SABMiller is hoping to attract aspirant consumers, with its new cassava beer, Impala Cervejas. It's brewed in Mozambique, and currently available only in the north of that country, but will potentially be rolled out elsewhere on the continent if it proves a success. By THERESA MALLINSON.

The refined skills of Ahmed Haroun, the man who orchestrated the atrocities in Darfur and the massacre of opposition in the Nuba Mountains, are in demand in Sudan. He’s been told to sort out the rebels in the contested border state of South Kordofan, and so far he hasn’t changed his tactics at all. By SIMON ALLISON.

Twenty six thousand sorties later, Nato has ceased its operations in Libya. Its top brass are claiming a historic victory, taking credit for Gaddafi’s downfall and preventing a large loss of life, but critics – and Fidel Castro – aren’t so sure. By SIMON ALLISON.

Penny Sukhraj-Hammerl, the wife of South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl who was killed by Gaddafi loyalists near Brega in April, has penned an open letter to the people of Libya. In her missive, which has been sent to the Libyan media, she asks Libyans to be her family's 'hearts, eyes and ears' in their search for Hammerl's remains. Almost five months after his death, the location of his body is still unknown.

The previous administration valued animals more than hungry humans, says Zambia’s President Michael Sata. In response, he’s gone to the other extreme, disbanding the country’s wildlife authority and releasing hundreds of prisoners convicted of wildlife-related crimes. Zambians will be fed as long as they like their meat poached. By SIMON ALLISON.

Just days after US President Barack Obama called on Egypt's military to lift a state of emergency and end military trials for civilians, prominent Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah was remanded into military custody. The revolution may have rid the Egyptian people of Hosni Mubarak but his modus operandi survives in the military junta that has assumed the vacuum of power in the North African state. By KHADIJA PATEL.

It’s hailed as exciting news for Ethiopian businessmen and intrepid travellers who miss the romance of trains and railways – Ethiopia has unveiled plans to build a railway line linking its capital Addis Ababa directly with the coastal city of Djibouti, funded by China (who else?). The line will connect land-locked Ethiopia to a port, making it easier for Ethiopia to get goods out, and China to get goods in. By SIMON ALLISON.

It has been reported that Ugandan MPs have voted to re-open debate on the country’s infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Discussion of the legislation was originally postponed because the previous parliamentary session ran out of time, but it seems things are very much back on track now. By REBECCA DAVIS.

The UN says that Somalian piracy costs the world economy between £4 billion and £7 billion each year. Yet so severe is the problem that this week finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced that the cash-strapped South African National Defence Force will receive an additional R81million from the Treasury to fund its anti-piracy operations in the Mozambique Channel. By KHADIJA PATEL.

A damning Human Rights Watch report into mass extrajudicial killings is sullying the good name of Libya’s revolutionaries, who, in their quest for revenge, seem to be committing one of Brother Leader’s favourite crimes. By SIMON ALLISON.

Between pirates, terrorists, kidnappings, a failed state and now a Kenyan invasion, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on in Somalia, and why it’s going on. To help you distinguish your sea rats from your Al Shabaab, here’s an introduction to the wild world of Somali politics. By SIMON ALLISON.

Soon after Muammar Gaddafi was laid to rest on Tuesday morning, Algerian online newspaper Al-Shuruk claimed his surviving family members had chosen exile in South Africa instead of a Gulf state. Not according to Dirco. By KHADIJA PATEL.

More than a week after Kenya launched its full-scale military offensive into Somalia, Kenyans are beginning to understand the implications: war is dangerous and difficult, even on the home front. Already things are beginning to go wrong. By SIMON ALLISON

Given the African Union’s track record of going very soft on tyrants and dictators, Syria expected to be welcomed with open arms. But the Syrian envoy left with nothing after being told to respect the will of his people. After a year of doing things wrong, maybe the AU has learnt its lesson. By SIMON ALLISON.

On Monday, as results began to trickle in from Tunisia's first free election, the moderate Islamist party Ennahda claimed an early lead.  Final results are not expected until Tuesday, but in the meanwhile, Ennahda’s closest rivals have conceded defeat. By KHADIJA PATEL

As the Arab Spring gives way to autumn, it has claimed another tyrant’s head for the mantle. Muammar Gaddafi is now dead—dragged like a dog from a drainpipe and killed by a mob. But the way he died—not unlike the way Saddam Hussein was executed—has exposed the West’s bloodied hands, and its selective squeamishness. By RICHARD POPLAK.

Brother leader, revolutionary guide, autocrat, colonel, dictator, mad dog; call Gaddafi what you will, he won’t mind. He’s dead. SIMON ALLISON looks at the unusual life of Libya’s most infamous son.

Former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has been killed, according to numerous reports. After hours of speculation, this was confirmed by the National Transitional Authority, the country’s de facto government, at about 3pm South African time and seemingly-authentic video footage flighted by Al Jazeera helped shore up the claim. But Libyans were convinced long before that; the satellite news channels are full of footage of wildly celebrating Libyans firing bullets into the air and holding their guns aloft in a victory salute and waving the new Libyan flag. It seems this is a defining moment of the Libyan Revolution. By SIMON ALLISON.

Central Kampala is in lockdown this week. Shops are closed, traffic is blocked and police are out in force. It’s a telling sign of just how worried Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is about the vociferous opposition to his regime. Museveni’s blaming the youth, but it’s the young turks in his own party that are causing him the most trouble. By SIMON ALLISON.

Slowed only by the rains, Kenya’s troops have been largely unopposed and made swift progress into Al Shabaab territory. Their real test could come in the town of Afmadow, where Al Shabaab has promised a massive confrontation. By SIMON ALLISON.

In a development that caught most Africa watchers by surprise, Madagascar is actually following the African road map for peace in the country. Can Africa solve the Malagasy crisis? The continent’s diplomats will be desperately hoping so after a year where they haven’t been trusted to solve anything else. By SIMON ALLISON.

In the placid waters of Lake Natron, three-quarters of the world’s endangered lesser flamingos relax enough to make some babies – an essential requirement for the continuation of the species. Tanzania’s plans for a giant soda ash plant on the shores of the lake will shatter this tranquillity, but put a lot of money in government coffers. SIMON ALLISON ponders Tanzania’s dilemma.

The sort of machinations and talks that will culminate in an inquiry by the International Criminal Court into the Côte d'Ivoire post election violence is now underway. There’s a whole lot that can go wrong, so hold your breath on this one. President Alassane Ouattara has not had to face stiff calls to account for his side’s alleged war crimes and the possibility that he won’t deliver on his promise of absolute transparency and justice is possible. BY SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Obama has authorised combat-ready troops to take on Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army, a first for the US military since the debacle of “Blackhawk Down” in Somalia. But Kony’s just a pretext for targeting the terrorists the US is really worried about – al Qaeda in Africa. By SIMON ALLISON

Kenyan troops and aircraft crossed the border into Somalia on Sunday afternoon on the hunt for al-Shabaab militants who are behind a recent spate of kidnappings on Kenyan soil. Al-Shabaab’s cross-border raids have angered and frightened Kenya, who can’t afford any more knocks to their fragile economy, and they are responding with an unprecedented show of force. By SIMON ALLISON.

Did Richard Branson try to help depose Robert Mugabe in 2007? This is the intriguing claim of a newly-released WikiLeaks cable. By REBECCA DAVIS.

In town for the Poetry Africa tour, Shailja Patel talks to GREG NICOLSON about Kenya’s post-election violence, the International Criminal Court trials, truth, justice and being a “brown Kenyan”.

The provisional results of Liberia’s election aren’t good news for President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who probably can’t avoid a difficult run-off election. That means that the supporters of third-placed candidate Prince Johnson – notorious former torturer and warlord – will likely determine who Liberia’s next president will be. By SIMON ALLISON.

Frustrated by his inability to get rid of his VP, Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika has turned to the courts to solve his problem, taking a dig at Malawi’s “rushed constitution” at the same time. By SIMON ALLISON.