News from the world

It was tough for Hassan Toure to decide to stay in his small town on the outskirts of Kidal, in northern Mali. The government troops had withdrawn on Mar. 30, and several armed groups, including militias and bandits, were operating in the region.

Civil society groups are calling on the United Nations peacekeeping mission to withdraw support from a disarmament programme they say could spark further violence in South Sudan's volatile Jonglei state.

Cashew nut growers in the southern Senegalese region of Casamance are complaining bitterly that intermediaries are cutting them out of a fair share of the profits.

Since January, various groups of Tuareg rebels in Mali have come together in an attempt to administer a new northern state called Azawad.

With a whopping 40 percent of Ghana's population under the age of 24, the government's ability to foster their development and include them in the country's development are critical to the country's future.

As thousands of people flee the conflict in South Sudan's northern border states, increasing numbers have also been forced to leave their homes and towns in search of affordable food.

Rebel leaders in Guinea-Bissau have released the country's prime minister and interim president, who were arrested in the country's Apr. 12 coup, and have flown them to Côte d'Ivoire.

The recent outbreak of violence between the largely segregated Zwai and Tabu tribes in Libya's remote, Saharan town of Kufra shattered the uneasy calm that held since last February's clashes, resulting in more than 100 deaths. The clashes illustrate the challenges in building a new state.

Saffa Momoh Lahai was just two years old when his father was killed during Sierra Leone's civil war. Rebels attacked their family home in Kailahun District, in the eastern reaches of the country, and shot Lahai's father when he tried to resist.

The United Nations is rejoicing over the conviction of a former head of state for committing crimes against humanity, specifically involving the recruitment of child soldiers.