The Strike action in Senegal is the last resort for teachers in trying to persuade the government to return to dialogue. The strike is part of planned action consisting of three 72-hour strikes over a period of three weeks, between 11-26 April. The unions were forced to take the industrial action after the government failed to respond to their claim for increased housing and research allowances.

The quadrupling of Senegal's population in 47 years has led to an increase in the amount of land under cultivation, rising demand for firewood and charcoal, and accelerated urbanisation. The result: Senegal loses about 350,000 hectares of its forests annually to fires that are frequently started to clear land for farming, and more than 80,000 hectares for agricultural needs, according to the Centre for Environmental Preservation (Centre pour la sauvegarde de l'environnement, CSE).

The Senegalese parliament has overwhelmingly voted in favour of a bill that introduced gender parity on the lists of proportional representation that political parties should present for legislative polls in the country. Initiated by President Abdoulaye Wade, the passing of the bill means increase in the number of female members of parliament in Senegal's future parliament.

The Centre for Democracy and Development is organizing a seminar on the implications of Mr Wade's re-election for the future of democracy in Senegal, the impact it will have on human rights, civil society, socio-economic development or foreign policy in this West African country.

It is the season for bush fires in Senegal, and there are once again concerns that vast tracts of fertile land could be set alight, and ravaged. Over 2005 and 2006 more than 400,000 hectares were affected in the course of an unusually severe series of fires. Almost a tenth of the southern Linguère region was burnt, and more than nine percent of the Bakel area. Several smaller outbreaks were also documented.

The Socialist Party (PS), which has supported the candidature of its leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng, in the recent presidential election in Senegal, has rejected the results proclaimed by the registration and voters Commission. According to Maitre Aissata Tall Sall, campaign manager of the candidate, there was a lot of fraud and irregularities during the scrutiny.

A Gambian court ordered a month's jail term for 37 Senegalese illegal migrants that had tried embarking for Spain, after they were proven guilty to the charges brought against them.

Senegal's veteran leader Abdoulaye Wade has won a second term in the country's presidential elections, according to provisional results. But one of the leading opposition parties, the Socialist Party, which ruled the country for four decades before being ousted by Wade in 2000 elections, said it would contest the outcome of the vote.

Following three attacks by armed fighters in northern Casamance since the start of presidential election campaigns on 4 February, local government officials and supporters of the candidates are concerned that the rebels are trying to undermine Sunday’s vote.

Followers of a Senegalese religious leader allied to President Abdoulaye Wade attacked supporters of a rival candidate late on Wednesday, injuring at least three people and raising tensions days ahead of elections.

With presidential elections looming, many in Senegal are concerned that the country’s largely peaceful history at the polls is about to be shattered. So far no one has been killed or suffered major injuries ahead of the 25 February vote.

Aid is a major source of government revenue for many developing countries. Senegal, which has also built up a large country debt, receives a significant proportion of its government revenues from aid. But is aid the best way to support economic growth in countries with large debts, or could debt relief be a better policy?

Ahead of the Senegalese presidential elections on February 25, ARTICLE 19 publishes a report on the state of freedom of expression in Senegal. The legal, political and institutional framework for freedom of expression in Senegal must be reformed, urges a new report published by ARTICLE 19 just ahead of February 2007 elections. The report outlines key challenges and obstacles to freedom of expression in the lead up to presidential elections.

Six months after Senegal agreed to an African Union request that it prosecute Chad's former dictator, it has moved very slowly in bringing Hissène Habré to trial on charges of crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper. Human Rights Watch noted that Senegal had not even passed the legislation needed to try Habré.

Ahead of the Senegalese presidential elections on February 25, ARTICLE 19 publishes a new report on the state of freedom of expression in Senegal which presses for the legal, political and institutional framework for freedom of expression in Senegal to be reformed.

Senegalese refugees in Guinea-Bissau who had recently returned to their homes in Senegal’s Casamance region on Monday were fleeing back across the border following four days of fighting. The Senegalese army said about 500 Moroccan troops are in Casamance to assist with a de-mining operation to help make the region safe for the return of refugees. Often in Casamance, where a rebellion has simmered since 1982, just the appearance of Senegalese troops can trigger flight because residents fear combat is imminent.

Spain has sent several hundred African migrants back to Senegal from the Canary Islands, officials say. Six planes flew them from the island of Tenerife to Saint-Louis in the African country's north-west. The migrants were among more than 30,000 Africans who landed in the Canaries in 2006 after dangerous sea journeys in open wooden boats. Most of those on board were Senegalese, but others were said to be from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali and Mauritania.

Suspected separatists in Senegal's Casamance province have killed a prominent local ruling party official and slit his throat. Armed men attacked Oumar Lamine Badji, a leading member of the president's ruling Democratic Party (PDS), late on Saturday (30 December 2006) at his home in the village of Sindian.

When floods in August 2005 made some of Dakar’s most impoverished suburbs uninhabitable, Senegal’s long-standing plan to transform its slums into modern housing took on a new urgency.

Rescuers fear at least 100 suspected African migrants have drowned after their boat capsized off Senegal. The boat set out in early December with as many as 124 people on board, thought to be headed for the Canary Island, but it ran aground in bad weather. Fishermen rescued 24 people from the boat on Saturday (16 December 2006) off the northern coast of Senegal.