'The main role of #SudanRevolts is to provide a strong unified brand for communicating the Sudanese revolution, which in turn is made up of various groups and individuals that include youth groups, university students, women groups, and recently trade unions have been joining too. The most remarkable aspect of this revolt is that it attracted even individual citizens who suffer day in and day out from the regime's repeated failures, corruption and brutality,' says Rawa Gafar Bakhit, representing Sudan Change Now, in this interview on the website.

The early results of Libya's parliamentary election show a liberal party in first place in the country's first free vote since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. The election commission on Tuesday said the National Forces Alliance (NFA), led by Mahmoud Jibril, the former interim prime minister, secured 39 of the 80 open seats. Those projections also meant the NFA won only 20 per cent of seats in the 200-seat assembly.

State hospitals and health clinics across Sierra Leone are facing severe shortages of drugs that should be supplied under the free healthcare programme because practitioners are diverting them for private sale, investigations by the Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) show. User fees for children under five and pregnant women were scrapped in 2010, allowing them to consult health practitioners and receive medication free of charge. One in 21 women in Sierra Leone dies from pregnancy or other causes, while over 17 per cent of children die before their fifth birthday, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Expanding markets from Nigeria to China are fuelling a voracious appetite for more food. A big part of that demand will have to be met by palm oil, a low-cost fat coveted by food manufacturers and a mainstay of cooking across the tropics. Since 2000, world demand for palm oil has doubled. Millions of hectares of forest in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia have been turned over to plantations. That has prompted dismay among environmentalists and brought about tough new rules that are forcing planters to look elsewhere. One of those places is Cameroon, a central African state whose 20 million people live on an average of $3 a day.

The Angolan government is targeting protest organizers for arbitrary arrest and detention in response to increasing demonstrations criticizing the government or its policies, Human Rights Watch says.

The US government’s growing reliance on aerial drones to pursue its war on al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Yemen, Afghanistan and elsewhere is proving controversial. As governments are increasingly relying on drones, this Al Jazeera People and Power documentary asks what are the consequences for civil liberties and the future of war?

Reporters Without Borders has voiced its support for the one-day strike planned by Mali’s media, when radio stations will suspend broadcasting and no newspapers will be printed. In a show of solidarity, the organization issues a call for an end to the constant media freedom violations of the past four months.

At least a hundred protesters arrived at South Africa's parliament on 11 July to demonstrate their disapproval of the ongoing court case by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis against the Indian government over its patent laws. As the case draws to a close, health organizations say a win for the pharmaceutical company will be a loss to the developing world, which sources the bulk of its generic medicines from India. Novartis approached the Indian government six years ago, seeking to register a cancer drug already commonly marketed under the name Gleevec. The patent was denied and a long-running court battle ensued, but at each step Indian courts have ruled against Novartis and the company has appealed.

There are fresh fears that plans are being laid by ZANU PF to dismiss the proposed new constitution, in a move that will ensure there are no voting rights for the Diaspora. There is still no confirmation about when the draft charter will be released, but ZANU PF has repeatedly shown resistance to the document spearheaded by the COPAC team. Robert Mugabe’s party has been advocating for the ‘Kariba Draft’ constitution, which was a negotiated document made well before COPAC was tasked with setting the laws for a new, democratic Zimbabwe.

Child labour is on the rise in Ghana, particularly in urban areas. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) 2012 State of the World’s Children Report, 34 per cent of Ghanaian children aged between five and 14 years are engaged in child labour – up from 23 per cent in 2003. Emilia Allan, a Child Protection Officer at UNICEF Ghana, noted that Kumasi alone makes up eight per cent of that figure.

16 July 2012 - From early this evening, the community of SST and the Progressive Youth Movement (PYM) in the Khayelitsha township of Cape Town has been in the midst of a mass action in front of the home of Amos Nkomeni, the ANC ward councilor for ward 93 in the City of Cape Town. Councillor Nkomeni’s response to the community march to his house was arrogant and dismissive, instead of responding to the demand for an end to the degrading and dehumanising bucket system imposed by the City of Cape Town in the absence of decent sanitation at SST.

Fewer people are dying from AIDS-related illnesses and being infected with the HIV virus than at any time in the last decade, but more progress is needed in prevention, testing and treatment, a report from the United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS) said. Fewer people are dying from AIDS-related illnesses, with the number of deaths declining to 1.7 million in 2011. New cases of HIV infections were 2.5 million, the lowest level since 2001, according to UNAIDS figures for the last decade.

The UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, controversially endowed by Equatorial Guinea, was finally awarded in Paris 17 July, after years of wrangling and postponements. The three prize winners - from Egypt, Mexico and South Africa - each received US$100,000 from Equatorial Guinea's vice president, Ignacio Milam Tang, amid speculation about whether the country's dictatorial president, and the prize's original funder, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, would attend in person (he did not).

On 15 July 2012, the Swazi Observer issued letters of suspension to its editor, Thulani Thwala, its weekend editor, Alec Lushaba, and the newspaper's chief financial officer (CFO) and senior manager, Mr. Nala Nkabindze. No explanation was given for the suspension. Both editors have been suspended for one month and await the outcome of an investigation into the matter. National Director of the Swaziland Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Swaziland), Comfort Mabuza, has condemned this development, branding it a clandestine action to silence the editors and prevent them from the informative and critical reporting that they are known to facilitate in Swaziland.

The SACP's national conference ended in a political game of cat and mouse between general secretary Blade Nzimande and Kgalema Motlanthe. The conspicuous absence of top SACP leaders – including its general secretary Blade Nzimande – at the party's fundraising gala dinner in Durban, has been interpreted by some within the ANC-led alliance as a calculated political move to embarrass Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe ahead of the ANC's crucial elective conference in Mangaung in December. Nzimande is a vocal Jacob Zuma supporter and is being pushed by some of the president's backers to stand for ANC deputy president in Mangaung. Motlanthe, meanwhile has the backing by a significant faction within the ANC, particularly its youth and veterans wings, to contest Zuma for the top spot as party president.

The full Supreme Court bench has thrown the coalition government into political turmoil after it ordered President Robert Mugabe to call for a string of by-elections before the end of next month in a shock ruling which could change the current composition of parliament and collapse the Global Political Agreement (GPA).The court’s judgement could lead the country into a mini-general election or leave the main political parties engaged in renewed combat and negotiations over the timing of full general elections. It could also have far-reaching implications, not just for the GPA and inclusive government, but also Sadc facilitation and resolutions.

Abdirahaman Abdiwali, a leader in the local Somali community, in an interview with the website says the Somali community has contributed to Cape Town’s local economy, but that Somalis are vulnerable to crime when conducting their business. 'Most of these crimes are happening in townships such as Khayelitsha, Delft, Philippe, and Nyanga. For the past three months, sixteen people were killed. Some are still in hospital critically wounded and some were left paralysed. Thirty-six armed robberies were also reported. The criminals operate as a team. They target Somalis who will be coming from the Cash and Carries or other big wholesalers after buying goods for their Spaza shops. Normally they rob them of their goods and bakkies before they reach their shops, or they attack them while they are busy off-loading.'

Malawi's president Joyce Banda and her People's Party led government clock 100 days in office tomorrow amid calls from the civil society and political commentators for her to declare her assets to the public to ensure transparency and accountability in her administration. It is not yet known whether Banda has yet adhered to the Constitutional requirement of declaring assets but since assuming office, Banda, through her private Joyce Banda Foundation and Hilda Mtila Foundation has given out millions of kwachas.

Following the increasing resort to indecent expressions among political activists in elections-related and general political discussions, particularly on radio, and their possible implications for peaceful elections, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) embarked on the project 'Promoting Issues-based and Decent Language Campaigning for a Peaceful, Free and Fair Elections in Ghana in 2012.' Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has now made available the first quarter report of the project, which is available from their website.

Somalia's population exodus has crossed a new threshold, hitting the one million mark as more people continue to flee to the surrounding region, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said. The most recent arrivals continue to cite insecurity and dwindling food resources as the main reasons for their flight. Despite last week passing the 1 million mark for the first time since Somalia descended into violence in 1991, data compiled by UNHCR for the main arrival countries of Kenya and Ethiopia also shows lower but steady numbers of people leaving Somalia.