Tony Hall lived his life from the heart. He had a heart that embraced a life-long commitment to human freedom, absorbed large doses of self-sacrifice and enveloped those whom he loved and respected. In some kind of serenely symbolic and beautifully poignant way it was his heart that chose to pronounce on a life well, and fully, lived. Tony Hall passed away peacefully in his sleep at his Mpumalanga home on 31st January.

Thamie Simelane, 12, is among hundreds of thousands of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Swaziland who might not be going to school, despite government assurances that the tuition fees of these children would be covered. Headmasters rely on school fees to run their institutions, but limited government funds have materialised sporadically, often forcing schools to start sending children home.

Unemployed Moroccan graduates are keeping up their protest in a bid to be given public-sector jobs. After gathering outside the Istiqlal party headquarters, they were allowed to speak to a government committee, but for now, the situation remains unresolved.

Reporters Without Borders notes that Sam Asowata, the chairman of the board of the Abuja-based independent weekly Fresh Facts, was released on 29 January, two days after being arrested over an article accusing the governor of the southeastern state of Akwa Ibom of corruption. The state of Akwa Ibom said it was withdrawing its libel suit “to reinforce relations with the media.” Essien Ewoh, Fresh Facts’ distributor in Akwa Ibom, is still held. He was arrested on 24 January.