Pambazuka News (http://www.pambazuka.org) is the award winning pan African platform for social justice. We seek to establish Pan African social networking platform as the hub of social activism across the continent – an independent, self-financing Pan African social network and community of members comprising social justice activists, engaged intellectuals and institutions that have similar missions to those of Pambazuka News.

We are seeking an experienced Web 2.0 technologist to project manage the implementation of the platform which is to be developed externally. We see this position as someone who can turn our overall vision of PZ2.0 into reality by providing us the optimum yet futuristic technological platform and functionalities. Closing date for applications: August 15, 2009.

Circumcising men who already have HIV does not protect their female partners from the virus, a study in Uganda has found. Circumcision is known to protect men from acquiring HIV. But the research, from the Lancet, showed no benefit in those who already had the virus and was stopped early because of the continued risk to women.

The Ugandan government should urgently charge or release five detainees held by military intelligence, one of them for 16 months, Human Rights Watch has said. Lawyers for the detainees' families and friends filed petitions for habeas corpus with the High Court in Kampala on July 17, 2009 seeking to compel the government to justify the legal basis for continuing detention.

The United Nations has called for an additional $200 million to provide aid to more than half a million people uprooted by violence in Chad and the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) and Darfur region of western Sudan, as demand mounts for humanitarian assistance. “People in eastern and southern Chad still require considerable help from the international community as they attempt to cope with the effects of displacement and in some cases to rebuild their lives,” said Eliane Duthoit, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad.

Namibia's Anti-Corruption Commission has requested an interview with the son of Chinese leader Hu Jintao to glean information about a deal involving a Chinese scanner company, the head of the anti-graft body has said.

Bushenyi district might lose a donation of over 500 computers if the Government goes ahead to implement a ban on the importation of used computers. While presenting this year's budget recently, Syda Bbumba, the finance minister, announced a total ban on the importation of used computers, freezers and refrigerators, citing environmental concerns.

South Africa, as a member of the G20 group, is playing an increasingly important role in world affairs, but the xenophobic riots of May 2008 offered a reminder of how explosive the social situation can be. Khulile Nkushubana, general secretary of CONSAWU (1), examines the recent developments in the fight against racism and outlines the strategies for a more harmonious future.

The links between the realisation of human rights and the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity are receiving increasing attention worldwide. Experience has demonstrated that exclusionary approaches to conservation can undermine those same rights of affected communities and can undermine conservation objectives. The ‘rights-based approaches’ (RBAs) to conservation presented in this document offer a number of positive ways forward, but they also raise a range of new challenges and questions.

Africa's most marginalised communities will be able to share their experiences of adapting to climate change thanks to a new fund that seeks to promote knowledge sharing across the continent. AfricaAdapt, a network set up in May to aid the flow of information between stakeholders, launched a Knowledge Sharing Innovation Fund last month (16 June), offering grants of up to US$10,000 to projects testing new ways of sharing knowledge, such as theatre performances and radio broadcasts.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemns the Sudanese authorities for continuing to persecute reporters and oppress all voices defending freedom of expression. ANHRI requests that the Sudanese government abolish or change the public discipline law, one of the most oppressive and discriminating laws against women, as it violates basic individual freedoms.

Pambazuka News (http://www.pambazuka.org) is the award winning pan African platform for social justice. We seek to establish Pan African social networking platform as the hub of social activism across the continent – an independent, self-financing Pan African social network and community of members comprising social justice activists, engaged intellectuals and institutions that have similar missions to those of Pambazuka News.

We are seeking an experienced Web 2.0 technologist to project manage the implementation of the platform which is to be developed externally. We see this position as someone who can turn our overall vision of PZ2.0 into reality by providing us the optimum yet futuristic technological platform and functionalities. Closing date for applications: August 15, 2009.

Niger's president has said he will not bow to foreign pressure to abandon his attempt to hold a referendum on whether he can serve a third term in office. Mamadou Tandja told state TV the threat of sanctions would not deter him from doing what was right for the people.

HIV rates among gay men in some African countries are 10 times higher than among the general male population, says research in medical journal the Lancet. The report said prejudice towards gay people was leading to isolation and harassment, which in turn led to risky sexual practices among gay communities.

A little over 18 years ago, when the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came to power, people were so eager to exercise democracy that even children started to challenge their parents saying "this is my democratic right". Perhaps it was too good to last. Earlier this month a new anti-terror law was passed, granting sweeping powers to the state to detain people it deems threatening. It follows closely on the heels of legislation that severely restricted the operations of NGOs working human rights issues.

Aid workers are finding it increasingly difficult to gain access and provide assistance to residents of the Somali capital because of the worsening conflict there, the United Nations refugee agency has reported. This week’s scheduled distribution of 4,000 aid kits in Mogadishu and surrounding areas had to be postponed because of security concerns, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva.

Clashes in central Somalia and the capital have killed at least 46 people, officials and peace groups have said, while a newly-appointed security minister pledged to build strong national security forces. Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) said it was investigating a mystery illness that had killed three Burundian peacekeepers based in Somalia. Eighteen more were in a Kenyan hospital with the same symptoms, an AU official said.

A major decrease in the childhood mortality rate in children under the age of two (U2CMR), observed between 2001 and 2006 in northern rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, was associated with the rollout of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in that region, according to a presentation made at IAS 2009 in Cape Town this week. Although some of the benefit may have been due to the introduction of programmes to prevent vertical (mother to child) transmission in 2001, researchers found that it was most strongly associated with maternal access to ART.

A landmark meeting in New York, co-organized by the UN refugee agency, has given important impetus to efforts to eradicate discrimination against forcibly displaced and stateless females, including rape, domestic violence and other abuses.

Trial to the murder of Eudy Simelane is resuming at Delmas Circuit Court on 29 – 31 July 2009. This time only three of the four accused, who pleaded not guilty, will appear in court as one of the accused who pleaded guilty is already serving a 31 years sentence. The remaining co-accused Khumbulani Magagula, Johannes Mahlangu and Themba Mvubu are facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, rape and murder.

The Swaziland cabinet has endorsed a harsh law imposing fine of E50, 000 ($6, 500) for persons convicted of perpetrating domestic violence. The proposed legislation, Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill of 2009 which is yet to be tabled in parliament, further says should the convict fail to pay the fine, they should faces up to 10 years in jail.