As online whistleblower WikiLeaks started publishing hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. embassy cables this week, from unflattering assessments of world leaders to secret plans to topple governments, here's what three IFEX members - ARTICLE 19, Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - had to say. 'We're more or less satisfied with WikiLeaks' evolution,' the head of RSF, Jean-Francois Julliard, told AFP. 'We like this partnership with the newspapers and this work to put things in context, verify the information and draw lessons from it,' he said. ARTICLE 19 reiterated its call for governments to improve the public's access to information, and only limit access if governments can demonstrate it would cause a specific and articulated harm.

Compelling new evidence suggests the Nigerian military killed four Ogoni elders whose murders led to the execution of the playwright and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995. The evidence also reveals that the notorious military commander Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Okuntimo, whose troops were implicated in murder and rape, was in the pay of Shell at the time of the killings and was driven around in a Shell vehicle.

The New Age newspaper has finally hit the streets, with editor Henry Jeffreys launching into whether it was an African National Congress (ANC) mouthpiece. 'Contrary to popular [mainly the media] opinion - we are not The New Agent,' read a strapline preceding his maiden editorial.

Award-winning South African author Annelie Botes recently revealed in an interview with the Rapport newspaper that she dislikes and fears black South Africans. Her comments have sparked outrage and debate. Commentaries like 'Hands off Annelie Botes' by Andile Mngxitama (http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-01-hands-off-anneli-botes) and 'Hiding in a Cave' by Pierre De Vos (http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/hiding-in-a-cave/) have led to a discussion about race and racism in the country.

African democracy institute Idasa, with the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) have conducted research on Zimbabwean women's views on transitional justice, looking at how women in that country have been affected by the elections, the inclusive government, transitional justice mechanisms and law enforcement, amongst other topics. The research was based on a survey of more than 2,000 woman, as well as discussion groups on the research finding.

'Over the past year, the Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, has been praised for his energy in tackling the housing crisis. What the Minister apparently fails to recognise is that for millions of poor citizens (and non-citizens), informal settlements and inner city buildings are the only forms of accommodation available in the city or close to it. These forms of housing have two very important factors that state housing developments have often failed to provide - closer location to employment opportunities and affordability.'

Developing countries continue to drive the global recovery but are not in a position to make up for slowdown in the advanced countries. Consequently, 2011 does not hold out much hope for the world economy, says a new report by the United Nations. The UN report, titled 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011' (WESP), finds that because of the slowdown in the advanced countries and the phasing out of stimulus measures, output growth in the developing countries is expected to shrink to six per cent during 2011-2012, down from seven per cent in 2010.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who sometimes resides in Kenya and Tanzania, has severely embarrassed the Obama Administration throughout the past week with the leaking of US diplomatic cables. Worse is, by all accounts, yet to come. The leaked files include material from the 2007 Kenyan election and its violent aftermath. They are much-awaited in some quarters of the Kenyan political sector, especially with regard to the ongoing build-up to the cases at The Hague by International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. There are even those who are hoping that something might crop up in the Kenya cables which could play game changer to the whole ICC process as it stands at present.

Amnesty International has called on all states to commit themselves to end enforced disappearances, following news that a landmark treaty aimed at preventing the practice will come into effect. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Disappearances Convention) will enter into force on 23 December, after Iraq on Wednesday became the 20th country to ratify it. The Convention aims to establish the truth about enforced disappearances, punish perpetrators and provide reparations to victims and their families.

Ten years after the signing of an accord designed to move Burundi from civil war to democratic stability, the country has yet to establish transitional justice mechanisms aimed at enhancing reconciliation and bringing to book those responsible for crimes committed during the country's turbulent years. Human rights activists and political observers say the lack of these mechanisms - a truth and reconciliation commission and some form of criminal tribunal - had perpetuated a culture of impunity, allowing human rights violations to proliferate, especially by state organs such as the police and judiciary.

Biofuels are failing Africa, in contrast to the many promises that fuelled their growth, a new report from Ethiopia claims. Launched at the UN conference on Climate Change in Cancun, the report ‘Biofuels - a Failure for Africa’ from the African Biodiversity Network, Ethiopian Society for Consumer Protection and The Gaia Foundation, highlights the risks of relying on biofuels to bring climate and development benefits to Africa.

There was a large presence of female thugs who terrorized both women and men in the recently held Egyptian elections, says a new report, 'The Gender Perspective in the 2010 Parliamentary Elections'. The report said female candidates were guilty of the same violations as male candidates. The majority of women supported male candidates, but the majority of those who supported female candidates were Muslim Brotherhood members.

The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) has become a 'talkshop' that is failing to lead the country’s fight against AIDS because it is poorly resourced, lacks leadership and there is confusion over its role. This is according to civil society groups and several sources working within the body, which was set up in 2000 to co-ordinate the country’s response to HIV.

At first glance Zimbabwe's public health system has undergone a renaissance since the dire days two years ago when shortages of drugs, staff and equipment were the norm. But this was not the norm, said John Mushangi, 42, an insurance broker who rushed his 15-year-old son to the facility after he was hit by a car and suffered head injuries. 'We waited for more than three hours before being attended and during that time my son was bleeding heavily. There was no reason for the hospital staff to take so long because there were few patients in front of us [in the queue],' he told IRIN.

Kenya is likely to witness worsening food security, significant disease outbreaks, and further pockets of conflict in 2011, as well as a continuing flow of refugees from Somalia, say aid officials. 'There is a fear of La Niña compromising the [food security] gains made,' said Aeneas Chuma, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator at the 30 November launch of Kenya’s 2011 Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan (EHRP) appeal. Most of the US$525 million funding requested is expected to meet food security and refugee needs.

In its September 2003 issue, and again in June 2005, Alliance put the spotlight on the subject of social justice philanthropy. Five and a half years later, we revisit the subject to find out what if anything has changed. Guest editor for this Alliance special feature is Christopher Harris, formerly of the Ford Foundation, who feels that some real progress has been made in the field and offers seven items worth special mention.

Over 600 new cases of AIDS were recorded during the first nine months of 2010 in Algeria, where the disease has spread relentlessly since the outbreak began in 1985. 'According to the likeliest estimates, there are between 21,000 and 30,000 people living with the virus,' Dr Skander Abdelkader Soufi announced November 24th at an Algiers forum on HIV/AIDS.

Zimbabwean authorities have admitted that they are having serious problems issuing new passports to tens of thousands of nationals in South Africa, just a few weeks before a deadline to get proper documents in place runs out. Co-Minister of Home Affairs, Theresa Makone, said this week that they may need to enlist the help of the South African government, because Zimbabwe is unable to process enough passports on its own. Makone said, after holding talks with her South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, that Zimbabwe could only process 500 passports a day.

Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika has ordered that the electoral commission be suspended amid talks of grave fraud. The suspension follows an audit report detailing some US$ 9 million meant for local government elections scheduled for April next year and cannot be accounted for.

Hundreds of residents from civil society organisations marched in the streets of Bulawayo on 1 December to mark the 16 days of Activism Against Violence Against Women and Girls . But sex workers and members of gay groups were barred by police from joining the demonstration. A dozen organisations took part in the event in Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo. The commemoration was organised by the Musasa Project, an organisation that deals with domestic violence, under the slogan 'Structures of violence :Defining safety and security for women and girls'.