British high street banks have accepted millions of pounds in deposits from corrupt Nigerian politicians, raising serious questions about their commitment to tackling financial crime, warned Global Witness in a report published today. By taking money from corrupt Nigerian governors between 1999 and 2005, Barclays, NatWest, RBS, HSBC and UBS helped to fuel corruption and entrench poverty in Nigeria, says the organisation.

It is projected that if the economy does not improve within the next two years, more than half a million mineworkers in the region will lose their jobs. It is estimated that more than 25 per cent of mineworkers are HIV positive. Only two countries reviewed in the study by the Southern Africa Resource Watch have sufficient reserves to deal with a long-term recession.

Farmers from the developing world called on governments this week to curb a global land rush in which millions of hectares of their terrain are being taken over by foreign private investors. 'Generations in Africa have lived off family farming,' Hortense Kinkodila, a farmers’ representative from Congo Brazzaville, said on the sidelines of talks on the issue at the UN food agency FAO in Rome this week. 'We’re really angry that people come and grab our land and take away traditions that have sustained us for years,' she said.

At the end of September WalMart made a formal but conditional offer for the South African based retail giant Massmart, of R32 billion. While the South African business fraternity has lauded the possible arrival of WalMart on our shores, labour, social and environmental insiders have expressed serious disquiet about the arrival of this giant at the gateway to Africa. It is eminently clear that Wal-Mart views the acquisition of Massmart as just that - an entry point into Africa and a bridgehead to build trade into the continent.

In this week's emerging powers news, a call for applications to attend a Fahamu study tour to India, US and China interests compete in Sudan, China - Africa trade ‘to top US$100bn’, India and Mozambique sign three partnership pacts and Chinese investment corporation wants to bid for Russian assets.

AFLA’s “ flagship journal”, the Africa Legal Aid Quarterly, highlights the often marginalised voices of Africa in human rights discourse. Since its launch in 1996, the AFLA Quarterly has produced a wealth of information from African legal scholars, judges, gender advocates, legal practitioners and opinion leaders, on human rights and justice developments relating to Africa. Due to its affordability at €100 for four issues, the only major journal addressing human rights and justice developments in Africa in popular legal discourse is accessible to all. So if you believe there is a need to mainstream African Voices in popular legal discourse, a need for a comprehensive analysis of the most pertinent issues at the heart of the African continent, and a need to make African issues visible on the International Agenda, then the Africa Legal Aid Quarterly is for you. Confirm your subscription today at [email][email protected]
For more information on AFLA Publications and a free sample of the AFLA Quarterly, visit www.africalegalaid.com

The UN refugee agency has appealed for faster efforts to help the world's estimated 12 million stateless people, including through stepped up accessions to two key international legal instruments – the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The appeal was made by UNHCR's director of international protection, Volker Türk, in a meeting held in Geneva on the sidelines of UNHCR's annual executive committee gathering.

The 11.7 billion dollars pledged Tuesday to replenish the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the coming three years falls significantly short of the 20 billion dollars hoped for, threatening to undo the progress made in the fight against these diseases - the three largest infectious killers in the world.

The impact of internet governance on Africa was discussed on 16 September 2010, in Vilnius, Lithuania. Discussions included the need to solve the language issue and to create global applications from Africa instead of just thinking local and to put forward the continent's uniqueness to create things that others can’t.

We are seeking a dynamic professional for a key specialist position in Dakar, Senegal. As the Senior Program Specialist, you will collaborate in managing research activities that support broader Program challenges around promoting inclusive growth, including labour market issues, institutional frameworks for investment, competition and entrepreneurial activity, and the role of social protection policies. Reporting to the Program Leader and the Regional Director, you will develop, manage and monitor a portfolio of research projects in West and Central Africa. As part of a global team and a corporate Program Area, you may have selected responsibilities for projects in other regions as well as working in collaboration with the Think Tank Initiative. You will also interact with experts in the field and represent IDRC in a variety of fora, draw attention to new developments in economic policies and research, and play a key role in the progress of strategic thinking in this area.

This blog post reports on a meeting in Prague hosted by the International Bar Association (IBA). One of the issues raised was that of developing countries taking action against foreign companies, as evidenced by in the case of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Interestingly, another issue is the concept of social damages for corruption, where those found guilty of corruption are made to pay to repair the damage caused to a society.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has become the first patent holder to join the recently created Medicines Patent Pool, but unless other patent holders follow suit, the NIH's move will not increase access to HIV treatment. By licensing the life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV), darunavir, to the patent pool, the NIH has made the technology to produce it available for the benefit of low- and middle-income countries. However, this does not mean generic versions of the drug can now be manufactured and sold in these countries as additional patents on darunavir are still held by the pharmaceutical company Tibotec, part of Johnson & Johnson.

We are seeking a dynamic professional for a key specialist position in Dakar, Senegal. As the Senior Program Specialist, you will collaborate in managing research activities that support broader Program challenges around promoting inclusive growth, including labour market issues, institutional frameworks for investment, competition and entrepreneurial activity, and the role of social protection policies. Reporting to the Program Leader and the Regional Director, you will develop, manage and monitor a portfolio of research projects in West and Central Africa. As part of a global team and a corporate Program Area, you may have selected responsibilities for projects in other regions as well as working in collaboration with the Think Tank Initiative. You will also interact with experts in the field and represent IDRC in a variety of fora, draw attention to new developments in economic policies and research, and play a key role in the progress of strategic thinking in this area.

In this week's emerging powers news, a call for applications to attend a Fahamu study tour to India, emerging economies outpace Japan in the battle for trade with Africa, China extends Africa push with loans and a deal in Ghana, an Africa-China partnership in combating HIV/AIDS and India to train police forces of African countries.

WE THE UNDERSIGNED petition you to speak out against the death penalty for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and all the men, women and children facing execution around the world.

If we are to create and provide space and a platform for African autonomous thinking on issues of the future of the continent, we have to begin by liberating ourselves from Western ways of thinking and draw knowledge and inspiration from our own heritages, argues Dani W. Nabudere, in the second half of a two-part article based on his inaugural address to the newly formed Nile Heritage Forum on political economy.

For hundreds of years, pastoralists in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro District have lived off cattle, managing grazing land communally. But this way of life is under threat, as business interests trump traditional land rights, with the blessing of the government. Susanna Nordlund has written a blog about her visit to Loliondo to explore reports of conflict between local Masaai communities and a foreign-owned safari company, in which she raises a number of allegations. We reproduce her post in the hope that this might stimulate a serious investigation of these events.

Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger military chiefs of staff met at the Tamanrasset joint military command on Sunday 26 September to co-ordinate efforts against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Algeria gathering coincided with new developments in the case of seven foreigners, including five French nationals, kidnapped in Niger on 16 September.

Girleffect.org tells the story of girls creating a ripple impact of social and economic change on their families, communities and nations. Last week, at the Clinton Global Initiative, the Girl Effect launched a new video that builds on the original message, and discusses important issues like child marriage and early pregnancy for adolescent girls.

Much as developing countries have often taken the approach that 'no deal is better than a bad deal' at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a strong joint negotiating position would leverage larger gains in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) governance reform process due to be concluded by the end of 2010. Possible gains from a tough negotiating position include a rewriting of the IMF quota formula, double majority voting, more developing country seats on the board, and an end to the US veto.