West African leaders hope for Mali civilian transition ‘in days’

The Tuesday deadline for Mali’s military junta to hand over power has come and gone. ECOWAS is instead saying it hopes to see a civilian government lead the country « in days not weeks ». In Algeria, a court has sentenced journalist Khaled Drareni to two years behind bars on appeal. Rights groups have denounced the trial as a violation of press freedom. And in Tunisia, where most farmers are in their fifties, entrepreneurs are using technology to transform this labour-intensive sector.