'The proliferation of illicit arms is posing a serious threat to the East African Community (EAC) partner states and if not tackled speedily could undermine the region’s concerted integration efforts.' Illicit arms are still circulating through different borders of member states because of armed groups operating from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Somalia and armed criminal activities, stated Mr Ndabaneze Zenon, coordinator of the Burundi National Focal Point (NFP), when opening a two-day meeting of experts and coordinators of NFPs of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) of EAC Partner States in Moshi.

Mubarak's digging in may not be too healthy for his long-term prospects, suggests Gado.

Journalists, broadcasters and media entrepreneurs on Monday raised a red flag over the proposed changes to the set of laws governing the operations of the media industry. Speaking at a consultative meeting at Nairobi's Sarova Panafric Hotel, the industry players said the government's draft Media Bill, 2010, was taking the industry 'many steps back'. According to the Media Council chairman, Dr Levi Obonyo, the proposal to limit the aspect of self-regulation in the new draft Bill is 'retrogressive'.

Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press are the big gains of Tunisia’s so-called Jasmine Revolution, according to a top Tunisian economist, writer and opposition figure. But he warns that dark days still lie ahead. 'Not even political scientists could have imagined people’s deep hunger for democracy,' says Mahmoud Ben Romdhane, author of the just published ‘Tunisie: Etat, économie et société’ and one of the keynote speakers at the 17th Maghreb Literary Fair (Maghreb des Livres).

Greater action is needed by United Nations peacekeeping missions – working with local women, national authorities and UN Member States – to increase the limited participation of women in peace negotiations, national security institutions and governance in post-conflict situations, says a UN study. The impact study – conducted a decade after the adoption of landmark Security Council resolution 1325 on women and peace and security, the first to address the specific impacts of conflict on women and call for women's engagement in peace processes – reports a mixed record on the overall contribution of UN peacekeeping to the implementation of the resolution.

In the aftermath of post-election violence here, almost 18 thousand people - 70 per cent of them women, children and older persons – have been temporarily re-settled in the Western part of the country, fleeing from clashes between communities in the city of Duékoué. In the wake of the crisis, and in the absence of supplies, maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity increased, according to the local health authorities. 'We had to run here and there to perform a childbirth or a Caesarean section and there were no drugs available,' said Dr. Moïse Tetchi, gynaecologist at the General Hospital of Duékoué, recalling the situation in the early stages of the crises.

A new food assessment report says that close to two million Zimbabweans will still need food aid in the coming months, despite 'better economic conditions'. The US-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) reported this month that about 1.7 million Zimbabweans will be in need of food aid during the next two months. Both FEWSNET and the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) last year estimated that about 1.3 million rural households will be food insecure between January and March.

Algeria needs to invest up to 120 billion dollars in renewable energy between now and 2030 to meet the goals of a new energy policy adopted by the council of ministers on Friday (February 4th), experts said. The investment needs to come from both the public and private sector, in addition to contributions by foreign partners, energy consultant Khaled Boukhlifa explained at an El Moudjahid forum on Sunday (6 February).

The Power of Persistence report highlights the importance of recognising the evolving dynamics of national politics and institutions in achieving sustainable, long-term improvements in education systems. A section of the report reviews the introduction of education reforms in five countries over a 20-year period. The five countries - Egypt, El Salvador, Namibia, Nicaragua, and Zambia - are not intended to be broadly representative of all developing countries, but do capture a range of national contexts, including post-conflict recovery, democratic transitions and elections, scale of national bureaucracy, and role of civil society.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/516/Maurice-Fahe_tmb.jpgIn the following presentation, attempts to answer the question, how do Ivorians understand what is happening in their country today? [mp3] The media and other international actors have failed to correctly analyse the situation in the country, according to Fahe. He says the country has remained a semi-colony since the government of Houphouet-Boigny, and that the form of democracy that has since prevailed has not and will not lead to the transformation of society. Now is not the time to support or follow Outtara or Gbagbo, but to let Ivorians themselves decide and shape their own destiny.

The inland Niger delta of Mali is a unique wetland ecosystem that supports a million farmers, fishermen, and herders and a rich diversity of wildlife. But now, the country’s president and Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi have begun a major agricultural project that will divert much of the river’s water and threaten the delta’s future.

The African Union (AU) Friday called for 'appropriate reforms' in Egypt, where protesters have been pushing for President Hosni Mubarak's exit from power. In a statement made available to PANA, AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping expressed regret at the continuing violent protests, which entered its 11th day Friday. He said the Egyptian authorities must institute appropriate reforms and respond to the needs of the protesters, while expressing concern at the violent protests and loss of lives.

The purpose of this research paper from the South Centre is to describe, above all, a negotiating process which many have described as historical. More than an analysis on the subject of public health and intellectual property, this is an analysis of a negotiating process which could change the course and the nature of an organisation such as the WHO. It is still too early to say whether this was achieved are not, but we are starting to write a chapter in the history of public health in the 21st century.

The world is in financial crisis thanks to the reckless behaviour of bankers, say campaigners, yet ordinary people are picking up the tab. Debt activists fear the recession will provide cover for a fresh round of toxic debt to countries in the South. Nick Dearden, director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, an international coalition of about 200 organisations, says there has never been a more important time for activists to meet to discuss collaboration and strategies to bring about real change to the world's economy than now.

South African based refugee rights group, PASSOP, has accused the Zimbabwean government of robbing its citizens in South Africa, where more than a hundred thousand Zim nationals are still waiting for passports. Zimbabweans who have applied for permits to remain in South Africa legally are still waiting for their government to issue them passports so they can get the permits. But the Zim authorities have not made good on their promises to roll out the documents, even shunning meetings with civil society to explain the delay.

As the government prepares for round two of the shuttle diplomacy in its efforts to seek deferral of the ICC case, a debate is raging on the implications of the move, reports the Daily Nation. And in the raging debate, there is a view that the country is slowly reclaiming its sovereignty and a counter argument that the move is seriously hurting Kenya’s image in the international community.

Zimbabwe's main rival political parties on Saturday condemned a spate of violent clashes among their supporters, which Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai blames on President Robert Mugabe's youth brigades. In the last two weeks, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has traded accusations with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party over attacks on some MDC members in townships around the capital Harare, including the burning down of a satellite party office.

To call the ongoing people’s revolts in Tunisia and Egypt Facebook revolutions is certainly overstating the case. In both countries, the time was ripe for revolution and social upheaval. Poverty, repression and hopelessness were enforced by greedy US-supported despots who were deaf to the needs of their people. But there is little doubt that the recent street-protest revolts in Tunis and Cairo were assisted by new social media: Facebookers, tweeters and a new generation of Internet bloggers.

Sonke's Policy, Advocacy and Research Unit and the WHO's Department of Women, Gender and Health invites applications for a 2-day training on Engaging men and boys to achieve gender equality and health equity, taking place from 24-25 February 2011 in Pretoria.

South Africa is preparing to take HIV testing into the classroom as part of its national voluntary HIV testing and counselling (VCT) campaign, but testing kids is controversial and implementing the programme is fraught with challenges – just ask those already doing it. Government departments, together with the South African National AIDS Council, are holding nationwide consultative meetings with members of the education, children's rights and HIV sectors to formulate a national policy for school-based HIV testing, as well as guidelines and recommendations for the country’s nine provinces.