The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for immediate and unconditional release of Thierry Ndayishimiye, Director and Publisher of the private weekly magazine Arc-en-ciel, who was arrested on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 and detained at the central prison of Mpimba in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi. “It is unacceptable to imprison a journalist for slander which in this case is not even proven”, said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “After the cas of Kavumbagu who is awaiting life imprisonment, this arrest manifestly shows the authorities are determined to muzzle the media in Burundi”.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun a major round of feeding for 670,000 children under the age of two and their families in drought-stricken Niger, where as many as eight million people need assistance. People in the West African nation are experiencing severe food shortages as a result of a prolonged drought that has caused crop failure and livestock deaths.

While some senior politicians in the coalition government bury their heads in the sand, professing ignorance about incidents of violence, it is the ordinary villagers in remote areas who are facing the reality of ongoing ZANU PF sponsored political violence. After a recent attack by ZANU PF supporters in Chipinge two MDC activists, Perpetua Pedzisai and Tsvakai Muzhambi, were said to be battling for their lives at clinics in Murambi and Sasu. According to a statement released by the MDC the attacks were an attempt to bar the activists from participating in outreach meetings, taking place to try shape the content of a new constitution.

Google Uganda has launched two local language operations enabling about five million people access services in native languages. The launch of the Runyakitara and Luo languages at Makerere University in Kampala brings to five the number of local languages available on the Google Uganda domain.

This research reveals that Low Income Countries such as Ghana remain under the influence of the Bank, especially regarding the management of their primary industries and natural resources and in relation to the design of sensitive policy areas such as fiscal policy and public sector reform. August 2010.

Aid agencies are still barred from Kalma, the largest settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s Southern Darfur State, 10 days after the government blocked the UN and NGOs from distributing food and medical aid to an estimated 82,000 IDPs. Tensions in Kalma rose on 25 July, at the conclusion of the latest round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar, with some IDPs claiming they were not fully represented. Protests inside the camp pitted the detractors, mainly the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) of Abdul Wahid Mohamed el-Nur, against supporters of the negotiations.

A new report by the UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Thursday said global youth unemployment in 2009 soared to a record high and is expected to climb even higher as the year progresses. The report, entitled: 'ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010', said that, 'of the world's 620 million economically-active youth, between the ages of 15 and 24, 81 million were out of work at the end of 2009, the highest number ever'.

The Board of Directors of the World Bank (WB) ap proved a loan of US$ 25.5 million for Mauritania for the additional financing of the programme of urban development (PDU), a source close to the bank announced. These funds will serve to support the efforts of the Mauritanian government to improve the access to basic infrastructures in urban areas, particularly for the disadvantaged zones.

Sierra Leone's human rights body has urged the government and the special court in The Hague to "retrieve the blood diamonds" that Naomi Campbell was given by war crimes accused Charles Taylor. "We have urged both parties to contact the South African government for the diamonds to be handed over to Sierra Leone," human rights commissioner Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff told journalists.

Investigators in Uganda have arrested four men who they say masterminded twin bomb attacks that killed more than 70 people last month. The men, all of them Ugandan, admitted their involvement in the Kampala attacks during a news conference. They all spoke of their role in the attacks that struck a restaurant and a rugby club - the venues hosting fans watching the World Cup football final.

Umuorie Isimiri Community is located in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State. Umuorie Isimiri is an hour and 20 minutes drive from Umuahia, capital of Abia State. It is a community of about 5,000 people, made up of mostly farmers. Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Isimiri Flow Station in Umuorie Isimiri Community is by the Imo River at the boundary between Abia and Rivers State. ERA monitors visited the community on 3 August 2010 to ascertain SPDC level of compliance with a court judgement delivered by Court of Appeal Owerri, Imo State ordering it to pay special damages of N1.49 billion to the community for oil spill and environmental degradation.

While an estimated 880 000 people – most of them young children – die each year of malaria in the developing world, we may underestimate the potential effects of continued DDT use on future generations. In South Africa, as in several other developing countries, the use of the powerful insecticide DDT is allowed for malaria control in high-risk areas such as KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.

August 12th marks the 25th International Youth Day, which is also the launch at the United Nations of the International Year of Youth. The year-long commemoration, whose theme is dialogue and mutual understanding, aims to encourage the full and effective participation of youth in all aspects of society. UNFPA is sponsoring activities throughout the year to ensure that young people's voices are heard at the highest levels, including at the September Millennium Development Goals Summit.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the Senegalese authorities to put an end to the legal proceedings against Abdou Latif Coulibaly, investigative journalist and Director of Publication of the weekly magazine, La Gazette, who was charged on July 10, 2010 for “concealment of administrative and private documents pertaining to the Senegalese National Lottery (LONASE)” following a complaint of its Managing Director Mr. Baila Wane.

Five United Nations humanitarian agencies are rushing medical supplies and other materials to northern Cameroon, where the country’s worst outbreak of cholera in six years has already claimed at least 155 lives. Cholera drugs, oral rehydration salts, hygiene kits, surgical gloves, family water kits and educational materials are among the items that have been dispatched, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported today from Yaoundé, the capital.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame won 93 percent of the vote in an election that opponents said was marred by repression and violence. The bush war veteran won 4,638,560 votes from a total of 5,178,492 registered voters in the central African country, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) said.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) expects to bring down all trade tariffs under the Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2012, by which time all countries in the region are expected to have liberalised their trade regimes, SADC trade officials have said. The regional bloc says it has liberalised about 85 percent of trade and is now phasing down tariffs for trade in sensitive products, which are expected to be completely removed by 2012.

The women who grow more than half the world's agricultural produce have gained international recognition and aid since the start of the global food crisis in 2007. Instead of being seen as a minor, vulnerable group, international aid agencies have begun keeping sex-specific data and reaching out to them as development partners, said Jeannette Gurung, director of the Washington-based Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and National Resource Management.

2010 marks an important period in the annals of Africa: it’s the year when a 10-year follow-up on the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) will be made, 5 year post the Gleneagles G8 Summit commitments, 26th anniversary of the Ethiopian famine that claimed the lives of millions, and a year when 17 African countries are marking their 50th anniversary since independence.

And in spite of making tremendous progress in economic, social and political spheres, Africa is still regarded by the international world as a failing, if not a failed continent.

As part of the Annual Meeting of the Africa Progress Panel (APP) held in Geneva, the APP organized a debate in front of an informed audience where answers were sought for the following questions:

Is Africa it’s own worst enemy?
Does Africa deserve special treatment?
Does the world need Africa more than Africa needs the world?

To view the trailer, please click

Delivery will be by FTP!
Please contact Farah Chaudhry on [email]farah@a24media.com
should you require the debate for broadcast purposes

Have you ever walked past a car window and checked your reflection to make sure your hair looks just right? Perhaps spent an hour perfecting your make-up before you head out? Have you looked at Halle Berry's body and thought, "Ah, I wish I had that body?" I'm sure most women can relate to this constant quest to look good, but what is beauty -- just what does looking good mean today? Considering this is Women's Month in South Africa, I decided now was a good time to find out exactly what kind of woman I want to be.