African software developers face many obstacles as they struggle to grow professionally in their chosen field. But these "coders", as a group, form a community marked less by their frustration and isolation than by their perseverance and resolve. This theme dominated AfricaSource, a workshop held in Namibia in March, 2004. The meeting of 60 developers from 25 countries in the small town of Okahandja was the first chance many of the coders have had to collaborate and compare notes.

The convicted murderer of Mozambique's top investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso, has again escaped from jail. Anibal Antonio dos Santos - better known as Anibalzinho - disappeared from the country's maximum security prison on Sunday night, police said.

"The stability of any government is measured by the freedom it gives to the press. If the government is clean in its dealings, then I see no reason why it should be worried about the press," says Kenyan media activist Mitch Odero. Recent statements by authorities indicate that they have a less sanguine view of the country's journalists, however. Odero's comments come in the wake of a letter issued by the head of the public service and cabinet secretary, Francis Muthaura, warning civil servants against releasing classified information to the press. The April 27 document says there will be dire consequences for those who disobey the directive.

Dozens of newspapers, scores of radio stations and five television channels…At first glance, Togo seems like a media junkie’s dream destination. But does being spoilt for choice translate into press freedom? This question has received an airing in recent days, thanks to a report by the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres – RSF), and the response it drew from Togolese Communication Minister Pitang Tchalla. In the report, issued to coincide with World Press Freedom Day (May 3), RSF claims that the Togolese government continued its attacks against the independent media in 2003.

Government is concerned with the high rate of compensation it is having to pay to those brutality abused by police through torture and human rights abuses. Opening a three-day workshop on human rights and policing for police commanders, Copperbelt deputy minister Webby Chipili said police officers should take advantaged of acquiring new knowledge required to correct negative public perceptions. He said government was fully aware of trying conditions under which the police were operating and efforts were being made to redress the situation. However, Chipili cautioned police officers against taking advantage of its state of affairs to disregard human rights norms enshrined in the international instruments.

South African Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth and his foundation have launched an R18 million campaign to promote open source software (OSS) to the masses.

On 26 April 2004, Lusaka High Court Judge Phillip Musonda quashed a deportation order issued by Home Affairs Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha against "The Post" newspaper columnist Roy Clarke, saying it was unlawful and violated freedom of expression. Clarke, a British national and permanent resident of Zambia, had appealed the order. In his ruling, Justice Musonda said the deportation order violated Section 26(2) of the Constitution in that there was procedural impropriety in the way the order was issued. He said that Clarke had shown that his constitutional rights, including freedom of expression and the right not to be discriminated against, were violated by the state.

The type of foreign direct investment (FDI) South Africa has received since 1995 has not been of the kind that would stimulate economic development. Rather, South Africa's FDI flows appear to be more likely either to have no impact on employment or to lead to short term job losses. Meanwhile, both trade and technology have served to reinforce a trend of increasing demand for highly skilled labour, generally at the expense of those with few skills. “So far, the ability of trade and new technologies to create employment for the lower skilled and very poor seems exceptionally limited. Thus, unskilled workers and those in poor households undoubtedly bear the brunt of any adjustment costs associated with greater openness.” These are some of the findings from a paper by Gapresearch.org that attempts to gauge the responses, specifically the labour market responses, to economic globalisation and secondly to consider the impact of globalisation, trade and technology on poverty.

Human resource specialists from 27 countries are meeting in Seychelles to plan an ICT knowledge-sharing initiative for developing countries. The five-day meeting, currently under way in Mahe, will decide on the allocation of a bilateral and multilateral expert assistance programme on ICT.

Swaziland's cabinet is presently considering a draft ICT policy, which would provide for Swazi TV and the national radio station to become a public broadcaster run by an independent board, according to a report by the Media Institute of Southern Africa. However, the state broadcaster is resisting such a move, apparently arguing that Swaziland is a homogeneous country and therefore should not encourage different voices over the airwaves, according to Misa.

Five media bodies have resolved to go to court to seek judicial interpretation over the appointments of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) boards, reports the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa). The chairperson of Misa's Zambian branch, Kellys Kaunda, disclosed that the five organisations are now seeking the court’s guidance on the two acts governing the appointment of board members of the two institutions.

In a 14 April 2004 letter to President François Bozizé, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) renewed its demand that imprisoned journalist Jude Zossé be immediately and unconditionally released. Zossé, publication director of the private daily "L'Hirondelle" ("The Swallow"), was arrested on 25 February in connection with an article titled, "General Bozizé: the State's Tax-collector". The article, which originally ran on the news website Centrafrique-presse.com, alleged that after President Bozizé came to power in a March 2003 coup, he took over the collection of state tax revenue in the country, prompting two senior treasury officials to contemplate resignation.

As the democratic world commemorated World Press Freedom Day on Monday, May 3rd, the Zimbabwean authorities were threatening to close down one of the few remaining independent sources of information in the country, reports the latest issue of the Zimbabwe Media Monitoring Project's newsletter. The government appointed Media and Information Commission demonstrated the extensive control the authorities now have over the public dissemination of information by accusing the new owners of the privately owned weekly Tribune newspaper of publishing illegally in violation of the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. But this is only the latest government assault on the democratic ethos of media freedom that the United Nations-sponsored event is intended to promote and safeguard.

Creative-Radio is a forum for people active or interested in using radio creatively in international public health, development and related fields. Creative Radio tries to bridge the gap between journalism and humanitarian, post-conflict and development activities. The Creative Radio list uses this unique position to help develop strategies to make the best use of the mass media, at a time when radio's role is recognised widely as key in the fight against illiteracy, poverty and disease. Creative-Radio is pleased to be supported by: Internews® Network (http://www.internews.org) and Media Support Solutions / Media Support Partnership (http://www.mediasupport.org).

Better Africa Foundation is holding the first-ever special event for nonprofits, Media and NGOs. This conference will be inspirational and informative for staff, volunteers, and directors. This is a great opportunity for West African Nonprofits (Churches and grassroots organisations) Media and NGOs to gather together to celebrate their important work and role in the lives of the poor and needy in West Africa.

It is becoming increasingly expensive to be racist, as a Lephalale, Limpopo, man has discovered. The Equality Court has ordered Andrew van der Westhuizen to pay his colleague Elliot Senwamadi, at Nashua in Lephalale (formerly known as Ellisrus), R10 000 after Van der Westhuizen shared an offensive email with colleagues.

A group of blind volunteers in Ethiopia are working hard to transfer adaptive technology to their developing nation. The idea was first proposed by Tamru E. Belay, a blind Ethiopian-born Canadian and qualified adaptive technologist, who recently returned to his home country where he is busy promoting and coordinating the implementation of adaptive technology for the benefit of his visually disabled and impaired compatriots.

Could information communication technologies (ICTs) improve learning in rural Africa? When exposed to new technology, how do children, adults and teachers use it to represent their lives and opportunities? Research from the University of Sussex’s Centre of International Education shows what happened when residents of a Ghanaian village were given their first chance to collect and show digital images of their lives. The study not only brought out attitudes towards ICTs and the community’s problematic interaction with currently available schooling, but also explored the implications of technological change for development initiatives.

The parliament of Tanzania, the Bunge, is hoping that a new website dedicated to explaining what it does will soon be figuring amongst the most visited sites in the country. It is hardly the sexiest of subjects but the aims of the website known as Polis (Parliamentary Online Information System) are laudable - to make politics more understandable and accessible to the public.

Africa is the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market, a new report says. The International Telecommunication Union says more Africans have begun using phones since 2000 than in the whole of the previous century. There are now more people using mobile phones across the continent than traditional, fixed lines. Use of mobile phones has been increasing at an annual rate of 65%, more than twice the global average.