As of April 2005, the African continent now has its own regional internet registry, AfriNic, with responsibility for assignment of internet addresses within the continent. This long-awaited development has the potential to save some $500 million in fees paid outside the continent each year to registries in Europe and North America, reports the latest edition of the Africa Focus Bulletin. The agency, which received formal approval at an international meeting in Argentina on April 8, is headquartered in Mauritius, with an operations center in South Africa and back-up facilities in Egypt. The AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a news article on the AfriNic launch, excerpts from a 2004 report on Schoolnet Namibia, and several additional links to related information.

Futuristic nanotechnologies that purify drinking water, produce energy and grow food can benefit poor countries and help to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a new report. Most of the current research into nanotechnology is being done in the North, but there are important potential applications to fulfill the energy, health and food needs of the South, says Peter Singer, director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) and co-author of the report.

This discussion focuses on the question: How can ICT empower local communities and improve local governments, especially during a process of decentralization? Can ICT help improve the poor record of decentralization and make the goals of decentralization a reality? Can ICT empower citizens with the information and means they need to make their governments work effectively for them? What is needed to make ICT an effective tool for good local governance? These questions are crucial to the well-being of people throughout the developing world. This discussion will seek to answer these questions with concrete examples, specific cases, experience and recommendations that can guide local communities, local governments, ICT practitioners and decentralization experts. Join the discussion and share what you know.

Lwati is the monthly e-newsletter of the Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT). The latest edition contains news about first SANGONeT "ICTs for Civil Society" Conference and Exhibition which was held from 1-3 March 2005 at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg. Visit www.sangonet.org.za or write to [email protected] "Lwati" is an isiSwati word meaning information.

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.

Epidemiological studies indicate that unsafe and illegal abortions contribute to 13 per cent of Gambia's maternal deaths. The National Reproductive Health Policy document states that complications as a result of unsafe abortions account for a large number of maternal deaths in the country. This includes sepsis and haemorrhage. The maternal mortality rate is currently 730 per 100,000 live births.

Two British journalists detained in Zimbabwe during parliamentary elections left the country this week after being acquitted of the criminal charge of reporting without accreditation from the government-controlled Media and Information Commission. Toby Harnden, chief foreign correspondent for the London-based Sunday Telegraph, and photographer Julian Simmonds boarded a plane and safely reached neighboring South Africa, a newspaper spokeswoman said. The journalists had spent two weeks in prison while standing trial.

A string of unsolved arson attacks, a series of unchecked threats, and the passage of restrictive new laws have created deep mistrust between the Gambia's government and its small independent press. Suspicions have been compounded by the December 2004 murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the government's failure to bring the perpetrators to justice. These are the findings of a CPJ delegation that visited the Gambia from April 6 to 12.

A 3-Day National Validation Seminar "on Building Community Radio in Nigeria" jointly organized by Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA), World Association of Radio Broadcasters-Africa Region (AMARC Africa), and Institute of Media and Society with the financial support of OSIWA, was held at the Chida International Hotel, Abuja from April 5 to 7 2005. Participants were drawn from the NGOs, CBOs, Development and Donor organizations, the mass media, academia, and Government Agencies. Presentations at the seminar focused on issues of Policy, Legislation and Regulation, Ownership and Editorial Independence, Sustainability and Training.

The launch issue of Tectonic Magazine - Africa's first-ever free and open source software magazine - is out. The response to the magazine has been hugely encouraging, says editor Alastair Otter. "From the moment we made the magazine available we have been inundated with extremely positive feedback," says Otter. "Clearly the South African market is ready for a dedicated open source magazine.”

When Uganda joined the internet bandwagon less than a decade ago it had hopes of delivering important information to farmers. It hasn’t worked out that way: much of the information bypasses farmers (many of them are too poor to access the internet) and there is a general lack of coherence in the way they are presented.

The CRADLE, The Children's Foundation, also known as the Child Rights Advisory, Documentation and Legal Centre has released the latest edition of Juvenile Justice Quarterly. This quarter’s edition contains a summary of The CRADLE/CARE Kenya’s recent report on Kenya's media coverage of child sexual abuse in 2004; Resolutions from the World Congress on Family Law & Rights of Children, Cape Town, March 2005 where Machel & Bellamy urged for greater protection of child rights; an in-depth analysis of the 38th Session on the Committee on the Rights of the Child with news on Kenya’s Justice Aluoch retaining her CRC Committee Seat. In addition, Kenya’s progress towards a "World Fit for Children" is looked at. Additional articles include from the 1st East African Anti-Trafficking Conference, Kampala, Uganda; an analysis of Corporal Punishment in Kenya; a look at UNICEF's new Executive Director; as well as the usual profiling of members of the Juvenile Justice Network and Case Trends Monitor for Quarter. Please write to [email protected] to ask for a copy of the newsletter or visit www.thecradle.org

This paper highlights changes in the media landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa and possibility for increased citizen empowerment and social interaction to help transform lives and communities. It explores how changes brought about by media globally take place at a much slower place in Africa. Although efforts are creating growth in community-based media, a paradigm shift in the process of journalism is needed.

TreeLife Soltutions LLC has launched a website targeted toward Africans and friends of Africa called Jamboweb.com. "There are several outstanding websites for Africans right now, but what really sets Jamboweb.com apart is how easy it is to find so much of African business, politics, culture and information in one easy to use website," says Ntale Lukama, co-founder and Business Manager. Jamboweb.com also has a feature called the "African Blog" that allows visitors to post information about their community, including job opportunities, scholarships, community awards, business and organization press releases.

Jonathan Stack and James Brabazon will receive the International Documentary Association's (IDA's) Courage Under Fire Award for their film 'Liberia: An Uncivil War', which was produced for the Discovery Times Channel. The documentary follows a rebel army made up of indigenous Liberians intent on overthrowing the government of then-President Charles Taylor. IDA Executive Director Sandra Ruch says the Courage Under Fire Award is a special tribute, only given once before, to documentarians who distinguish themselves in the face of extraordinary danger.

Parliament has passed a Bill that will, among others, protect whistle blowers from punishment and other administrative sanctions. The Access to Information Bill says that people who release information on wrongdoing, or disclose a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, shall not be subject to legal, administrative, or employment sanctions. The provision is in line with the government anti-corruption strategy released last week.

The Kemilinks International ICT Africa Awards has now been expanded from 9 to 18 categories. The awards have been designed to recognise and reward those organisations and individuals that have demonstrated excellence in promoting the use of ICT for the overall development of the African continent. Anyone can nominate only one organisation for one or more categories of awards by simply providing the required information via the internet at www.kemilinks.com/awards. Deadlines for nominations: 12 midnight GMT on Saturday 30 April 2005.

Journalist Ray Choto and the estate of the late Mark Chavunduka, have been paid a total of more than 20 million Zimbabwean dollars (approx.US$3,225 at the official rate) in damages and interest claims for the torture and unlawful arrest they suffered following the publication of an alleged abortive coup plot in 1999. The damages were awarded posthumously to Chavunduka, who was editor of the privately-owned weekly "The Standard" newspaper, together with Choto, who was his senior reporter at the time. Choto is now based in Washington, USA.

The managing editor of the Nairobi-based East African Standard's Sunday edition has been acquitted of criminal charges. The charges against David Makali, pending since 2003, stemmed from an investigative article about the alleged murder of Dr. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai, a key player in Kenya's constitutional reform process. Nairobi Chief Magistrate Aggrey Muchelule stated in his judgment that the case against Makali and John Chemweno, a police officer who was also charged, had not been established by the prosecution, according to an article in the East African Standard.

A failed attempt by the Somaliland police to close down a new radio station, Radio Horyaal, might sound like a comedy of errors, but it is another indication of an increasingly worrying human rights situation. The independent station has only been operational for about two weeks, but its very existence appears to have unnerved the government. Until recently, the government enjoyed a monopoly on the airwaves, and it has used Radio Hargeisa as a partisan vehicle to promote its own political interests, marginalising alternative voices and unwelcome facts and views.