An award for young women scientists in developing nations is helping to motivate female researchers and assist them in overcoming cultural barriers. The 2011 OWSD (Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World) Award for Young Women Scientists from the Developing World recognised biologists, physicists, chemists and mathematicians from Argentina, Bangladesh, Cuba, Egypt, India, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa; mathematicians and physicists from India and Mexico; and chemists from Egypt and Nigeria.

Around 47 people have been killed in tribal violence in South Sudan, the latest in a cycle of attacks that have displaced some 60,000 people in the new African nation, officials said. A youth armed group from the Murle tribe attacked Duk Padyet in Jonglei state late on Monday, mostly killing young children, women and old people from the Lou Nuer tribe, said Philip Thon Leek Deng, a local leader and member of parliament.

This edition of African Agenda published by Third World Network-Africa in collaboration with Pambazuka News examines the Durban climate change conference in November.

What did the removal of the fuel subsidy mean for the LGBT community in Nigeria amongst other Nigerian citizens? The strike and protests had one positive effect for the LGBT community in that they brought mainstream civil society activists closer to LGBT activists, something that would have been unthinkable a couple of months ago when the anti-gay bill was brought to the Nigerian parliament and no voices from the wider civil society spoke out against it. Some local LGBT activists told Behind the Mask that they regard the current situation as an opportunity to buy time and make allies in their advocacy against the anti-gay bill.

Parliament has directed the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) to halt a 47 per cent power price increase which was announced last week. Legislators on the parliamentary ad hoc committee on energy slapped a moratorium on the implementation of the new power tariffs after officials of ERA failed to produce minutes of the special board meeting, which sanctioned the new tariff regime.

The trial of Egypt’s ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak got underway again on 18 January, a day after his defense team said there was 'no evidence' linking Mubarak to orders to shoot protesters during the 18 days of protests that led to his downfall. Farid al-Deeb, the lead lawyer for the 83-year-old former leader, praised Mubarak, and said the court could not convict the man activists and families of those killed in January and February last year say is responsible for their deaths.

On the anniversary of the revolution, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 21 IFEX members, urges the Tunisian government to revoke its recent controversial appointments giving media personnel close to the deposed President key posts in the public service media. The IFEX-TMG also further reiterates its call for journalists to be allowed to freely carry out their work, after another journalist was attacked during a demonstration last week.

The Global Information Society Watch 2011 report investigates how governments and internet and mobile phone companies are trying to restrict freedom online - and how citizens are responding to this using the very same technologies. 'Written by internationally-renowned experts, the report brings its readers easy-to-read and yet comprehensive articles, many with policy proposals, on the most important challenges protecting human rights on the internet is facing today,' says lawyer Matthias C. Kettemann, co-chair of the Internet Rights and Principles Coalition.

Stefan Magdalinski, the CEO of Mocality, in an update on his blog, has indicated that the company is currently not considering filing formal charges against Google. Mocality, a Kenyan Business Listing Directory, broke into international limelight after the company found that callers from Google were promising Mocality clients free websites through a non-existent partnership and without Mocality's knowledge. The data scraping allegations have embarrassed the search giant with senior executives in the company admitting wrong doing and publicly apologising to Mocality.

The World Bank has warned the international community to brace for slow growth and economic challenges in 2012 stemming partly from Europe's debt woes. The bank substantially cut its forecasts for growth in both developed and poorer nations in its twice-yearly report.

The Mobile Media Toolkit, published by MobileActive, is a resource to help professional and citizen journalists, news outlets, and media development organisations find, evaluate, and deploy tools for reporting and sharing content on and to mobile devices. The web-based toolkit contains a set of five primary sections, supplemented by additional features and resources that offer users articles and examples specific to certain elements of mobile media production.

Several years ago, Lakes Kamnarok and Ol Bollosat in Kenya were vibrant water bodies that supported and shaped the ecosystems around them. But today they are shells of their former selves, due to heavy siltation caused by human activities. 'Siltation is still happening, the lake is drying up and this is threatening Lake Kamnarok and the wildlife with extinction, besides affecting the lives of people around it,' Elijah Chemitei, senior warden in Baringo County, in the Rift Valley Province, told IPS. 'Much of it is caused by upstream activities like tree-felling and charcoal-burning, agricultural activities, grazing and sand collection.'

A philosopher accused of inciting mass murder in Rwanda will remain in detention until a hearing that may put an end to his 19 years in Canada – or may keep him here for months. The order by the Immigration and Refugee Board keeping Léon Mugesera in custody cleared up a long weekend of confusion about the next steps in the long-running case.

The deaths of tens of thousands of people during the drought in east Africa could have been avoided if the international community, donor governments and humanitarian agencies had responded earlier and more swiftly to clear warning signs that a disaster was in the making, according to a new report.

A security guard employed at the late General Solomon Mujuru’s farm, Clemence Runhare, stunned a court when he said he heard what sounded like gunfire two hours before he was alerted to a fire that killed the former army commander in August last year. Runhare was testifying at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on the first day of the inquest into the death of Zimbabwe’s most decorated commander. He also told the inquest, presided over by regional magistrate Walter Chikwanha, Gen Mujuru was in the company of an unidentified male passenger when he arrived at his Alamein Farm in Beatrice around 8pm on 15 August. No other human remains were found at the house when Gen Mujuru’s remains were retrieved.

A partnership of humanitarian organizations working with community volunteers in South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has helped demobilize thousands of children formerly associated with armed groups in the province, says the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). At least 33,000 children have been demobilized across the country with UNICEF's assistance since 2004, according to Alessandra Dentice, UNICEF's chief of child protection in the DRC.

Digital migration offers many benefits. However, it should be understood that these benefits will not be uniformly distributed without government intervention and civil society participation in the process. 'The challenges of the digital transition are both cultural and social,' said one stakeholder. 'Consideration should be given to the danger of privatisation and the audiovisual content of telecommunications on the national level, as this falls under national sovereignty. The digital dividends garnered by the digital transition are a common good, an important resource, the destination and use of which require vigilance.'

Often, victims of corruption find it difficult to step forward and report, particularly citizens in countries where infrastructure, public transport or uneasy internet access means they have to travel far from their home towns to make a report. Transparency International’s Legal Advice Centres are trying to bridge this gap by creating district and mobile centres to support citizens in rural areas and remote regions to make people aware of their rights and step forward to complain about corruption. District centres offer citizens a more accessible and confidential access to support, legal advice and follow-up on the corruption issues that affect their communities, with a supportive staff and in a trustworthy environment.

Within the past two weeks, two independent and opposition newspapers, Alwan and Rai al-Shaab, have been closed by security forces without explanation. 'These latest two newspaper closures show the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has yet to overcome his chronically repressive instincts aimed at silencing the media,” Reporters Without Borders said.'

Security forces in Kenya are on high alert ahead of a decision by the International Criminal Court on whether to try senior government officials for masterminding violence in 2007-8 which killed 1,200 people, the Daily Nation reports. The ICC’s verdict is likely to have a significant political impact in Kenya as both men plan to vie for the presidency in the next election, which could be as soon as August. The so-called Ocampo Six are accused of murder, forceful displacement of people, torture and rape. The ICC will deliver its ruling on 23 January.