A scarf tied around her head and her five-month pregnancy just showing under a robe, Serkalem Fassil appeared shy and scared as she talked about life in Kality Prison. Her English is not good, she explained, but yes, the baby is OK. And yes, she added softly, it’s very hard in Kality. Fassil, 26, who worked on three Amharic-language weeklies, is among at least 14 journalists held in this crowded, sweltering prison alongside dozens of political opposition leaders. They are being tried jointly for genocide and treason, charges that could bring life imprisonment or the death penalty. The journalists are the most notable example of a government crackdown on the press that began in November when post-election street protests drew a show of official force, violence flared, and more than 40 died.
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* Trial of opposition journalists resumes

African journalists and media workers should organize to face the global challenges facing the continent. This is the call by the IFJ on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3. In a statement, the IFJ writes: Dear Colleagues: As we celebrate World Press Freedom day, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) would like to draw your attention to the fact that the media and media practitioners in Africa, continue to face great challenges. In African today, journalists continue to be killed with impunity."

The International Federation of Journalists has called for the immediate release of Tchanguiz Vatankhah, director of Radio Brakoss (at 600 km of N’Djamena) and President of the Chadian Union of Private Radios (URPT). "Tchanguiz Vatankhah has been held incommunicado since 28 April and only today has the Deputy Minister for Human Rights informed us that Vatankhah is at the Central Police Station of N’Djamena," declared Evariste Ngarlem Toldé, President of the Chadian Union of Journalists. "No official reason has been given for this arrest.”

Calls for government to pass a freedom of information bill are intensifying. "The (bill) will guarantee not only freedom for the media to access government information, but will also give the public the right to this information," the chairman of the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) board of trustees, told IPS. The council is an independent body that seeks to improve journalistic standards. A draft Freedom of Information Bill has been drawn up, but has yet to be tabled in parliament. As it stands now, the constitution provides for freedom of expression, but fails to stipulate a right to information.

Good news about media freedom in Eritrea is rare, so it's understandable that delight and relief greeted the announcement last November that Isaac Dawit, an Eritrean journalist with Swedish nationality, had been released after four years in prison. But days after the news broke, Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told the Agence France-Presse news agency that Dawit had merely been released for hospital tests, and was going directly back to prison. Described by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as one of the world's worst jailers of journalists, Eritrea has at least 13 reporters in prison.

The Omo National Park in Southern Ethiopia is being taken over by the Dutch conservation organization, African Parks Foundation (APF) and 50,000 people are in danger of being displaced and/or of losing access to their vital subsistence resources, according to the World Rainforest Movement.

Two more journalists have been sentenced to jail on revived charges under Ethiopia’s 1992 press law, according to CPJ sources. Wosonseged Gebrekidan, who is already jailed on anti-state charges, was sentenced to 16 months for defamation on April 18. Freelance writer Abraham Reta was sentenced to one year and jailed the same day.

Africa Online Limited has introduced a mobile high-speed internet service in Kenya, making it only the second country after South Africa to have such a service. Known as InfiNet broadband, the service gives users speeds of one megabit per second, nearly 20 times that of a regular telephone connection.

The BBC World Service Trust (WST) is running an HIV/AIDS mass media campaign in Nigeria, addressing young people between 15 and 24, encouraging them to adopt behaviours that would prevent them from HIV infection, and to reduce stigma. The campaign is using entertainment techniques to attract a wide youth audience on radio, TV and film.

African teacher training institutions are doing little to train teachers how to incorporate information and communication technologies (ICTs) into their teaching practice. Teacher training institutions and schools need better resources to ensure that ICTs are properly integrated into education.

Tumsifu Lema, 68, is an organic farmer in Shirin Joro village in Tanzania. He grows mixed crops on his two acres of land, including vegetables, maize, sunflower and coffee, and he is constantly looking out for new organic farming techniques. Although Lema has heard of email and the Internet, he has never seen or used them. Tumsifu is among the growing number of poor farmers in Tanzania who are just starting to consider the potential benefits of ICTs.

In a country where the majority of the population lives below the absolute poverty level, where political crises and violence have done away with social institutions, does it make sense to invest energies in information and communication technologies (ICTs)? Canadian APC member, Alternatives, firmly believes in this opportunity.

Among the items that the World Association of Newspapers is offering to newspapers for publication on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, is a video dramatizing the theme of this year’s campaign: "Don’t Lock Up Information: Stop Jailing Journalists". The video is being offered with an array of "traditional" newspaper content that can easily be adapted for electronic media: essays, opinion pieces, infographics, editorial cartoons, public service advertisements and other materials. The package can be viewed and downloaded, free of charge, from

On March 17 2006, MISA reported that the Government of Zimbabwe had drafted the Interception of Communications Bill 2006, which seeks to empower the chief of the Central Intelligence. In essence, the proposed law seeks to empower the chief of defence intelligence, the director-general of the Central Intelligence Organisation, the Commissioner of Police and the Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to intercept telephone, e-mail and cell phone messages.

The Media Owners Association of Tanzania (MOAT) and editors from different media houses have agreed unanimously to actively take part in the anti-corruption war. In a joint statement released in Dar es Salaam , MOAT and editors who met in the city last Thursday and Friday, say corruption has become a part of the society, which has sunk into a great deal of moral decadence.

It is difficult to get published in Africa. Publishers complain that few of the manuscripts they get from budding authors are worth publishing. They also blame a poor reading culture, which makes it difficult for publishing ventures to make profits due to low sales. Publish-on demand is an ideal solution to these challenges. By reducing the cost of producing books, publishers in Africa will be able to bring out more books from new writers and have the courage to experiment.

Full of practical information, tools and guidance, this toolkit covers a range of subject areas about supporting NGOs and CBOs working in HIV/AIDS.

The International Institute for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Journalism- Penplusbytes with support from the French Embassy in Ghana and GINKS is organizing a three day training workshop for thirty journalists from most regions of Ghana working in the print, electronic and online media. The workshop is designed to serve as a knowledge sharing platform for the media to understand key issues in the Information Society, New Medias impact in the newsroom; and provide an opportunity for the media players to develop new practical skills in using specific ICTs tools in the newsroom.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) received word this morning (April 21) that nine men detained for homosexuality in Cameroon have been acquitted of all charges. The men had been unfairly detained in Kondegui prison for nearly a year. Today’s verdict was seen by all involved as a major victory for human rights in Cameroon

NYU law professor Paul Chevigny considers the pros and cons of universal jurisdiction - a legal construct that allows courts in any country to pursue high international crimes committed outside their territory by persons not their own citizens. The author identifies some weakness, especially the problem of frivolous cases and its opposite, overly-narrow jurisdiction.