Renewed heavy fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) North Kivu Province has pushed some 3,000 Congolese refugees into northern Rwanda where they are in need of humanitarian assistance, says a senior UN official. 'The situation is worsening since humanitarian volunteers are now overwhelmed by the influx of Congolese refugees who are arriving in Rwanda,' Neimah Warsame, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) representative in Rwanda, told reporters on 3 May.

Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance. After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

Japanese organisations have asked for support in their appeal to Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon concerning the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool. 'It is clearly evident that Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool is no longer a Japanese issue but an international issue with potentially serious consequences. Therefore, it is imperative for the Japanese government and the international community to work together on this crisis before it becomes too late. We are appealing to the United Nations to help Japan and the planet in order to prevent the irreversible consequences of a catastrophe that could affect generations to come.'

Who are the people behind grassroots movements, farming unions, groundbreaking research and government policy that are helping to stave off hunger, boost crop harvests and put more food on tables? AlertNet put this question to dozens of experts and researchers from leading non-governmental organisations and research institutes involved in nutrition and agriculture and have come up with a 'Top 10 food trailblazers' list.

This newsclip from The Real News Network examines worker protests in Egypt in the context of the European Bank seeking to ratify $1.5 bn in loans to Egypt. 'This isn't investment, it's imperialism!' shouts one protestor.

The 'Birthing Justice: Women Creating Economic and Social Alternatives' series features twelve alternative social and economic models which expand the possibilities for justice, equity, and strong community. They are based in the US, Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Some are national-level, some global-level. Some are propelled by people’s movements, some forced or adopted into government policy. In first-hand narratives, women describe their role in having created the models and show us their unique perspectives and challenges in the movements. The fifth narrative focuses on land occupations in Honduras.

The National Coordination of Peasant Organizations (CNOP) of Mali and La Via Campesina have published a new report on the mobilization of social movements against land grabbing. Land grabs jeopardize food sovereignty and threaten sustainable family farming and peasants everywhere in the world. The document stems from the first international peasant and farmer conference against land grabbing, held at the Nyéléni site in Sélingué in Mali, from 17 to 19 November 2011. The gathering included about 250 participants, principally women and men of rural and peasant origin, from 40 mainly African countries. It witnessed numerous testimonies by populations that had been ousted from their land by foreign investors who have set up vast monocultures for the export of foodstuffs or agrofuels. In most cases the populations are neither informed nor compensated.

Former Liberian President and war crimes convict Charles Taylor has picked Morris Anyah as his appeals counsel. The announcement came ahead of the sentencing hearing slated for May 16, to be followed by the sentencing judgement later on May 30. Anyah has since 2007 served as co-counsel on the Taylor Defence team. The African-American legal expert is an international legal expert, who also cross examined the actress Naomi Campbell over 'blood diamonds' at The Hague where the model acknowledged receiving 'dirty looking stones'.

A consortium of civil society organisations are pushing for government reforms in the health and education sectors. Among others they want the percentage of government allocation to the health sector increased to meet the Abuja Declaration target of 15 per cent.

In response to the Saturday 28 April 2012 attack on the camp of Pakistani nationals who were advising Ethiopian multi millionaire, Sheik Al Moudi on rice production and irrigation for his 10,000 hectare Saudi Star rice project in Gambela region, the Ethiopian government quickly confirmed the attack but gave an inaccurate account of events, according to the Anywaa Survival Organisation (ASO), a non-profit organisation that believes in a world of social justice and of environmentally sensitive development that recognises and respects the rights of indigenous peoples to actively participate in and enjoy the benefits of development in their own territories without prejudice. 'Despite the government's claim that the suspected assailant are under custody (Gunmen kill one Pakistani, four Ethiopians: official), our local sources indicate that those suffering in the hands of the army are innocent indigenous civilians employed by Saudi Star to safeguard and protect the company's employees and properties.'

Daughters as young as 12 in the villages surrounding Antsohihy, the capital of Sofia Region, in Madagascar's remote, traditional north, often suffer the harmful consequences of falling pregnant and giving birth too young when parents accept zebus (cattle) or cash as a dowry. Nationwide, 3,750 mothers and 16,500 babies die each year during or soon after delivery. Another 75,000 women experience medical problems as a result of childbirth, and an estimated 40 per cent of these women receive insufficient care.

ZANU PF’s information minister Webster Shamu has threatened a crackdown on the independent media in the country warning that 'the gloves may soon be off'. Shamu was speaking at a Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) function in Harare that was meant to celebrate World Press Freedom Day.

SocMed invites students to apply for the fourth annual course Beyond the Biologic Basis of Disease: The Social and Economic Causation of Illness, a social medicine immersion experience conducted on-site at Lacor Hospital in Gulu, Uganda from January 7, 2013 to February 1, 2013. This unique immersion course incorporates innovative teaching methodologies to merge teaching of clinical tropical medicine with understanding the socioeconomic, cultural, political, and historical underpinnings of illness. Visit for more information about the course, its directors and guest lecturers, and SocMed. Questions can be sent to [email][email protected]

In this broadcast, Africa Today talks with Kali Akuno of the United States Human Rights Network on his article 'Trayvon Martin is All of Us' and speaks with Art Curator Thomas Seligman on the 'Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley' exhibit at the Cantor Arts Center/ Stanford University.

As media interest mounts around a GM wheat trial taking place at Rothamsted Research Institute, the Gaia Foundation and partners African Biodiversity Network have voiced support of the challenge being led by campaign group Take the Flour Back. Later this month they will be launching the film 'Seeds of Freedom', a 30-minute documentary exploring the corporate takeover of seed, and the impact that this is having on communities across the world. Visit the webpage to find out more.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce the 2012 session of its annual Democratic Governance Institute. It therefore invites researchers to submit their applications for participation in this institute to be held from 23th July to 10th August, 2012 in Dakar, Senegal.

The Refugee Law Project, a project of the School of Law, Makerere University, embarked on a countrywide conflict-mapping exercise dubbed: the National Reconciliation and Transitional Justice Audit (NR&TJ Audit) to document all major current and past conflicts and their legacies in Uganda. One of the main objectives was to document from a community perspective all the post-independence armed conflicts in Uganda. Six briefs are now available for their website.

East Africa's Legislative Assembly has passed a regional HIV/AIDS Bill that seeks to protect the rights of people living with HIV and harmonize regional legislation and policy on the prevention and treatment of HIV. Activists have welcomed the passing of the Bill, which, unlike some of the laws in the region's individual member states, does not criminalize the deliberate transmission of HIV.

A special summit of West African leaders held in Dakar, Senegal, agreed to dispatch a regional force to Mali if the interim government officially makes the request. 'The conference instructed the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to prepare the standby force for immediate deployment as soon as Mali asks for it,' a statement issued at the meeting said.

The army has dismissed allegations that Uganda is propping up rebel groups in Sudan. The allegations, which have lately become a staple in mainstream Sudan media is, according to the Uganda government, a deliberate ploy by Khartoum to 'deflect attention from the daunting challenges it is facing.' According to the Sudan government, Uganda is giving assistance to the Justice and Equality Movement rebels who have been engaged in mortal combat with Khartoum for the last 10 years, together with SPLM-N rebels in Unity and South Kordofan areas.