Since 2000, Zimbabweans have suffered from high levels of political violence, human rights violations and intimidation. In response, a number of states and the European Union (EU) have imposed arms embargoes. In contrast, China and Russia have voiced no concerns about the situation and continue to supply arms and military equipment. Zimbabwe thus provides a useful case study that illustrates the diverging opinions among major international arms exporters regarding the circumstances that justify a restriction on the supply of arms and military equipment, says this background paper.

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of natural death in South Africa and over 10 per cent of all new TB cases are drug resistant. One of the most important measures for controlling the spread of the bacteria is quick diagnosis and treatment. Revolutionary new testing technology may make this possible.

Poet and writer Khainga O’Okwemba reflects on the Kenyan activities around International Women's Day on 8 March and a ‘support women artists now’ day held at the end of March.

In a time of climate change, decentralized, adaptable and diversified water and energy projects are best suited to respond to increasingly variable and unpredictable weather patterns. Large dams risk becoming uneconomic due to droughts, and unsafe due to more extreme storms. They will also further degrade freshwater ecosystems which are already reeling under the impacts of climate change. In spite of this, the World Bank’s new Energy Strategy calls for increased funding for large dams. According to International Rivers, a strategy that is based on yesterday’s technologies cannot resolve tomorrow’s problems.

Thousands of people, many who left North Africa following recent unrest, are stranded on the Italian island of Lampedusa in appalling conditions, Amnesty International reports. The unequivocal assessment by Amnesty International's delegation on the island came as Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged 'to clear Lampedusa within 48-60 hours'. There are currently about 6,000 foreign nationals on the island, mostly from Tunisia.

'When we listen to our leaders' vigorous condemnations of the human rights abuses and lack of democracy of Qaddafi's and other authoritarian regimes in the Mediterranean we would do well to bear in mind how new-founded and limited is their concern for human rights, and how likely it is that they will try to co-opt any new governments in the region to their war against sub-Saharan migrants,' argues a leading human rights lawyer on the website of the Institute of Race Relations. 'For in the past decade, as well as cheerfully returning dozens of suspected Islamists to torture under cover of the flimsiest of diplomatic assurances, Britain and Europe have used Qaddafi and other repressive north African regimes as front men for policies causing thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean and beyond.'

With drought spreading to almost all regions of Somalia, officials and aid workers have expressed concern for those affected, saying drought was now a major cause of displacement. 'Drought, not insecurity, is now the main reason for new displacement in Somalia,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA Somalia) said in a March update. 'More than 52,000 people have been displaced due to drought since 1 December 2010, many of them moving to urban areas in search of assistance.'

‘The UN must take its responsibility seriously. The world is waiting and watching to see what actions will be taken against other outlaws. Gaddafi is one among many,’ writes Wazir Mohamed.

Egyptian authorities have opened dozens of criminal investigations into hundreds of millions of dollars worth of public land contracts that were awarded illegally to real estate developers associated with former President Hosni Mubarak without proper procedures at below market rates. The current probes are the first steps, and perhaps the most obvious, that emerge in post-Mubarak Egypt towards the country's new economic future - one many here say could be less susceptible to cronyism and shady deals by government officials.

The Emerging Powers in Africa Initiative commissioned four research policy reports in June 2010 following the successful completion of the first round of commissioned reports that was undertaken in 2009, culminating in an electronic publication available on the Fahamu website. Understanding that attention towards China’s deepening engagement with Africa should not overshadow the activities of other emerging powers in Africa, including India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa, the four research policy reports sought to develop an African perspective by strengthening the civil society voice in the discourse surrounding the engagement between Africa and these emerging powers. To this end, the research projects were themed around comparative African perspectives on China and other emerging powers in Africa by providing seed funding to African civil society organisations and activists to undertake research that can contribute to the emerging scholarship on the footprint of the emerging actors in Africa. The completed research reports are available .

The North African protests have renewed enthusiasm for ‘a popularly driven process mass mobilisation’, not only as a means for people to force changes in leadership, but also to ‘demand a greater say in the running of their own lives’. But can the masses sustain their status as 'full-blown political subjects', rather than 'victims' in need of ‘empowerment’, asks Michael Necosmos.

'Arise, Africa arise
Let the world see your beauty
Let them note your strength
And know that though brow beaten
You will stand undefeated...'

Three African nations voted for the UN Security Council resolution that opened the door to the Western military intervention in Libya. Demba Moussa Dembele regrets that South Africa, Gabon and Nigeria provided the votes for the resolution to be passed.

The ‘public narrative of an “Arab Spring” excludes much of the world's population both from public attention and concern and from discussion of what meaningful political change might look like and how it can be supported by people in other places,’ argues Oliver Kearns.

A new survey by African democracy institute Idasa shows growing dissatisfaction among SA citizens with local government performance, with only one in ten citizens satisfied with the quality of service delivery provided by their district and municipal council. This is a dramatic decline from its previous survey conducted in 2006 which showed four in ten citizens (39.5 per cent) were still satisfied with service delivery by their local government.

As evidenced by Ivorians’ experiences in the wake of their country’s disputed election results and the looming threat of civil war, African leaders’ insistence on ignoring pre-established rules severely jeopardises their constituents, writes Cameron Duodu.

Northern Africa is not the only part of Africa where uprisings are taking place. In countries like Swaziland, Gabon, Cameroon, Djibouti, and Burkina Faso we've seen massive student uprisings and worker demonstrations brutally suppressed in most cases. Editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News Firoze Manji talks to the Real News Network about what's happening in Southern Africa. Watch the .

Great news, Freedom Fone v2.0 has arrived. The Freedom Fone platform enables automated, interactive, two-way, audio information to be shared through mobile phone networks. The DIY platform is accessible, user-friendly, low-cost, scalable, global and does not require Internet access for users and callers alike.

The Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is a monthly electronic publication that provides news, reflection, and learning on the provision of refugee legal aid. It is aimed primarily to be a resource for legal aid providers in the Global South where law journals and other resources are hard to access. The newsletter now has a blog which can be accessed at

About 4,000 people demonstrated in Morocco's biggest city Casablanca Sunday (3 April) to demand more democracy and reform, an AFP reporter said. Police said about 2,500 people took part in the demonstrations while organisers put the figure at 10,000. Demonstrators chanted 'No to corruption', 'End social injustice', and 'The people want an end to authoritarianism'.

Five newspapers line a vendor's makeshift table built from cardboard and sticks but most customers go straight for Isolezwe, one of South Africa's growing Zulu-language dailies. 'I guess people feel comfortable reading in their language,' says Blessings Kupe from his stand at a busy Johannesburg taxi rank where he offers the country's most-read papers, all English titles like Daily Sun and The Star.

At least 800 people have been reported killed in one town in Cote d'Ivoire, according to the Red Cross, as fierce fighting continues to grip the country. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the deaths reportedly took place during intercommunal violence in the western town of Duekoue on Tuesday. Dorothea Krimitas, an ICRC spokeswoman, said on Saturday (02 April) that the violence likely erupted the day after the town was taken by fighters loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the country's internationally recognised leader.

Using a vague criminal code provision allowing authorities to detain individuals deemed a threat to public order, a provincial governor in Cameroon threw a journalist in prison for inquiring about the arrests of two employees of a state-run palm oil company, according to local journalists. In a statement, the local press union Network of Journalists of The North said Adamawa Gov. Enow Abraham Egbe ordered a five-day detention for reporter Lamissia Adoularc, a correspondent for the daily Le Jour to 'ensure the protection of the journalist'.

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe have issued a statement noting with 'grave concern', cases related to arbitrary detentions, harassment and intimidation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members of the organisation by law enforcement agents, family and community leaders.

Former truth team deputy chairperson Betty Murungi has called for those accused of sexual violence during the post-election chaos to be tried locally. 'We need to find local solutions to local problems,' Ms Murungi said during a press conference on gender violence in Africa. Ms Murungi joined the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ) to lobby for justice for Kenyans who were sexually abused during the post-election violence four years ago.

Kenya has expressed concern over the instability in Somalia as cross-border raids by insurgents increase and a steady influx of refugees cross the porous frontier. Fighting between Somali government troops and al Shabaab Islamist insurgents has forced hundreds of thousands to flee the lawless Horn of Africa nation, with Kenya hosting more than 500,000 in several camps.

Gains have been made in stopping multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a largely undiagnosed killer, but not enough. By 2015 there will be two million new cases, says a new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO). MDR-TB is resistant to first-line TB drugs, such as isoniazid and rifampicin, while extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is resistant to these drugs as well as at least half of the mostly commonly used second-line drugs.

Health campaigners in east and southern Africa want the United Nations to develop a policy framework to ensure that countries honour and implement the right to health care. At a meeting in Johannesburg, campaigners aired their fears that health as a human right was not receiving the attention it deserves. Chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Nonkosi Khumalo, said this was evident in many African countries, especially given how AIDS has impacted on health service delivery.

French economist Esther Duflo thinks poverty can be alleviated or even eradicated with the right policies. All it takes is for politicians to 'translate research into action', implementing programmes that have been shown to work. But that is easier said than done. Duflo, who last year won American Economic Association's prestigious John Bates Clark Medal, acknowledges that it is sometimes frustrating to get policy makers to apply the results of research that could improve people's lives. Sometimes they do not know the evidence and so cannot take the right approach, she adds.

A report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the Fourth Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) slated to take place in Istanbul, Turkey in early May expressed a strong critique of the snail's pace of development, but stopped just short of calling for radical new policies to be implemented. The report, entitled 'Growth, Employment and Decent Work in the Least Developed Countries', solidified widespread fears that the 'graduation' rate of LDCs was abysmally low, with only three countries out of 51 - the Maldives, Botswana and Cape Verde - moving out of the category since it was created by the United Nations in 1970.

Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape has welcomed the Joe Slovo Constitutional Court Judgement which was handed down on Thursday last week, which set aside an eviction order granted in June 2009. 'While this is a victory for people of Joe Slovo who did not want to be evicted to Delft, we also note that:
1. If the previous Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was not arrogant, and was willing to engage meaningfully with the residents of Joe Slovo the whole dispute between both parties would have been resolved outside the court and a satisfactory decision to both parties would have been reached.
2. People of Joe Slovo who were shot (during the time that they barricaded the N2 for almost eight hours) by Metro Police, SAPS and Law Enforcement would not have been injured.
3. Those who were wrongfully forced out of Joe Slovo would still be residing at Joe Slovo and also those who lost their jobs after being forcefully evicted, today would have been still working.'

Documents published by WikiLeaks reveal important details about the crimes committed by French imperialism in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Rwanda, and the existing ties between French and African politicians. The cables published by WikiLeaks confirm that 50 years after 'decolonization', corrupt networks - binding together the banks, oil companies, the French armed forces and the African regimes - have continued to function in order to plunder Africa as well as attack French workers by contributing to the maintenance of the Chirac and Sarkozy governments.

Pro-government forces in Somalia Sunday attacked bases of the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab militants in a southern town sparking fighting in which seven people died, officials and witnesses said. The clashes erupted at noon on the fringes of Dhobley and continued for about five hours. Witnesses said both sides used heavy machine guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns.

African countries have committed to migrating to digital broadcasting by June 2015. A new website developed by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Balancing Act is part of an initiative which aims to help policy-makers and others focus their efforts on how to lower the cost of digital migration and look at how a wider range of benefits can be reaped. The website provides African policy-makers, regulators, broadcasters and civil society organisations with information on the benefits and challenges that come with the process and the policy issues that need to be addressed.

Thousands of Senegalese fishermen and boatowners have demonstrated against the presence of foreign ships, which they said were authorised by the government and pillaging natural resources. Small scale fishermen and boatowners condemned the issuing of 'illegal' licences to some 20 boats that have been in Senegalese waters for several months.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Saturday (19 MArch) vowed to intensify its role in labour protests in Swaziland calling for an end to the reign of King Mswati III. Cosatu also commended the Swazi people who held protest marches on Friday. Public service workers marched through the streets of the capital, Mbabane, protesting plans by the country's government to cut salaries and jobs in an attempt to get its finances in order.

Tanzania has asked South Africa to send warships into the seas off its coast, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says. International shipping off the East African coast has come under increasing attack from pirates over the past decade. A European Union naval task force currently operates off the Somali coast in an effort to protect vessels passing through that part of the Indian Ocean.

The ReVoDa mobile application seeks to potentially turn the 87,297,789 Nigerians with mobile phones, 43,982,200 with Internet access and 2,985,680 on Facebook into informal election observers. ReVoDa allows voters to report as independent citizen observers from their respective polling units across Nigeria. Click on the link provided to find out more.