Although some of the concerns of the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) were addressed in recent amendments to the controversial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the law still remains lethal in as far as it makes demands for the accreditation of journalists and media houses respectively. Access to information remains totally closed and much power is vested in public officials and the MIC. This is according to a statement on the amendments made by MISA-Zimbabwe.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says it is "deeply concerned" about the safety of journalists working in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an area currently under the control of the Congolese Rally For Democracy (RCD-Goma) movement. Recently, one journalist was attacked and another was detained in reprisal for their work.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has protested over the lengthy interrogation of journalist Faisal el Bagir, the organisation's correspondent in Sudan, on 8 June, upon his return from Athens, Greece, where he had attended an international conference of the future of news media in Iraq. "The interrogation was clearly aimed at intimidating the journalist and human rights defender," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. "We call on the Sudanese authorities to put a stop to this kind of harassment, which is completely unjustified."

The aim of this digest is to compile on a monthly basis the trends of violations on freedom of expression on the continent. It will be based on information gathered from partners within the IFEX network and elsewhere. The first part of the digest will highlight and summarize the regional trends and the second will take a closer look at legal dimension of one of the threats of the month. Email [email protected] for a copy of the digest.

The NEPAD E-Schools Initiative was launched at the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Durban with the aim of bridging the digital divide and giving the continent’s children the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. The programme will energetically target the young to ensure that the majority of the people of the continent will have the skills necessary for them to function in the information society and knowledge economy.

CAFRAD Web News Letter is published monthly. For more information contact Meryem Ben Amar: [email protected] or [email protected].

The NGO Network Alliance Project aims to improve the accessibility of human rights and civic information in Zimbabwe. Visit their web site and subscribe to their newsletter.

News on civil society from around the globe. To subscribe or unsubscribe please email [email protected].

In 1999 there were only a handful of websites on Zambia and most of the sites lacked the aura of being able to attract potential visitors and investors to the country, writes Leonard Nelson. Furthermore a large number of Zambians residing in other countries were often dismayed by the slow response time and low uptime of other sites. To address these problems, The Zambian was established with the sole purpose of being able to deliver content to anyone interested in the country.

The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo has been rated by Nigerians on the level of interference in the work of the mass media and on freedom of expression generally. The verdicts were delivered via an opinion poll conducted by The Guardian newspaper. The poll, which sampled 2800 opinions, saw 40.5 percent or 1,134 of the respondents answering "Moderate Degree" to the question: "To what extent has government allowed newspapers and magazines to operate without interference?"

Two journalists from the Voice of the People Communications Trust were detained, interrogated, beaten and had their mobile phones and recorders confiscated by ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front youths and war veterans. In a related incident, the home of John Masuku, Coordinator of Voice of the People, was searched and Voice of the People administrative files and a computer used in the production of programmes, confiscated.

The Africa America Institute would like to invite you to participate in an online discussion forum to be held in June 2003. We will be exploring the theme: Children Affected by AIDS (CABA) - The need for a broad based response.

This online publication explores the need for journalistic training for all levels of reporting in regard to the importance of children's rights. This includes examining how media works, how existing principles of accountability apply and how media must be free from political and economical pressures that can limit professionalism and undermine ethical standards.

Is your writing getting the results you want? Perhaps you find writing a chore. Perhaps you know what you want to say, but not how to say it. Perhaps you need to polish your skills. If so, then JustWrite is just what you need. JustWrite is a unique online learning experience, created for anybody needing to write powerful, persuasive documents. It is ideal for anybody producing a research report; thesis; book or book chapter; advocacy document; paper for publication; essay; - or any other substantial piece of writing. In three intensive weeks, JustWrite will guide you from conception to final draft. The next online course begins on 14 July 2003. You can be anywhere in the world to benefit from this course; you only need access to a computer and email. Places are limited, so book early.

Connectivity is generally assumed to be a passport to opportunity and economic upliftment, but the experience in Africa suggests the opposite may be true. This is according to African ICT delegates attending the recent Acacia Conference in South Africa. Riff Fullan of Bellanet, a non-profit organisation funded in part by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), argued that ICT is, in fact "as likely to worsen poverty as to alleviate it." The evidence suggests ICT has exacerbated existing inequalities, added Fullan.

UK-based Hermann Chinnery-Hesse was on holiday in his home country of Ghana when he accepted a school friend's bet to try to make his fortune in West Africa. In this article, Briony Hale describes how - starting with a battered old personal computer in his bedroom - Hesse developed Ghana's own software firm which, for the moment at least, is holding Microsoft at bay.

The government of Liberia has shut down six amateur FM radio stations operating in Bong County, central Liberia, and Margibi County, some 40 kilometres east of the capital, Monrovia. The stations affected include Y-FM, Bright FM, Jet 89.9, The Voice of Kakata and the Voice of YMCA.

Three armed men wearing uniforms of the Presidential elite guard, the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), attacked Stanley McGill, a journalist working with the independent newspaper "The News" on May 27. Journalism institutions have voiced concern about the abuse of the freedom of expression rights of Liberians and the persistent threats and attacks on journalists and the private media in the country.

The privately owned daily The Daily News was targetted in the Zimbabwean government crackdown on protests last week, with the newspaper reporting acts of vandalism by ZANU PF youths who destroyed its papers across the country. Soldiers also reportedly barred some vendors from selling the paper because it was allegedly “fanning the protests”.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has voiced its concern about the banning of the Islamist weekly "Raya" and the closure of its offices under an Interior Ministry order on 1 June 2003. "As far as we know, this Islamist publication has never called for violence, contrary to what the Mauritanian authorities say," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. "One cannot help thinking that this ban on a newspaper that was never sparing in its criticism of the government is simply a means to gag a part of the opposition six months before the presidential election," Ménard added.