Biofuels are failing Africa, in contrast to the many promises that fuelled their growth, a new report from Ethiopia claims. Launched at the UN conference on Climate Change in Cancun, the report ‘Biofuels - a Failure for Africa’ from the African Biodiversity Network, Ethiopian Society for Consumer Protection and The Gaia Foundation, highlights the risks of relying on biofuels to bring climate and development benefits to Africa.

The vast inequalities of wealth on either side of the invisible boundary between the Arab world’s richest and poorest countries - Yemen and Saudi Arabia - have come to define the small town of Haradh in northwestern Yemen, where aid agencies are scrambling to help an increasing number of stranded and ill-treated African migrants. In addition to drugs and arms smuggling, Haradh is becoming increasingly infamous for its role in the trafficking of African migrants in search of work in Saudi Arabia.

Following her involvement in workshops and discussions around female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone, Chi Mgbako relates her experiences of listening to the views of young people from the country.

Advocacy and investment on behalf of children affected by AIDS have had an impact, and the goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV appears within reach. But for every problem solved or advance made, new challenges and constraints have arisen. This Children and AIDS: Fifth Stocktaking Report examines current data, trends and the progress that’s been made - pointing out disparities in access, coverage and outcomes - and calls for concrete actions to benefit the millions of children, women and families worldwide who bear the burden of the epidemic.

A thousand babies are infected with HIV every day - in pregnancy, during birth and through breastfeeding. Close to 400,000 African children are infected with HIV every year. The situation points back to the high HIV prevalence amongst women of reproductive age, especially in Southern Africa. Zambia is one of the countries recognised for making progress in addressing the problem.?? Seventy thousand Zambian women between the ages of 15 and 40 have HIV; the health ministry says 85 thousand children are living with the virus.

Can Africa take the lead in taking advantage of e-books, as it has with the rapid expansion of mobile phones and innovations such as mobile banking applications? It is certainly too early to be sure. But there are some solid reasons to think this might be possible, more quickly than it seemed only a year or two ago. The advantages are clear, if internet access and bandwidth is available. There are literally millions of books now available free at various sites on the web, and the number is still growing rapidly. And Amazon's Kindle store has some 750,000 titles, most available at prices well under their paper counterparts. This issue of AfricaFocus contains links for sources of free books, as well as a sampling of Kindle e-books with Africa-related content.

A coalition of Mozambican non-governmental organisations has reported mining giant BHP Billiton to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Socially Responsible Investment Index (SRI) for 'intolerable conduct' in planned pollution at its aluminium smelter in Mozambique, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The coalition of environmental and human rights NGOs sent a formal complaint to the JSE at the end of October, Vanessa Cabanelas, spokesperson for the environmental organisation Justica Ambiental, told the South African Press Association (Sapa).

FARUG calls on the minister for ethics and integrity to 'reverse his absurd decision’ to call off a conference for commercial sex workers, in contradiction to the Global Fund’s recommendations and guidelines for fighting HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

Well-implemented inclusive education should address the learning needs of all children vulnerable to being marginalised and excluded from education. Inclusive approaches often do not take account of children who once had access to education, but have since dropped out of school. This article looks at inclusion in Ghana from the point of view of dropouts. To date, policy on inclusive education in Ghana has focused mainly on girls and/or children with physical disabilities. Yet, drop-out rates can be up to 15 per cent at primary level, and 35 per cent at junior high school level.

The regional SADC bloc says an independent investigation in Zimbabwe, to verify reports of violence and intimidation before a general election can be held, is needed. Civic society leaders from Zimbabwe on Monday met with the SADC executive secretary, Tomaz Salamao, in Gaborone to appraise him and his secretariat on what needs to be done before parties in the Global Political Agreement call for a poll.

Following the passing of Odipo Jacob Odhiambo, Philo Ikonya pays tribute to the Kenyan activist and shares personal experiences of their arrest together last year.

New reporting guidelines herald an exciting new phase of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa – providing a framework for ongoing and constructive dialogue. Elize Delport explains.

On 12 November 2010, over 150 people marched from the Angolan Embassy to the Home Office in London in protest at the death of Jimmy Mubenga during a deportation. Campaigners from the Angolan community first delivered a letter to the Angolan Embassy to call on the authorities to intervene. The march, led by the family and friends of Jimmy Mubenga, then marched to the Home Office. Although marchers had only been given permission to use the pavements, the sheer volume of people meant that very soon they took to the roads and were eventually given a police escort on a circuitous route to the Home Office.

The Chinese government will provide 60 annual scholarships for Angolans wishing to study in China, the Angolan Ambassador to China, Joao Bernardo, said here Sunday in an interview with the country's News Agency (ANGOP). The diplomat disclosed this while appraising the visit to Angola of China's Vice President, Xi Jinping. According to the ambassador, as part of the agreement signed Friday, China had raised the scholarships from 20 to 60.

Egyptian authorities must independently investigate, without delay, allegations that a young man was tortured to death at a police station in Alexandria, and guarantee the safety of another young man still in custody there, Amnesty International has said. The family of Ahmed Shaaban, a 19-year-old man, allege that he died after being tortured and physically abused by police officers at Sidi Gaber police station on 7 November.

'We find it reprehensible that CAL's application was rejected, considering that they meet all the criteria set out for groups to obtain observer status and that they represent a minority group whose vulnerability to human rights abuse is well documented.'

Alternatives Cameroon, in collaboration with the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), would like to congratulate the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights for passing a resolution establishing a committee on People Living with HIV/AIDS and Those most at Risk to address the violations of the rights of vulnerable groups, with a specific emphasis on women, children, sex workers, migrants, men who have sex with men and prisoners.

Renowned radical economist Samir Amin, director of the Third World Forum, chair of the World Forum for Alternatives and one of the best-known thinkers of his generation, visits the UK at the end of the month.

Amin will be speaking at Oxford (29 November), Liverpool (30 November), Edinburgh (1 December) and London (2 December).

For more information, please visit the .

Jacob Odipo’s resilience and resolve for a more equal Kenya was always on full display, writes Raphael Obonyo.

Routledge African Studies has announced free downloads of the top five downloaded articles from each of their African Studies journals. Articles include:
- African diaspora and the metropolis: an introduction by Fassil Demissie
- An epidemic waiting to happen? The spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa in social and historical perspective by Shula Marks
- A nation to be reckoned with: The politics of World Cup stadium construction in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa by Peter Alegi.