Egypt's authorities have used an attack on the Egyptian military in Sinai last August as a pretext to start a campaign to destroy tunnels into Gaza. So far over 120 tunnels have been blown up or filled in. This photo essay shows how the tunnels are used to get essential supplies into Gaza.

Distrust of foreigners has increased in South Africa in the four years since a wave of xenophobic violence swept the country. Some 67 percent of South Africans say they do not trust foreigners at all, compared to 60 percent in 2008, survey findings released this week revealed. The survey, by independent research project Afrobarometer and the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, found that nearly a third of the 2,400 respondents would take action to prevent migrants from moving into their neighbourhood and 36 percent would try to stop them from operating businesses.

Reporters Without Borders says it is concerned about the increasing violations of freedom of news and information in Morocco. Some journalists, such as Ali Lmrabet, are targets of sustained harassment for criticizing certain political leaders or for tackling subjects that directly or indirectly affect King Mohammed. 'Moroccan journalists must be allowed to work freely,' the press freedom organization said. 'Abuses committed by some elements of the security and intelligence services are a cause for concern. We call on the Moroccan government and local authorities in Tetouan to do all in their power to protect Ali Lmrabet and put an end to the campaign of harassment that the journalist is suffering for simply exercising freedom of expression.'

The UK government is bracing itself for thousands of legal claims from people who were imprisoned and allegedly mistreated during the final days of the British empire after the high court in London ruled that three elderly Kenyans detained and tortured during the Mau Mau rebellion have the right to sue for damages. The court rejected claims that too much time had elapsed since the seven-year insurgency in the 1950s, and it was no longer possible to hold a fair trial.

Anglo-Dutch oil and gas super major, Shell, will appear in a Dutch court to account for damage it caused in Nigeria. This is the first time in history, an European company is appearing in a Dutch court. Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) made this known to AkanimoReports in an online statement.

Whereas there are various causes of a breakdown in mental health, LGBT persons have been known to suffer serious mental health breakdowns on account of their sexuality and identities and the expression of the same thereof. Several studies suggest that gay men, lesbians and bisexuals appear to have higher rates of some mental disorders compared with heterosexuals. Discrimination may help fuel these higher rates.

With a couple of clicks, a photo appeared on the Burundian human rights activist’s computer screen: a hillside; a prone, male body, its severed head lying next to it; another man, naked, sitting, ankles and wrists bound, still alive when the photo was taken but since deceased; the uniformed legs of several other men, allegedly police, standing over the scene; the back of a jeep-type vehicle. 'This is reality,' said Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, chairman of the Association for the Protection of Human and Prisoners’ Rights, in his small Bujumbura office, adding that the photo was taken in April 2011.

Cameroonians are burning increasing amounts of charcoal for cooking and heating as the country’s electricity and gas supplies fail to keep pace with demand, raising concerns among environmentalists about growing deforestation and carbon emissions in the country. At local markets in Yaounde, the country’s capital, sales of charcoal are booming. The trade is especially attractive to young people who are jumping at a rare employment opportunity, and even older traders are now changing their wares.

The October edition of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid newsletter, a monthly electronic publication that provides news, reflection, and learning on the provision of refugee legal, is available. Visit to access the edition.

The latest issue includes:

- Country of Origin and legal news
- Deportation and third country removal news
- Announcements
- Reader response: Rwandans in Zambia subject the the Cessation Clause
- Open letter to ExCom: The threat of invoking the Cessation Clause in particular reference to Rwanda
- Petition presented to the Djibouti delegation attending the UN meeting in New York, concerning Eritreans detained in Djibouti
- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) human rights violations against asylum seekers on the Israeli-Egyptian border
- Afghan refugees in Pakistan
- European Court issues freedom of religion judgment
- Unlawful detention and refoulement of asylum seekers in South Africa
- China’s new exit-entry law
- Croatia to join EU, drawing attention to refugee treatment
- The Refugee Consortium of Kenya: code of conduct
- Zimbabwe’s resettlement rumours
- The right to asylum of unaccompanied minors in the European Union
- Sources of persecution seldom spoken about: witchcraft accusations and asylum
- Serbia: a worrying situation outside the centre for asylum seekers in Bogovada
- Hong Kong refugee NGO calls for ‘march for protection’ in response to zero percent recognition rate for torture survivors
- Deportations of failed Ugandan asylum seekers
- Announcing the European database of asylum law
- As Syria stalemate continues, UN Security Council ponders options for protection of refugees and civilians
- Analysis: Was Hungary the first EU country of arrival? Legal responsibility before human rights: a short story on Dublin
- Argentina introduces state-run refugee status determination (RSD) system.

A Nigerian university has been closed because of violent protests about the lynching of four students accused of stealing laptops and mobile phones. A horrific video of the killings near Nigeria's oil capital was posted on the YouTube video-sharing website. Students say the four were mistaken for thieves in the village of Aluu.

Uganda's hard stance on homosexuality and the possible introduction of legislation that would call for the death penalty for homosexuals led to a heated debate at the Pan African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, North of Johannesburg. The House had taken time off to pay tribute to Uganda as it celebrated 50 years of independence but as praises and congratulatory messages poured in, a remark by South African opposition MP Santosh Vinita Kalyan challenging Uganda government's hostility towards homosexuality momentarily changed the momentum of the debate.

Sierra Leone’s international partners and citizens are paying close attention to possible threats to peace ahead of presidential, parliamentary and local elections scheduled for 17 November, which it is hoped will consolidate stability a decade after the end of a civil war and lead to improved living standards. Campaigns are intensifying, especially between historical rivals the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), now in opposition. These are the country’s third elections since the war was declared over.

Turkey is the newest country to intervene in Somalia and its involvement has produced some positive results. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s courageous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011 at the height of the famine and his decision to open an embassy gave fresh impetus to efforts to establish lasting peace, says this briefing from the International Crisis Group.

South African Human Rights Commission has decided to go ahead with its own investigation into human rights abuses at Marikana, despite the strong misgivings expressed by Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice. The commission, which met the committee to discuss the matter a month ago, has decided it 'will continue with our investigation into allegations of human rights abuses'. It said it had received two complaints to trigger this action: one from a nongovernmental organisation ; and another referred by the public protector. The complainants cannot be named unless they choose to reveal their identity.

Nairobi's Kenyatta University has opened a campus in the north-east town of Dadaab and courses will be open to Kenyan citizens and refugees living in the nearby refugee complex, the world's biggest with almost half-a-million people. UNHCR officials working in Dadaab attended the formal opening of the tertiary education facility, which will welcome its first students in January for diploma, undergraduate and master's courses in subjects such as finance, marketing, project management, education, public administration, community mobilization, peace and conflict studies.

Oil and gas are likely to play an ever more prominent role in Ghana’s fast-growing economy following new discoveries both in the Jubilee field and the Tano Basin. Italian giant Eni, made a major discovery last month in the offshore Cape Three Points block, some 50 kilometres from the coast. Eni is continuing to drill other wells to confirm the feasibility of commercial development, but the production test revealed that this new well is capable of producing about 5,000 high quality barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Since the Patriotic Front government of President Michael Sata took power in 2011, several operations have destroyed dwellings deemed illegal. The previous government, helmed by President Rupiah Banda, was perceived as soft on corruption; its party supporters accused of displacing legal land owners to sell their land. In September 2012 about 100 middle-class houses were pulled down in Lusaka. Over 50 houses were demolished in the Zamtan shanty area of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, and in Eastern Province, about 100 houses in a forest reserve of the provincial capital, Chipata, have been identified for destruction.

Nigeria's attorney general said the country would not appeal an international ruling that handed the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to its neighbour Cameroon ten years ago, despite calls from the Senate to re-open the dispute. Nigeria gave up Bakassi in 2008 after years of political disputes, legal skirmishes and violence that killed dozens of people and nearly pushed the two nations into war. Its decision not to pursue a legal challenge was an attempt to avoid a new diplomatic row over the disputed territory.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the violence inflicted upon a journalist by security forces in Togo on Friday 5 October. According to Independent Journalists Union in Togo (UJIT in French), an IFJ affiliate, journalist Justin Anani was attacked by security forces while covering a protest march organized by two opposition groups, the 'Collectif Sauvons le Togo' and 'Mouvement Arc-en ciel' in the capital Lomé.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of the inclusive government if his party supporters continue to be victims of political violence. Speaking in Zaka, Masvingo province this weekend, the Premier said he would soon convene an emergency council meeting to decide whether or not to stay in the inclusive government. The district of Zaka witnessed some of the worst cases of political violence during the 2008 elections. A number of MDC-T supporters were petrol bombed and killed during the orgy of violence, largely perpetrated by soldiers and ZANU PF militia.