Cote d'Ivoire: Hotly Contested Election Leads to Run-off Vote

President Laurent Gbagbo will face longtime rival Alassane Ouattara in a run-off vote later this month after neither candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday's… Read more »

Sudan: Obama Renews Sanctions Against Khartoum

President Barack Obama has renewed sanctions agains the Sudanese government in Khartoum. Read more »

Cote d'Ivoire: Security Fears as Nation Heads to Polls

After being delayed six times, Cote d'Ivoire's landmark presidential elections will go ahead on Sunday. The nation has been in turmoil since a military coup in 1999, six years… Read more »

Cote d'Ivoire: Armed, Masked Men Terrorize West, Says Rights Group

Cote d’Ivoire is preparing to hold long-delayed presidential elections on October 31. Read more »

Liberia: Chevron Takes Another Step in Investment

A team from the Chevron Corporation has concluded a fact-finding mission in Liberia, following up its sealing of a three-year oil exploration deal with the government of President… Read more »

Kenya: Gibraltar MP Contests Report on Nairobi Meeting

Gibraltar Member of Parliament Steven Linares, in a letter to AllAfrica, has contested the accuracy of a recent report on a meeting in Nairobi in which he was quoted on the issues… Read more »

Sudan: Remarks to "The Sudan Referendum - Dangers and Possibilities" at The Brookings Institution

Let me thank the Brookings Institution and Rich Williamson – Nonresident Senior Fellow and Former U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan -- for inviting me to speak at this event… Read more »

Nigeria: Our Bet Should Be with the People

Fifty years after independence, Africa's most populous nation is at a crossroad – heading towards an election that can either empower a reform-minded public or entrench a… Read more »

Nigeria: Only Democracy Can Solve Our Problems, Says Civil Society Leader

Only democracy, even with all its imperfections, can resolve Nigeria's problems, Father Matthew Hassan Kukah, one of Nigeria's most respected leaders of civil society, tells… Read more »

Nigeria: Jonathan Needs to Allay Fears of Ordinary Citizens - Civil Society Leader

Father Matthew Hassan Kukah is one of Nigeria's most respected leaders of civil society, having worked consistently to bring together the country's religious, regional and ethnic… Read more »

Eritrea: World Must Act to Prevent Another 'Failed State'

Just a decade ago, Eritrea might reasonably have been described as challenged but stable. Today it is under severe stress, if not yet in full-blown crisis. Read more »

Central Africa: Deliver Justice to All Congo's Victims

Last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a crucial report that describes the atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during… Read more »

Nigeria: Militant Claims Govt Wanted to Blame Northerners for Abuja Blasts

The former leader of a Niger Delta militant group, Henry Okah, has reportedly claimed he was arrested and charged in South Africa because he refused to cooperate in a plan to… Read more »

Africa: Governance Improves in Liberia, Angola, Togo But Declines in Eritrea, Madasgascar

Governance standards have improved significantly in Angola, Liberia and Togo over the past four years, but have declined in Eritrea and Madagascar, according to a leading survey… Read more »

Nigeria: Betting on the Nigerian People

In early September, we participated in a meeting at a prestigious think tank in Washington, DC, where the discussion focused on Nigeria and more effective ways to address the… Read more »

Liberia: Funding Reading is Fundamental, Says Sirleaf

The sight of children making their way to school every morning - missing during 14 years of chaos and conflict - is a sign that Liberia has returned to stability. But a durable… Read more »

Nigeria: No North-South Armageddon Over Elections

A vigorous, sharply-worded debate has been set off in Nigeria and among the ranks of U.S. foreign policy analysts by an article  in which a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria,… Read more »

Africa: Women and Children the Focus of Achieving MDGs

With five years remaining to achieve the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made it clear that a concerted,… Read more »

Guinea: Election Commission Sets New Date For Polls

The new head of Guinea's election commission has announced that postponed second round of the presidential elections will now be held on October 10. Read more »

Sudan: U.S. Congress Members Urge Obama Administration to Define Policy

Members of the U.S. Congress on Thursday sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging his administration to "take additional steps" to define its policy on Sudan and to "publicly… Read more »

Africa: Mixed Response to World Bank Education Package

At the opening of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit on Monday, mixed reactions greeted the World Bank's announcement of an additional U.S.$750 million… Read more »

Africa: Focus on Women and Girls Key to MDG Success

As world leaders gather this week in New York to assess progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), they will face stark challenges to social and economic development,… Read more »

Africa: What Will You Do to Make Peace Happen?

On September 21, the United Nations will celebrate the International Day of Peace (Peace Day). Every year since 1982 this day has provided a rallying point for member states and… Read more »

Liberia: Volunteers Bring Hearts and Brains to Help Close Health Gap

Until recently, the emergency room at Liberia's main hospital was "a place you came to die," says Dr. Braden Hexom, who teaches emergency medicine at New York's Mount Sinai School… Read more »

Sudan: Salvir Kiir Says International Support for Referendum is Critical for Peace

Southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir appealed to Washington on Friday for heightened international engagement in preparations for the January referendum in which southerners are… Read more »