Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang this week launched an extraordinary racial attack against the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) at a formal gala event. Guests at the event, who heard the attack, included United Nations emissaries, diplomats, leading academics and corporate captains.

Sixteen Eastern Cape officials have been arrested in an anti-corruption blitz in Queenstown. All those arrested are the employees of the Queenstown Municipality. They are accused of defrauding the welfare department of thousands of rands.

The Commission on Human Rights has opened debate under its agenda item on "integration of the human rights of women and a gender perspective", hearing a series of countries describe national efforts to eradicate violence against women and improve the situation of women overall. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, said actions taken around the world to eradicate such violence included the development of national plans of action, law reforms, new legislation, sensitization of criminal justice systems, provision of support services for victims and data collection on what was once an invisible crime.

I am looking forward to 14 April, in common with most people living in Somaliland. It will be the first time ever that I vote in my homeland. Having missed the December municipal elections, the prospect of taking part in a free and fair election to choose the next president of Somaliland will not only be a new experience, but given what it has taken us to get here, a deeply rewarding one. The people whose job it is to ensure that the elections fulfil our expectations are the six men and one woman who make up the National Electoral Commission (NEC). Their task is not an enviable one, given the unique circumstances of Somaliland.

Armed groups on Wednesday attacked two camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) just outside the Liberian capital, Monrovia, according to information on Thursday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

A report released this week by the Uganda Human Rights Commission has accused government security agents of torture. Margaret Sekagya, of the human rights commission told IRIN that the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) - a military intelligence security department in the Ugandan People's Defence Force (UPDF) - and the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) - part of the ministry of internal affairs, which controls internal security - had been heavily implicated in the report.

Surprise is the current trend in the results of Saturday’s National Assembly elections being released across the states, as the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) swept the polls in the North.

Masindi Resident District Commissioner Betty Adima has said about 7,000 internally displaced persons are destroying Kinyara sugarcane plantation because they do not have enough food. "These IDPs have nothing to eat and are eating up the sugarcanes," Ms Adima said. She was addressing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Camp in Masindi district at the weekend.

There were 159 reported cases of torture in Zimbabwe during the month of March, 105 cases of political discrimination, 103 cases of unlawful arrest, 53 cases of displacement and 40 cases of assault. This is according to the Monthly Political Violence Report for March 2003, released by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. "Disturbing incidents of violence and gross human rights violations have been documented in the month of March, indicative that the human-rights situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating critically," the Forum said.

A coalition of public health advocacy organisations in the United States, Europe, Canada and Japan have embarked on a “Fund the Fund” campaign to address the budget shortfall faced by the global fund. Sharonann Lynch, spokesperson for Health GAP, a US-based activist group, said that the aim of the campaign would be to pressure the governments of wealthy countries to contribute urgently needed resources to the global fund.

US and Iraqi estimates of the numbers of dead in the war on Iraq put the combined figure at about 4 000. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, estimates are that up to 3.5 million people have died. If news value depended only on body count, newspapers would devote roughly 900 pages to the war in the Congo for every page devoted to the war on Iraq.

Terminator technology - plants genetically engineered to render sterile seeds - is being developed as a biological mechanism to extinguish the right of farmers to save and re-plant seeds from their harvest, thus creating greater dependence on the commercial seed market. As a lead-up to the Cancún WTO Ministerial in September, the US government plans to showcase new and controversial agricultural technologies at its Sacramento Ministerial Meeting on agricultural technologies in June. The US government should be held accountable for developing and licensing a technology that threatens food security for over 1.4 billion people in the developing world, says this briefing from The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, an international civil society organisation headquartered in Canada. The organisation says the right to food must include the inalienable right of farming communities to save, exchange and develop plant varieties without restriction. "Terminator technology should be condemned as an offense against food sovereignty, farmers’ rights and the right to food."

Tanzania is to start using nuclear power, after the country's parliament enacted a law last week permitting the use of uranium to produce energy. The move could make Tanzania the first country in East and Central Africa to use nuclear technology to generate electricity.

Nigeria sits atop 25 billion barrels of high-quality crude. But extracting the oil from the swamps of the Nigerian government can be messy. Nigeria ranks second (after Bangladesh) among the world's most corrupt countries, says Transparency International in Berlin. Cozy ties between oil multinationals and the government (a partner in all ventures via the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., or NNPC) make evidence of mischief hard to find. Until a deal goes sour--and the ugly process spills into view.

The South African government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday failed to sign an agreement that would provide more than $40 million in grants to KwaZulu-Natal, one of the country's provinces hardest hit by the epidemic, Reuters reports.

In early March this year, over 2,300 Rwandans arrived at the Kibungo transit camp, a centre that receives Rwandan refugees returning from Tanzania. These were not the usual refugees. They were Rwandans living within the local community near the border and had never been in the camps. When the governments of Rwanda and Tanzania had signed an agreement to repatriate all Rwandan nationals living in Tanzania as refugees, these people had not considered themselves part of the target group. Over several weeks in early March, they had been identified and evicted as illegal immigrants. "Most of them left Rwanda in the 1980's, some of them were born there [Tanzania]," Odette Nyiramirimo, the Secretary of State for Social Affairs in the Ministry of Local Administration told Internews.

The purpose of the program is to provide Arab Ph.D. holders who have excellent academic track record with opportunities to conduct research or lecture in the best universities of the world. The program is also expected to build bridges between Arab and foreign universities, which will lead to mutual benefits. The Arab Fund’s Scholar Awards provide fixed maintenance allowances based on the cost of living in the host country, return tickets for the beneficiaries and their families and limited accident and sickness insurance.

People in the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland have voted in their first multi-party presidential election. Almost one million voters were thought to have cast their ballots, hoping the election could boost its attempts to secure international recognition.

Visibly traumatised, Antonio Manuel, 10, goes to Mahele primary school, a remote part of Maputo province, where the Mozambican capital, Maputo, is situated. Manuel, a shy boy, uses both his hands to hold a pencil as he writes in the exercise book. His fingers - on both hands - are joined together after his stepmother placed his hands on top of a hot stove. Manuel was only four when the accident happened.

An all-Africa editors' forum is to be established. Editors from all over the continent met at a two-day conference in Midrand, an initiative of the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef). A steering committee, including regional representatives and convened by Mathatha Tsedu, the Sanef chairperson, was nominated to further develop the idea of the continent-wide forum. According to a declaration drafted at the conference, the editors agreed that Africa and African issues should get prominent media coverage.

Ethiopia is to become one of the first countries in Africa to produce its own drugs to tackle the devastating HIV/AIDS crisis, health officials told IRIN on Tuesday. The country, alongside South Africa, is to receive technological support so that it can manufacture anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs to treat patients suffering from the virus.

Some 3,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) living in a refugee camp in Muyinga Province, northern Burundi, stoned vehicles belonging to an NGO on Saturday during a demonstration against what they termed poor human conditions, the privately owned Radio Isanganiro reported.

One of the great ironies of the Development Committee meetings that took place at the just-ended spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, was that though Iraq appeared nowhere on the official schedule, it was in many ways at the top of the agenda. Uncertainty about money placed it there. With so much money needed for Iraq, is there any reason to believe that efforts such as the drive to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals will get the money they need? Few think so. The Development Committee is the lead group in advising the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on critical development issues. And this year, in what has become a familiar litany for sub-Saharan Africa: development indicators portray a worsening situation.

Recently appointed Minister of Information Abednego Ntshangase announced on Tuesday, April 8, a new censorship policy for state media in the southern African kingdom of Swaziland. Speaking at his first official appearance before the House of Assembly, Ntshangase told parliamentarians, "The national television and radio stations are not going to cover anything that has a negative bearing on government."

The statement by James T. Morris to the UN Security Council on "Double Standards: Africa and the War on Iraq" (http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?issuedate=2003-04-10&admin=1) is most welcome. Since the Iraq crisis gathered momentum a few months ago culminating in the war on Iraq, the war on hunger and starvation in Africa and indeed other burning issues pertaining to the continent have been relegated to the background.

While Mr. Morris deserves to be commended for drawing attention to the protracted food crisis in Africa and to the world's double standard on this matter, his emphasis on food aid as the panacea for this problem appears to be misplaced. What Africa needs as a long-term solution to the problem is food security, not perpetual dependence on food aid. Indeed, food aid, driven largely by export subsidies and other agricultural trade distorting policies of the developed countries, has tended to undermine food security in Africa by damaging food production and the capacity of the countries in the continent to respond adequately to food crises.

Mr. Morris refers in his statement to the growing acceptance of GM food in Southern Africa. The acceptance of this type of food by the starving and famine-struck people in the region, when its impact on health and environment is yet to be fully established, only demonstrates the danger of Africa's over dependence on food aid.

Although Uganda has been "hailed for several years as an AIDS success story," some HIV/AIDS advocates are concerned that the country's drop in HIV prevalence rate could lead to a "false sense of security," the Financial Times reports. The validity of the statistics, based on blood samples from prenatal clinics, "is open for debate," according to the Times.

According to reports, Grody Dorbor, editor of The Inquirer newspaper, Oscar Dolo, Nyahn Flomo and William Quiwea, all local correspondents for the radio station Talking Drum Studio-Liberia, disappeared about a fortnight ago in the country's eastern and central regions, where government forces are fighting rebels, according to the World Association of Newspapers, who have written a letter to Liberian President Charles Taylor about the issue.

The goal of this report from the Commonwealth of Learning is to provide guidance to those using ICTs for open and distance learning to ensure that women have equal access and are able to contribute to their full potential. The authors' objective is to provide a practical tool for those working in the field. It provides a synthesis of a series of research reports and regional expert group meetings that explored the barriers that women experience in using information and communications technologies (ICTs) for open and distance learning (ODL).

This posting from Africa Action contains a news update and excerpts from two recent reports documenting the wide gap between the consensus on the need for greater funding for fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the failure in practice to provide that funding. First, a report from the IMF/World Bank released for the spring meetings, summarized by the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Reports and excerpted briefly below, documents that "if current budgetary trends continue, donor support in 2003 will still be much less than the bare minimum required for basic prevention and care programs". Secondly, an article from the Global Fund Observer newsletter notes the failure of the Global Fund itself to develop a fundraising strategy.

Since it was established in 1967 under a charter from the Child Welfare Society of Kenya, children have come to Arap Moi Children's Home from all over the Nakuru region of western Kenya. Some are placed at the home by the Children's Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs or by the Ministry of Health. Other children are abandoned in hospitals or recovered from the streets by police and later brought to the home. "The community knows we are here, and knows we can help," says Mrs Justine "Mama" Oduya, the home's director and regional coordinator of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya, Nakuru branch.

After seven months of isolation due to fighting, a UNICEF convoy delivered a consignment of medical supplies and relief food for children in the severely-stricken north-eastern district of Bouna, 600 km north-east of Abidjan. The supplies consisted of basic health kits, water purification tablets, mosquito nets, soap, disinfectants and plastic buckets, as well as four tons of rice, soya beans and cooking oil.

A strategic planning meeting will be organised by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) at the Meridien Hotel in Dakar, Senegal, from 24 to 26 April 2003 to discuss the efficient implementation of gender mainstreaming and women's effective participation in all programmes and structures of the African Union (AU) and its specialised mechanisms such as NEPAD, CSSDCA, and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.

Globally, unsafe abortion claims the lives of nearly 70,000 women every year. Nearly half of those deaths--and countless related injuries--occur in Africa. In Ethiopia alone, more women die in hospitals from complications of unsafe, usually illegal, abortions than from almost any other cause, the World Health Organisation reports. In Ethiopia, as in other countries, most of the women affected are very poor and very young. These deaths are senseless.

Published annually in 28 languages, State of the World is relied upon by national governments, UN agencies, lawmakers, teachers and professionals for its accurate and up-to-the-minute analysis and information. Each year's volume synthesizes developments in the natural and social sciences, in markets and in policy instruments, and describes how they will interact with the ecosystems on which our social fabric depends documenting the challenges and the grounds for hope.

Since the 1930s, Uganda's Makerere School of Fine Art has earned a reputation as a major force in the development of contemporary art in East Africa. More recently, in San Francisco, Ugandan artists have united to spearhead recognition for their country's great art in North America. This historic exhibition represents the first grouping of these seven Ugandan artists, ushering a new era for Uganda's International Art Renaissance. Featured artists: James Kitamirike, David Kibuuka, Dan Sekanwagi, Fred Makubuya, Augustine Mugalula Mukiibi, Derrick Kaggwa, and Bruno Sserunkuuma.

Serve as the IRC representative in-charge of the Makamba Field Office (approx. 35 national staff); Supervise implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all projects in Makamba Province (currently water/sanitation; hygiene promotion; malaria prevention; school construction; youth development); and Provide technical guidance as required.

Based in Nairobi and reporting to the Director General's Personal Assistant, the Executive Secretary will provide confidential administrative and secretarial support to the Director General's office.

Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD) is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to research, training and advocacy on issues of democratisation, development and human security in West Africa. More information on CDD is available on our website CDD seeks a part-time Finance and Administration Officer to work at its International Office based in Islington, London. This position is available from 1 May 2003.

A child dies from malaria every 30 seconds in Africa. Insecticide Treated Nets protect children from malaria, but they are taxed in 26 African countries making them too expensive for most families to afford. You can demand that African Heads of State keep their promise to Drop the Malaria Tax!

Southern Africa is, by and large, a dry place. Water is perhaps the region's most precious resource - the source of life itself. And yet the region's life-giving source of water - rivers and their catchments - are increasingly under threat from ill-conceived development schemes. International Rivers Network is devoted to protecting rivers on an international scale, from the Amazon to the Zambezi. Through research, activism and outreach, IRN takes on powerful governments and industries that bulldoze their way through communities with destructive river development projects. Find out how you can help them by visiting their web site.

The government's emergency food security programme, which seeks to alleviate poverty in rural areas, has been overwhelmed by a huge demand from poor people who desperately need food. The programme, which is overseen by the Social Development Department, got underway in the Lady Frere area, where 5 340 families received basic food parcels. Department district manager, Tizana Mpondwana, said that since the beginning of April 2003, the government in conjunction with the Independent Development Agency had distributed food in five areas around Lady Frere, writes Sipho Sikilishe.

More than 2 000 needy people have benefited from 70 food-for-work projects across the country, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says. Some 835 women and 1 230 men have received food in return for labour. The Ministry said in a press statement that Government and NGOs have given 114,4 million Namibia dollars towards the Comprehensive Drought Aid Scheme. Another 24, 8 million Namibia dollars is needed to "fully implement the (drought) scheme".

Life imitates art or does art imitate life: time and opportunity to ponder the question are available to visitors to the exquisite J.C. Marshal Art Gallery. The collection that comprises 250 artworks including works done by well-known Queenstown artists such as Dale Elliot has been enhanced by its historic surroundings. This year, the Queenstown Art Society will be celebrating its 57th year of existence through which various members have toiled to bring art to the community and to build up a local collection available for the enjoyment of the community.

Church leaders in Zambia on Monday stepped into the fray over the legitimacy of Levy Mwanawasa's presidency, calling for fresh elections to resolve the controversy. "It's been almost two years since President Mwanawasa took power and yet people are still questioning his authority. This is not healthy for national unity. The result of this uncertainty is that many Zambians have adopted a wait-and-see attitude before they commit wholeheartedly to national development projects," said Christian Council of Zambia secretary-general, Reverend Japhet Ndhlovu.

Zimbabwe journalist Michael Hartnack has received an honorary doctorate in literature from Rhodes University, in recognition of his working life spent, the university said, "in service of the truth and the vision of a just and non-racial Zimbabwe, displaying courage and integrity." Hartnack, 57, a regular commentator for ZWNEWS, a columnist for South African newspapers and a correspondent for several overseas media outlets, has spent most of his 38-year career in Rhodesia and then Zimbabwe.

The tide is turning for thousands of ex-mine workers in Pondoland after a R2,5 million boost from the National Skills Development Fund. Last week the Mining Qualifications Authority of South Africa (Mqasa), in conjunction with the OR Tambo District Municipality, launched the pilot project for ex-mine workers at Emfundisweni Skills Development and Resource Centre.

Sports Coaches' Outreach (Score) are to build a R500000 multi-purpose sports facility in Peddie. The project will be funded by the European Union, the organisation's community co-ordinator Ntombentle Zungula said.

American talk show host Oprah Winfrey would have shed a tear or two when homeless people at a local care centre here battled for their free pair of takkies. The expensive athletics shoes were donated by the billionaire in December. Winfrey, together with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, donated 50000 gift packs -- including the takkies -- to schoolchildren as part of the Christmas Kindness project.

Link FM threw its financial weight behind the House on the Rock last month when it donated R10000 to the home. The House on the Rock is home to 23 children, some of whom were abandoned by parents, some who are Aids orphans and others who have been abused.