In Ghana as in other countries on the continent, the Chinese are here, very visible and very busy, writes Elizabeth Ohene for the BBC. The relationship between Africa and China is a love-hate one - the love is more on the side of the governments and the hate on the side of business, civil society and the unions.

Beijing's Foreign Ministry officials are energetically distancing themselves from a US$7 billion minerals deal announced on 9 October by the increasingly isolated military regime in Guinea with the Hong-Kong based China International Fund. Without some fast diplomatic footwork, China could again face excoriation for helping to finance a murderous regime, five years after an international campaign began pressuring Beijing over military and financial links to the Sudanese regime and massacres in Darfur.

In an interview with Pambazuka News, Yash Tandon discusses the problems of 'development aid', his differences with Dambisa Moyo's arguments in 'Dead Aid', the importance of Southern countries' right to autonomy and his own book,

While encouraging of speaker of the Nigerian House of Assembly Oladimeji Bankole's capacity to 'tell it as it is' with regard to the Niger Delta, Sabella Ogbobode Abidde finds the Nigerian government's lack of support for the area to be utterly deplorable. If the speaker, as a government representative, has in effect confessed to the 'long-suspected national crime' of the persistent exploitation of the Niger Delta, it is incumbent upon the state to usher in a genuine 'Marshall Plan' to begin to compensate the area's inhabitants, Abidde contends.

More than 1,000 American and East African troops are to be deployed in northern Uganda next week as the United States carries out its biggest military exercise in Africa this year. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are each sending up to 150 soldiers to join 450 US military personnel in Kitgum for the October 16-25 exercise known as Natural Fire 10.

African researchers are missing out on publications and career advancement because they are failing to negotiate joint ownership of data generated by international research collaborations, a meeting has heard. Elly Katabira, associate professor of medicine at Uganda's Makerere University College of Health Sciences, said that African researchers are often indifferent to data ownership.

Applications are now open for the 2010 STARS Impact Award. The STARS Impact Awards recognise outstanding organisations working in the areas of children's health, education and protection. Eligible Organisations working with children in Africa, the Middle East, Asia or Pacific are invited to apply.

In this week's emerging powers news, focus shifts to China's dealings with various African countries, notably Guinea, which has been under the spotlight for the brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations. Elsewhere, a GreenPeace report accuses Chinese and under multinationals of breaching environmental regulations.

Applications are now open: The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program2010- 2011. The Program is especially designed to support candidates from groups that have historically lacked access to higher education. Eligible candidates who belong to marginalized and excluded groups and communities such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, religious minorities, women, physically challenged and those with other kinds of socio-economic deprivation are encouraged to apply.

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from Russia often surprises outside observers by its landmark deals. One of them was the purchase in September 2009 of a 55% stake in General Motors’ German affiliate Opel by a consortium of the Canadian car maker Magna and the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank. The latter is the largest creditor of the Russian car maker GAZ, and may represent its commercial interests in the contract. With this deal, Russia has bought into the industrial heartland of the world economy and could potentially access more advanced technology. This acquisition hints at the growth of Russian OFDI in general, which has prospered despite fears in many host countries that the investors are subject to Russian political interference, a fear that recently announced Russian policy intentions may allay.

Guinea’s military government, facing international sanctions and heavy strictures over a mass killing of unarmed demonstrators, is highlighting a recent agreement with a Chinese company that could provide it with billions of dollars.

This web-only AfricaFocus Bulletin contains brief excerpts on the role of wind in the world energy economy from the chapter on renewable energy in the new book Plan B 4.0 by Lester Brown.

Taking practical measures to realize the rights of the child is the greatest gift that we can give to our future generations, said High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay as the Convention on the Rights of the Child turns 20 years old. A two-day commemoration is taking place in Geneva on 8 and 9 October to kick off some five weeks of activities world-wide ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on 20 November.

This is the declaration issued by the Heads of State and Government of Africa and South America, meeting in the Second Africa-South America Summit (II ASA) in Nueva Esparta State, Isla de Margarita, Venezuela on 26 and 27 September of 2009.

More than one-million babies are stillborn during labour every year – 98% in low- and middle-income countries - yet global policy discussions around these largely silent deaths are mostly nonexistent. On top of this another 904 000 babies die soon after birth due to birth complications, closely linked to almost half of the world’s 536 000 maternal deaths.

The University of Oxford, Department of Continuing Education is now accepting applications for the Master's in International Human Rights Law 2010-11 entryThe aim of the degree programme is to train and support future leaders in the field of international human rights law. A central objective of the course is to ensure that participants not only know but can also use human rights law. The curriculum places roughly equal emphasis on the substance of human rights law, its implementation, and the development of human rights advocacy skills. Application deadlines: 20 November 2009, 22 January 2010, 12 March 2010.

The push to reinvent the International Monetary Fund took a significant step forward this week, with nations agreeing to a rough timetable to come up with plans to reform its governance and expand its role in the global economy. The agreements, reached during the IMF's semiannual meeting in Istanbul that ends Wednesday, come as the mission of the 65-year-old Washington-based institution is re-examined in the wake of the global financial crisis

In this week's emerging powers news, Stephen Marks looks at claims by Robert Fisk that Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading, a new report from the IMF suggesting that emerging and developing countries are leading the recovery from the global financial crisis, and demands by Africa's poorest nations for representation in the G20

Ufahamu* has been an important forum for the publication of materials addressing Africa and the African Diaspora for more than 30 years. Named after the Swahili word for comprehension, understanding or being, UFAHAMU is committed views about social issues, addressing both the general reader and the scholar. Since its establishment in 1970, UFAHAMU continues to challenge and correct misconceptions about Africa, thereby creating relevant criteria for African Studies.

The application for the 2010 session of the annual Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP) at Columbia University is now available. HRAP is designed to prepare proven human rights leaders from the Global South and marginalized communities in the U.S. to participate in national and international policy debates on globalization by building their skills, knowledge, and contacts. The Program features a four-month residency at Columbia University in New York City with a structured curriculum of advocacy, networking, skills-building, and academic coursework.