Dublin was unusually sunny and warm last week when the High Level Task Force on the global food security crisis held a consultation at the Malahide resort just north of the city. Dr. David Nabarro, coordinator of the High Level Task Force was looking to elicit comments from civil society organizations on the Comprehensive Framework for Action to end hunger (CFA). The CFA, hastily written a year ago by a team of experts from 23 bureaucracies within the U.N. system, is a multilateral attempt to create a plan of action for dealing with the growing global food crisis.

SAMWU has become increasingly concerned by the homophobic utterances of several national leaders on the continent over the last few years. Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Museveni in Uganda and a few others have made intolerable comments about the rights of consenting adults to engage in a same sex relationship. One has to ask what is it exactly that irks these ‘revolutionary’ leaders? What are they afraid of? However recent events in Malawi have surpassed even these levels of ignorance and prejudice.

In the May edition of the , Tanzania grants 162,000 Burundians citizenship, Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees feel abandoned in Guinea, New United Kingdom government pledges end to immigration detention of children, addresses refoulement on sexual orientation or gender-based refugee claims, and Refugee Law Project in Kampala, Uganda, opens internet and computer facility for clients.

The Commonwealth Games, which begin in Delhi on 3 October, are already surrounded by concerns over security. Far more worrying than the possible threat to a few thousand privileged visiting foreigners, however, is a new report by the Housing and Land Network, an arm of the global movement Habitat International Coalition, suggesting that by the time the Games begin about 140,000 families will have been evicted from their homes to clear the space for the lavish facilities now compulsory for such events.

In this weeks roundup of emerging actors new, African Development Bank seeks to triple the amount of funds it has available to invest in roads and power plants, China's short-term boost could become a long-term threat to Africa, India backs Africa for Security Council, and The China-Africa Development Fund (CAD Fund to boost footprint in Africa.

Organic foods aren’t only the preference of countries in the so-called developed North. Forty thousand tons of genetically engineered maize was recently rejected in Kenya. Protesters are making sure it remains stuck in the port city of Mombassa. Jos Ngonyo, with Kenya’s Biodiversity Coalition, spoke to Green Acre Radio in a recent visit to Seattle. Ngonyo talked about why small-scale farmers reject the Green Revolution in Africa and “dysfunctional aid.” The Gates Foundation helped launch the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa four years ago.

After travelling halfway around the world from Nigeria to the US, Emem Okon, along with 17 other people representing oil-producing communities around the globe, stood today as shareholders ready to attend Chevron’s Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders. Chevron arbitrarily denied Ms Okon and at least 13 others entry to the meeting, despite the fact that other representatives from Chevron-impacted communities were allowed to enter the meeting.

Humanitarian officials will look to the Chad government to protect civilians and secure aid operations after the UN Security Council decided on 25 May to withdraw some 3,000 UN peacekeepers from the country's volatile east. "The Chadian government has said quite clearly both publicly and privately that they take on the responsibility for our [humanitarian workers'] security," and that of other civilians, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told IRIN from the capital, N'djamena, at the end of a four-day visit to Chad.

After traveling halfway around the world from Nigeria to the U.S., Emem Okon, along with 17 other people representing oil-producing communities around the globe, stood today as shareholders ready to attend Chevron’s Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders. Chevron arbitrarily denied Ms. Okon and at least 13 others entry to the meeting despite the fact that other representatives from Chevron-impacted communities were allowed to enter the meeting.

In a small office tucked behind the stairwell in Liberia’s Ministry of Education, the once-proud staff of the Girls’ Education Unit appear defeated. The workers in this fourth floor office, entrusted with charting a new course for the education of the country's girls and women, have no salaries, no budget, and few projects under way.

The latest background report from the International Crisis Group, examines Cameroon’s history, its contemporary politics and the relations between its main social groups. The report uncovers points of potential instability and suggests how to tackle them. The country’s history shows a pattern of apparent stability followed by violent crisis. For long periods, problems have been masked but not dealt with, and consequent frustrations have led to explosions of violence.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/483/taju_speaks.jpgWith 25 May 2010 marking the first year of Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's passing, the Pambazuka News team would like to draw our readers' attention to the wave of tributes we received in the wake of his tragic accident. These tributes feature as comments on an article entitled , as well as responses to Tajudeen's final Pan-African Postcard,

On 12 May 2010, Algerian authorities effectively shut down La Maison des Syndicats (2 Rue El Oued, Bach Djarrah, Algiers), the headquarters of an important coalition of independent labor unions fighting for workers rights, including the Syndicat National Autonome des Personnels de l'Administration Publique (SNAPAP). Their website has also been shut down.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) protests the arrest and detention since 16 May 2010 of three journalists with the opposition daily newspaper "Rai al-Shaab" amid a post-election crackdown on the Sudanese media and opposition leaders. Deputy editor Abu Zar al-Amin has reportedly been transferred to police custody after being given electric shocks; the whereabouts of reporters Ashraf Abdel Aziz and Dahab Ibrahim remain unknown.

Africa, with an estimated 700 million hectares of cheap potential new farmland, has been attracting the attention of foreign investors from nations seeking to enhance food security. Foreign companies with funding from the likes of China, the United Arab Emirates and India have been acquiring land across sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia alone has reportedly approved more than 800 foreign-funded agro-projects since 2007.

A contest of competing visions over the future of Agriculture is playing out across Sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers' organizations are lining up against an aid regime that threatens to swamp smallholders with purported "solutions" to which these farmers have not assented and do not desire. The current economic crisis is bringing this situation to a critical point, as transnational corporations seek to capitalize on the current economic downturn, and the ongoing weakness of States whose economies and democratic institutions have withered since the 1980s; under the ministrations of the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO.

Amid what he characterised as renewed grabs for Africa’s resources, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that women’s empowerment remains crucial for Africa’s development and must be prioritised as the continent moves forward. Annan currently chairs the Africa Progress Panel and was speaking at the Johannesburg launch of the Panel’s latest progress report entitled, “From Agenda to Action: Turning Resources into Results for People,” which identifies gender inequality as a major barrier to Africa’s development.

Tidiane Kassé

Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III

Sanou Mbaye

Agustín Velloso

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed its concerns over the increase in press freedom violations in Sudan since the recent elections after the arrest of four journalists and the closure of Rai-Alshab daily newspaper. Taban Bonifacio, online journalist for the Sudanvote.com website was arrested in South Sudan on 23 April while three more journalists of Rai-Alshab newspaper were detained on Sunday 16 May 20

The media in Somalia is going through its most difficult period as journalists face worst times ever, stated Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle. He accused Islamist rebels of infringing on freedom of expression and the independence of the media.