A decade ago Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki shut down his country's independent press, and arrested 21 journalists and politicians. He's detained many more of his citizens without trial since then. With no free media left to report on their fate, news of the prisoners has been hard to come by, but the ten-year anniversary of their disappearance has brought renewed calls by international NGOs for their release. By THERESA MALLINSON.

According to the Washington Post, the USA is about to set up a “constellation” of secret air bases around the Horn of Africa, designed to ensure that American unmanned drone bombers can hit anywhere in the region, at any time. The move is aimed at the growing threat posed by al-Shabaab in Somalia, but if past drone offensives are anything to go by, there’ll be plenty of collateral damage. By SIMON ALLISON.

Africa’s economies have put up with a lot from the West: colonialism, neo-colonialism, trade barriers, resource extraction, structural adjustment… the list goes on. And just as we’re overcoming all these obstacles, showing solid macro-economic growth and a healthy response to the international financial crisis, it looks like the West might screw us over again, this time by mismanaging its own economies. By SIMON ALLISON.

The pirate seminar, organised by the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, was a sober affair. Although there were a few naval uniforms, and one truly magnificent moustache, there were no peg-legs or parrots, and not an eye-patch to be seen. It seems that when admirals, captains, policy wonks and defence consultants meet to talk about piracy, they treat it with the gravity the issue deserves. By SIMON ALLISON.

Reality has finally dawned on the African Union, which announced from New York on Tuesday its recognition of the National Transitional Council as the de facto government of Libya. South Africa followed suit. It was not international pressure alone that shoved the AU closer to reality. Discord within its own ranks left it with no option but to recognise the NTC as legitimate representative of the Libyan people. By KHADIJA PATEL.

All is not rosy in the new Libya. Gaddafi remains elusive and forces loyal to him continue to take the battle to the National Transitional Council (NTC)’s forces. After widespread expectation that a transitional government would be formed last weekend, the NTC announced on Monday that it had decided to postpone the formation of an interim government – indefinitely. The NTC is clearly not as united as previously claimed. Infighting will severely damage efforts to reconstruct Libya.  By KHADIJA PATEL.

King Mswati III has been so busy tapping up other institutions for cash that he hasn’t found the time to sign the papers necessary to finalise the huge loan from South Africa. Or maybe he’s just looking for a new source of income, one that won’t make him change his ways. By SIMON ALLISON.

It’s been a tough year for our diplomats who’ve weathered a storm of criticism over Cote D’Ivoire, Libya and most recently, the foreign minister’s costly refusal to scan her handbag at airport security. But finally some good news: after long months of tough negotiations, the squabbling factions of Madagascar signed a historic agreement which just might set that troubled island on the path to normality – and it was mostly our doing. By SIMON ALLISON.

In Cairo and Addis Ababa, in badly decorated function rooms, negotiations are taking place - negotiations with potentially huge ramifications for Africa’s future. Unencumbered by the glare of publicity, Ethiopia and Egypt are discussing their most valuable resource and how to share it. No, it’s not oil or gold. We could all live without those. It’s water, something far more precious, and Ethiopia’s right to keep theirs to themselves. By SIMON ALLISON.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicholas Sarkozy received a warmer welcome in Libya on Thursday than they would in their home countries. Both leaders face stern challenges at home but on Libya, they have been bullish. Their trip into the warzone was as much a lap of honour as it was an animalistic marking of territory. They can do no good at home but in Libya, they’ve emerged smelling of roses – and a whiff of oil. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Showing no respect for the south’s supposed sphere of influence, north Sudan has applied to join East Africa’s regional economic community, a bold diplomatic gambit which the august institution doesn’t quite know how to handle. By SIMON ALLISON.

Imagine you’re a teacher, or a hairdresser, in a society where women are granted little role in public life. Then suddenly a rebel uprising takes place and you’re a fighter, an arms runner, a Nato spy – and you don’t want to go back to your old life. This is the situation currently facing many Libyan women. By REBECCA DAVIS.

Election fever has hit Zambia as incumbent President Rupiah Banda battles it out with Michael “King Cobra” Sata for Zambia’s top job. Here’s what to expect in next week’s election, as well as an unnecessary, but diverting digression on the “soft bums” of ruling party spokeswoman Dora Siliya. By SIMON ALLISON.

Innovator, disruptor, and West African software pioneer, Herman Chinery-Hesse wants to make Ghana the “Singapore of Africa”. Given he’s already created one of Ghana’s most successful software companies and is spawning innovations that solve barriers to trade between Africa and the rest of the world, he has a good chance. By MANDY DE WAAL.

After months of violence, President Goodluck Jonathan’s given his army a blank cheque to sort out the problem city of Jos. Citizens of Jos, be afraid. The Nigerian army doesn’t have a stellar record of conflict resolution, preferring their justice rough and their executions summary. By SIMON ALLISON.

The success of Chinese companies in Africa has little to do with their cost effectiveness, meeting deadlines or ultimate quality. Reminiscent of dubious US-led funding projects in Central American countries in the last century, Chinese expansion in Africa has everything to do with the funding guarantees they bring - as a new deal in Kenya demonstrates. By SIMON ALLISON.

We still don’t know where Muammar Gaddafi is, the dust has still not settled in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and the International Monetary Fund is already saying that Libya and Egypt can borrow money from it if they so desire. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

The fallout from the war in Libya continues with the news that one of the most prominent rebel leaders in Darfur has returned to the troubled Sudanese region from Libya, apparently as part of a 10-vehicle convoy laden with Gaddafi gold and weapons. Khalil Ibrahim’s been out of action for a year, and his return could signal an escalation of hostilities in Darfur. By SIMON ALLISON.

Robert Mugabe announced he does not intend to allow western election observers into Zimbabwe to monitor the coming presidential polls. It’s tempting to dismiss this as the opening gambit of a man who knows that his country’s elections will not be free and fair, indeed of a man who has a track record of rigged elections and the means and willingness to do it again. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. By SIMON ALLISON.

 Activist appeals for a million-man march in Tahrir Square on Friday are ostensibly to protest the erratic decisions of the military junta now ruling Egypt. But in truth, the march will be a test of the popularity and influence of the activists themselves, and whether the “Soul of the Revolution” is still relevant in Egypt’s new dispensation. By SIMON ALLISON.

Media attention might still be focussed on the hunt for Gaddafi, but in the corridors of power he’s yesterday’s man. Countries are already jostling for position in North Africa’s new geopolitical landscape, which is unusually sandy and filled with terrorists, smugglers and dangerous levels of heavy weaponry. By SIMON ALLISON

Nobody appears to be paying much attention to the fact that Uganda’s infamous anti-gay bill is on the table once more. According to activist group Behind The Mask, the chairman of Uganda’s legal and parliamentary affairs committee has announced that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would be debated on Wednesday again. By REBECCA DAVIS.

President Bingu wa Mutharika finally got around to naming a new cabinet after running the country by himself for three weeks. But opposition to his rule continues to grow – and, as if to prove it, the president’s party was wholeheartedly rejected in a crucial by-election. By SIMON ALLISON.

As they ripped up stadium seats and showered police with urine, it was hard to remember that the hooligan supporters of Egypt’s top football clubs were on the frontlines of the revolution. But after besting police in running street fights, it was easy to see to why they remain one of the transitional government’s biggest headaches. By SIMON ALLISON.

The trial of Victoire Ingabire, the opposition presidential candidate locked up by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, begins in Kigali this week. But while Ingabire argues her case, Kagame’s government finds itself facing judgement in the less pliable court of international opinion. By SIMON ALLISON.

MTN denies reports that its mobile service was cut before and during anti-government demonstrations in Swaziland on Monday. But their protestations of innocence are undermined by their exceedingly cozy relationship with King Mswati III and his monarchy, and their need to protect their lucrative monopoly. By SIMON ALLISON.

Niger’s foreign minister insists  that while several people, of varying importance, arrived in Niger in a heavily armed convoy on Tuesday, neither Gaddafi nor any of his sons were among the passengers.  Asked whether Gaddafi was welcome in Niger, the minister said that decision was up to the president but added: "Gaddafi in Niger could cause some problems". Niger is certainly too close to Libya for any future government of Libya to feel free of the shackles of Gaddafi but in Niger itself, Gaddafi’s wheeling and dealing with the nomadic Tuareg people could prove especially challenging. By KHADIJA PATEL and SIMON ALLISON.

The Chinese government has confirmed that Gaddafi did indeed seek Chinese arms in July this year but they stress no shipment was made. While aspersions grow on the roles played in South Africa and Algeria in the Libyan war, the de facto government of Libya is taking the fight to Beijing, insisting that they will be made to pay for aiding Gaddafi. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Bob’s sick, and despite indications to the contrary it’s not syphilis (or not just syphilis). Unconfirmed Wikileaks cables indicate that the Zimbabwean president has prostate cancer, and it’s spread. If true, this means he’s not much longer for this world, and might go some way to explaining why Zanu’s been so fractious recently. By SIMON ALLISON.