A human rights campaigner has been sentenced to three years in jail by an Angolan court that convicted him of committing crimes against the state, in what his lawyer says is part of a crackdown on activists. A judge found Angolan rights activist Andre Zeferino Puati guilty late on Thursday after authorities found documents in his possession aimed at inciting people to protest against the government, his lawyer said.

All of the Protea South Five, arrested after the electricity war in Protea South, Soweto, have been released on the grounds that 'there is no evidence against them'. None of the five were harmed while in detention. A sixth person from Protea South (who is not an LPM member) has now been arrested and charged with burning the transformer. There are currently conflicting reports at to whether or not there has been an arrest for the murder of the LPM activist shot by the Homeowners' Association in Protea South.

Over 15 fair trade lobby organisations have warned the East African Community leaders against signing the Framework Economic Partnerships Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union. The Framework Economic Partnerships Agreement between the European Union and the East African Community is scheduled to be signed today in the Tanzanian capital of Dar-es-Salaam, despite widespread criticism.

The World Bank, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretariat recently presented seven “Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment.” The principles seek to ensure that large-scale land investments result in “win-win” situations, benefiting investors and directly affected communities alike. But, though well-intended, the principles are woefully inadequate.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Somalia (SRSG), Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, invited Somali women to share their experiences, concerns and recommendations on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 in Nairobi on 9 June, on the occasion of the Global Open Day on women, peace and security.

Civil society groups attending a meeting on climate change in Bonn, Germany, have expressed disappointment that Saudi Arabia had blocked a review on the discussion of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius target as suggested by scientists. "Many civil society groups are also disappointed to see discussions of the gigat on gap, the gap between pledged reductions and what is scientifically necessary, gone missing from the talks,' said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign that has rallied millions of citizens in support of a science-based climate treaty.

Partner states of the East African Community (EAC) and the European Commission (EC) have ended their third negotiations session here on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), observing that the main challenge in accessing the European Union market continued to be stringent rules of origin. Both sides, however, have affirmed their recognition of development needs of the EAC region and their commitment to ensure that EPA is an addition to development that would promote and consolidate regional integration and fast track the integration of the EAC into the global economy.

A leading London-based gay rights campaigner has blamed the recent break-up of Malawi's first openly gay couple on what he called the southern African country's homophobia. Peter Tatchell of Outrage! said 26-year-old Steven Monjeza and his 20- year-old partner Tiwonge Chimbalanga caved in to pressure from threats on their lives.

In early 2008, an estimated 650,000 Kenyans were displaced and a further 1,300 lost their lives during two months of intense communal violence after the announcement of presidential and parliamentary election results. The incumbent, Mwai Kibaki, leader of the Party of National Unity (PNU), was declared to have defeated Raila Odinga, head of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in the presidential contest, despite the fact the PNU won fewer parliamentary seats. Both local and international observers questioned the results.

Throughout the Women Deliver conference, and the Symposium on Strengthening Midwifery that preceded it, the critical importance of midwives to meeting the safe motherhood challenge was emphasized. Here, midwives and advocates from eight countries talk about their work, the challenges they face and what they need in order to save more women’s lives.

South Africa’s travel and hotel industries have signed a code of conduct designed to protect children against sex tourism, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today, praising the ethical guide as an enduring legacy of the 2010 World Cup. “The contribution of the travel and tourism industry is vital to help stamp out child sexual exploitation,” said Aida Girma, UNICEF’s representative in South Africa, following the signing of the Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct in Johannesburg.

Uganda's rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army attacked a village in the neighbouring Central African Republic on Thursday and kidnapped more than 30 people, police said. The rebels besieged the village of Fode at around 16:00 (15:00 GMT) and raided local houses and stole goods and provisions, a police official in the main local town of Bangassou said.

The gold mining sector came under heavy criticism from clinicians, ex-miners, advocacy groups and the Minister of Health for the TB crisis it faces at the recent South African TB Conference. “If TB/HIV is a snake in Southern Africa, we know that its head is in South Africa in the mines,” stated Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. Paula Akugizibwe from the Aids and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) stressed that the mining sector, which she referred to as a “TB factory”, was over a century behind schedule with regards to its TB response.

The National Information Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) was switched on in 16 regions after the completion of the first phase of its construction.The move brings the hope of increased efficiency and reduced Internet charges in Tanzania.

As the 2010 World Cup kicks off this Friday, thousands of football fans will arrive in South Africa to cheer on their favourite teams. HIV awareness and prevention is also a high priority during this time. HIV can spread particularly among young people, through the dangerous combination of alcohol and unsafe sex.

With the World Cup finals looming, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) turned to football to tackle the lingering problem of xenophobia in South Africa's townships. The partner organizations, together with the Africa Diaspora Forum, have just staged a pilot Township Soccer Challenge. The initiative began in May and culminated last Saturday in Mohlakeng, when Randfontein beat Tembisa 5-0 to earn bragging rights to being the best township team in Gauteng Province.

Cameroonian writer, diplomat and civil servant, Ferdinand Leopold Oyono, died on Thursday in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, at the age of 81.

He was the author of two influential novels - The old man and the Medal and Une Vie de Boy written in the 1960s.

According to Geoges Etoa Oyono, who is the nephew of Oyono, the writer complained of weakness as he came out of the presidential palace where he attended the lunch offered in honour of the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon.

Oyono was an official at the UN in the 1970s and Cameroon's ambassador to the United Kingdom. He returned to Cameroon in 1985 and was appointed secretary-general of the presidency of the Republic.

He was minister of Foreign Relations and minster of Culture and worked for the setting up of copyright authority in the country.

The global economy is likely to grow 2.9 per cent to 3.3 per cent in 2010 and 2011, the World Bank said. The bank, however, said that "Europe's debt crisis poses problems for global growth". In its latest Global Economic Prospects 2010, it said global economic recovery continued to advance "but Europe's debt crisis has created new hurdles on the road to sustainable medium term growth".

Al-Shabaab, one of the Islamist movements opposing the Somali government yesterday decreed a total ban on Somali speaking Universal TV. The group accused the London-based broadcaster, widely viewed in Somalia, of showing cartoons negatively depicting Prophet Mohammed. In the decree issued in Mogadishu, the top Council of Al-Shabaab quoted verses of the Koran (Muslims’ Holy Book) explaining the punishment to be faced by anybody undermining Prophet Mohammed a result, the movement described Universal TV as a tool used by non-Muslims to undermine Islam.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Zimbabwe remain internally displaced as a result of government policies and actions. The two largest groups of internally displaced people (IDPs) are farm workers and their families who have been displaced as a result of the fast-track land reform programme, which began in 2000 and continues to this day; and people displaced as a result of arbitrary evictions in Zimbabwe's towns and cities.