The Freedom of Information Bill scaled a major hurdle this week at the Senate as it sailed through the second reading with strong support from most senators.  The Senate, which concluded debates on the Bill, passed it for the second reading and referred it to the Senate Committee on Information to conduct a more detailed examination of the Bill and report back to the full house in three weeks. Unlike last Thursday’s proceedings where sharp differences characterized the comments on the Bill, most of the senators who spoke during today’s discussions described it as a Bill whose time has come and stressed that it must be passed by the Senate.

International freedom of expression organizations today expressed grave concern about the poor state of freedom of expression in Tunisia, host country for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which is to be held in Tunis, November 2005. A 60-page report on the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and the conditions for participation in the WSIS to be held in Tunis, November 2005 has been published today by the International Freedom of expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group, a group of 13 national, regional and international freedom of expression organizations. The report, released to coincide with the second Preparatory Committee for the WSIS, in Geneva 17-25 February, sets out the findings of a mission to Tunisia of freedom of expression groups. It makes a series of recommendations to the Tunisian government to bring the country in line with international human rights standards.

The AISI Media Awards were introduced in 2003 to encourage more informed coverage of the information society and ICT for development issues in Africa as part of ECA's Information Society Outreach and Communication Programme.

One of the main aims of this free Newsletter is to bridge the information gap between Africa and developed countries by creating, strengthening and providing a forum for the exchange of information about experiences, activities, events and good practice that contribute to the promotion of sustainable development in Africa.The newsletter is being sent out to a wide range of organisations, networks, institutions and individuals based in Africa or elsewhere and interested in or working in the field. It currently reaches more than 3000 subscribers worldwide.

The Swiss supreme court last Wednesday ordered the handover to Nigeria of hundreds of millions of dollars tied to the African nation's late dictator General Sani Abacha. A week after rejecting attempts by Abacha's family and associates to halt the return of US$458 million, the Federal Tribunal gave Swiss authorities a green light to give the money back to Nigeria.

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is launching a commentary and discussion series to spark thinking and dialogue on important issues in the field.

These short informative pieces will give an overview of an international information and communications technology (ICT) policy issue relevant to African stakeholders, and stir discussion by presenting strong views and provocative questions. Readers will be encouraged to respond to the points raised, via email or in the "comments" box under each commentary on the CIPESA website (www.cipesa.org). Special guest contributors will also be invited to share views in their area of expertise.

Harris Corp.'s work in Nigeria has helped the West African nation boost its wireless coverage 87 percent in less than a year and increased the value of contracts related to the project to more than $65 million. The Melbourne-based communications and electronics manufacturer announced Tuesday it has linked 120 communities across thousands of miles to create a network for MTN Nigeria, the region's largest cellular operator. For the next phase of the project, Harris technicians will travel to the more far-flung provinces and smaller villages, giving some access to wireless voice and data services for the first time.

Africa's satellite business is set to boom as governments deregulate telecom markets and technology-hungry companies seek alternatives to patchy phone lines, industry experts said on Monday. Executives in the satellite industry say that space-based technology is perfect for Africa, where underinvestment in phone lines and a big rural population mean that almost half the continent's 800 million people have never made a phone call. Internet access is a paltry 1.4 percent in the world's poorest continent, but demand is growing fast.

The incumbent will mentor 4 or 5 of the independent newspapers in Cote d'Ivoire that are committed to improving editorial balance. S/he will work with owners and managers to understand the importance of balanced news and the impact of credible editorial content on advertising revenue and readership levels. Fluency in French is required.

The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the Zimbabwe government for unleashing "a new wave of intimidation and terror against media" in advance of hotly contested elections to take place on 31 March. The IFJ was responding to the arrest of three foreign correspondents in Harare. "For the last two years, Zimbabwe's media have been in a state of censorship and paralysis," said Aidan White, the General Secretary of the IFJ. "These latest arrests signal a new wave of intimidation and media terror by the regime of Robert Mugabe. Journalists around the world rightly condemn these latest attacks".

On 10 February 2005, agents of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria's intelligence agency, raided newsstands on Old Market Road, the main distribution centre for the city of Onitsha, in Anambra State. The SSS agents confiscated large quantities of "The News", "The Source" and "The Week" magazines, as well as copies of "Hallmark" newspaper. They also arrested a newspaper distributor, Ikechukwu Obisi, and took him to an unknown location. The SSS officials, who were from Awka, the state capital, took the action on the grounds that the news vendors were distributing publications carrying stories about the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

The CONGO e-Update is an occasional email news service of the Conference of NGOs, informing our members and affiliated networks of relevant upcoming events sponsored by the United Nations, CONGO and its affiliated committees and task forces, and other major civil society-related initiatives. Subscription to the e-Update list is generally restricted to the UN offices and headquarters of members of the Conference of NGOs. For more information, please send a message to [email protected]. Please send all event announcements at least three weeks prior to the event.

An electronic preview edition of Tectonic magazine is now available. Visit www.tectonic.co.za/mag/ In this edition we look at: Ubuntu Linux; MySQL; X servers; Firefox and a whole host more. If you have any comments please email us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear what you think and what you would like to see in the magazine.

Currents, UNIFEM'S electronic newsletter has produced a special Beijing +10 supplement for the January issue which offers relevant information and links in the lead-up to Beijing+10. This week's supplement includes stories on: Beijing+10 and the Commission on the Status of Women;Regional Meetings in Preparation for Beijing+10; New UNIFEM Publication on Linking Beijing, CEDAW and the MDGs; Consultation With Women's Rights Groups; Related Information on the Millennium Summit Review; Related Events; Useful Links.

Burundian independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) has resumed broadcasting after authorities suspended the station on Friday for two days, accusing it of violating the country's press law. Private news agency Net-Press, which was also summarily banned on Friday for seven days following libel complaints, remained shuttered. Local journalists believe that authorities are trying to muzzle the press in the run-up to elections scheduled this year.

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is launching a commentary and discussion series to spark thinking and dialogue on important issues in the field. These short informative pieces will give an overview of an international ICT policy issue relevant to African stakeholders, and stir discussion by presenting strong views and provocative questions.

As a follow up to the success of the ICT Africa Investment Summit 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Nigerian Government through the Ministry of Communications has agreed to co-host the next Summit (ICT Africa Investment Summit 2005) in Abuja, Nigeria. The theme of the 2005 Summit is: Facilitating private sector investments in the ICT sector in Africa - policy, regulatory and technological challenges. The Summit aims to bring together decision makers, service providers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders in the ICT African sector to address relevant issues that are critical to securing increased investments in Africa.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation invites applications for the position of Fundraising Manager. The incumbent will be responsible for implementing a fundraising strategy to secure the resources needed for successful implementation of CIVICUS programmes. This position will involve extensive work in developing and writing grant proposals, based on CIVICUS' strategic and operating plans and current and new programming.

For the past six months Digital Links, a London-based charity, has been working with World Links to computerise primary schools in Rwanda. The collaboration between the two brings together the two themes of delivering renewable energy powered education and communication to one of the most disadvantaged countries in Africa. 94% of the schools, especially in rural areas, have no electricity supply. To answer this challenge, Digital Links developed a product consisting of a refurbished laptop powered by a solar PV (photovoltaic) panel, used in conjunction with a car battery, which provides a reservoir of power for the computer.

According to International Press Institute (IPI) sources, two journalists, Dhabassa Wakjira and Shiferaw Insarmu, who both worked for the Oromo-language television service, are currently being held by the Ethiopian authorities. The two journalists have been accused of passing information to the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Originally arrested by the Ethiopian authorities in late April 2004, the Federal High Court ordered the journalists released on bail. Shiferaw made bail and was released from detention on 9 August 2004. Regarding Dhabassa, the authorities ignored the court order and kept him in detention.