All Africa Monitor

The group that claimed responsibility for the attack may have links to Boko Haram, a militant group known for its terror campaigns in the region.

Eight presidential candidates crowded onto the stage for a 3-1/2 hour debate on issues ranging from education to one candidate's war crimes trial. Blogger Tom Murphy followed along.

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram is thought to be behind the recent gruesome attacks. But suspicion about vaccination campaigns has deeper historical roots in northern Nigeria, writes John Campbell.

Hissène Habré will become the first world leader to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity by another country's government. Could his trial set a precedent for future cases?

The world watched French troops summarily turn back rebel fighters in northern Mali, but the future remains grim for millions of Malians affected by the fighting, writes Alex Thurston.

The ruling party praised the mining magnate, Patrice Motsepe, and said he was part of a 'patriotic bourgeoisie' of rich black South Africans with a social conscience.

A week ago, the capital's Central Market burned to the ground. Now the tiny East African nation is struggling with rapid inflation and price hikes as rumors circle about the cause of the fire. 

A new unity government was formed in Mali this week, though it remains unclear whether it will be successful in restoring constitutional rule in the Tuareg-held north.

Reporting tends to portray Islamic Sharia law as barbaric. Guest blogger Alex Thurston writes that this tendency hinders a chance to understand countries like Mali in their complexity.

Guest blogger Mary McGuire lists countries that have criminalized some of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Bashir administration's hold on power is precarious. But you won't see that story on TV news or your newspaper's front page.

The Obama administration is signalling that the US is changing the way it does the aid business, promoting bilateral trade rather than one-way grants and loans.

Guest blogger Vukasin Petrovic asks why US retains positive ties with Equatorial Guinea's long-ruling president Teodoro Obiang Nguema, despite evidence of brutality, corruption, and neglect of his people.

Guest blogger Laura Seay, during visit to the Congolese city of Goma, looks into allegations that the ongoing rebellion of Bosco Ntaganda is a conspiracy to undermine Congolese control.

An alliance of Mali's ethnic Tuareg separatist group on one hand, and a radical Islamist group on the other was bound to be shaky. Now there are reports that fighting has broken out between them.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof Tweeted that 800,000 people in Sudan's South Kordofan state are surviving by 'eating just leaves.' When does overestimation do harm to a just cause?

Military advances by African Union troops and Somali forces have pushed the Islamist Al Shabab militia out of key towns. Is the Shabab headquarters of Kismayo next on the list?

What is it that is reducing the number of early child deaths in Africa: foreign aid, or private economic growth? The answer isn't clear, but the old Africa of poverty and death is clearly on the wane.

The popular and well-funded brainchild of Jeffrey Sachs claims to reduce child mortality faster than national norm, but critics say the numbers are deceptive.

Guest blogger Jason Stearns writes that the Congolese army is showing new confidence as it confronts a mutiny by rebel Congolese army officers in eastern Congo.