In only two weeks, four Afro-Colombian leaders have been murdered, and several subjected to death threats. Fumigations have caused the internal displacement of more than 100 Afro-Colombians. The violation of Afro-Colombian fundamental rights continues to escalate. Effective and structural measurements must be taken by Colombian government in order to guarantee the safety and integrity of Afro-Colombians, and promote the respect and observance of their rights.

The West wants to direct billions toward protecting forest lands, but the lack of any standardized rules and enforcement methods could lead to disaster. Experts warn that the wrong people might benefit from the money and argue indiginous peoples, not bureaucrats, should watch over the rainforests.

Relief agencies are struggling to help the some 18,000 displaced people in 17 makeshift camps in and around the central Nigerian city of Jos. Most of the displaced do not have enough food and they lack access to toilet facilities and safe drinking water, Nigeria Red Cross (NRC) head Auwalu Mohammed told IRIN.

The International Monetary Fund believes growth in sub-Saharan Africa will be 1 percentage point above the global average, and puts eight African countries in its top 20 fastest-expanding economies in 2010, write Ed Cropley and Ben Hirschler. Oil-rich Angola and Congo Republic will lead the charge with growth rates of more than 9 and 12 percent respectively, both beating China, according to the IMF's most recent projections.

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Despite the financial crisis that has wrecked global economies, the volume of trade between Namibia and China has grown, resulting in commerce between the two countries exceeding US$550 million in 2009, writes Chrispin Inambao.

The global financial crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, with a knock-on effect on future economic growth, poverty reduction and progress in health and other areas, according to a United Nations report.

Improving nutrition in the developing world has never been more important. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than a billion people — one sixth of the global population — have a diet so poor they may be severely underweight, have stunted growth, or lack the vitamins and minerals they need for good health (all are aspects of severe malnutrition, or undernutrition).

In the last three decades, changes in the global economy have led to debt and balance of payments crises in many African countries. They desperately needed foreign exchange which they could only get from the World Bank and the IMF. These institutions used this opportunity to expand their influence over the recipients' national policies. This paper discusses country ownership which is a central issue of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. It looks at the contradictory and competing usages of the term - ownership as commitment and ownership as control.

In this week's emerging powers news roundup, the forecast is positive for the South African economy in the wake of its first recession in 17 years, a WEF risk assessment counts sharp slowdown of China as a major threat to future prosperity, and the China-Africa Development Fund invests US$540 million in Africa.

The Tanzania government has signed a five-year livestock and fishing agreement with China that would see Chinese firms invest in aquaculture and livestock projects.

Governments responsible for serious human rights violations have over the past year intensified attacks against human rights defenders and organizations that document abuse, Human Rights Watch has said in issuing its World Report 2010.

While still struggling with the aftermath of a decade-long Islamic insurgency, oil-rich yet impoverished Algeria is getting a makeover: a new airport, its first mall, its largest prison, 60,000 new homes, two luxury hotels and the longest continuous highway in Africa. The power behind this runaway building spree is China.

Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) of India is organizing aNational Forum on Mobile Applications The forum is scheduled to be held on April 7-9, 2010 at New Delhi, India. The theme of the Forum is "Mobile Applications for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development". The deadline for submitting the abstracts for the forum is 10th February 2010.

The Luxembourg steel giant ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel company has been shortlisted along with five other candidates for the Public Eye Global Award to be held in Davos, Switzerland, on the 27th January – the opening day of the World Economic Forum.

Following the devastation wrought by the recent earthquake in Haiti, Peter Hallward stresses the role of 'systematic postcolonial oppression' as a chronic obstacle to Haiti's progress. If the West is sincere in its desire to help Haiti, Hallward contends, it will need to stop trying to control the country's government before 'paying for at least some of the damage we've already done'.

The following 2006 congressional record of the United States Congress, entered by Representative Major R. Owens and drafted by Marian Douglas-Ungaro, praises the work of Christiane Taubira and Gwendolyn Midlo Hall in documenting France's role in the slave trade and recording the experiences of those enslaved across the Louisiana area.

For those anticipating sweeping, immediate change from Barack Obama's election to the US presidency, the results of the president's first year in office will undoubtedly have proven profoundly disappointing, writes Demba Moussa Dembele. Just as his Accra address was rooted in patronising references to 'corruption' and 'tribalism', it should be always borne in mind that Obama operates and will continue to operate first and foremost in defence of the 'interests of empire', Dembele stresses.

In this week's roundup of emerging powers news Stephen Marks looks at China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's just-concluded six-nation tour of Africa.

The seminar is aimed at generating policy-oriented research on the impact of the rising strategic and economic role of China on Africa's development prospects and its economic and political governance. The seminar will be held in Tunis, Tunisia, on 25-26 March 2010.