AFP: Kenyan youth club helps to heal ethnic tensions 15 February

Niger's ethnic groups are encouraged to mock each other - gently. The technique is said to prevent worse clashes and is credited with guaranteeing their peaceful co-existence. Urbanisation is threatening the tradition and so the government has launched a special week to promote ethnic mocking. An AFPTV report.

The humanitarian crisis in Kenya is growing -- a quarter of a million people have fled their homes and police say some 600 have been killed since the presidential election on December 27. The United Nations said that in total, between 400,000 and 500,000 people have been affected by the unrest. Much of the violence is ethnically motivated, particularly against President Kibaki's tribe, the Kikuyu. The Kenyan Red Cross, assisted by hundreds of volunteers, are trying to help the displaced. An AFPTV report.

The assassination of Pakistan’s former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, widely seen as the only nationally unifying politician, has unleashed an ethnic backlash aimed at Punjabis who make up much of the government and army. An AFPTV report.

As tensions rise in the run-up to Kenya 's presidential elections on Thursday, cartoonists have become some of the country's most insightful political observers. They depict with humour the main issues driving the election and the shortcomings of the political class, while promoting a moderate view of politics. Voiced report.

Serbians go to the polls for a final round of presidential elections on Sunday. Incumbent Boris Tadic is running against a hardline nationalist who beat him in the first round, Tomislav Nikolic. In addition to the volatile question of Kosovo's independence, campaigning has been driven by pressing problems at home -- namely, rampant poverty. In Belgrade, there are hundreds of children forced to live and work on the streets. An AFPTV report on a youth drop-in centre which is struggling to stay open.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan has persuaded the rival political parties to agree to take swift steps to end the violence that erupted over disputed elections but the row appears to have unleashed tribal tensions that have taken on a life of their own.

Georgia's pro-Western leader Mikheil Saakashvili was poised for re-election Monday after a presidential election that had been called to heal political wounds, but which has left the former Soviet republic bitterly divided.

Increasing numbers of Chinese people are arriving in Kenya, both as tourists and business investors, so Chinese language classes have become the latest import. Most Africans already speak at least two languages, but for many students in Kenya, learning Mandarin has become the best way to get a job with one of the recently settled Chinese companies. Demand is high and the Chinese government is working to boost teaching staff in order to give more Kenyans access to their language and culture.

On Thursday, Kenyans vote for a new president in what promises to be the tightest race the country has ever known, with main contenders incumbent Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga neck-and-neck in the polls. Analysts say tribal alliances, not political programmes, could decide the outcome.