As of 12:30 pm on Wednesday, 7 July 2004, the internet site, Sudanese Online has been blocked from viewing. The order to block the website came from the National Security Agency (NSA), and was carried out by the National Telecommunications Corporations (NTC), the major internet service provider in Sudan. Allegedly, the order was due to continued publication of news, reports and discussions by the website that were deemed a national security threat. This is according to the Sudan Organisation Against Torture.

Former employees of three independent Zimbabwean newspapers shut down by the Media and Information Commission (MIC) are struggling to make ends meet. "The situation of journalists and other members of staff who were affected by the closure of the papers is pathetic. We have established that a substantial number of them are living in near destitution," the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists' president, Matthew Takaona, told IRIN.

Three quarters of Senegalese newspapers were missing from kiosks on Monday in a protest against last week's jailing of the publications director of independent newspaper Le Quotidien, which they described as "a vain attempt to muzzle the press". Le Quotidien's Madiambal Diagne was arrested on Friday, charged with publishing confidential documents, spreading false information and acts which compromise public security.

SANGONeT is to launch a new on-line information service for South African civil society organisations. The objective of the new service is to 'develop and maintain a user-friendly "one-stop" Internet entry point to information on South African non-profit organisations (NPOs) and development organisations.' The service will showcase the work of these NPOs, raise awareness of their development activities and highlight the current issues and challenges they face. It is due to be launched in August 2004.

The African Regional Youth Initiative (ARYI) is a collaboration of hundreds of youth and community-based projects and organisations in Africa working to fight HIV/AIDS. The newsletter can be accessed by going to the ARYI website at http://www.aryi.interconnection.org/about.html or directly by going to http://www.aryi.interconnection.org/ARYI%20newsletter-May&July.doc.

"If we only ever see Northern donors as the people with the money, that's the only place we will ever apply ourselves to getting funds. And yet there are other people and groups of people in the world who do have money. It may just be a matter of opening our eyes to see this, and when looking, do so creatively. Quite often we don't see the possibilities, because we are too caught up in the realities. It may be worthwhile asking someone else what they can see." This is according to a presentation by Ruth Osborne from Promotions for Non-Profits, originally made at the Community Information Network of Southern Africa Conference 11-14 August 2003.

Nowhere is the impact of global apartheid more clear than on the continent of Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world, and yet in the past two decades it has spent more servicing illegitimate debts to rich countries than it has received in new loans or foreign assistance. With only 10% of the world’s population, Africa claims more than 70% of people living with HIV/AIDS, not to mention the lowest life expectancies and highest infant mortality rates in the world. There is no place in the world more affected by the legacy of racism, colonialism and cold war interference. The point here is simple: If the system we challenge has its deadliest consequences in Africa, any movement in the U.S. that seeks to be credible must prioritize solidarity with African struggles, says this Foreign Policy in Focus commentary, 'After a Decade of Democracy in South Africa - A New Generation of Struggle'.

On 4 July 2004, Kola Oyelere, the Kano State correspondent for the privately-owned "Nigerian Tribune" newspaper, was arrested by police in Kano State, northwestern Nigeria. He was detained, reportedly tortured and subsequently charged with publishing false information by a Kano Chief Magistrate Court on 5 July. Oyelere was charged with publishing false information following the publication of a lead story in the 4 July "Sunday Tribune" titled, "Panic in Kano as Fresh Crisis Looms”.

The Kenyan Government has finally appointed an information and communications minister following a major cabinet reshuffle. The new ministry will see all ICT matters handled by one department. To date, responsibility has been shared by two departments, the Information and Tourism ministry and the Transport and Communications ministry.

The girl-child in Southern Africa is faced with many challenges, which include poverty, effects of HIV and Aids, dropping out of school, commercial sex work and child abuse. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA) mandates governments and states to eliminate all forms of discrimination and abuses against the girl-child, and to ensure that girls enjoy their rights in totality. In the Southern African Development Community (SADC), six countries (Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia and Zambia) have identified issues affecting the girl-child as a priority.

In Focus is an online bulletin of the UNDP International Poverty Center (IPC). Its purpose is to present the results of recent research on poverty and inequality in the developing world.

Colonel Bokeone of the Kasongo garrison in Maniema province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was dismissed from duty on 20 June 2004, following a brutal attack on a radio director that left him in the hospital with severe injuries. Modeste Shabani, director of the Kasongo-based Sauti ya Mkaaji (The Voice of the Farmer) community radio station, was attacked earlier that morning by a group of armed men under Bokeone's control. According to a JED representative who was able to visit Shabani on 29 June at the Goma hospital in North Kivu province, eastern DRC, where he had been transferred earlier that day, the journalist reported fractured hips, broken ribs, terrible pains at the base of his neck, as well as large lesions on his buttocks muscles.

The Shuttleworth Foundation, with its partners, has committed R18mn in funding to promote the use of open source, reports the Mail and Guardian online. This marks the beginning of the “Go Open Source Campaign,” which aims to make the average computer user more literate to the benefits of open source software.

Panos has launched a new resource for journalists. The Panos Media Brief gives journalists an outline of the key debates on a topical issue, facts & figures, case studies, a glossary, upcoming newspegs, weblinks to free downloadable graphics, useful links to key organisations worldwide plus additional resources. All in an easy-to-read, full colour, 4-page format. The first Media Brief, ‘Telephones in Africa: Mind the Gap’, accompanies the Panos Report, ‘Completing the Revolution’, which highlights the threat of a growing 'communication gap' between urban and rural Africans.

On 4 July 2004, a group of police officers beat Bernard Warity, deputy information minister for administration in the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) headed by Charles Gyude Bryant. Warity sustained bruises on his body and is being treated at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in the capital, Monrovia. Speaking to Media Foundation for West Africa-Liberia from his hospital bed, Warity explained that the incident occurred at 6:00 p.m. (local time), when he was returning from watching a World Cup qualifying soccer match between Liberia and Togo.

A delegation of CREDO for Freedom of Expression & Associated Rights, FAHAMU, International Federation of Journalists, Justice Initiative and Media Institute of Southern Africa - Supported by writer and Nobel prize winner Professor Wole Soyinka - met with His Excellency, Professor Alpha Konare, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union July 1, 2004 to discuss the urgent need for a legal and institutional framework for a conducive media environment in Africa. The delegation called on African Union member countries to repeal all media legislation inconsistent with the Constitutive Acts of the Union and to begin the process of adopting treaty level guarantees for media freedom. The delegation urged that this process should begin urgently and within a given time as the lack of press freedom and freedom of expression is holding back the development of Africa on a democratic basis. “In 2003, there were 170 reported cases of attacks on journalists and media houses by governments either through 'legal' and 'judicial' persecution or through harassment and intimidation by security agents,” stated Rotimi Sankore Coordinator of CREDO. “Many more went unreported. In June 2004 the figure for reported violations of media freedom already stands at 102. If this trend continues, there may be well over 200 such cases by the end of 2004, an increase of almost 20% on last year."

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has strongly condemned the Algerian authorities' decision to "temporarily freeze" the Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera's activities in Algeria and called for an immediate lifting of the ban. "This unfair decision amounts to nothing more than censorship," said RSF. "This is the first time for more than ten years that a foreign television channel in Algeria has been banned from covering news in this way."

Ten APC members have created national ICT policy portal websites in their own countries in a joint initiative. The portals which are all uniquely adapted to address each country's particular situation all use free software that allows content-sharing in different languages and between multiple information databases hosted in different parts of the world.

Join the Kubatana mailing list for updates on activities and breaking news in the non-profit sector. The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe, incorporating the NGO Network Alliance Project (NNAP), aims to strengthen the use of email and internet strategies in Zimbabwean NGOs and civil society organisations. Send an email to [email protected].

Human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba has taken the Zimbabwean government to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to answer charges of torture by state security agents while representing an opposition legislator. Shumba, through his legal counsel, David Padilla, brought the action against President Robert Mugabe's regime claiming he was kidnapped, tortured and made to swear allegiance to Mugabe by Zimbabwean security agents while representing MDC St Mary's MP Job Sikhala in January last year.