaign against Somali rebels and their suspected civilian supporters in Ethiopia's Ogaden region is drawing growing criticism by human… Read more »

Ethiopia: Starbucks Coffee Deal Hailed As Model

A deal between Starbucks and Ethiopia that ends their trademark dispute and offers more benefits to Ethiopian coffee farmers has been hailed as a potential model for other poor… Read more »

Cape Verde: Migration Key to Country's History

The small West African island nation of Cape Verde, which was uninhabited when Portuguese navigators discovered it in 1460, now has more citizens living abroad than at home. And… Read more »

Mauritania: Exiles' Lawsuit Shines Light On Past Abuses

A group of Mauritanian exiles living in New York has come forward to challenge their country's justice system and the alleged abuses of the former ruler of the Islamic Republic… Read more »

Benin: 'You Clearly Saw the Horrors of Desertification'

Seven years of working in some of the poorest parts of Benin put Euloge Vidégla in the front lines of the battle against desertification. An agricultural economist by… Read more »

Senegal: Setting Fire to the Future

It's the season for bush fires in Senegal, and there are once again concerns that vast tracts of fertile land could be set alight, and ravaged. Read more »

West Africa: Investments Against Desertification Deliver the Goods

Experts from the Inter-State Committee to Fight Drought in the Sahel (Comité inter Etats de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel, CILSS) are calling on donors to… Read more »

Niger: Projects Aplenty to Halt the Desert

For those taking up arms against desertification in Niger, the task at hand must seem daunting. Read more »

Cameroon: Women Face to Face With Desertification

The village of Ngouma has a population of 538 people, 406 of which are women. Most of the men, especially those who can still work the fields, have left in the face of land… Read more »

Burkina Faso: Price Snags for Cotton Farmers

Some call it "white gold"; but, the ever-falling price of cotton means that this nickname may end up being more ironic than complimentary. In Burkina Faso cotton producers are, for… Read more »

Africa: A Ghastly Disease Feeds Off a Ghastlier Oppression

Gender inequality has become the main driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially in Africa, where 70 percent of those infected are women. Read more »

Liberia: Before UN Sanctions Are Lifted, a Timber Industry Clean-Up

Liberia's newly-elected but cash-strapped government has begun to find ways that the U.N. sanctions can be lifted to allow the country to exploit its immense timber resources for… Read more »

Cote d'Ivoire: Falling Global Prices Make Cotton Unattractive

To stem famine and counter a major reduction in rice imports, more and more farmers have been growing rice during the political crisis that has split Ivory Coast in two since 2002. Read more »

Sudan: Oil Sector Proves a Hard Nut to Crack

For geological engineer Farouq Kam, Sudan's 21-year civil war didn't really end in January when the country's Islamist government signed a peace agreement with rebels from the… Read more »

Nigeria: Son of Fallen Activist On U.S. 'Price of Oil' Tour

"In my book, I imagine my father's last day before his execution. I went into his head, reconstructing it from his letters and poems from prison. He was always convincing me to… Read more »

Zimbabwe: 'I'm Ready to Stand in Front of the Gun and be Shot'

A coalition of more than 200 African and international civic groups has called on the United Nations and African Union to press for an end to evictions and demolitions that have… Read more »

Equatorial Guinea: Growing Suppression, Soaring Poverty in Tiny Oil-Rich Country

The dictator of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, is stepping up suppression of opposition, while social conditions in the tiny West African nation are worsening, an… Read more »

Congo-Brazzaville: Country Cut From 'Clean' Diamond List

An international diamond "policing" scheme has stricken the Republic of Congo from its list of countries certified as following global trading rules, and accused the… Read more »

Africa: U.S. Should Reach Out to African Muslims - Report

The United States should increase its military readiness for peacekeeping or counter-terrorist action in Africa, and make new efforts to reach out to the region's Muslim… Read more »