Gordon Brown was at the centre of a row over the future of the International Monetary Fund as it emerged that Africa was seeking to block reforms giving four leading developing countries a bigger say in the running of the Washington-based organisation.

"The UNIFEM Annual Report 2005-2006 report celebrates UNIFEM's 30th anniversary, highlighting the organization's accomplishments over the past "30 Years of Challenge, 30 Years of Change." It provides examples of UNIFEM's initiatives around the world to defend women's human rights, promote their political participation, empower them to participate in the global market, and combat gender-based violence."

To anyone not involved in the febrile business of writing biography, the recent row over John Betjeman's literary remains must seem like a storm in a rather fine porcelain teacup (it would be hard to imagine Betjeman with a mug). Two years ago, AN Wilson, who has recently published a one-volume biography of the late poet laureate, received a transcript of what appeared to be a passionate letter, written by Betjeman, to a woman called Honor Tracy.

Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim passengers say they are increasingly victims of racial profiling and are being detained and harassed at airports.

The course is aimed at those who want to learn how to use a project management tool called Open WorkBench, which is a Free and Open Source Software program to create and keep track of projects. Participants will be provided with the program at the end of the course to install on their computers.

2006 sees the hosting of our fifth globalisation school. This year’s theme will look at “Alternatives to Globalisation”. ILRIG has been hosting its annual globalisation school since 2002.Activists from a wide range of organisations throughout Africa are invited to apply.AIMS OF THE SCHOOL Activists from trade unions and social movements meet to share experiences of struggles against globalisation.

To address corruption in relief and reconstruction efforts following natural disasters and civil conflicts, Transparency International (TI) seeks to prevent corruption in humanitarian assistance by expanding its work in this area, starting with the publication of a report to help humanitarian aid providers identify and combat corruption in their activities.

More donor governments are engaging in humanitarian action. In 1994, 16 states provided assistance to the war-torn Balkans, but a decade later 92 nations responded to the Indian Ocean tsunami. However, many of the new players chose to not follow the usual disbursement patterns of Western donors.

The absence of reliable statistics on armed conflict, genocide or human rights abuses has made it hard to track trends in human security issues. However, the first comprehensive annual survey of human security has shown that all forms of political violence, except international terrorism, are declining.

Zambia's HIV/AIDS pandemic is helping to bridge the divide between traditional healers and practitioners of western medicine. Earlier this year the government commissioned the first clinical trials of remedies dispensed by traditional healers who claimed to have found an AIDS cure, fostering closer relations between the two groups of practitioners. About one in five sexually active Zambian adults is infected with HIV/AIDS.

Women for Women International seeks consultant for Market Assessment and Feasibility Studies. This position will work in partnership with the income Generation Officer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda or Afghanistan to conduct a market assessment using WWI’s market assessment toolkit.

This report and toolkit focuses on how ICTs can improve the effectiveness of public service delivery to the poor and vulnerable. The report highlights the results of an action research project that took place between January 2004 and June 2005 in Croatia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The idea of capturing, storing and sharing knowledge so as to learn lessons from the past and from elsewhere - overcoming the boundaries posed by time and space - is far from being a new one. In recent years, a growing movement has emphasised the improved application of knowledge and learning as a means to improve development and humanitarian work.

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has fueled phenomenal economic growth in some countries and fallen short of expectations in others. Whilst TVET is still seen as second-class education by many, globalisation has prompted many governments to take a renewed interest.

The success of economic and social policies is commonly measured by reference to countries’ economic performance, using measures such as gross domestic product. In putting forward the Happy Planet Index (HPI) as an alternative measure of success, this report argues for greater attention to environmental and quality of life consequences of government policies.

This new working paper explores trends in aid, the motivations for aid, its impacts, and debates about reforming aid. It begins by examining aid magnitudes and who gives and receives aid. It discusses the multiple motivations and objectives of aid, some of which conflict with each other.

This report considers progress made by the international community towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's). The authors assert that there are significant challenges ahead if the MDG's are to be met by 20015, however they note that certain goals are within reach.

This document, published by the Stop TB Partnership, describes the level of care that all practitioners should seek to achieve in managing patients who have, or who are suspected of having, tuberculosis (TB). It states that the basic principles of care for persons with, or suspected of having, tuberculosis are the same worldwide: a diagnosis should be established promptly and accurately; standardised treatments of proven efficacy should be used with appropriate treatment support and supervision; the response to treatment should be monitored; and essential public health responsibilities must be carried out.

The APC Chris Nicol FOSS Prize recognises initiatives that are making it easy for people to start using free and open source software (FOSS). The prize will be awarded to a person or group doing extraordinary work to make FOSS accessible to ordinary computer users.The APC FOSS Prize has been established to honor Chris Nicol, a long time FOSS advocate and activist who for many years worked with APC.

Registrations are still going on for the open forum. If you are interested in the theme and haven’t registered yet, try to register soon. Your contribution may bring a change to both continents. The African Youth Foundation (AYF) meeting on the “African Diaspora and Leaders Zenith” will be held from 19 – 21 October 2006 in Bonn, Germany.