Reflecting on how the media and war industries often feed off each other for political and commercial ends, Mwaura Kaara considers the prospects for ‘peace journalism’ that ‘captures the truths as they are without bias or favour’.

As the two-year lifespan of Zimbabwe’s coalition government draws close to an end, Japhet M. Zwana finds little cause for optimism about the country’s future.

With Nigerian National Assembly officials stressing that they will not submit to pressure from oil multinationals, Uche Igwe considers the extent to which the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will facilitate reform of the country’s oil and gas sector.

With Western countries battling to maintain low currencies and the US accusing China of deliberately undervaluing the renminbi as part of an ‘international currency war’, Sanou Mbaye asks ‘what does this herald for African countries?’

Uche Igwe attends a speech by US Senator Benjamin L. Cardin about new legislation that requires both US and internationally based companies to publish what they pay to governments for the commercial development of oil, gas and minerals.

The excessive use of pretrial detention leads to overcrowded environments where unconvicted detainees are at risk of contracting disease, writes Kersty McCourt. But as disease outbreaks quickly spread to the general public, pretrial detention is not just a human rights problem but also a looming public health crisis.

When a place in the Middle East is labelled as ‘gay friendly’, does this simply open it up to a new host of demands from the West, asks blogger A of Arabia.

How are we to understand Barack Obama’s meteoric rise to power? What does the movement which propelled him to power represent? And why has he not fulfilled the promises of his election campaign? Wazir Mohamed reviews a new book by Horace Campbell that seeks to answer these questions.

Knowledge of a government’s allocation of tax expenditure is central to citizens’ awareness of where their money goes. In a report on budget transparency, Uwazi-Twaweza asks how East African countries fare in this area.

Tom Olang’ examines the new protections against hate speech in Kenya and how oversight mechanisms protect – or don’t – minorities from hate speech.

Isabeau Doucet critically examines the funding promises made by the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission. Housing and employment programs have been overlooked. Mortgages and bourgeois interests are the IHRC’s main priorities, Doucet argues.

The pretrial stage of the criminal justice process is particularly vulnerable to corrupt practices, which hit the poor and disenfranchised hardest, says Kersty McCourt.

There have been great women in history, but Yaaa Asantewaa was one of a kind, Cameron Duodu reminds us of the story of the ‘mere woman’ who ‘fought against the cannon’ during the British colonisation of Ghana.

Kofi Akosah-Sarpong tackles excessive spending on funerals in Ghana. More attention should be spend on the living, he argues.

South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, has announced that it wants to attract more white voters. Tim Murithi says this would require the adoption of a more inclusive ‘nation-building’ and non-racial posture.

World leaders must admit that their efforts to solve world hunger have failed and that they are ‘not in a position to find effective solutions’, writes Sarath Fernando. This situation can be changed only by taking ‘the task of feeding the hungry’ into ‘the hands of those who are genuinely interested in solving hunger’ – the hungry themselves.

Tanzanians preparing to go to the polls on 31 October are ‘keenly aware that the country’s political future is at stake’, says Salma Maoulidi. Their votes, writes Maoulidi, could redefine the direction of a country ‘jeopardised by the dominance of economic interests and buddy patronage pursued by the government of the incumbent candidate and ruling party.’

Zimbabwe’s constitutional reform process is failing to represent the views of young people, who make up more than half the country’s population, writes the Youth Alliance for Democracy.

Torture is common in prisons around the world, but prisoners in pretrial detention face the most risk, since this is when interrogations take place and confessions are sought. Systemic factors such as insufficient legal resources and the lack of police complaint mechanisms contribute to the use of torture while prisoners await trial. Kersty McCourt recommends police forces make less use of pretrial detention, allow prisoners to access medical services and governments develop torture prevention mechanisms.

A teenage girl tries to abort and then begins bleeding at school. Her name and details get published in the media. Mona Hakimi calls for newsrooms to tell stories in a more compassionate way.