Through The MasterCard Foundation, students may apply for a scholarship that will cover the costs related to the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree at Arizona State University (ASU) including: tuition; round trip airfare from the student’s home country to Phoenix, Arizona; housing; food; living expenses; and experiential learning abroad.

A complete application for The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at ASU is available at Scholarship applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 15 July 2012.

02 July 2012 - The Botshabelo Unemployed Movement (BUM) and the Democratic Left Front (DLF) call on informal traders in Botshabelo not to use foreign traders in the township as a scapegoat for their anger at the attacks they have faced from the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality last week and their dire economic circumstances. The BUM and the DLF regret last week’s outbreak of xenophobic violence in Botshabelo. The BUM and the DLF call on informal traders and all unemployed people to desist from continued attacks against foreign traders in Botshabelo.

The Berghof Foundation has announced the release of 'Giving Peace an Address? Reflections on the Potential and Challenges of Creating Peace Infrastructures' by Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka. It is the lead article in their Handbook Dialogue 'Peace Infrastructures – Assessing Concept and Practice'. The article defines and narrows the emergent concept of 'Peace Infrastructures' as networks of organisations established by conflict parties with the aim of building peace. Thus, it argues, infrastructures for peace have a great potential to contribute to peacebuilding, by strengthening the ownership and commitment of the stakeholders to the conflict.

02 July 2012 - The Democratic Left Front (DLF) fully endorses the call for support issued jointly by Abahlali BaseMjondolo (AbM) and the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) for the mass occupation of the ward councillor’s office in the Zakheleni shack settlement (in Ward 88 in Umlazi). This call for disciplined and peaceful occupation of the office is part of intensifying mass mobilisation and pressure against the ward councillor (Nomzamo Mkhize) and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

Only nine Angolan parties and coalitions of the 27 that put themselves forward will be permitted to battle it out in upcoming parliamentary elections. 'The Constitutional Court found in favour of nine political bodies, of which five political parties and four coalitions,' the oil-rich nation's top constitutional authority said. The body, which has to okay parties ahead of the polls, considered applications of 27 political bodies, but rejected 18. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and main opposition National Union for the Independence of Angola (Unita), as well as three other parties, were cleared to take part.

South African newspaper City Press reports that the ANC policy conference recommended the boycott of Israeli products as one of its planks to support the Palestinian freedom struggle. 'This is a significant policy shift in its relationship with Israel. At the policy conference the ANC delegates cheered the action by Minister Rob Davies to ensure that products from illegal Israeli settlements are re-labelled,' comments the blog Writing Rights.

Using or creating a new law is only the first step in what must be a longer political struggle to provide genuinely democratic forms of public water provision. As such, legal campaigns must also strive toward building frameworks for regulating, maintaining and monitoring progressive management of services after they become public. In addition, dedicated and committed activism is more critical to the success of campaigns than the legal tools themselves. These are two of the findings of a paper from the Municipal Services Project which examines how effective legal strategies have been in activism against the privatisation of water.

A campaign by Nature Kenya and other Environmental Justice Organizations (EJOs) has saved the Dakatcha Woodland Important Bird Area (IBA) from destruction from biofuel crops after Kenya's National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) rejected clearance for a pilot project on over 10,000 ha of land, reports Africa Report.

Twaweza has developed a draft note, 'Three Experiments to Improve Learning Outcomes: Delivering capitation grants better and testing local cash on delivery,' on incentivizing learning in schools. The basic idea involves paying a set amount for every child that achieves proficiency in early grade literacy and numeracy, and to contrast it with an input based incentive such as the capitation grant. A set of randomized control trials (RCTs) will be used to rigorously measure impact. The idea has been developed in consultation with the Center for Global Development, the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL) at MIT, the Tanzania government, local Members of Parliament and the teachers’ trade union.

Blog Africa is a Country takes issue with the Failed States Index, published by Foreign Policy and the Fund for Peace. 'This year, pro forma, almost the entire African continent shows up on the Failed States map in the guiltiest shade of red. The accusation is that with a handful of exceptions, African states are failing in 2012. But what does this tell us? What does it actually mean? Frankly, we have no idea.'

Mireille Mbouaki farms in the village of Mboubissi, sixty kilometres southeast of Pointe-Noire, capital city of the Congolese department of Kouilou. This year the rains have been poor and irregular. Ms. Mbouaki is very worried. She has good reason to worry. In many coastal towns, cassava plants are suffering. Leaves are wrinkled and shriveled, plants are stunted, and roots are rotting. The changing climate has not been kind to Congolese farmers.

Israel deported 190 South Sudanese illegal migrants on Tuesday 3 July, raising the number of deportees from the Jewish state to the Africa’s newest nation to 317 since mid-June. The migrants landed at Juba international airport, where they were received by relatives and South Sudan government officials.

About 70.2 million hectares of agricultural land worldwide have been sold or leased to private and public investors since 2000, according to this article from the Worldwatch Institute. The bulk of these acquisitions, which are called 'land grabs' by some observers, took place between 2008 and 2010, peaking in 2009. Although data for 2010 indicate that the amount of acquisitions dropped considerably after the 2009 peak, it still remains well above pre-2005 level. Africa has seen the greatest share of land involved in these acquisitions, with 34.3 million hectares sold or leased since 2000.

The international community on Tuesday 3 July weighed options to help embattled Mali save its north from Islamist fighters who have smashed ancient shrines in Timbuktu and rigged another city with landmines. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc says it has 3,300 troops ready to enter Mali, whose vast north has been occupied by armed rebels for three months after a 22 March coup plunged the nation into chaos.

The women of Sudan have had enough, says this post from blog Africa is a Country, about the protests in Sudan. 'What started as a protest by a small group of women escalated, by the following Friday, into a sandstorm, which has continued to today. That includes protests, crackdowns, arrests and disappearances, State violence. And the women keep on keeping on.'

Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, managing editor of Today, a privately-owned newspaper, was on 28 June released by the Banjul Magistrates’ Court. Before his release, he had been in detention for eight days without charge. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that Adiamoh paid an outrageous fine of 100,000 Dalasis (about US$ 3,142) before he was released.

The lawyer for the family of slain Burkinabé president Thomas Sankara says he has 'irrevocable evidence' of those who assassinated the late charismatic leader. Mr Bénéwendé Sankara made the statement in Ouagadougou where he reapeted the call for Burkina Faso’s defence minister to order the launch of legal procedures in the matter. On Thursday, a superior court in Ouagadougou said the assassination case filed by the slain leader’s wife Mariam Sankara and their son could be prosecuted under local laws.

This paper examines what motivates the participation of African slum dwellers in urban social movement activities, through a case study of grassroots mobilisation around evictions in Kurasini ward, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The study shows that, contrary to the expectations of movement leaders, property owners were significantly more likely than renters to participate in a risky and time-consuming mobilisation effort. The study identifies three factors that favoured owner participation: the nature of expected payoffs from participation; greater belief in their efficacy of action; and greater connection to place.

Idasa's Right to Know, Right to Education project has published its latest newsletter. The newsletter provides inisghts into the project impact and feedback from project partners involved with project implementation in Zambia and Kenya.

The Arabic Network of Human Rights Institutions has expressed its extreme indignation over the increase of the harassment of journalists, bloggers and activists in Morocco. This comes after the arrest of the blogger 'Hasan Barhon'. In addition, they cite threats and assault against 'Ahmed El-Merini', as well as the arranged robbery of the activist 'Mohamed El-Morabt'.