Reporters sans frontières has expressed shock over the abuse of authority displayed by the wives of President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria in assailing and imprisoning journalists in separate incidents on 2 May 2005, in response to critical press reports. "We are stunned that the presidents' wives went so far just to seek personal revenge. We therefore call on [Kenyan First Lady] Lucy Kibaki to apologise to the cameraman she hit, and we call on [Nigerian First Lady] Stella Obasanjo to have the 'Midwest Herald''s publisher released from prison immediately, as such meddling harms the image of their respective countries," RSF said.

It's most commonly associated with ultra-slim laptops and VIP airport lounges but wireless technology has been having far more exciting - and profound - effects in places that you can't take business class seats to reach and amongst people who travel on foot and not by plane. For wireless technology is about much more than being able to connect to the internet using a laptop without a cable.

The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT), in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), is hosting a Thetha on 24 May 2005 to discuss whether Southern African organisations should use Creative Commons to licence the information that they produce. The Thetha will occur in the same week (25-27 May) as the launch of Creative Commons South Africa and an international conference hosted by the Link Centre entitled "Commons-sense: Towards an African Digital Information Commons". Refer to www.commons-sense.org for more information.

On World Telecommunications Day, May 17, 2005, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) in partnership with the Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications (MoWHC) and WOUGNET will host a symposium under the theme "Creating an equitable Information Society: Time for Action ". The objectives of the symposium are to: 1) Raise awareness of the WSIS process and consider ways to incorporate the targets for universal access as outlined in the WSIS Action Plan; 2) Raise awareness of the state of telecommunications in Uganda and assess the problems that stand in the way of achieving the connectivity goals set out in the WSIS Action Plan; 3) Promote awareness of ICTs as a tool for economic and social development.

While press curbs and censorship still occur across West Africa, UNESCO this year has chosen to celebrate World Press Freedom day on Wednesday in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. "We wanted to compliment Senegal for its achievements in respecting press freedom and democracy," Morgens Schmidt, an official of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, told IRIN.

SchoolNet Namibia http://www.schoolnet.na is taking a bold new step to entice teachers and students into the world of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). SchoolNet has teamed up with Direq International http://www.direq.org, Strika Entertainment http://strika.com and The Namibian Youth Paper http://www.namibian.com.na to produce and distribute Hai Ti!, a comic strip that spreads the word about the ways that computers, FOSS and the internet can transform learners' and teachers' lives.

The Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT) has been running the Regional Interdisciplinary Course on Children's Rights since year 2002. To date about 60 professionals from the 14 SADC countries working for children, and/or involved with the promotion and protection of the rights of the child have passed through this course. SAHRIT is again offering a regional interdisciplinary short course on child rights from the 22nd of May to the 10th of June 2005.

This e-discussion is aimed at soliciting views of stakeholders on progress in implementing the Poverty Reduction Strategies Paper (PRSP) approach. The e-discussion, which will be moderated, will be held over two weeks, beginning May 2nd. Lessons, good practice, and recommendations which emerge from the discussion will be considered by World Bank and IMF staff when preparing the 2005 PRSP Review. Please sign up using the following link: http://www.dgroups.org/groups/worldbank/PRSP2005/

On 26 April 2005, a court sentenced two journalists from the regional weekly "L'Oeil du Sahel" to five months in prison with no parole and a fine of five million CFA francs (approx. US$9,800; 7,600 euros) for defamation. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) expressed concern over the continuing practice of jailing journalists in Cameroon for press offences. "Exposing serious abuses in an article does not constitute a crime, even in Cameroon," the organisation said.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) will again this year be releasing its annual publication, "So This Is Democracy?: State of media freedom in Southern Africa" in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3. This is the eleventh consecutive year in which MISA has issued this publication which records incidents of media freedom violations monitored by MISA in the previous year. The current edition therefore details media freedom violations in 2004. MISA issued 169 alerts in 2004 about media freedom and freedom of expression violations in 11 countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. This is a decrease of 10% over the 188 alerts recorded the previous year in 2003, and a 100% increase over the 84 alerts issued in 1994, when MISA first began monitoring media freedom and freedom violations in the sub-continent.

Telephone, Internet and fax communications in Togo have become increasingly difficult since 22 April 2005, making it virtually impossible for local and international media to work effectively. Jacques Djakouti, president of the Union of Free Radio and Television Stations (URATEL), told Reporters sans frontières (RSF) that telecommunications had been virtually blocked in the country since the 24 April presidential election.

More than 100 community radio representatives from 27 African countries resolved to create an African community radio fund at the just-ended 3rd Pan African Conference on Community Radio held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Community Radio Fund will support the sector through equipment provision and training.

The International Press Institute (IPI) has announced its decision to honour SW Radio Africa with its 2005 Free Media Pioneer Award. Gerry Jackson, founder and station manager of SW Radio Africa, will receive the prize at an award ceremony on 24 May, during the forthcoming IPI World Congress in Nairobi, Kenya (21-24 May). In Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe's autocratic regime controls both radio and television, and the only independent daily newspaper, the Daily News, has been shut down, the shortwave radio station SW Radio Africa remains a rare independent voice.

Two companies have been selected by the African ISP association, AfrISPA, in response to its request for service for data transport between the different ISP members of local Internet Exchange Points. AfrISPA wants to establish true inter-country connectivity within the African continent, to remove the current dependence upon overseas carriers and to promote the establishment and growth of African regional data carriers. The establishment of a network of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) within Africa would also result in reduced costs, improved speeds and the improvement of the Internet backbone within Africa as a whole.

On 24 April 2005, six Congolese journalists were abducted by a group of Mai Mai militiamen operating under the command of one "Chinja Chinja" ("Cut-Throat"). The journalists are being held in the port of Kilumbe, Upper Lomami district, some 400 km from Lubumbashi. They had gone to the area to cover the disarmament of armed militias in Katanga province, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), the regulatory body of the media, on Thursday, April 21, slapped a one-month suspension on a private radio station Kanal FM for broadcasting what it described as a "defamatory, tendentious and insulting editorial". According to a Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) Togo source a HAAC directive issued on Friday, April 15, barred all private radio and television stations from covering the campaign for the elections due to be held on April 24, 2005.

The largest obstacle for this sector is the lack of an enabling environment to ensure expansion of community radio, due to insufficient legislation surrounding the industry,” Steve Buckley, president of the World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC), told IPS. “I think the reason is because in a number of countries, governments are afraid that they may lose power by allowing communities to have access to airwaves.”

The Director of Information Technology (IT) has described the move by Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to harmonise Internet laws as an indirect call for Botswana to develop its own cyberspace legislation to deal with the increasing use of technology. Since Botswana’s trading partners are within the SADC region, it has become necessary that Botswana develops its own cyberspace laws that are non-existent at present.

The Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT) has been running the Regional Interdisciplinary Course on Children's Rights since year 2002. To date over 60 people from the 14 SADC countries working for and with and/or involved with the promotion and protection of the rights of the child have passed through the course. The course is designed for personnel in NGOs, government departments, and civil society organizations working with and for the protection of the rights of the child dealing with issues pertaining to the protection and promotion of the rights of the child. Participants from outside southern Africa can participate provided they secure their own sponsorship.

African governments should commit more strongly to policies that support a sustainable transition to an information and knowledge economy. That was the message from the Economic Commission for Africa, Monday, at the opening of "CODI IV", the fourth Committee on Development Information. Speaking at the opening session, ECA's Deputy Executive Secretary Josephine Ouedraogo said that information as a driver in economic development has expanded dramatically during the past decade in line with the shift in parts of the world from an “industrial society” to an “information society”.