This footage from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) posted to shows the beating of a protestor during a protest in Ficksburg in the eastern Free State.

Last March, donors pledged billions of US dollars for the reconstruction of Haiti, after an earthquake devastated the country. But a year later, a group of 40 Haitian organisations finds that ‘nothing significant has really been undertaken’. Instead Haitian players have been excluded from strategic decision-making and the ‘millions of people affected directly or indirectly by the earthquake continue to face the consequences in destitution, and with no support whatsoever.’

There is a wide recognition that regional integration is crucial for the prosperous future of African countries' economic progress, with some of the highest tariffs facing African countries being imposed by their neighbours, regional economic integration remains a challenge and only a very small percentage of African countries exports are being traded regionally. Visit the Chatham House website for a document summarising an event held at Chatham House which explored the prospects for an African free trade area.

Authorities in the kingdom of Swaziland should allow the news media to report freely on anti-government protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said after security forces harassed at least 10 local and international journalists covering a mass demonstration demanding political and economic reform after more than two decades of rule by King Mswati III. Police stopped reporter Niren Tolsi and photographer Lisa Skinner of the South African daily Mail & Guardian, confiscated their notebooks and Swazi contact books, and threatened to deport them if the journalists reported anything negative about the country or the king, Africa's last absolute monarch, Nic Dawes, the paper's editor-in-chief, told CPJ.

The Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which focuses on economic and finance policy, released in January a draft resolution on external debt sustainability and development. The text of the draft resolution on external debt sustainability recognises the important role of debt relief, debt restructuring and debt cancellation for the purpose of debt crisis prevention as well as for mitigating the adverse impact of the world financial and economic crisis in developing countries.

The latest issue of the Kenyan Woman is available. Highlights of this issue include:
- In a state of stagnation: wrangles have derailed the constitution implementation process in Kenya.
- Employers told to embrace affirmative action.
- Linah Kilimo, a fighter who wears the FGM Eradication belt.
- Men fighting for women’s rights.

'My father died when I was three years old. Armed bandits killed him one evening as he was coming home. Every night I remember this scene before falling asleep,' says Mariam Ibrahim, a 20-year-old Somali who grew up amid civil war. Mariam is one of 170,000 refugees of the Libyan conflict who were able to cross the Tunisian-Libyan border. She was nine months pregnant when she arrived in Choucha refugee camp accompanied by her husband. Mariam has since given birth to her first child, a girl, in a tent set up by the Red Crescent.

The recent uprisings that have affected almost every country in the Middle East and North Africa region are indicative of deep structural issues that are facing societies in these countries. Calls for democracy, economic reforms, employment opportunities and greater accountability require us to question the development model pursued in the region by institutions like the World Bank and the underlying assumptions that may have led to the failure of this model, says this article from the Bank Information Centre.

Shakespeare Mukoyi was released on free bail on Tuesday (12 April). The MDC Harare province vice chairperson was arrested and beaten by police, who crushed a prayer for peace church service on Saturday in Glen Norah. Mukoyi was brutally assaulted by police in the church building and denied access to medication after an X-ray examination which showed the need for urgent treatment. Police took him to Harare Hospital during the evening where he was attended to briefly. He was however unceremoniously seized from the hospital and re-detained at Harare Central Police Station.

Ravensmead brothers who are alleged to have subjected three black workers at a factory in Blackheath to sexual, verbal and physical abuse appeared in court today (14 April) amid high drama. About a hundred people protested outside the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court. The charges relate to claims by the three workers that the brothers, owners of a timber company in Blackheath Industria, had beaten, sexually assaulted and hurled racial remarks at them after they reported for work last Tuesday night.

‘People who have suffered the impact of unjust practices and those who have been victims of abuse from corporate impunity will heave a sigh of relief the day directors of such companies are brought to court from behind their corporate shields,’ writes Nnimmo Bassey, amidst talk that ‘top guns at BP’ may be charged with manslaughter over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

'Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape has observed with great concern...unlawful activities on demolishing people’s structures and evicting people without any order from the court. This tendency seems to be growing... this undermines the prevention of illegal eviction from and unlawful occupation of land act 1998 (Act 19 of 1998).'

Robert Roth describes Haiti’s joy at the return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide after seven years in exile, despite the ‘bitter taste’ left by country’s ‘dismal elections’. ‘So many, in and outside of Haiti, had worked for this moment. Not because Aristide is a savior or can solve all the problems in Haiti. This was a basic issue of justice and self-determination. A democratically elected president had been illegally removed from office and banished from his homeland – and the majority of Haitians never accepted his removal. They wanted him home.’

The debates raging at the highest levels of the US National Security establishment and NATO over the military ‘stalemate’ in Libya conceal an even more competitive effort on the ground in Libya, by petroleum interests keen to divide up the territory to ensure access to the country’s vast oil resources, writes Horace Campbell.

The theme of the next African Union general assembly, scheduled for June 2011, is ‘Accelerating Youth Empowerment for a Sustainable Development’. But how far do existing development policies and programmes at national and continental level take into account the ‘multiple realities that African youth are living in?’ asks Eyob Balcha.

'Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry,' reports The Guardian's John Vidal.

Lessons for one president from another...

The videos of six panelists who addressed the topic of the re-colonization of Africa at a Left Forum panel in the US are now online on The speakers include Firoze Manji, Andre Kangni Afanou, Eben Valentine, Tseliso Thipanyane, Kassahun Checole and Sowore Omoyele.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers...

So is this new war all about oil or all about banking? asks Ellen Brown, an attorney and president of the Public Banking Institute. 'Maybe both - and water as well. With energy, water, and ample credit to develop the infrastructure to access them, a nation can be free of the grip of foreign creditors. And that may be the real threat of Libya: it could show the world what is possible.'

Information, Society & Justice (ISJ) is producing a special issue with equal emphasis on ideas, policies and practice that can liberate bodies and minds from the imposed market solutions. The special issue of (ISJ) will also mark an international exchange of library staff and students during July-August 2011. You are invited to submit articles for consideration for publication in the December 2011 issue. Click on the link for more information.

Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as 'blessings' and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

This interim report from the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in Nigeria focuses on immediate issues that merit the attention of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) and other actors. SDN noted significant variations in the atmosphere and conduct of elections in the three states (Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta). The breakdown is intended to give an indication of the overall tenor of the polls in these states as well as highlight key incidents.

Jennifer Madongonda, 43, shares a seven-roomed house with three other families in the low-income suburb of Budiriro, about 15km southwest of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. Seven months ago the municipality cut off water supply because they couldn’t pay the bill. Budiriro was regarded as the epicentre of the cholera epidemic that began in August 2008 and lasted for a year before it was officially declared at an end in July 2009. Chris Magadza, a researcher at the University of Zimbabwe, told participants at a recent workshop that 'clinical studies carried out on Harare's water supplies, and the results obtained, revealed that the water bodies carry a significant amount of pollutants, which pose a potential health risk'.

Work has begun to lay undersea communications cable along the coast of West Africa. The cable is set to give more Africans a fast internet access for the first time. The West Africa Cable System, known by its acronyms (WACS), runs 14,000 kilometres from London to South Africa.

Rebel fighters in eastern Libya fought off an attack by government troops in the town of Ajdabiya on Sunday, a day after retreating from a key oil facility around 100 kilometres farther west. Forces loyal to longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi advanced on Ajdabiya under a heavy artillery barrage in the morning and fought at close range with rebels on the town’s southern outskirts before a counterattack forced them back, witnesses said.

About 162,520 refugees from various African countries are residing in DRC, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR) said. An estimated 79,626 Angolans are by far the largest number of refugees in the country, followed by Rwandans and Burundians who number 67,707 and 11,259 respectively. Ugandans are the lowest number, 16, behind the Central African Republic, estimated at 700 refugees.

Despite widespread opposition, France's Parliament has approved a law which seeks to ensure that refugees from the unrest in North Africa stay outside of the republic. Under EU laws, the country of arrival is responsible for dealing with any asylum seekers, but nearly all of the migrants are Tunisians who wish to join the 600,000-strong Tunisian community in France. France has responded by unveiling plans for barely-legal border checks and new sea patrols, which have already turned back more than 1,000 exiles.

A three-month campaign by Addis Ababa's health bureau hopes to boost adherence to antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs in the Ethiopian capital by improving communication between patients and health service providers. A 2009 study by the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office found that on average, 72.3 per cent of patients on ARVs were still on first-line medication one year after starting treatment. 'The remaining are lost...it could be due to any number of reasons such as death or an unannounced change of location but it is a cause for concern,' said Addis Akalu, head of the disease prevention and control department at the Addis Ababa Health Bureau.

Hundreds of Burundians living with HIV/AIDS recently staged a demonstration in the capital, Bujumbura, to protest against a lack of treatment. Men, women and children lay on the ground for 10 minutes to 'show the government that if nothing is done rapidly - this week, this month - we will all die', said Jeanne Gapiya, a leading Burundian HIV activist. The protest was staged on 29 March by REMUA, Reseau de Reinforcement Mutuel des Acteurs de la Première Ligne, a network of six NGOs providing HIV treatment to more than 9,000 people.

In March 2011, The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks the price of 55 food commodities for export, rose for the ninth consecutive month. The index has now reached its highest level in both nominal and real terms since the inception of the index in 1990 (FAO, 2011). While higher food prices have benefited food corporations, they have contributed to a stark increase in poverty in developing countries. A recent World Bank (WB) report revealed that an additional 44 million people have been forced into poverty due to the drastic rise in food prices since June 2010 (WB, 2011). Having already surpassed the levels witnessed during the 2008 food crisis, the recent upsurge in food prices suggests that yet another food crisis has struck poor women, men, girls and boys.

Residents have vowed to continue their protest against the eviction of a poor family and against Thursday’s (14 April) police brutality that has left three residents seriously injured, says a Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign press statement. Residents will submit a petition to police and fight for the rights and dignity of resident’s vulnerable to greedy banks and politicians, says the statement.

After four months of a growing crisis which threatened to tip Côte d’Ivoire into civil war Gbagbo was detained at the presidential compound on Monday (11 April) by forces loyal to Ouattara. French troops and UN peacekeepers, who had struck Gbagbo’s home in Abidjan from the air earlier, provided crucial support. The president-elect of Côte d'Ivoire has heralded 'the dawn of a new hope' since the arrest of his rival. In a television address to the nation, Alassane Ouattara said his predecessor would receive 'dignified treatment' and called on all fighters in Côte d’Ivoire to lay down their arms.

Angry opposition supporters in Nigeria's Muslim north set fire to homes bearing ruling party banners Monday as election officials released results showing the Christian incumbent had gained an insurmountable lead. Witnesses said youths in the northern city of Kano were setting fires to homes that bore Jonathan party banners. Heavy gunfire also could be heard.

Arms manufacturer Denel emphatically denies it, or its subsidiaries, sold armaments to Libya, following a sales trip to that country a year ago. Earlier on Friday, the Mail & Guardian published details from a leaked Denel internal memo outlining a visit to Libya in April last year, which involved the 'planned sale of G6-52 artillery systems, missiles, grenade launchers and anti-materiel rifles'.

Up to 30 children suffering from acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) are treated daily at the Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, medical staff told IRIN. Although the exact number of children affected by AWD across the city could not be established, the medical source, who requested anonymity, told IRIN some deaths had been reported.

Health officials in Ghana are worried the rainy season, due to start in April, will fuel the spread of cholera, which has killed at least 69 people and stricken more than 5,000 in the past few months. While Ghana has not pinpointed the source of the cholera bacterium, top health officials say poor sanitation systems and hygiene habits- including open defecation - are largely to blame for the epidemic.

More than 24,000 refugees have recently entered Grand Gedeh County, south of Nimba, in Liberia and the scramble is on to put needed infrastructure in place there despite vast funding gaps. The UNHCR requested 55 million dollars for an anticipated 50,000 refugees in January. Now, with more than twice that number estimated in Liberia alone, the agency says it needs more than 132 million dollars. To date, it has received only about 17.5 million dollars.