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The armed group al-Shabab aim is to impose strict Islamic law across Somalia. In the cities they already control, everything deemed un-Islamic has been quickly destroyed. Zakaryya Abdelhady, a professor of Islamic thought and culture at Qatar University in Doha, discusses sharia and al-Shabab's actions with Al Jazeera.

The toll exacted by terrorism in Algeria, estimated to be more than 200,000 dead and one million victims by the end of the year 2000, can on its own adequately indicate the extent of the drama that has affected the Algerian people. But mere statistics do not reveal the full horror of the reality:

Millions of people in Zimbabwe are facing starvation while their government does little or nothing to help. The country is already battling an outbreak of cholera and there are fears that food shortages could prove the final tipping point to disaster. Sky News is banned from working inside Zimbabwe, but Skys Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay has been there and filed this report.

Robert Mugabe has indicated that Zimbabwe will never surrender to the British; that no African military is going to invade Zimbabwe without being conquered. He has asked Morgan Tsvangarai to except the Prime Minister position while others, including Raila Odinga of Kenya has instructed him not accept the power sharing arrangement.....

Alleged Rwanda genocide mastermind colonel Theoneste Bagosora has been handed a life sentence for organizing the massacre of more than 800,000 people in 1994. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha made the landmark ruling at the close of one of the longest running cases in Arusha.

The anti-government al-Shabab group which has taken control of several areas of southern and central Somalia. In the areas they control they have begun destroying anything deemed un-Islamic, including graves and churches. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports exclusively from Kismayu.

The truce between Israel and Hamas has ended. The UN Security Council passes a new resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Will the Annapolis peace process survive? And what is Abbas doing in Washington? Answers to these questions and more on Link TV's Mosaic Intelligence Report. Presented by Jamal Dajani.

An activist who caused a stir at the VIP dais on Jamhuri now wants an audience with either President Kibaki or Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Frederick odhiambo has refused to leave the Nairobi Women’s hospital where he had been admitted despite being discharged by doctors.

Somalia's armed al-Shabaab group have come close to capturing all of Somalia from the country's interim government which, while near-powerless, has international backing. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from the Somali port city of Marka, where he had exclusive access to the highly secretive al-Shabaab.

There's growing speculation about the loyalty of Zimbabwe's army and police to the president, Robert Mugabe, after army riots broke out in Harare. Dire economic circumstances have taken their toll on many soldiers. Al-Jazeera's Jonah Hull met with some of them in the South African town of Pietermaritzburg.

On the occasion of the 9th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Andrea Sankes guest is F.W. de Klerk, the last president of apartheid-era South Africa.

Wayne Madsen: Congo has fallen prey to a lot of people that want to loot its natural resources

An offshore oil find has brought an economic boom to Ghana putting the west African state on the verge of realising its oil wealth. Al Jazeera's Ama Boateng reports on how the west African state can learn the lessons of nearby Nigeria, whose people are failing to benefit from its huge reserves.

Twenty doctors, of which twelve men and eight women, are the first in Somalia in two decades to graduate as a doctor from Benadir University in Mogadishu. The graduation ceremony was held in Shamo Hotel and there were more then hundreds of participants on the hotel cheering to the young rising flowers regarding as doctors. "It was hard for us to think that we will finish our course of learning, but we thank Allah who gave us this chance. Our war destroyed country has had no effective central government since 1991," said Nagmo Ali Omar, one of the graduators. Video by Mohammed Odowaa, Africanews.com reporter in Mogadishu, Somalia. www.africanews.com

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Today we talk about piracy. The Somali outlaws attacking merchant vessels in the strategic waters of The Gulf of Aden have become a threat to world trade. Until now military action against the pirates has been focused on naval measures, which havent worked. So, what can be done to solve the problem? Is a military operation on the Somali shore possible? Well talk about the options with Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies - Renat Bekkin.

A bus packed with passengers plunged into an irrigation canal on Sunday, killing 53 people in Egypt. Police think the bus swerved to avoid an oncoming pickup truck.

President Mwai Kibaki has steered clear of the controversial anti media bill. Speaking in Kisii during a fundraising in aid of a seminary by the Kisii catholic diocese, the president said construction of the Kisii Transmara road will commence soon. But John cardinal Njue condemned the passing of the communications bill terming it uncalled for.

The United Nations has increased its estimate of the number of people killed by cholera in Zimbabwe to nearly 800. More than 16,000 others have been infected with the disease, which has been spreading across the country since late August. There are now fears that neighbouring South Africa is under threat. Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports.

BBC NEWS "One of Somalia's main Islamist leaders has returned to the Somali capital two years after being driven from power. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) was ousted by the Ethiopian-backed interim government."

As cholera spreads through Zimbabwe and the humanitarian situation worsens, world leaders — including U.S. President Bush — are calling for President Robert Mugabe to step down. Many African countries have been slow to criticize the Zimbabwean leader, but Kenya recently called for foreign intervention. A spokesman for Mugabe claimed that the U.S. and United Kingdom are planning to invade Zimbabwe. Andrew Meldrum, a senior editor at GlobalPost, reported from Zimbabwe for more than 20 years and joins Martin Savidge to discuss the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabes role in the country and international calls for the leader to step down.

Ugandas Bwindi Forest is home to almost half of the worlds remaining mountain gorillas, an endangered species.

In the southern African country of Zimbabwe, a cholera epidemic has killed about 600 people and infected at least 13,000 others since August. VOA's Deborah Block describes the disease and explains why it is spreading in Zimbabwe.

News24 : "Pretoria - Despite the fact that South Africa's legal system recognises gay marriages and that the Constitution guarantees equal rights to all, more than 80% of the country's population regards homosexuality as wrong. Researchers at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) have conducted a Social Attitudes Survey in South Africa."

THISDAY ONLINE "The appeal for the one who would govern Abia state will be heard and determined in Port Harcourt at the Court of Appeal not on the pages of newspapers and magazines. Not even in the electronic media. But as the judgement day comes near, the din is becoming deafening as the opposition rush to the media, as usual, in their attempt to influence the respected judges of the Appeal Courts."

BBC NEWS "The candidate of Ghana's ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has pulled ahead in the count from Sunday's presidential election. He holds a slender lead with more than half of precincts counted, but a run-off vote could still be held. John Atta Mills, of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), is close behind."

BBC NEWS "Fires in the South African city of Cape Town have killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Firefighters are continuing to battle the blazes which have hit 11 informal settlements and a holiday resort. The BBC's Mohammed Allie in Cape Town says the fires are being fanned by strong winds and dry conditions."

guardian.co.uk : "The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has killed almost 600 people, the United Nations said today, as aid agencies warned that thousands more are dying out of sight because of the collapse of the country's health service. The UN's said the number of confirmed cases of cholera was 13,960, with 43 out of Zimbabwe's 62 districts affected."

Sky News has obtained exclusive pictures from inside Zimbabwe which show the extent of the cholera epidemic which has killed hundreds of people. Emma Hurd reports.