After four days of conferences, workshops and cultural activities, the World Education Forum in Palestine ended this afternoon with an assembly bringing together Palestinian and international educators and social justice activists from diverse sectors. Participants at the assembly reflected on the past few days and discussed how to take the various proposals coming out of the forum forward. Three main topics were discussed: how to build an education movement in Palestine, the future of international solidarity with Palestine, and learning from the experiences of other social forums.

Western policies are contributing to a sense among some Yemenis and Somalis of being 'under attack' and are drawing them towards radicalisation and militancy, says a new briefing paper from Chatham House. This threat of radicalisation, says the paper, extends throughout the far-flung diasporas of Somalia and Yemen, defying efforts at containment within the two countries and requiring new thinking about stemming the appeal of radicalism at source.

Francoise Mukuku works as the national coordinator of a young feminist group called Si Jeunesse Savait, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here she describes how the organisation teaches women how to blog, broadcast radio shows, take pictures and document their lives.

Uganda has had several cases of murder following HIV-positive diagnoses, including a man in the southwestern district of Rukungiri murdering his wife in 2008, the lynching of a woman in Gulu suspected of infecting a man and, in September, a 20-year-old woman in the eastern district of Soroti being sentenced to death for killing her soldier husband after she tested positive and he was negative.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up:
- Africa is painting a distorted picture of economic progress
- Chinese enterprises shoulder social responsibilities in Africa
- China on multi-billion dollar projects in Zimbabwe
- Rwanda reaches out to Indian businesses
- Indian Companies Push into Africa
- SA urged not to be ‘obsessed’ with Bric

Jean-Martin Tchaptchet

Jacqueline Scott Lemoine

A coalition of civil society groups marched to South Africa's Parliament on 27 October to protest against the draft version of a new Protection of Information Bill. 'This bill is a betrayal of all the democratic principles we fought for,' anti-apartheid stalwart Kader Asmal told the crowd. South Africa's parliament is presently considering legislation to replace secrecy laws drawn up during the apartheid era.

The economic upswing in Zimbabwe is luring workers under 18-years-old to the now bustling mining town of Shurugwi, about 350km south of the capital Harare in Midlands Province. Tinashe Mugwira, 15, left home in January this year and walked the 50km to Shurugwi in search of work at the mines in the mineral belt known as the Great Dyke, where gold, chrome and nickel are found. 'I had always heard that these Chinese were employing young children for as long as they can work on the mines, so I decided to come here when I stopped going to school after my father fell ill and my mother could not raise money for food,' a skinny Mugwira told IRIN.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up:
- Africa is painting a distorted picture of economic progress
- Chinese enterprises shoulder social responsibilities in Africa
- China on multi-billion dollar projects in Zimbabwe
- Rwanda reaches out to Indian businesses
- Indian Companies Push into Africa
- SA urged not to be ‘obsessed’ with Bric

Fahamu’s Refugee Programme is pleased to announce the [1.1 MB pdf], a monthly publication that aims to provide a forum for providers of refugee legal aid. With a focus on the global South, it aims to serve the needs of legal aid providers as well as raise awareness of refugee concerns among the wider readership of Pambazuka News.

By 2050 the risk of becoming climate refugees as a result of rising sea level, water scarcity, and extreme weather events will cast its shadow over no fewer than 200 million people, writes Valerio Calzolaio, journalist, ecologist, ex-member of Italian parliament, and author of 'Eco-refugees: Forced Migrations Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow'. In this analysis, the author writes that today those made refugees by 'political' causes - violence or persecution by institutions or communities - are granted 'refugee' status and assistance by a UN commission. And yet climate refugees are victims of human action, too, so shouldn't they be given this same status?

The latest New Tactics in Human Rights Project e-newsletter contains articles on domesticating international human rights law, applying global agreements to local enforcement of human rights laws and using surplus resources to provide individual assistance and strengthen community engagement. Visit to read more.

Guinean authorities should investigate, discipline, and prosecute any members of the security forces responsible for the 23 October 2010 attack on Dr. Mamadou Aliou Barry, a prominent human rights defender, Human Rights Watch has said. Barry was one of scores apparently severely beaten that day by security forces, amid heightened ethnic and political tensions following the postponement of run-off presidential elections. Barry, president of the National Observatory for Democracy and Human Rights (ONDH), an independent national institution, has frequently and publicly denounced acts of criminality and excessive use of force by members of the security services. He was assaulted while trying to stop members of the security forces from attacking a group of youths in the Hamdalaye neighborhood.

The proposed seminar will focus on:

- Indo-South African Political Relations: Historical Goodwill and Current Issues
- Indo-South African Economic Relations: Challenges of South-South Co-operation
- Indo-South African Strategic Relations: Strategic Partnership and Competing Interests
- Indo-South African Diaspora Relations: 150 Years of Indian Migration to South Africa

The perception that women are only ever victims of conflict ignores the large numbers of female combatants, which can result in their exclusion from disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) report, 'State of the World Population 2010: From Conflict and Crisis to Renewal: Generations of Change', released on 20 October 2010, acknowledges the role women play in forging peace, but cautions against the assumptions of women as nurturers and 'natural peace-makers ... [choosing] non-violent solutions rather than conflict whenever possible'.

The African Union (AU) has asked the United Nations Security Council to approve a no-fly zone and naval blockade of Somalia. Ramtane Lamamra, the AU's commissioner for peace and security, said the move would deter pirates operating off the country's coast and prevent fighters and shipments from reaching the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group, and other groups fighting to topple the largely powerless UN-backed government.

Zimbabwe entered a new digital era last week Friday when the largest mobile phone network Econet Wireless launched its mobile broadband package available to their estimated 4.5 million subscribers. The project has cost Econet close to US$100 million and covers many of the major cities.

Modern war is often not about soldier against soldier, but a struggle to 'break the will of civilians — women, girls, men and boys' by whatever means possible - including rape - the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) State of the World Population 2010 report published on 20 October states. The term gender-based violence is often used to refer to violence against women, but, as the UN Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings state, 'it is important to note... men and boys may also be victims of gender-based violence, especially sexual violence'.

For the 10th anniversary of 1325, Peacewomen is launching the ‘Women, Peace and Security Handbook,’ which examines thedegree to which the Security Council has internalised the thematic agenda of women, peace and security in its geographic work over the past 10 years, specifically in the Council’s country-specific resolutions. Divided into thirteen thematic chapters, the handbook is a reference guide for both progress made and action to be taken on the women, peace and security agenda.

The world education forum will be held in Palestine from 28 - 30 October 2010 as a part of the World Social Forum. Due to the regional situation activists and organisations from the Arab region are restrained from participation in the forum in Palestine, therefore there will be a parallel forum in Lebanon. The forum aims to highlight the necessity of education in the development process and to provide an arena for the exchange of ideas on education and the curriculum.