JED is calling on the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) National Intelligence Agency (ANR) to put an end to the abuse of authority by officials at its Kasindi and Béni offices after radio reporter Maurice Lutendero was detained in Kasindi on 30 November 2009.

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its deep concern about the practices of the Sudanese government towards the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, which represents explicitly violation of international instruments and commitments in particular Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Non-governmental organisations attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Tuesday slammed the leaked draft Copenhagen Climate Change agreement proposed by the Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen.

A top UN official has praised "great progress" in easing Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis, but urged donors to continue supporting the country's recovery from a decade of economic freefall. "It has been refreshing to see great progress in so many aspects that worried us in February. I trust this positive trend will continue," UN assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs Catherine Bragg told a news conference.

In its endeavor to bring to the fore, health needs of lesbians and gays, as a group that is also affected by HIV and AIDS, Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) organized a march on World Aids Day, themed Universal Access and Human Rights.

Nigeria’s External Affairs ministry has uncovered $15.3 million of school fees racket allegedly perpetrated by some Nigerian diplomats. Minister Ojo Maduekwe said investigations were on, to determine the perpetrators, but vowed that those found culpable of defrauding the government would be dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for prosecution.

Software and web-search giants Google on Monday November 1st, 2009 launched the online Google Trader pilot in Uganda to connect sellers and buyers of goods and services, including in agriculture.

For centuries, farmers like Berhanu Gudina have tended tiny plots of maize, wheat, and barley amid the lush green plains of Ethiopia’s central lowlands. But now, Mr. Gudina says he sees people from India and China farming these lands. He says before, it was just locals. “What do they want here?,” he asks. “To steal everything? Our government is selling our country to the Asians so they can make money for themselves.”

This latest briefing from the International Crisis Group examines what stalled democratisation could mean. It concludes that politicians must finally uphold the constitution, abide by electoral laws and adhere to inter-party agreements if the region, which seeks independence from Somalia, is to hold genuinely free and fair elections in 2010.

Three editors of independent Amharic-language weekly Addis Neger have fled Ethiopia, saying that the government intends to prosecute them under Anti-Terrorism Proclamation No. 652/2009, promulgated on 28 August 2009. The last edition of the newspaper, which has been closed down, appeared on Saturday, 28 November.

It has been ten years since the South African government held its first annual '16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women' (and children) campaign. While the campaign has, no doubt, achieved a degree of success in relation to raising awareness, this has clearly not translated into much positive, practical impact.

African experts and ministers responsible for hydrocarbons are gathering in Ethiopia to craft key documents in the energy sector, the AU has disclosed.

People in the West throw away millions of old computers every year. Hundreds of thousands of them end up in Africa, where children try to eke out a living by selling the scrap. But the toxic elements in the waste are slowly poisoning them.

The Ethiopian government has re-opened the trial of four major newspaper publishers in connection with the 2005 post-election violence in the East African nation. The ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) has successfully lodged an appeal against the Ethiopian Supreme Court's decision to pardon the four publishers, Siday, Zekarias, Fasil and Serkalem, in connection with the 2005 elections.

A group of Nigerian farmers is suing Royal Dutch Shell, claiming that the oil firm polluted their land in the Niger Delta region. The four farmers allege that oil spilt from the supply lines of a subsidiary of Shell contaminated fish ponds and farms, ruining villagers' livelihoods.

HIV/AIDS is an major issue in our times that is having diverse effects on the lives of women the world over and most especially in Africa. In 2007, an estimated 3.3 million people were living with HIV, 2.7 million people infected with the virus, and AIDS deaths also estimated at 2.3 million (UNAIDS, July 2008).

The International Federation of the Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemned the murders of Somali journalist Mohamed Amin Adan Abdulle, a reporter with Radio Shabelle and Hassan Zubeyr Haji Hassan, a cameraman working with Al-Arabia TV who were killed this morning in a bomb attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Five Ugandan television stations are switching from analogue to digital broadcasting with 200 viewers receiving the signal in the capital Kampala. They are Kenyan-owned Nation Television (NTV), WBS, East Africa Television and Nile Broadcasting Service.

President Jacob Zuma has announced the most significant government-led interventions to stem the AIDS epidemic since its emergence more than 20 years ago, stating that extraordinary measures are needed.

Many Moroccan women's rights groups and political parties, eager to change the country's blanket ban on abortion, are lobbying Parliament for changes to the law in cases of incest or rape.