Efforts to salvage Guinea's troubled electoral process; the failed bid by DRC ex-Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba to avoid standing trial at the Hague; Unesco's suspension of the Obiang Nguema science prize; and the troubles of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye as he tried to file a complaint with the electoral commission ahead of next year's presidential elections.

This week, international efforts to prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo coincided with the arrest of a Rwandan opposition leader in Kigali. The uncertainty over Sudan's referendum on southern independence continued; and Nelson Mandela offered an unprecedented insight into his personal life with the publication of his letters and diaries.

This week’s Spotlight on Africa looks at the diplomatic face-off in Sudan as United Nations envoys put pressure on Omar al-Beshir's government to make sure the referendum on southern independence goes ahead on schedule. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a rebel group hands over lieutenant colonel Mayele to authorities, one of its the leaders who instigated mass rapes earlier this year.

This week: the escalating stand-off between the UN and seven Great Lakes countries linked to genocide in DR Congo; twin bombings at Nigeria's national day celebrations; and a signal from Al-Qaeda that the seven hostages taken from Niger are alive.

This week: French hostage crisis in west Africa, UN efforts to redeem the faltering Millenium Development Goals, South African President Jacob Zuma's tug of war with leftists in his party, and the timetabling problems facing next year's presidential elections in Nigeria.

This week's round-up focuses on the election saga in Guinea Conakry, the much needed peacekeeping troops in Somalia; United States cajoling Sudan to ensure the South Sudan referendum takes place on time and South Africa pushing for greater black ownership in the mining sector.

The public sector strike in South Africa is suspended; a daring prison raid in northern Nigeria; and a look at the Democratic Republic of Congo after a senior UN official admitted that peacekeepers failed the victims of mass rape.

Seven people die in Mozambique riots over rising food and fuel prices; a leaked UN draft report accuses the Rwandan army of genocide in the DRC; and the crippling public sector strike in South Africa enters its third week.

The UN investigates reports of mass rapes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; attacks by Islamist militants in Somalia leave 70 dead; Public sector strikes continue in South Africa; Nigeria's president unveils plans to privatise the country's power sector; Kenya adopts a new constitution.

Public-sector workers strike in South Africa, Nigeria looks at electoral reform and back to South Africa for the SADC summit.