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Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir has stood firm against weeks of street protests over inflation and rampant corruption. Although the Sudanese have a long history of overthrowing unpopular regimes, Martin Plaut explains why the prospects of a repeat are narrow this time around. Not only has al-Bashir set up parallel security organisations to police Khartoum, he also enjoys a wide range of foreign backing.
When its bloody civil war ended in 2002, Sierra Leone introduced a number of laws designed to protect women and girls against violence. But, as Luisa T Schneider sets out, these laws haven’t made women feel much safer - and that’s particularly true for married women trying to navigate relationships where the lines between violence and love are often blurred.
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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at the 2015 AU Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
EPA/Kim Ludbrook
Martin Plaut, School of Advanced Study
Given the range of support for President Omar al-Bashir it isn't surprising that he's managed to resist pressure to step down.
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Women fear losing support for themselves and their children if they report violence.
Direct Relief/Flickr
Luisa T. Schneider, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
Very few women, especially those married, feel protected by the domestic violence laws in Sierra Leone.
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Politics + Society
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Tamara Wood, UNSW
The refugee convention wasn't designed with women in mind. Women fleeing domestic violence and asking for asylum face many barriers to qualifying for protection under international law.
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Ed Bracho-Polanco, University of Westminster
The Brazilian president used WhatsApp and other social media to smear his opponents and sow division in the electorate.
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Sojin Lim, University of Central Lancashire
Any meaningful way forward must be based on imagination and mutual understanding.
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Roger Southall, University of the Witwatersrand
Referenda have their place in democracy, but can also be misused.
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Energy + Environment
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Dr Melanie Bateman, University of Neuchâtel
Farmers should use biopesticides - naturally occurring substances that kill pests such as the fall armyworm - instead of using pesticides, which are often highly toxic.
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Tlou Masehela, South African National Biodiversity Institute
Research shows that managed honey bees may pose a threat to free roaming honey bee populations.
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