Taking advantage of the G8 and G20 Summits in Toronto, the Food Sovereignty Coalition is warning the leaders of these countries about the global food disorder and is calling upon them to learn a lesson from it. Consequently, the Coalition is launching a mobilization campaign, the objective being to convince the G20 leaders that governments of the world should do everything possible to regain control of their national and the world's food systems, where failures are already afflicting a third of humanity.

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said that Zimbabwe won't be able to tap into a US$ 30 billion fund run by the African Development Bank to help member states over the next five years because it must first clear debt arrears to the AfDB, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Zimbabwe owes the AfDB a total of US$ 400 million, the World Bank US$ 1.2 billion and the International Monetary Fund US$ 140 million. Its total foreign debt amounts to some US$ 8 billion.

Open Channels is seeking to appoint an experienced individual to support its work with indigenous peoples in southern Africa, and in particular its work with San communities in Botswana. Interested applicants should submit their résumé, a covering letter and details of three references, all to be sent as attachments, by email to Open Channels’ administrator at: [email][email protected] The closing date for applications is 21st July 2010.

Over a half-century ago, Mahatma Gandhi led a multitude of Indians to the sea to make salt—in defiance of the British Empire’s monopoly on this resource critical to people’s diet. The action catalyzed the fragmented movement for Indian independence and was the beginning of the end for Britain’s rule over India. The act of “making salt” has since been repeated many times in many forms by people’s movements seeking liberation, justice and sovereignty: Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and the Zapatistas are just a few of the most prominent examples. Our food movement— one that spans the globe—seeks food sovereignty from the monopolies that dominate our food systems with the complicity of our governments. We are powerful, creative, committed and diverse. It is our time to make salt.

A new study has challenged widely held assumptions about income level in relation to HIV, finding that neither wealth nor poverty are reliable predictors of HIV infection in Africa. Previously, the argument that poverty drove HIV epidemics was supported by the World Bank and UNAIDS, as well as less reliable authorities like former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who told the International AIDS Conference in Durban in 2000 that the disease was a partner with "poverty, suffering, social disadvantage and inequity".

Jacques Depelchin

Mamadou Aliou Diallo

After 13 years as founder and executive director, Firoze Manji has stepped down from his role as ED to focus attention on developing Pambazuka News and Pambazuka Press.

The board of trustees of Fahamu is therefore seeking a dynamic, visionary person with a passion for social justice, to lead the organisation, ideally based in Kenya.

If you are interested in applying, please review the by 31 August 2010.

Early marriage is a form of violence against women. The young female takes a responsibility with number of consequences based on a sexual relation that she did not choose to have. Moreover, the marriage takes place at an age when the young girl is not ready neither physically nor psychologically to bear the consequences of such relation.

The July issue of IDRC's Lasting Impacts is entitled "Innovations in Research". among the topics discussed: Three decades of work by the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Centre (WAC) has turned a traditional practice — growing trees and shrubs alongside crops — into a science-based discipline. That science, agroforestry, is now recognized around the world for its potential to provide food, fodder, increase crop yields and incomes, protect watersheds, provide energy, prevent land degradation, and more.

The difficult past of Zambia's ambiguous role in Namibia's and Angola's freedom fight is haunting current President, thus Foreign Minister, Rupiah Banda. The 1970s anti-communist Zambian regime is said to have killed Namibian freedom fighters in agreement with apartheid South Africa and Sam Nujoma. Historians confirm the allegations.

The unanimous decision by five judges of the UK supreme court in favour of the appellants in HJ (Iran) and HT (Cameroon) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] UKSC 31 represents a milestone in legal history. It secures the rights of LGBT people in need of protection from persecution, and will bring to an end years of discriminatory policy by the immigration services.

The latest UNCTAD report on science and technology repeats previous calls for a "green revolution" in African agriculture but contains no mention of the real and present dangers that the international trade and financial framework presents to African farmers. In the report, titled "Enhancing Food Security in Africa Through Science, Technology and Innovation", UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) warns that sub-Saharan Africa is very likely to miss the first millennium development goal (MDG) due to ineffective farming techniques and wasteful post-harvest practices.

Fahamu’s Refugee Programme is pleased to announce the June edition of the Fahamu Refugee e-Newsletter, 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. The e-Newsletter follows recent developments in the interpretation of refugee law; case law precedents from other constituencies; reports and helpful resources for refugee legal aid NGOs; and stories of struggle and success in refugee legal aid work. It welcomes contributions from legal aid providers, refugees, and others interested or involved in refugee legal aid.

A new report, The High Food Price Challenge: A Review of Responses to Combat Hunger, by the UK Hunger Alliance and the Oakland Institute, reveals that a major initiative, launched by the Group of 8 (G8), in July 2009 has failed to address the global hunger crisis, which currently affects more than a billion people.

Jordan’s long-awaited agricultural mega-project in Sudan is facing further delays due to a dispute raised by the foreign investment company over the implementation mechanism, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Discussions between the ministry and a group of prospective investors in the mega-project are at a standstill after the investors insisted on owning the lands allocated by the Sudanese government for the project

As part of the Global Open Day for Women and Peace, 20 women from civil society and community-based organizations in Kenya came together in Nairobi on 7 July to discuss issues related to the inclusion of women in processes of conflict resolution, peace negotiations and peacebuilding. The consultative forum was organized by UNIFEM and UNDP in the context of the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Horace Campbell’s on lessons from the Dudus saga in Jamaica sparked several reactions and responses from our readers. Here is a selection of what people had to say.

The World Peace Academy - Swiss Center for Peace Studies in Basel, Switzerland (see is a young institution of higher learning, which offers a "Master of Advanced Studies in Peace and Conflict Transformation" in cooperation with the University of Basel since 1 March 2010. The World Peace Academy is looking for a Director of Studies (50-60%), beginning immediately or upon mutual agreement.

Egypt's recently concluded Shura Council elections were accompanied by widespread reports of serious electoral breaches by the ruling party. According to analysts and opposition figures, such voting "irregularities" bode poorly for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

Under one of the 60 or so agreements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement), WTO member countries are prohibited from providing government or state subsidies to exporters. When most of the WTO agreements were finalised back in 1994, however, the world's richest countries obtained an exception for their export credit agencies (ECAs) -- the organisations that use taxpayers' money to provide various financial services to private corporations from their home country to assist them in doing business abroad.