This paper by Jonathan Holslag evaluates the extent to which China adapted its Africa policy to external criticism and expectations. It is found that policy modifications mainly occurred when long-term interests were at risk, with regard to issues of limited importance and non-binding initiatives. The article departs from the vast literature on adaptation and tests this concept on several aspects of China’s engagement in Africa

The influx of Chinese citizens, goods and money to Africa has been greeted with a lot of consternation and suspicion in most African countries. Cameroon has not been an exception. This article is based on a recent survey conducted in 10 Cameroonian cities concerning the flow of Chinese citizens and their goods into this peaceful West African country and the implication of this state of affairs on the country’s economy and the living standards of her people.

This World Development Movement podcast features George Monbiot, writer, broadcaster and academic, talking about the history of direct action – particularly relevant given the recent coverage of the climate change protestors near Heathrow this summer.

The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery allocates small project grants, for programmes of humanitarian legal and financial assistance to individuals whose human rights have been severely violated as a result of contemporary forms of slavery. Application forms should be duly completed and submitted by 31 December 2007 to the secretariat of the Fund.

With global diversity increasingly at risk, a mechanism like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is required, argues Michel Loreau. Biodiversity has received increasing attention from scientists, governments and the public since the 'Earth Summit' at Rio de Janeiro and the establishment of the international Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992. There are local conservation successes to celebrate as a result, but global threats to biodiversity are still on the rise.

To benefit from genetic resources, developing countries need to improve their governance, a meeting in Beijing was told this week. Developing countries are losing out because their laws do not specify which resources should be paid for and how, said Gurdial Singh Nijar, a law professor at the University of Malaya in Malaysia. He made his remarks at an international workshop on genetic resources and indigenous knowledge, supported by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity.

Africa’s courtship with China, a captivating dance between the elephant and the dragon, has intriguing implications for all concerned and the world at large, assetrs PT Zeleza. It is marked by, on the one hand, the grand political theatre of elaborate presidential tours and lavish summits, with their lofty declarations of equal partnership between the distant peoples of these two ancient lands, by all those dramatic and diplomatic displays of statehood beloved of postcolonial or postrevolutionary societies enchanted by their sovereignty.

The Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford) invites applications from the global South to fill two places in its Civil Society Practitioners Programme. This visitor programme is intended for Civil Society Practitioners of distinction or outstanding promise who wish to visit the Institute for a period of six weeks between February and December 2008, to undertake research concerning the social impact of the Internet and related ICTs.The deadline for applications is September 26 2007.

Robert Mugabe is to lose vital support from one of his few remaining allies on the world stage, China. One of the Zimbabwe president's oldest diplomatic friends, China told Lord Malloch Brown, the Foreign Office minister, that it was dropping all assistance except humanitarian aid according to a report in the Telegraph. The move follows a decision by China, a permanent member of the United Nations security council, to work more closely with the international community in bringing pressure to bear on "rogue regimes".

The impact of the AIDS denial movement — which refuses to accept that HIV is the cause of AIDS — is a ripe area for research because of its potentially lethal consequences, argue Tara C. Smith and Steven P. Novella in this PLoS Medicine article. Many doctors and researchers are unaware of the existence of organised denial groups or ignore them as an inconsequential fringe, they say.

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could change the nature of grasslands and decrease their usefulness as grazing pastures, say researchers. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week (27 August).

The International Telecommunications Society is pleased to issue a call for papers for its 17th Biennial Conference to be held in Montreal, Canada, June 24-27, 2008. The theme of the conference is “The Changing Structure of the Telecommunications Industry and the New Role of Regulation. The submission deadline is October 31st, 2007.

The Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP) at Columbia University is now taking applications for the 2008 session. The 2008 HRAP focuses on human rights and globalization. The Program is designed for experienced lawyers, journalists, teachers, social workers, community organizers, and other human rights activists working with non-governmental organizations in labor rights, migration, health, social exclusion, environmental justice, and corporate social accountability.

China's "no-strings-attached" investments in Africa appear to many a welcome alternative to the conditional loans offered by the World Bank and IMF. But what consequences will China's growing involvement on the continent have for Africans? China has become the new lead developer in many African countries, out-funding the international financial institutions and other bilateral donors in some cases.

United Planet undertakes a diverse and creative range of educational, humanitarian, and peace-building initiatives. People of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities are invited to join United Planet's membership in "a community beyond borders." You can volunteer to support children and the disabled in communties throughout France and Italy. You can assist in agricultural, environmental, and community projects in New Zealand, Nepal, and India. You can help with AIDS/HIV programs in Uganda, Russia, Nigeria, and more. You can assist in human rights issues in Brazil, Bolivia, Mozambique, and Lithuania.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) are pleased to announce the two-day advanced policy and research dialogue which they are jointly hosting in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on 24 and 25 September, 2007 on the theme of The Politics of Succession in West Africa’s Democracies. The dialogue is a follow-up to a survey of governance trends in West Africacarried out in 2006 under the auspices of the two institutions.

There is an innate paradox in the global conversation about poverty alleviation that eludes even the most astute scholars. Proponents of foreign aid are advocating for a big push, featuring an increase in foreign aid through which billions of dollars could be transferred to the poor. Yet $2.3 trillion in foreign aid and nearly sixty years later, over one billion people around the world are still hungry, infirm, illiterate and homeless.

Mauritanian lawmakers yesterday outlawed slavery in the desert country. With effect, those found promoting slavery or practising the century old culture will face between five and 10 years in prison. The leader of the anti-slavery group, SOS-Esclaves, Boubacar Ould Messaoud, expressed satisfaction about the development, describing it as “a great victory for the democrats and the people of Mauritania."

The Reuters Foundation is offering full bursaries for journalists from developing countries to attend training on business writing. The course is scheduled for November 5 to 16 in London. The bursaries include travel costs, lodging and a modest living allowance. Partially funded bursaries are also available for journalists at organizations with little or no resources for training. The course provides training on international standards of reporting and writing about business news and issues. The application deadline is September 10, 2007.

Workers migrate away from their families to serve as labor in rich countries and send capital in the form of remittances, or money transfers, back to their loved ones in impoverished communities around the world,say Yania Marcelino and Shannah Kurland in a report for New America Media. But a key challenge faced by these communities is the high fees associated with remittance transactions. Studies show that if money-transfer fees were cut in half, 33 million people could be lifted out of poverty in the developing world.