What do Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA have in common?

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has joined dozens of sites and organisations in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect-IP Act (PIPA). These two US bills, if passed, represent an unprecedented threat to the open internet as we know it, with impacts felt far beyond the borders of the United States. APC believes the internet is a global public good and is joining today’s protest in solidarity with those who fight to uphold internet-related human rights.

Reporters Without Borders says it is stunned to learn that Abukar Hassan Mohamoud, the manager of Mogadishu-based radio Somaliweyn, was shot dead 28 February outside his home in the capital’s Aargada district by men armed with pistols. The press freedom organisation condemns his cold-blooded murder, which joins a long list of crimes of violence against journalists in Somalia, and reiterates its call to the international community to do everything possible to ensure that these killings do not go unpunished.

Officials say they will not rule out using force to regain control of Bani Walid after it was recently taken over by forces loyal to the deposed Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Bani Walid, south of the capital Tripoli, was considered a Gaddafi stronghold during the revolution and was supposedly 'liberated' by revolutionary fighters four months ago. But now they say their families have been forced out.

The world’s rapid urbanisation means hundreds of millions of children are not getting even their most basic needs met, the United Nations children agency (UNICEF) warns in a report. Children in slums and poor urban communities lack access to clean water, sanitation and education, as services struggle to keep up with fast urban growth, says the aid agency’s flagship State of the World’s Children report which this year focuses on urban poverty.

In this article from the Peace and Conflict Monitor, Vital Nshimirimana discusses the transitional justice process as planned by the government of Burundi for 2012. He argues that issues including ongoing insecurity, human rights abuses, lack of dialogue and trust among social partners, as well as lack of rule of law will undermine the process.

For the first time and more than twenty years after the official recognition of their rights, children are provided with the possibility to access justice at the international level through a newly adopted complaints procedure. For this procedure to become a tangible reality for child victims, States need to sign and ratify the new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child before it can enter into force and display its effects. The official UN signing ceremony opening the Protocol for signature and ratification took place 28 February 2012, during the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

The final draft constitution, earmarked to replace the Lancaster House Constitution, will criminalise homosexuality and ban same-sex marriages according to the views of the majority of Zimbabweans, it has emerged. In an interview, Constitution Select Committee (Copac) co-chair Mr Edward Mkhosi (MDC) said Zimbabwe had unequivocally affirmed that homosexuality should be outlawed. 'During the outreach programme, everyone said ‘no’ to gays and lesbians and, as the drafters, we heed what people say,” he said. “Contrary to media reports that the homosexuality issue was causing infighting, the people were clear; we did not waste time on it.'

After decades of producing sharply worded critiques of the former regime, Om Zied isn't quieting down in the new Tunisia, or even dulling her verbal blade. 'Cavemen' is the word she used on the radio a couple of months ago to describe the ultra-conservative Salafists at the University of Manouba, in a suburb of Tunis. Salafists were pressuring administrators to permit women to wear the niqab, a full face veil, to classes. During the same radio interview the self-avowed secularist argued that few Islamists had ever tried to defend the rights of veiled women under the regime of the ousted president, Ben Ali.

Sala Aminata, a housewife from Logone and Shari Division in Cameroon’s Far North Region, looks at her six kids with apprehension as she tries to figure out how to feed them with her meagre salary. Rising food prices come after a drought late last year destroyed the majority of the harvest in the Sahel – the arid zone between the Sahara desert in North Africa and Sudan’s Savannas in the south. Rural populations throughout the region have started to run out of food since early February, six months before the next harvest is expected. And all governments in the Sahel, except for Senegal, have appealed for international assistance as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger.

The plaintiffs are relatives of victims murdered by Nigeria’s former military regime which was allegedly recruited by Shell to eliminate the opposition to oil exploration in the Niger Delta.

Advocating a risky market fix to a massive market failure under circumstances of widespread market melt is the latest version of state failure.

When looking at the vast array of reconstruction plans and promises of aid to rebuild Haiti, the old cliche? ‘actions speak louder than words’ rings true. But a determined group of Latin American and Caribbean countries is providing speedy and effective support.

A Zimbabwean minister launched a verbal attack on Impala Platinum Chief Executive David Brown, saying he was 'sick and tired' of the mining group's failure to comply with local black ownership laws. Implats is the biggest foreign investor in Zimbabwe's mining sector and has become the prime target of a government drive to get all outside companies to hand over majority stakes in their local operations to black Zimbabwean investors.

State prosecutors in Beitbridge recently refused to handle a case involving MDC-T officials, who were arrested over the weekend for attending a party workshop. The prosecutors said the case was ‘too sensitive’ to handle, but our correspondent in Bulawayo told us they feared the powerful co-Home Affairs Minister and local MP Kembo Mohadi.

South Sudan’s plan to start collecting some 20,000 weapons from civilians in Jonglei state in March, by force if necessary, is likely to worsen the volatile security situation there and complicate efforts to deliver essential humanitarian aid, the UN and several analysts have warned. 'Disarmament efforts could contribute to increasing tensions in an already tense environment,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a 23 February bulletin. 'Jonglei’s rival communities are wary of relinquishing their weapons, regardless of government promises to carry out disarmament simultaneously in each area,' it added.

The whole issue mirrors the contradictory relationship between the right to self-determination as enshrined in international law and the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Horn of Africa is one of the least connected regions in the world. Nevertheless, digital media play an important social and political role in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia (including South-Central Somalia and the northern self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland). This paper published by the Open Society Foundation shows how the development of the internet, mobile phones, and other new communication technologies have been shaped by conflict and power struggles in these countries.

Shortly after Michel Sidibe became executive director of the United Nations’ AIDS prevention agency, a court in Senegal sentenced nine gay men, all AIDS educators, to eight years in prison for 'unnatural acts'. Sidibe flew to Senegal to ask its aging president, Abdoulaye Wade, to pardon the men. Sidibe, the son of a Muslim politician from Mali and a white French Catholic, asked the president – who is married to a white Frenchwoman – if he had ever suffered discrimination. 'Oh, Sidibe, you have no idea,' came the reply. 'And for not marrying a Muslim.' 'Then, Uncle,' Sidibe said, 'why do you accept that men here are put in jail for eight years just for being gay?'

Namibia has tried to promote national unity and contain the scourge of tribalism, but it hasn’t quite succeeded. Top positions in government and in the ruling party are in the hands of people from one ethnic group. Now voices are being raised against this, as debate on presidential succession gathers pace.

The challenges facing Haiti are discussed in this Q&A with Ambassador Rodolfo Mattarollo, Special Representative of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Technical Secretariat in Haiti, who was interviewed by Claudia Florentin, the Spanish Editor of the Latin America and Caribbean Communication Agency (ALC).

A Facebook and Twitter campaign has been started to find Zimbabwean human rights activist Paul Chizuze who went missing on 8 February. According to a press release sent out by his colleagues and friends which has been posted on Facebook: 'Over the last three decades, Paul has been either employed by, or active with, the Legal Resources Foundation, Amani Trust Matabeleland, The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, ZimRights, Churches in Bulawayo, CivNet, and Masakhaneni Trust. Paul has worked tirelessly as a paralegal to track activists in jail and offer them support.'

A lawyer for an opponent of Malawi's president says his client is no longer being watched by police at the hospital where he is being treated for heart problems. Opposition and church leaders in Malawi had joined international human rights organisations in criticizing Ralph Kasambara's treatment. Kasambara was arrested 13 February, accused of kidnapping and torturing three men he told reporters had confessed they had been sent by the government to firebomb his office. The government denies Kasambara's accusations. Kasambara denies the charges against him.

An influx of refugees fleeing a mix of increased post-election related violence and continued militia activity in parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is stretching the capacity of refugee camps in western Uganda to host them, say officials. 'We are kind of overwhelmed; there are many Congolese pouring and crossing into Uganda daily,' Stephen Malinga, Uganda’s Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, told IRIN. 'So far, we have received about 3,700 new arrivals into the country through three western Uganda border points; we expect many more to come.'

Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) is shocked by the Uganda government's rejection of recommendations made to it during the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism (UPRM) to admit the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression to visit the country and assess the human rights situation. UPRM is a brainchild of the United Nations Human Rights Council whose intention is to assess the human rights situation of its respective member countries. HRNJ-Uganda has learnt that an Inter-ministerial meeting held on 23 February 2012 in Kampala and chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected 21 recommendations out of 42 which had been reserved by the same government during the October 2011 Geneva review.

Mothers, babies and newly diagnosed HIV patients are receiving more of the services they need but progress comes at a cost, according to a new report that predicts a funding shortfall for HIV treatment in South Africa. On 23 February, the Health Systems Trust released the latest versions of its annual District Health Barometer and South African Health Review. Although in its sixth year of publication, this year's barometer is the first to include data on early infant HIV testing for babies born to HIV-positive mothers and shows that about half of all babies born to HIV-positive mothers are now being tested for the virus at six weeks of age, an important step to ensuring they access the early HIV treatment recommended for all children younger than one under national guidelines.

Mari Monique was pregnant when they pooled all of their savings to join one of the first emigrant groups that opened a gruelling route in search of Brazil’s economic growth promise. The same path has now been trodden by more than 4,000 fellow Haitians. The route begins in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where emigrants embark on a plane that takes them to Panama. Continuing by bus and on foot, the groups make their way through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and sometimes Bolivia before finally reaching the Amazon border – still a week by boat from the nearest big city. The entire journey can take up to two months, depending on the traveller’s ability to find their way through Spanish-speaking countries, and can cost as much as $3,000.

The consolidated Ballot Update is a creation of the findings from 210 long term observers deployed by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) in 2011. The Update seeks to provide an analysis of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe and implications for free and fair elections. 'While the GNU has brought a semblance of normalcy to the country, on the political scene, it has been a mixed bag of successes and failures to implement its letter and spirit. This update is a synthesis of data from observers deployed from April to December 2011.'

has launched an 'events' listing. This listing -http://farmlandgrab.org/events - allows you to publish and browse short notices about events related to land grabbing and what people are doing about it. These may be investor summits, film screenings, mobilisations, rallies, conferences, workshops, fact-finding missions or other. 'We hope this new feature will be particularly useful to activists and social movements who are struggling to stop land grabbing all over the world.'

Walter Turner, host of the show, Africa Today, a weekly radio program on Africa and the African Diaspora interviewed Onyango Oloo on 24 February 2012. The focus of the interview was on the political and historical developments in Kenya between 1963 with a special emphasis on the responses of Kenyans to the ICC process.

Africa Today with Walter Turner recently hosted Southern African activist Prexy Nesbitt, who spoke about developments in South Africa. Nesbitt speaks about the origins of his work and his connection with Southern Africa.

GRAIN has made available a new data set documenting 416 recent, large-scale land grabs by foreign investors for the production of food crops. The cases cover nearly 35 million hectares of land in 66 countries. The collection of deals provides a stark snapshot of how agribusiness has been rapidly expanding across the globe since the food and financial crises of 2008 and how this is taking food production out of the hands of farmers and local communities.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has welcomed the release of an independent report on Togo that examined allegations that members of the Togolese intelligence agency tortured individuals accused of taking part in an attempted coup d’état in 2009. 'Togo’s national human rights commission found that the prisoners were subjected to physical and moral violence of an inhuman and degrading nature,' Ms. Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson, said in a statement.

Senegalese Human Rights League (LSDH) and the Senegalese section of Amnesty International (AI) have again denounced the practice of torture in the country, following the death of another student. Both organisations accused the police of having 'inflicted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the student Ousseynou Seck until death'. The statement said the student, who was reportedly arrested and taken to a police station, during protests against the candidacy of President Abdoulaye Wade ahead of Sunday's election, reportedly died a few hours after his release.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Italy violated the rights of Eritrean and Somali migrants by sending them back to Libya. The 13 Eritreans and 11 Somalis were among a group of about 200 people who left Libya on three boats in 2009. Two of the 24 have since died. The court ordered Italy to pay each migrant in the case 15,000 euros (£13,000; $20,000) in damages.

Nearly 130,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Tuareg rebels and government forces since mid-January in Mali, the UN has warned. The clashes had displaced an estimated 60,000 people inside Mali, and a further 69,000 had fled to neighbouring countries, a spokesman told the BBC.

From 27 February to 9 March ministers and civil society delegates will meet at the United Nations for the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This year’s meeting is especially critical because it will assess how governments have made good on promises at the 52nd session in 2008 to boost financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women. In this Q&A, IPS Correspondent Mathilde Bagneres spoke with Stephanie Seguino, an economics professor at the University of Vermont in the United States, about how women are particularly affected by the current economic crisis, and the role of government in crafting policies that promote not only women’s equality but sustainable development for society as a whole.

Cameroonian women have called on the government to respect national and international conventions it signed by ensuring parity between men and women in appointments to top positions and elective offices. The call was made in Douala this week during a meeting of members and leaders of various women’s associations and civil society organisations in Cameroon. The women met under the auspices of a newly-formed women’s umbrella group — Ensemble Pour la Parité (Together For Parity).

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...

Voters booed Senegal's president as he went to cast his ballot in elections Sunday, the latest sign of how his decision to seek a third term in office has caused his popularity to plummet and divided a country long considered a model of tolerance. The results issued late Sunday from the polling station where Wade and his family have voted for decades made clear that the aging leader is facing the biggest challenge of his career. Of the 484 votes case at Bureau No. 2 in the Point E neighborhood, Wade received only 102 – not even 22 per cent.

Egypt’s ruling military council pushed ahead on Sunday with plans to begin drafting a new constitution before transferring power to civilian rule, announcing that parliament will meet this week to select the panel tasked with writing the document. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' statement that parliament will begin choosing the 100-member panel on March 3 marked a setback for activist groups who have demanded the military relinquish power before a constitution is written.

The Wanjiru Kihoro Fellowship Programme aims to contribute to the development of a new generation of African women leaders who are dedicated to utilizing their voices and experience so as to further women's central role in peace building and development work in their country, region and continent. Currently, Femmes Africa Solidarité is offering a position
within the Fellowship Programme to commence in 2012.

In part II of this two-part special on 2012 Elections in Africa, our SOAS Radio interviews Senegalese artists and activists who discuss the political forecast for heavily contested presidential elections. There has been an uproar about standing President Abdoulaye Wade, 85, seeking a third term even though he initially promised to step down after his second term. The bulk of the opposition voices have been young men, with a politicised musical movement gaining momentum in poor communities throughout the country. Their message? They want change, and they want it NOW.

There are more than 20 community radio stations in Zambia. Most have a coverage radius of less than 20 kilometres. Yet they are significant to both rural and urban dwellers, whose interests range from politics to agriculture. But Zambia’s progress towards meeting this new demand for information is meeting some obstacles. The country recently dropped four places on the Reporters Without Borders index of press freedom. Gagging of journalists, censorship and political interference have all negatively affected the quality of service delivery to Zambia’s listening audience.

Liberia's Independent National Human Rights Commission has said it would from next month begin implementing the recommendations of the defunct Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which included prosecuting key warlords. The Truth Commission had also recommended that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf be barred from holding public office for a period of 30 years, which analysts say would be near-impossible to implement. The sanctions carry financial, political and legal ramifications, sources said.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that Swaziland's fiscal crisis has reached a critical point and there is a high risk that the kingdom will be unable to pay its civil servants' wages for the next few months. The report also says that Swaziland's gross domestic product (GDP) will contract by 2 per cent during 2012 and, if the country does not change its 'unsustainable' fiscal policy, its debt-to-GDP ratio could reach more than 80 per cent by 2016.

An interesting survey from Greek survey organisation Public Issue shows that in 2011 one third of the population agreed that 'Our society must change radically through revolution'. Only one per cent surveyed agreed that 'our society is fine the way it is.

As we enter a period of a profound crisis of capitalism, as working people and the poor are being forced to pay the costs of that crisis, the challenges facing Pambazuka are greater than ever. Our task in the coming period will be to expand the capacity of Pambazuka to support the growing movements for social and political transformation. We want you to join us in helping to build and support those movements. If you think that Pambazuka is important, if you find what we do useful, if you like the materials we publish in Pambazuka News, then join the Friends of Pambazuka with a donation today. Together we will dare to invent the future.