The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned a vicious attack on Abdel Halim Kandil, an editor and columnist at the opposition weekly Al-Arabi. The attack occurred just before dawn on November 2, after Kandil's colleagues dropped him off near his home in Cairo, according to local sources and press reports. Before entering his apartment building, Kandil was confronted by four men who beat, blindfolded and forced him into a car, sources told CPJ.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the detention of Mathieu N'do, managing editor of the pro-opposition weekly San Finna. Local sources say N'do was arrested November 5 at the airport in the capital, Ouagadougou, as he was returning from Ivory Coast, where he had traveled to report on ongoing tensions between government and rebel forces. Local journalists believe N'do's detention may be linked to his journalistic work, which is often critical of the Burkina Faso government.

Reporters Without Borders has said it was "outraged and sickened" by a crackdown on the opposition press in Ivory Coast that is coinciding with a sharp deterioration in the political and military climate and attacks by pro-government forces on former rebels. "Yesterday was a black day for free expression in Ivory Coast and it was the result of a concerted operation aimed a silencing dissident voices in Abidjan," the organisation said. Reporters Without Borders urged international organisations and countries that still have influence in Ivory Coast to do everything possible to get the authorities to stop the current crackdown, which comes against a backdrop of political violence in which the media are viewed as military targets. The Committee to Protect Journalists has also expressed its outrage at attacks on the media.

Owei Sikpi, of the "Weekly Star" newspaper, based in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, was assaulted by thugs allegedly acting on instructions from Steven Diver, chairman of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, reports Media Rights Agenda. The thugs, who were reportedly backed by anti-riot policemen, introduced themselves as State Security Service (SSS) operatives. They then forcibly took Sikpi to a house located at 24 Woji Road in Port Harcourt, where they beat him until he was nearly unconscious. Thereafter, they stripped him naked and took several photographs of him.

The Mapambano Newsletter, a publication whose main agenda will be to provide an alternative ideological perspective of news and analysis in Kenya, will provide an alternative Left-oriented point of view of news and analysis of events happening in Kenya and the world and act as a tool for political education of the people of Kenya.

The ECA Update is intended to be a low-tech, user-friendly briefing on recent events at the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa. The news update is published every month and deadline for submission is the 25th of the month. Contact [email protected] for more information.

The European Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD) and Themba Lesizwe, the South African Network of Trauma and Service Providers (SANTSEP), invites proposals from the NPO sector under the project "Consolidating the Trauma Sector in South Africa." This initiative is aimed at South African activities in under resourced areas with an amount of R4mn made available for the project to run for the duration of seven months only.

More Africans need to get their hands on computers in order for Africa to tap the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) to improve lives. But the price of new computers puts them beyond the reach of most Africans. And the overall lack of technical skills also limits computer use across the continent. Locally owned computer refurbishment centres may help. When refurbishment is done cheaply and efficiently, restored computers can be resold at a low price.

Paul Kamara, the jailed editor of the independent newspaper "For Di People", has appealed the two-year prison sentence imposed on him by the High Court. In a 12-point statement filed with the Appeal Court in the capital, Freetown, on 22 October 2004, Kamara stated that the "judgement is against the weight of evidence" brought against him, and that the trial was handled by a judge sitting alone instead of a jury.

The Gambia's Council of Ministers has decided to revoke the Act passed two years ago establishing a National Media Commission that was considered repressive and unacceptable by all standards. Now, the Executive has drafted a new Bill to repeal the infamous NMC Act No.7 of 2002, which was enacted despite numerous appeals and protests from local and international press freedom organizations against its passage.

The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the Eritrean government's "dictatorial" approach to press freedom, warning that free and independent journalism "faces extinction" in the country. "The international community must intervene to stop the rot," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "Independent journalism faces extinction in Eritrea and the outside world must act now." The concern of the IFJ and other press freedom groups over the Eritrean crisis intensified at the end of last month when the last remaining foreign correspondent was expelled from the country. Jonah Fisher, who worked in Eritrea for 18 months as correspondent for the BBC and Reuters, said the authorities gave him no explanation, but his expulsion followed a period of "increasing difficulties."

"Venez Sur Internet: Etapes Faciles Pour Réussir sur Internet", the french version of Kabissa's 150-page Internet training manual "Time To Get Online - Simple Steps to Success on the Internet", is now available. While tailored for African organizations, they are also perfectly relevant and useful for non-profits wherever they are in the world.

More than 40 international human rights activists will meet near Boston in the United States on November 5-7, to discuss how to use technology - from text messaging to satellite communication, data encryption, and blogs - to prevent wrongdoings and collect evidence of abuses. Former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan, an international expert and leader on the international law and practice of human rights, will deliver the keynote address.

Internet search engine Google has launched a Kiswahili language service to be accessed through the .ke domain name. The service was launched on October 2004, according to the Google web logs commonly referred to as blogs. Kenya Network Information Center (Kenic) systems manager Michuki Mwangi says use of Swahili and the .KE domain in such a reputable search engine will boost the Kenyan identity.

AFRODAD is pleased to re-launch the Debt and Development in Africa newsletter in electronic format. AFRODAD requests interested individuals and institutions to supply them with their current e-mail addresses, to enable them to send a copy of the newsletter instantly. Contact [email protected] for more information.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has announced the launch of a new Africa ICT Policy Monitor website. "The most important feature of the new 'Africa Monitor' is the information section which houses policy documents, analysis, and country reports from civil society perspectives," says site editor, Emmanuel Njenga Njuguna. "People preparing to make interventions for engagement in ICT policy processes at national, regional or international levels will find it particularly useful."

Information services on appropriate technology (AT) provided to the poor do not benefit them as much as they could. Although a wide range of organisations provide such resources to the poor, inappropriate services and lack of co-ordination constrain their effectiveness. Development organisations and information resources need a better understanding of and respect for existing knowledge that local people have and how to build on it.

The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) and ICOZA have launched a new joint venture, called NGO.ZA. The overall aim of NGO.ZA is to meet and respond to the South African NGO sector's connectivity, hardware and e-business infrastructure requirements, and as a result, transform the ICT usage, capacity and infrastructure levels of the sector.

As access to the Internet remains limited in many rural areas in Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), through its African Information Society Initiative (AISI), is looking at ways to expand online usage, especially in remote areas of the continent.

Most drug discoveries are made by public institutions. Private pharmaceutical companies, however, generally take over the development and commercialisation of the drugs. This "privatisation of science" has been accelerated by shortcomings in the patent system, says Carlos María Correa, director of the Centre of Interdisciplinary Studies of Industrial and Economic Law at the University of Buenos Aires. Writing in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, Correa says large drug companies have exploited the patent system. Developing nations need to design and implement patent laws that prevent strategic patenting and which promote competition and access to medicines, Correa concludes.