I-Network Uganda and the Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) have organised the Uganda ICT Journalism Awards to reward insightful reportage of information and communication technologies (ICTs), which shows a clear grasp of ICT issues by writers and manages to succinctly link ICTs to human development. The works should clearly address current communication policy issues and place people at the centre of these policies by showing how communication policies and actions are affecting them.

The people of Rwanda will mark the 11th anniversary of the 1994 genocide on 7 April with a national day of mourning. The deaths of more than a million people were a loss for Rwanda and for humanity. For genocide survivors this is a traumatic, but extremely important occasion, when they may publicly express the grief they still feel. For other Rwandese, and outsiders, it is an appropriate moment to demonstrate compassion, sorrow and regret. All at African Rights share in the sorrow of the commemoration. Through our work we have all learned of the deaths of countless men, women and children. In memory of the victims, we emphasize, once again, the need to prioritise justice and to offer support to genocide survivors.

After an extremely slow start, United Nations agencies and aid organizations have improved their response to the roughly 210,000 refugees from Darfur living in Chad. Refugees have been relocated from the border and are now living in camps where their basic needs are being met, although water and firewood will always be issues. Many refugee children are in school, and more schools are under construction. Refugees say that with the exception of threats from surrounding host communities, they generally feel safe in the camps.

UNESCO is inviting applications for the 2005 International Literacy Prizes, awarded in recognition of the services of institutions, organisations or individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the development of literacy and basic education. The theme for this year is ‘Literacy and Sustainable Development’. Bearing in mind the valuable roles women play in the creation of sustainable development and the disproportionately high number of illiterate women, governments and NGOs are requested to submit nominations on the theme of fostering sustainable development while at the same time building gender parity in literacy and basic education.

Controversial legislation approved by the lower house of India's parliament on 22 March could drastically increase the cost of cheap HIV drugs and other medicines the country produces, according to international humanitarian organisations. The law threatens to affect the provision of healthcare to hundreds of thousands of patients, many of them in Africa, for whom low-cost Indian drugs are the only affordable means of treating AIDS. The new patents bill is intended to bring India's patent regime into line with the World Trade Organization's (WTO) agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (known as TRIPS), one of the conditions of India's membership of the WTO.