In January 2011, after years of civil war, the people of South Sudan voted overwhelmingly for separation from the Republic of Sudan. As part of the process of separation of the two states, people of South Sudanese origin who are habitually resident (in some cases for many decades) in what remains the Republic of Sudan are being stripped of their Sudanese nationality and livelihoods. This is happening irrespective of the relative strength of their connections to either state, and their views on which state they would wish to belong to. This summary of a forthcoming detailed legal commentary from the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) and AfriMAP looks at the issues created by the respective nationality laws of the two Sudans.

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Gunmen have shot dead a journalist in Somalia - the fifth such killing this year. Farhan Jeemis Abdulle, a reporter for Radio Daljir, was shot by masked men as he left his office in the north-central town of Galkayo, his colleagues say.

Eritrea is the world's most censored country, a new analysis by watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has found, beating out both North Korea and Syria. Equatorial Guinea also makes it on the list of the world's ten most censored countries in the report released ahead of the World Press Freedom Day.

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The Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress-Ghana (TUC), Brother Kofi Asamoah, has regretted that despite the laudable economic achievements made by Ghana in recent times, the fact remains that joblessness is on the ascendency in the country. 'The reality is that the unprecedented growth rate has failed to create decent jobs for Ghanaians.'

At least 34 people have been killed in an attack on a cattle market in north-eastern Nigeria, security officials have told the BBC. Another 29 people were injured, said Nigerian military spokesman Col Dahiru Abdussalam. The market in Potiskum, Yobe state, was set on fire by gunmen armed with explosives.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has presented the maiden report of its language monitoring project, which is aimed at promoting issues-based and decent language campaigning in this year’s elections. The first report was based on monitoring for the first week of April (April 1 to 7, 2012). The report covers findings on the second week of monitoring (April 8 to 14, 2012). In all, monitoring reports were received from 15 out of the 31 selected radio stations that are being monitored under the project. This report is, therefore, based on data gathered from the 15 radio stations, which have been named in the report.

South Africa's economic management is as risky as unsafe sex.

As Uganda joined the global community in marking World Press Freedom Day, research shows that some media houses in the country have caved in to pressure from the State and no longer report on critical issues affecting the country. Speaking at the release of a report titled: ‘Media Liberalisation in Uganda: Threatening Journalists’ Rights and Freedom’, in Kampala, Mulindwa Mukasa, the executive board chairperson of Human Rights Network for Journalists (HRNJ) said: 'During the Buganda riots, media houses were closed while others were sternly warned to desist from covering the events of the riots. This forced some media houses to lay-off objective journalists and replace them with less critical ones.'

The Ethiopian government has activated a highly restrictive clause which authorises printers to censor the content of newspapers and other publications in the country. The new legal directive forced printers to take the responsibility of the reports or any other contents in any newspaper and other publications.

Nega’s wife, who has been jailed herself for her journalism, said she was accepting the award on behalf of her husband “at a time when freedom of expression and press freedoms are at the lowest point in Ethiopia.”

Fourteen persons, half of them civilians, died in Mali when they were hit by stray bullets following the eruption of violent clashes between troops loyal to the coup plotters and those still supporting the ousted President Toumani Toure, PANA learnt from official sources. In a statement, the Committee for the recovery of democracy and the restoration of the state (CNRDRE), the military junta that ousted Toure in a coup on 22 March, accused 'the intruders' of attacking the Kati barracks, the Malian national broadcaster (ORTM) and the international Bamako-Senou airport with a view to destabilizing the process of returning the country to constitutional order.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has called upon the European Union (EU) to continue to monitor the constitutional reforms that have recently taken place in Morocco. 'The EMHRN is pleased to note that the reforms include the recognition of a multifaceted Moroccan identity and the return of legislative power to the Parliament. While the Network also welcomes the inclusion of the principles of gender parity and the primacy of international law over domestic laws, it wishes to draw attention to the fact that the recognition of these principles remains subject to interpretation,' the organisation said in a statement.

Algeria Solidarity Campaign (ASC) calls for a protest in front of the Algerian Consulate on Saturday, May 5th at 3pm.

Address: 6 Hyde Park Gate, SW7 5EW (5min from High Street Kensington Station).

The Globe and Mail has an article about Bill Gates and his advocacy of technology in the agriculture sector. 'Relying on genetically modified (GM) crops and chemicals to push up output per acre may help Monsanto (which was one of the stocks in the Gates Foundation’s investment portfolio), Syngenta and other tech-driven food biggies, but won’t necessarily support those who need the most help-poor smallholder farmers and underdeveloped countries. Making them part of Big Ag’s global supply chain might not help either.'

Ghana has become the first country in Africa to start protecting children against two of the continent's deadliest infant diseases with simultaneous vaccinations. The diseases targeted are rotavirus, which causes diarrhoea, and pneumococcal, both of which kill more than 2.7 million children worldwide each year. The project is backed by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation.

President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire promised paved roads, an end to power cuts and water shortages, better mobile phone coverage, and a new university in the country’s west as part of an 'emergency plan' to develop a region that has been steeped in violence and insecurity for a decade. But for some displaced Ivoirians still unable to return to their homes, the promises ring hollow.

Malawi will devalue its currency, the kwacha, by 40 per cent to unlock blocked aid by meeting conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, President Joyce Banda said. The government has resumed relations with the UK and held talks with the IMF, World Bank and U.S. after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika, the leader who clashed with western donors, Banda said. She was sworn-in as president of the southern African nation this month after Mutharika died of a heart attack on April 5.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will continue its fight against the e-tolling project until the tolls have 'finally been scrapped', the union federation said. Spokesperson Patrick Craven said in the federation's Workers' Day statement that the postponement of the R20-billion e-toll project was 'a direct product of the workers' power and sacrifices'.