Following inflammatory remarks made by Florida pastor Terry Jones around burning the Qu'ran on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, Horace Campbell considers the resurgence of Islamophobia and attempts by powerful sections of the US conservative ruling class to stoke up the flames of conflict. At a time of acute economic downturn, Campbell contends, the forces of peace and understanding must complement one another in a bid to prevent discrimation, prejudice and conflict from gaining traction and cementing the position of the US neo-conservative establishment.

This week the coalition government that is currently running Zimbabwe reached two important milestones. Tuesday was the end of the 30 day deadline, suggested by South African President Zuma and facilitator of the Zimbabwe crisis, to resolve and implement 24 of the remaining problematic issues in the GPA. Wednesday ushered in the second anniversary of the signing of the Global Political Agreement that created the so-called ‘inclusive government’. A statement released late Wednesday by the MDC criticized what it called ZANU PF’s deliberate delaying of implementing the GPA.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the murder of Prime Radio anchorman, Dickson Ssentongo, who was severely beaten by unknown assailants and abandoned to die in a cassava plantation in Mukono District some 35km from the capital Kampala on Monday, 13 September 2010. 'The killing of Dickson Ssentongo signals a serious deterioration of the security of journalists and the Ugandan Government must reassure journalists and the public in general that the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be apprehended and brought to justice very quickly.'