Export Processing Zones are increasingly used as a governmental strategy to promote exports. Many of the workers in EPZs are women, who are considered flexible labour that can be paid lower wages than men. Women in EPZs suffer from additional forms of discrimination including sexual harassment, fewer opportunities for career development and no maternal protections (including layoffs as a result of pregnancy).

The African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday (14 April) broke its silence over the violent suppression of protests in Swaziland, calling for moves towards democratisation. 'We call on the government of Swaziland to work towards the normalisation of the political environment by unbanning opposition political parties, releasing political activists and engaging in a meaningful dialogue with opposition political and trade union leaders to find a collective solution to the socio-economic situation faced by that country,' Ebrahim Ebrahim, the deputy international relations minister, said in a statement.

The videos of six panelists who addressed the topic of the re-colonization of Africa at a Left Forum panel in the US are now online on The speakers include Firoze Manji, Andre Kangni Afanou, Eben Valentine, Tseliso Thipanyane, Kassahun Checole and Sowore Omoyele.

So is this new war all about oil or all about banking? asks Ellen Brown, an attorney and president of the Public Banking Institute. 'Maybe both - and water as well. With energy, water, and ample credit to develop the infrastructure to access them, a nation can be free of the grip of foreign creditors. And that may be the real threat of Libya: it could show the world what is possible.'

Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as 'blessings' and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

Jennifer Madongonda, 43, shares a seven-roomed house with three other families in the low-income suburb of Budiriro, about 15km southwest of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. Seven months ago the municipality cut off water supply because they couldn’t pay the bill. Budiriro was regarded as the epicentre of the cholera epidemic that began in August 2008 and lasted for a year before it was officially declared at an end in July 2009. Chris Magadza, a researcher at the University of Zimbabwe, told participants at a recent workshop that 'clinical studies carried out on Harare's water supplies, and the results obtained, revealed that the water bodies carry a significant amount of pollutants, which pose a potential health risk'.

Rebel fighters in eastern Libya fought off an attack by government troops in the town of Ajdabiya on Sunday, a day after retreating from a key oil facility around 100 kilometres farther west. Forces loyal to longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi advanced on Ajdabiya under a heavy artillery barrage in the morning and fought at close range with rebels on the town’s southern outskirts before a counterattack forced them back, witnesses said.

Despite widespread opposition, France's Parliament has approved a law which seeks to ensure that refugees from the unrest in North Africa stay outside of the republic. Under EU laws, the country of arrival is responsible for dealing with any asylum seekers, but nearly all of the migrants are Tunisians who wish to join the 600,000-strong Tunisian community in France. France has responded by unveiling plans for barely-legal border checks and new sea patrols, which have already turned back more than 1,000 exiles.

Hundreds of Burundians living with HIV/AIDS recently staged a demonstration in the capital, Bujumbura, to protest against a lack of treatment. Men, women and children lay on the ground for 10 minutes to 'show the government that if nothing is done rapidly - this week, this month - we will all die', said Jeanne Gapiya, a leading Burundian HIV activist. The protest was staged on 29 March by REMUA, Reseau de Reinforcement Mutuel des Acteurs de la Première Ligne, a network of six NGOs providing HIV treatment to more than 9,000 people.

Residents have vowed to continue their protest against the eviction of a poor family and against Thursday’s (14 April) police brutality that has left three residents seriously injured, says a Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign press statement. Residents will submit a petition to police and fight for the rights and dignity of resident’s vulnerable to greedy banks and politicians, says the statement.

Angry opposition supporters in Nigeria's Muslim north set fire to homes bearing ruling party banners Monday as election officials released results showing the Christian incumbent had gained an insurmountable lead. Witnesses said youths in the northern city of Kano were setting fires to homes that bore Jonathan party banners. Heavy gunfire also could be heard.

Information for Change
Digital Publishing in West Africa: Technology and the future of the book

A free whole-day workshop at the Nigeria International Book Fair, Lagos, for all interested in information for social change

Wednesday 11 May 2011. 09.00-17.00 in the Book Fair Halls

Keynote Address from Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Cassava Republic

Panel Speakers | Case Studies | World Cafe | Participation

Organised by Oxfam, IDRC, and CTA in collaboration with the Nigerian Publishers' Association and CODESRIA.

To register for the full-day FREE workshop, go to

Registration closes 4 May 2011

For more on the Information for Change workshops, visit www.informationforchange.org

The 'Realizing Sexual and Reproductive Justice (RESURJ)' alliance is an international alliance of feminist activists seeking full implementation of international commitments to secure all women's and young people's sexual and reproductive rights and health by 2015. 'RESURJ by 2015' is a 10-point action agenda that places women's and young people's human rights, particularly sexual and reproductive rights, participation in decision-making, and accountability at the center of health programs and development efforts. Click on the link to read more.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has approved a staff-monitored program for Swaziland to help the southern African country enact tax reforms and at the same time protect social spending. The program entails IMF staff scrutiny of the authorities’ policies, but does not include formal backing of the program or any financial support. Swaziland is facing a serious fiscal crisis, with an overall budget deficit estimated around 13 per cent of GDP for the 2010/11 fiscal year ending on 31 March 2011. The crisis came from structural imbalances in both government expenditures and revenues.

Results from Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission indicate that the incumbent president looks set to keep his job after winning in 21 of the 29 states whose votes have been counted. Goodluck Jonathan's ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took an early unassailable lead in Saturday's presidential elections, though results from the remaining seven states had not been declared by early Monday.

Since the Libyan conflict began only a few short weeks ago, some 236,000 people have crossed Libya’s western borders in search of safety and protection, including Libyans fleeing for their lives and many foreign nationals who had gone to work in Libya as migrants, reports an Amnesty International blog post. Already, around 100,000 of them have been able to return to their homes through the joint efforts of the two main international agencies that exist to assist migrants and refugees, IOM and UNHCR.

The bodies of sub-Saharan refugees who tried to escape Libya by boat have been found in the sea with gunshot wounds according to an Eritrean priest who tracks migrants as they make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean. Father Mussie Zerai, a Catholic cleric based in Rome, told The Independent that his contacts in Tripoli have seen five bodies in a hospital that were recently washed back onto the Libyan coast. Human rights groups have called on the international community to investigate the killings and have blamed Nato for not doing more to try and locate boats that have gone missing in a corner of the Mediterranean that is now bristling with international vessels.

On the International Day of Peasant Struggles, prominent farmers, fisherfolk, human rights and research organisations have sharply criticised the World Bank, three UN agencies and governments for promoting agricultural investments that are resulting in land grabbing on a massive scale.

Ficksburg Magistrate's Court on Monday (18 April) for the death of protester Andries Tatane. Outside the court on Monday morning, a few police cars had arrived in anticipation of the appearance of the men from the public order police unit in Bloemfontein.

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...