- As the dust surrounding the arrest and detention of people accused of taking part in a clandestine gay marriage in Senegal is yet to be settled, several international organisations have called on Senegalese authorities to decriminalise homosexuality in the country.
Several men who took part in a wedding between a Senegalese man and another West African were detained after a local magazine, Icone, published their photos. They were later released without official explanation.
The publication has generated the anger and shock in some quarters, with some people threatening to kill the paper's editor, Mansour Dieng.
Homosexuality is a serious criminal offence that carries a five-year punishment and heavy fine in predominantly conservative Muslim West African country where gay men and women remain socially marginalised.
According to human rights organisations, including the International Federation of Human Rights, the Inter-African Union of Human Rights and Amnesty International in Senegal, the decriminalisation of homosexuality is a characteristic of a democratic society that respects human rights of its people.
Right activists wondered how this could be possible in Senegal.
The practice is forbidden in many African countries where several Presidents have been accused of "brutally" acting on their will to combat personally what they called this "anti-African scourge." Those found guilty of homosexual acts in some African countries such as Nigeria and Uganda could be jailed for life.
In 2006, South Africa became the first African country to legalise same-sex marriages.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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