In an event on sexual orientation at UN Headquarters in New York, held in conjunction with Human Rights Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored discrimination against homosexuals and the violence of which they are often victims, for which the perpetrators escape punishment. Ban recognised that social attitudes run deep and social change often comes only with time, but he highlighted the collective responsibility to stand against discrimination, to defend fellow human beings and fundamental principles. Ban noted that during his recent trips to Africa, he urged leaders to do away with laws criminalising homosexuality.

'Control and Sexuality' by Ziba Mir-Hosseini and Vanja Hamzi? examines zina laws in some Muslim contexts and communities in order to explore connections between the criminalisation of sexuality, gender-based violence and women’s rights activism. It is hoped that the publication will help activists, policy-makers, researchers and other civil society actors acquire a better understanding of how culture and/or religion are invoked to justify laws that criminalise women’s sexuality and subject them to cruel, inhuman and degrading forms of punishment.

The journal Humanity now has a blog that will feature debates about the big and small issues of human rights, humanitarianism and development. Current posts include:
- Human rights as a form of idealism
- The World Bank blog site
- The velvet glove of humanitarian biomedicine.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers.

A new book that reinforces racial prejudice against black women has been approved for distribution in the Brazilian education system. Sign a petition demanding that the Brazil ‘takes appropriate action in relation to racist books’.

A China-Africa Dialogue took place recently in China, organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Beijing office in collaboration with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University. The first article of this edition, by Antony Otieno Ong’ayo, provides an overview of the implementation and the value of these Dialogues.

The second article, by Chris Alden and Dan Large, looks at the existence of ‘exceptionalism’ in China’s relations towards Africa. They trace the development of this exceptionalism in China’s foreign policy and the rhetorical manifestation of this in China’s relations with Africa. This is followed by an article focused on an important domestic issue in China, the rising price of food and access to food amongst Chinese workers. Finally, a report by ActionAid just released puts SABMiller in the spotlight. It reports that the company has avoided paying taxes in African countries, as well as India.

A number of important reports have recently become available, notably a series of Policy Briefs by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) collaborative research China-Africa Project. A list of links to these Briefs are provided in [pdf].

‘Is China smartening up its environmental and social act in Africa? It certainly wants to be seen as doing just that’, writes Stephen Marks.

identity - making decisions - peer pressure - values - HIV and AIDS - love - sex... These are just a few of the topics covered by 'My Life - Starting Now'. This 80-page manual, no. 8 in the Called to Care toolkit published by the Strategies for Hope Trust, focuses on knowledge and lifeskills for young people aged 10 to 15.

The policies pursued by the collective imperialist triad (USA, Europe, Japan), which aim exclusively at restoring the system to what it was before 2008, are bound to fail. As a result, the North-South conflict moves to the forefront. By taking independent initiatives, the countries of the South can take this opportunity to move ahead towards the construction of the only effective and viable alternative for their liberation from the domination of imperialist monopolies.

The CODESRIA Lecture Series is a major outlet for disseminating special lectures and keynote addresses emanating from various scientific fora provided by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). This series projects CODESRIA’s main thematic areas, covering Africa’s social, economic, political and intellectual development. The neoliberal domination and the prioritisation of the private ruled by the market have deeply affected the educational models, and produced significant alterations on the social role of higher education institutions in Africa.

Sanctions-busting was a game perfected by the apartheid regime, but modern-day corporates are also adept at finding ways to exploit Africa's minerals, writes Khadija Sharife.

A satellite imagery tool that will make an unprecedented amount of environmental data available freely online has been launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 16), in Mexico. Earth Engine, launched by Google on 3 December, aims to enable scientists to monitor and measure changes in the Earth's environment, such as global land cover, and hopefully help slow deforestation in the process.

Mame Penda Diouf talks over car horns and city bus engines as she shows off potted lettuce, mint and potato plants at a traffic circle in the Senegal capital, Dakar. A trader and horticulture trainer, she says micro-gardening creates jobs and allows people to better feed their families. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and many other international and local institutions are pushing just that message – that micro-gardening and other forms of urban horticulture can go a long way to boosting city dwellers’ food security and improving living conditions.

The WikiLeaks Cablegate affair is making it clear to governments that they cannot so easily control what is secret and what is not, said Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director of the Association for Progressive Communication (APC), the world’s longest-running online progressive network founded in 1990. If governments respond rationally, they will realise that it is cumbersome and expensive to keep information secret in a connected networked world and that they should only incur this expense when really necessary, she elaborated.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers.

As nearly 200 delegates gather at the Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico, writer Dennis Martinez points out that Indigenous peoples and their advocates have no official seat among nations, and yet have experienced the worst impacts of climate change. To solve the problem, delegates of the wealthy nations have a climate-mitigation plan of choice - carbon offsets embodied in a program called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). But for healthy and stable ecosystems, Martinez finds that it fails to measure up to an overlooked method: continued indigenous stewardship.

Recently launched was a 'bespoke, low-bandwidth version of Skype for use in 120 hardship locations served by UNHCR staff members around the world'. Many newspapers and blogs picked up on it, including Guardian Tech, Mashable, and the LA Times. Many friends directed me to it, knowing that I am always interested in tech developments in Africa. Unfortunately, 'bespoke' (I had to look it up) means designed and produced for particular customers. So that means this version of Skype is only available to UNHCR staff. It will not be available to anyone else for the foreseeable future - even if they live in places with slow Internet access.

US Army Africa Commander Major General David R. Hogg has praised the 'leading' role of Algeria in fighting terrorism in the Sahel region. Speaking at a 6 December press conference after his two-day visit to the country, the US military official lauded the 'impressive progress' that has been made. 'AFRICOM and the Algerian armed forces are co-operating, and that is the objective of the visit. We are here to discuss what we can learn from one another,' Hogg emphasised.

The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed a new rapid test for tuberculosis, which it says could revolutionize the way the disease is tackled by providing an accurate diagnosis in about 100 minutes, compared to current tests that can take up to three months. 'This new test represents a major milestone for global TB diagnosis and care. It also represents new hope for the millions of people who are at the highest risk of TB and drug-resistant disease,' said Mario Raviglione, Director of WHO's Stop TB Department.

At 79, Samir Amin has lost none of his militancy. A leading thinker around ‘Third World-ism’, close to particular fathers of independence – like Modibo Keita – and the author of some 50 works on politics and economics, he tracks capitalism and international imperialism in all their forms. Interviewed by Christophe Champin, he discusses the last 50 years of relations between African states and the rest of the world.