Reporters Without Borders has releasing a report – in English, French and Arabic – on the state of freedom of information in South Sudan, which will celebrate the first anniversary of its independence on 9 July. The product of a visit to the South Sudanese capital of Juba from 9 to 15 May, it says that the divorce with Khartoum is not entirely consummated and that independence has brought no significant improvement in media freedom. It looks at the media war being waged by the two Sudans and highlights the impact of the ubiquitous, heavy-handed security forces.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has launched its annual state of media freedom report, 'So This is Democracy?' The current edition documents numerous media freedom and freedom of expression violations that MISA recorded in Southern Africa during the course of 2011. Most of the country reports in the 2011 edition note that the existence of archaic laws is fundamentally threatening media freedom as such laws are open to abuse, based on level of interpretation.

Journaliste en Danger (JED) says it is outraged by the prolonged and illegal detention of Bruno Kabwe, interim director of Radio Parec, a community radio station based in Kalemie, in Katanga province, on the orders of a colonel of the armed forces (FARDC). According to information obtained by JED, Bruno Kabwe was arrested on 22 June 2012 and was immediately taken into custody at the headquarters of the 61st Brigade. He remains in detention and is prevented from having visitors. Kabwe is accused of having made 'rude' comments about Jean-Marie Izumbu, the colonel in question and the commander of the 61st Brigade of the FARDC.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information ANHRI has condemned a 4 July 2012 ruling issued by the Helwan Misdemeanor Court sentencing Ashraf Nabil and his assistant, Ahmed Helmy Abdulsamd, to six-month suspended prison terms, as well as a fine of EGP 200 (approx. US$33). In early June, Nabil and Helmy were in Helwan filming a short movie about election bribery, entitled 'Do not Sell', when they were attacked by supporters of former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik. They were then detained by members of Shafik's campaign team and taken to the Helwan police station.

Os lucros e riquezas obtidos pela exploração dos recursos naturais do Congo Oriental continuam a alimentar a violência, a pilhagem e o sofrimento da população congolesa.

Idasa's Right to Know, Right to Education project has published its latest newsletter. The newsletter provides inisghts into the project impact and feedback from project partners involved with project implementation in Zambia and Kenya.

Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, managing editor of Today, a privately-owned newspaper, was on 28 June released by the Banjul Magistrates’ Court. Before his release, he had been in detention for eight days without charge. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that Adiamoh paid an outrageous fine of 100,000 Dalasis (about US$ 3,142) before he was released.

Liberal Egypt news website al-Badil recently called on journalists and human rights activists to join them in a protest outside the Press Syndicate in Cairo after two of its reporters who were assaulted by security forces and military police during recent clashes, were taken to court by police, who are accusing them of participating in the violence. Islam Abu el-Ezz and Ahmed Ramadan were arrested while covering the development of the violent clashes and attacks on protesters in the populated area of Abbassiya last April.

Ethiopia has always been a country at the cutting edge of Internet censorship in Africa. In the wake of violence after the 2005 elections, when other states were only beginning to recognize the potential for online reporters to bypass traditional pressures, Meles Zenawi's regime was already blocking major news sites and blog hosts such as blogspot.com. Some sites and Web addresses have been blocked for their reporting ever since, including exiled media like Addis Neger Online and Awramba Times.

Fifty-seven journalists fled their country in the past year, with Somalia sending the greatest number into exile. Journalists also fled Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Rwanda - mostly for Kenya and Uganda. Exiles in East Africa must grapple with poverty and fear, according to a special report from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In this podcast, Africa Today talks with Dr. Peter Lewis of the Center for Strategic International Studies at John Hopkins University on contemporary politics in Nigeria and the 4th Republic.

Dear Comrade,

A belated 'Thank You' for keeping the message of Walter's seminal and timeless work alive and reminding us to always honour his memory.

The symposium that resulted from your collaboration with OWTU, Pat, Norman Girvan and other comrades in T & T was hugely inspirational and, for me, it brought back so many memories of more focused action in equally challenging times.

Thank You!

Solidarity, Peace and Progress!

Gus John

The Gulf States, America and Israel are hell bent on frustrating the revolution in Egypt. That is what the results of the presidential election show.

They were condemned for using "the guise of freedom" to "attempt to incite violence and overthrow the constitutional order."

This issue of the South Bulletin focuses on the Rio Plus 20 Summit to be held in 20-22 June in Brazil. Twenty years after the Earth Summit the world faces even more serious crises in the environment and the economy. Will Rio+20 do better in rising to the challenge of tackling the global crises? This issue of the Bulletin analyses the key issues to be decided at Rio, including reaffirming the Rio commitments, the Green Economy, sustainable development goals, finance and technology.

Reporters Without Borders has strongly deplored the two-year jail sentence that a Marrakech court imposed on well-known blogger Mohamed Sokrate on trumped-up charges of drug possession and trafficking. He was also fined 5,000 dirhams (450 euros). Arrested on 29 May as he was leaving an Internet café, Sokrate was tried and convicted with unusual speed. The trial began on 7 June but was adjourned at the defence's request.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi has claimed victory in the country’s first post-uprising presidential election. Morsi’s victory will see Egypt have its first civilian president in more than 60 years, since a 1952 military coup ousted the King. Official results are to be announced later this week.

In the latest of the Economic Justice Network's campaign to sensitize Ghanaians to why the Economic Partnership Agreements are bad for Ghana, here are two recordings of interviews that took place on EPAs. One discusses EPAs and Ghana's fuel subsidy and the other a 'face-off' with EU Ambassador to Ghana Claude Maerten.

To what extent is China investing in experimental research? Which African countries have the most out-of-school children? How have graduation rates for girls in Latin America changed over time? The new UNESCO eAtlas series provides users with a powerful new tool to visualize data on critical policymaking issues in the field of education as well as science and technology. The three subjects covered are research and experimental development, out-of-school children and gender equality in education - an online companion to the print edition of the World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the slow death of freedom of information in Mali. 'In the past few days, a newspaper editor has been arrested for the second time in a month, soldiers raided a TV station to prevent it from broadcasting an interview with a Tuarag chief, and a French journalist was prevented from travelling to the breakaway north,' says RSF.