Muslims below the age of 12 and above 65 are debarred from performing the forthcoming Hajj, according to Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who quoted a correspondence from the Saudi authorities.

He said the Saudis took the measure to check the spread of the Swine Flu disease, a few cases of which had been isolated in the Kingdom.

He made the disclosure when he addressed a large gathering of Muslims who turned out to witness the commissioning of a mosque and a school complex at Nyanyano, Kasoa in the Central Region.

Is social networking undermining community life?

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has warned social networking websites, texting and e-mails are undermining community life. Do you agree?

Archbishop Vincent Nichols said MySpace and Facebook led young people to seek "transient" friendships, with quantity becoming more important than quality.

He said society was losing some of its ability to build communities through inter-personal communication, as the result of excessive use of texts and e-mails rather than face-to-face meetings or telephone conversations.

He said skills such as reading a person's mood and body language were in decline, and that exclusive use of electronic information had a "dehumanising" effect on community life.

Political and business leaders meet this week at the Global Smart Partnership Dialogue in Kampala. At centre-stage are discussions on how regional integration can transform Africa's economic and social prospects.

Different parts of the continent have been experimenting for decades with allowing goods, capital and people across borders freely. For example, Ecowas in the west, SADC in the south and the East African Community.

And for many people living alongside borders, regional trade is not about grand economic unions. It's a reality of everyday life -- as they slip through porous borders to sell wares in another country.

So is it now time to go one step further and scrap borders altogether?

What's the point of borders? Would a borderless Africa be a richer and happier Africa? Would your own life be easier without borders? Has your family been divided by a border?

HIV rates among gay men in some African countries are 10 times higher than among the general male population, says research in medical journal the Lancet.

The report said prejudice towards gay people was leading to isolation and harassment, which in turn led to risky sexual practices among gay communities.

Obama’s recent visit to Ghana has put Ghana at the forefront of world media news. Before the U.S. President’s arrival, the excitement and expectation of Ghanaians were held high. However, with the constant heavy rainfall the country was having for several days leading up to the US president’s arrival, it seemed as though the well planned preparations of Ghanaians would be blighted. Many Ghanaians pondered the thought as to whether their hopes of a perfect Ghanaian welcome would be ‘drowned’ in disappointment. But all hope was not lost and in fact the situation was perfectly under control, at least

In the wake of the Obama's trip to Cape Coast in Ghana, will other African-Americans be inspired to trace their African roots?

Thousands of African-Americans have lately been taking DNA tests to do exactly this.

Genetic genealogy companies in the United States claim that through DNA testing, they can tell an African American where exactly on the African continent they come from.

For example, DNA test results showed that the actress Whoopi Goldberg is from the Papel and Bayote people of Guinea Bissau.

But does DNA make you African? How do you feel about African-Americans taking DNA tests to prove their membership of various African communities? If you've never lived in Africa, can you call yourself African? What makes you African? Send us your views.

Liberians have been reacting to the appearance on Tuesday of their former president, Charles Taylor, before the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague.

For many it was the first time they had heard from their former leader, who stepped down from power in 2003 under international pressure.

It was a powerful speech, wasn’t it? A speech that was unequivocal and straight to the point and I hope our political leaders listened and gleaned the message of wisdom that it contained. When it became light that President Obama was going to set foot on our soil, many were those who were expecting him to provide us manna from the heavens.

Many a person was expecting him to line our punched pockets with dollars. Hiding under the guise of