For a while after the global financial crisis broke, we were told that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would change. The Group of Twenty (G-20) meeting in April 2009 provided a massive increase in resources for the IMF to provide lending to countries affected by the crisis. In return, the Fund announced that it was going to be more supportive of enlarged fiscal deficits and other expansionary measures in the face of the crisis, and provide large amounts of funds to developing countries to cope with the situation.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has added its voice to that of journalists in Africa and around the world who have been shocked by the news of the death of leading Cameroonian journalist Pius Njawe who has been killed in a car accident in the United States. "Pius Njawe was a great friend of press freedom and also a loyal supporter of journalists, not just in Africa, but around the world," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

The United Nations rural development arm is helping to improve agricultural programmes in West Africa’s Sahel region, especially in Niger, which is currently in the throes of a growing food crisis. Recurrent food shortages have impacted the Sahel, a narrow band south of the Sahara desert also including Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. The last severe drought in 2005 resulted in a famine that claimed 1 million lives and affected another 50 million people.

The political tension in Rwanda is heightening as a leading opponent of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame on Friday called for a boycott of next month's presidential elections because she and a number of would-be candidates have been barred from standing. Victoire Ingabire, the leader of the unregistered United Democratic Forces party who faces charges of crimes linked to genocide denial, told Reuters Kagame faces little competition and is set to easily secure a second seven-year term.

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT), in collaboration with young women’s networks and formations in Southern Africa, are hosting a Southern African Young Women’s Festival (SAYWF) in Harare from 24 to 28 October 2010. The Festival is designed to provide space for young women between 18 and 30 years of age, to come together and share experiences, share strategies and energise each other and celebrate their youth and the potential they have to advocate for social justice in their respective communities.

Swaziland's judiciary is concerned by an absence of detention facilities for children, which forces them to share jail cells with adult criminals. "Do we have facilities for keeping a minor?" enquired presiding High Court judge Thomas Masuku during the recent trial of a 16-year-old boy, when it became apparent that the accused was being held in the same cell as adults in the northern town of Pigg's Peak.

Tens of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have fled their homes amid an army offensive against Ugandan rebels, presenting fresh impetus to humanitarian agencies’ efforts to adapt their response mechanisms to sudden displacement. Local NGOs listed 50,000 displaced civilians who had taken flight since DRC military operations against the Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU) started on 25 June in the North Kivu district of Beni.

The Zambian National Constitution Conference (NCC) concluded its business recently with the adoption of a clause for the creation of a Gender Equality Commission. This is exciting news for gender activists who did not think the NCC would accept the clause. The women’s movement, alongside other civil society groups, had refused to participate in the NCC fearing civil society’s voice would not be heard.

At least five more suspects linked to last Sunday's bombing in Kampala have been arrested bringing the number of suspects in police custody to 12. The police bomb squad was on day four still on its toes as telephone lines were jammed with calls of suspected bombs dumped in several areas, including outside Kampala City.

The body overseeing the trade in "blood diamonds" has agreed that Zimbabwe can resume limited exports from new diamond fields in the east of the country. Under the terms of the deal, Zimbabwe will be able to sell some stockpiles. It may be able to resume full exports after a review of conditions at the Marange diamond fields in September.

For the past three months civil society organisations, academics and even some government officials have been warning that a new round of xenophobic attacks are coming soon after the World Cup has ended. Over the last two weeks, many of these same people have seen their world cup fever give way to a feverish effort to prevent (or at least prepare for) the forthcoming melee. No one has been readying themselves more fervently than migrants, many of whom have started packing and making their way to sites of safety either in South Africa or beyond its borders.

Civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are facing an increased risk of rape and forced labour as a result of internationally backed military operations against rebel groups, according to a new report by aid agency Oxfam. The survey of people living in north and south Kivu provinces in eastern Congo found 75 per cent of women felt in more danger than a year ago. This rose to 99 per cent in the parts of south Kivu, which is at the centre of a UN-supported offensive by the Congolese army against the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) and other rebel groups.

For the people of northwestern Kenya, fighting to protect Lake Turkana from the Gibe 3 Dam is a fight for their livelihoods and the future of their unique cultures. International Rivers recently took a trip to the area and documented their struggle. International Rivers has produced a short video reflecting the sentiments of the people dependent upon Lake Turkana. They tell a story of impending social and environmental collapse in the absence of the sustenance that the lake provides them. Along with the video, IR released a 13 page report about the lake, the dam, and the communities affected.

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), strongly condemned the kidnapping of Zonal leaders of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on 11 July 2010 as a deplorable and a criminal act that was intended to destabilise NUJ dynamic leadership's commitment to defend journalists' rights and interests.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has signed a cooperation agreement with two organisations in Lesotho under which it will allocate over $1.2 million to boost an integrated social protection system for orphans and other vulnerable children in the country. The groups – World Vision Lesotho and Sentebale – will use the funds for projects that contribute to the achievement of Lesotho’s vision for a society in which all vulnerable children are free from discrimination, live in dignity and have their rights and aspirations fulfilled.

The High Court in the Gambian capital Banjul passed death sentence on a former head of the country's military. Former Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Lt. General Lang Tombong Tamba was sentenced on two counts with seven co-accused, including a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and a Lebanese born businessman.

While the number of armed conflicts has decreased since the late 1990s, those between national governments and non-state armed groups (NSAGs), or between NSAGs, continue to cause large-scale and prolonged displacement, both internally and to other – particularly neighbouring – states. The FMR Editors are looking for practice-oriented submissions, reflecting a diverse range of opinions but focusing on situations of forced displacement

Hundreds of refugees have been moved from a camp in northern Kenya after the killing of a teenager sparked riots in the facility and violence between its Sudanese and Somali residents, according to an official. Staff of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, held talks with community leaders in Dadaab to calm and reconcile the refugees following the 13 July killing .

Uganda has begun “forcibly” deporting hundreds of Rwandans from two southwestern refugee camps, at gunpoint according to one witness, prompting the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to call for a suspension of the operation. Both countries have long tried to rid Uganda of Rwandan refugees who for their part say they do not feel safe going home.

The South African government is in the process of passing a law that will limit access to government information undermining transparency, accountability, and media freedom in South African. The Protection of Information Bill allows every organ of state - from government departments and parastatals to the smallest municipality - to throw a blanket of secrecy over its documents. If the law is passed whistle blowers leaking, and journalists reporting, on these documents can face up to 25 years in jail. The Bill goes before parliament this month and civil society are organizing to oppose it's passing.