The UN deputy humanitarian chief says food shortages are 'a chronic problem' in southern Africa. More than 5.5 million people in eight countries need aid this year, a 40% increase compared to 2011, said Catherine Bragg. Bragg, winding up a five-day southern Africa trip over the weekend, said worsening food shortages are the result of drought or floods and rising world food prices.

Gunmen assassinated a well-known comedian and musician who poked fun at Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents in the Somali capital, police and colleagues said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks against media and cultural figures. Warsame Shire Awale, a famous composer who had worked with Somalia's national army band before joining Radio Kulmiye as a drama producer and comedian, was attacked by two gunmen late on Monday.

Scientists have come up with a test for the virus that causes AIDS that is ten times more sensitive and a fraction of the cost of existing methods, offering the promise of better diagnosis and treatment in the developing world. The test uses nanotechnology to give a result that can be seen with the naked eye by turning a sample red or blue, according to research from scientists at Imperial College in London published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.