When Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was sworn in as Somalia’s new president earlier this month in Kenya, cautious optimism was expressed at the fact that a new chapter appeared to be opening for the embattled East African country. Diplomats and political analysts warn now that it is essential for Yusuf to return to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, as soon as possible to cement the legitimacy of his government.

Kenya pulled off what some might view as an unexpected feat this week by improving its standing in Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index. Every year, the Berlin-based NGO ranks several countries according to the levels of corruption that are perceived to exist in their public sectors.

Discussions about improving the level of education in Kenya often focus on the challenge of achieving universal primary education — or ensuring that girls are not discriminated against when it comes to schooling. But, as crucial as the focus on children’s education is, it appears to be marginalising another group of people that is also in urgent need of educational assistance: Kenya’s illiterate adults.

It’s probably fair to say that the plight of the Ogiek receives little attention on a continent with more than its share of political and economic crises. The Ogiek are ”one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer peoples of East Africa”, according to Survival International — an organisation that fights for the rights of indigenous communities.

They inconvenienced commuters and drew the wrath of taxi drivers, but have Kenya’s new transport regulations also managed to make traffic conditions in the country less hazardous? At the start of February this year, the government implemented a series of regulations aimed at reducing mayhem on the nation’s roads, including stipulations on safety belts as well as speed regulation.

A curious case involving 13 so-called ”miracle babies” and immaculate conception has sparked concern about the proliferation of new church groups in Kenya. The case, which has dominated newspaper headlines in Kenya, is prompting calls for the government to investigate suspect religious ministries.

The political and humanitarian situation in Sudan’s western region of Darfur was again in the spotlight on Tuesday, thanks to a visit to south Sudan and Chad by United States Senate majority leader William Frist. ”What is going on there [in Darfur] is genocide,” the Republican senator from Tennessee told journalists.