In a country where the average lifespan is 63 years, Lucy Rator is an anomaly. The sharp, spritely grandmother to more than 20 is somewhere around 84 or 85--although she is no longer quite sure.

In a dusty room inside a disused Boito warehouse sits a perfectly functioning posho mill, draped in cobwebs and surrounded by corn husks, it hasn't seen service since 2010. The reason: the women's group that owns it can no longer afford to pay Kenya Power for the electricity required to run it.

First birthdays are meant to be about celebrating; the first milestone in a young life has been reached. But when South Sudan turned one this month the celebrations occurred against a backdrop of continuing strife and suffering for the children of the world's newest nation.

The main highway through the heart of Kenya is crowded with trucks and boda bodas (bicycle taxis), a winding paved road that stretches from Mumbasa on the coast, west through the Rift Valley, and eventually across the border into Uganda.

Where I come from, being gay is deemed as evil, disgraceful and the person is considered an outcast. Shockingly, even respected (few) politicians not only in Kenya but also from other African countries, have publicly condemned gay people.

This war could have been avoided had the international community and the sponsors of the CPA, including the UK, looked for real, comprehensive solutions - not an easy way out of war. Instead, the CPA divided the country instead of equally distributing power and resources.

Children have lost their families and have been displaced and exploited as soldiers. They've lost their hopes for a better future. Women were raped and tortured and saw their own children and husbands slaughtered. People were starved to death while escaping war. A whole nation has been deformed by the sins of war.

The world's newest nation has lived to see its first birthday! This is a big deal for a country that was written-off at birth by analysts and observers, just a year ago.

I choose peace in the Nuba Mountains because I don't want to see families living in caves; I want Nubas to live in dignified conditions. And because I choose peace, I choose to revolt. I choose to join thousands of protestors demanding change in Sudan because only regime-change will bring peace to Sudan.

We - Sudan and South Sudan - shall remember that we've both suffered oppression and lived through woes, and that we are the survivors of the longest war in Africa. I see our separation as an opportunity for the new South Sudanese generations to determine their own destiny without being pulled back by war and chains of extremist dictatorships

Shortly after the South declared independence, the Sudanese government stripped southerners of their citizenship and began deporting them en masse from what some of them consider the only home they've ever known.

Despite a year of challenges and conflict, I am optimistic that the youth will lead the way to a better future for both of the Sudans.

Felix Pharand-Deschênes' shots are created using data gathered by satellites Taken from space, these images show the staggering extent of the ...

Perhaps the difficulty is in shifting people's perceptions of these regions. Away from the stereotypes of poverty, corruption and violence, there is an alternative picture materialising in Africa. Anyone who does business there will tell you of the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit that goes hand in hand with a growing economic power.

When the people of South Sudan went to a referendum in January last year to decide on whether to split from Sudan, the result was decisive. Nearly 99% voted in favour of independence. After decades of instability, many Southern Sudanese hoped that separation from Sudan would end the country's troubles and pave the way for democratisation and essential development.

With change come great opportunities. If we dedicate our best thinking and expertise, use emerging technologies, and adapt to the local conditions in a true partnership, together we can make a difference in Africa.

One person was killed and 15 hurt when a minibus collided head-on with President Robert Mugabe’s motorcade in Zimbabwe. The crash, which happened...

During the last three years alone, China has given more loans to developing countries, mainly in Africa, than the World Bank. Trade between China and the continent has increased in the last decade, more than six-fold to $120bn in 2011, making China Africa's largest trade partner. While China's renewed activities in Africa have been applauded by many African leaders as an alternative to Western economic and political dominance, not everyone is comfortable with the so-called "partnership". China's engagement with Africa is viewed with suspicion especially in the West, with some commentators and politicians describing it as a new imperialist.

A British woman believes her sister was aboard a plane which crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board. Jill Chime, from Liverpool, told...

A plane crash has killed all 153 passengers after hitting a building in one of the busiest cities in Nigeria. The disaster struck on Sunday in the ...

Improbable as it seems, Robert Mugabe, a man widely accused of ethnic cleansing, rigging elections, terrorising opposition, controlling media and pres...