Christine Lagarde's crass comments on Greece have caused an understandable furore in that country. But in Niger, there must be just as much contempt for the IMF director. For in dismissing the plight of mothers in Greece, Lagarde also said she felt more sympathy for 'the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger'. If 'sympathy' is what characterises the IMF's approach to Niger, then Greece would do better to avoid it. Niger comes into news headlines on a fairly regular basis – associated as it is with cycles of famine and constantly high levels of malnutrition. Less reported is the role of the IMF, along with sister organisation the World Bank, in fuelling this suffering, writes Nick Dearden in the London Guardian.

The nascent trade union movement in Egypt will need to develop political structures for the voices of the working class to be heard in electoral processes.

At least six ZANU PF activists have reportedly been arrested in connection with the murder of an MDC-T ward official in Mudzi North last Saturday, but already there are concerns that the arrests were simply a ZANU PF ploy to save face, ahead of the SADC summit. Cephas Magura, the MDC-T chairperson for ward 1, Mudzi North, died from injuries sustained during an assault by ZANU PF thugs at Chimukoko Business Centre. The MDC-T had organised a rally there with permission from the police.

Algeria swore in newly elected MPs on 26 May amidst protests from Islamists alleging electoral fraud. Mohamed Larbi Ould Khelifa presided over the first plenary session of the new People's National Assembly (APN), assisted by two younger MPs, Assia Kenane and Hocine Maaloume. Islamist protesters disrupted the proceedings when 49 Green Algeria Alliance members held up placards and called the May 10th election a fraud, followed by a similar act by the 28 MPs representing the Front for the Protection of Democracy.

A United Nations agency, charged with helping member nations secure their national infrastructures, plans to issue a sharp warning about the risk of the Flame computer virus that was recently discovered in Iran and other parts of the Middle East. The confidential warning will tell member nations that the Flame virus is a dangerous espionage tool that could potentially be used to attack critical infrastructure.

Ghana will lose $378 million if the country goes ahead to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union, a trade activist has said, citing a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa study. According to Mr. Sylvester Bagooro of the Third World Network, the study which has been updated by the South Centre in Geneva, Ghana would lose that amount in tariff revenue and companies exporting to the EU would pay $58 million as duty to the EU if Ghana does not sign the EPA.

In a press release, the Economic Justice Network in Ghana says recent utterances by the Ministers of Trade and Industry, confirm intelligence that the Minister is pushing the Ghana government to sign the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement, IEPA, that was initialled in 2007. 'At a recent public meeting of Ghana-EU Partnership the Minister stated categorically that the benefits of signing the EPAs far outweigh the negatives. This comes on the heels of an interview granted a local newspaper not too long ago where she declared that Ghana will have no alternative than proceed with signature of the IEPA in the light of the lack of progress at the ECOWAS level.'

Libya's former deputy election commissioner says he quit his post because he does not believe the country is ready for next month's elections. Sghair Majeri has told Al Jazeera that 'holding elections by June 19 is a mission impossible' as it is a time-consuming process. However, Libya's Election Commission insists everything is still on track for holding the vote on June 19.

The Presidential Elections Commission will announce on Monday afternoon the first-round results of the presidential poll, an official said, after early counts showed it would go to a runoff between the Muslim Brotherhood candidate and the last prime minister of Hosni Mubarak. State-run news agency MENA said on Monday that the commission would hold a conference to announce full details of the electoral process, including the number of valid and invalid votes, the voter turnout, the votes won by each of the 13 candidates, and the names of the top two runners who will compete in the runoffs slated for 16 and 17 June.

Preliminary results in Lesotho parliamentary elections have put the ruling Democratic Congress (DC) in the lead with 45 per cent of the vote in 77 constituencies out of 80 counted. The results show that the Democratic Congress has won 46 seats, followed by the All Basotho Convention with 27 and the Lesotho Congress for Democracy with 13 seats. Official results are still being verified by the Electoral Commission with final results expected tomorrow.

Tunisia's justice ministry has sacked 81 magistrates over suspicions of graft and their links to ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali's regime. The magistrates, whose identities were not revealed, are accused of having 'obeyed orders and dabbled in embezzlements, while handing down rulings in violation of the law to protect personal interests', said Justice Minister Nourredine Bhiri in an interview on Sunday with newspaper Achourouk.

Dozens of legislators have walked out of the inaugural session of Algeria's parliament to protest what they say was an election rigged to hand a majority to the ruling elite's party. Saturday's walk-out saw 49 legislators from the Green Algeria Alliance (AVV) along with MPs from two smaller parties, who combined hold 60 of the 462 seats in the parliament, boycott the first meeting of the chamber since a May 10 election.

Tens of thousands of Moroccans have taken to the streets of Casablanca in protests against the government’s failure to tackle unemployment and other social woes. Sunday’s rally, which is believed to be the largest opposition protest since a new government took office, was organised by trade unions. They accuse Abdelilah Benkirane, the prime minister of failing to deliver on the pledges of social justice that brought his party to power in November.

Unexpectedly sharp price rises in April for local cereals like millet, rice and maize in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad mean many vulnerable people in the drought-hit Sahel could find it even harder to get enough to eat. The high prices of basic foods are the most alarming feature of the current Sahel crisis, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Prices are expected to keep rising until the end of August - during the lean season - but the size of recent hikes has surprised food price analysts and humanitarian aid personnel.

In contrast with Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, Islamists in Algeria refused to join the incoming government. Furthermore, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), which has four ministers in the current government, decided to withdraw them altogether. The Islamist party, which until now had been a partner in the governing coalition, on Saturday (May 19th), decided to return to the ranks of the opposition after a resounding 134 to 35 vote by the consultative committee.

Rampant poverty is the main source of potential instability in Angola, with the main threat emerging from rapidly growing cities, according to this paper commissioned by the US Africa Command and written by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The MDC-T has embarked on a new diplomatic offensive to galvanise support from the region, for the far-reaching legislative reforms needed in Zimbabwe before elections can be held. The country will again be the focus of attention at next week’s SADC summit in Luanda, Angola, at which regional leaders will discuss the ongoing political crisis blocking implementation of the GPA and election roadmap.

The visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on Zimbabwe’s political leaders to quickly find a solution to their differences and implement key reforms, in order to avoid the violence that marred the 2008 elections. Speaking to journalists at the end of her five-day visit to assess human rights, Navi Pillay said unless the parties quickly agree on key reforms, the next election could turn into 'a repeat of the 2008 election which resulted in rampant politically motivated human rights abuses, including killings, torture, rapes, beatings, arbitrary detention, displacements and other violations'.

There is a sustained ideological assault on trade unionism in South Africa. But why should millions of unemployed people be expected to see trade unions as the cause of their problems when there are more obvious targets?

As Charles Taylor awaits sentencing for his conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Lansana Gberie responds to Taylor’s attempt to defend his actions in Sierra Leone.