A road show that the MISA-Zimbabwe Advocacy Committee in Bulawayo had planned to hold in the city was banned on Saturday 9 November 2002. MISA-Zimbabwe says the banning of the show is yet another example of the infringement of the peoples right to freedom of association, assembly and expression as guaranteed in section 20 of the constitution.

SchoolNet Namibia, a volunteer-driven organisation that is working to see all Namibian schoolchildren get access to a computer and the internet, was awarded the APC Africa Hafkin Communications Prize for people-centred information and communications technology policy.

The Zambian government has thwarted attempts by the Zambia Independent Media Association and six opposition members to table three bills, that ensure greater freedom of the press. Instead it is deciding to introduce its own media freedom bills instead.

Derechos Human Rights is committed to creating and providing channels of communications between human rights organizations, activists and the public. Our goal is to encourage the dissemination of trustworthy information and news about human rights all over the world, to help create quick response mechanisms for violations to human rights, and to facilitate the discussion of human rights issues. To this purpose we have created several mailing lists that we think are can be useful tools for everyone interested in human rights.

Journalists are investigating the links between Angolan oil and foreign war profits. Hip-hop projects are youth resistance to AIDS. Peace workers and human-rights activists go online to connect across the continent. Elections loom in Kenya and Nigeria; a U.S. "anti-terrorism" base is built in the Horn of Africa; Internet access, GMO foods and multinational businesses are arriving in regions confronting war, disease and famine. Africa needs free, well-supported and responsive media to hold powerful interests to account, to inform the public on vital issues, to connect communities. The world's media need to understand Africa and report on the global connections. MediaChannel:Africa will become the home for articles, reports, commentary and resources for a global community concerned about journalism, cultural diversity, access to technology and freedom of expression across Africa.

Open source is rapidly gaining ground in Africa as governments, civil society and the private sector begin to recognise the benefits and relevance of the movement to African Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
development.

The current political crisis and its economic consequences dominate all discussions of Zimbabwe’s connectivity markets. The official US$ to Z$ rate is 1:55. The "parallel market" rate is 27 times as high at 1:1500 and steadily falling. Inflation is currently around 200% and the IMF predicts that it will go as high as 520% by next year. Stripping out the impact of inflation, most ICT businesses are actually shrinking in money terms.

Nothing smacks of hypocrisy more than a law that purports to afford a profession some protection but which is, in fact, replete with clauses that restrict its practice. It is more serious still if that law attacks one of the most fundamental human rights guaranteed under our constitution– that of freedom of expression and our right to be fully informed. But Zimbabwe's Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) does precisely this by creating a fictitious privilege out of the practice of free expression and then criminalizing those who violate the provisions of this repressive legislation. Such a law has no place in any democracy.

The Zambian government has thwarted attempts by the Zambia Independent Media Association (ZIMA) and six opposition members to table three bills to ensure greater freedom of the press, deciding to introduce its own media freedom bills instead.

This course, applicable to anyone working for private, public or non-profit organisations anywhere in the world, provides participants with an overview of the most significant global environmental, social and economic challenges that face humankind, and an insight into the solutions suggested by the universal commitment to sustainable development.

"Shafted [by Microsoft] for a paltry US$2 000? Not in your ... wildest dreams," writes SchoolNet Namibia founding executive director Joris Komen in an open letter to Microsoft regional manager George Ferreira. In the strongly worded letter, Komen claims Microsoft's offer of free software and a terminal services project to rival SchoolNet's existing Linux system will set SchoolNet Namibia back more than $24 000; a price the organisation is not able or willing to pay.

South African company Scientific Development and Integration produces laser systems bought by the US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), which discovered the SA company on the internet. Nasa will use the system for trace gas detection in the upper atmosphere.

'101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that IE cannot' - a list of the wonderful features of this under-utilised web browser. I use Mozilla all the time, on Windows and Linux, and I suggest you read Neil Deakin's article and then go to www.mozilla.org to download your free copy!

In a South African first, ten orthopedic surgeons watched a live operation in Australia via the Internet from Johannesburg last week. It was made possible by using fibre optic connectivity and streaming technology provided by Internet Solutions (IS) and The Antfarm.

Healers who brew medicines from indigenous plants are using computers to help preserve their knowledge and to provide them with an income.

NGOs and other civil society groups are now accepted by governments and official agencies, as significant contributors to the development process. But, as the profile of NGOs has increased, so too has the need for them to assess the long-term impact of their work. This course will explore the current state of the debate about impact assessment and review current practice and methodologies.

The Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Nigeria estimates that about 20 000 Nigerian women die from unsafe abortions each year. The figure comes from studies carried out by the society and Nigeria's Ministry of Health. The estimate also tallies with the result of a nationwide survey conducted by Friday Okonofua, dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Benin and executive director of the Women's Health and Action Research Centre in Nigeria. This survey showed that an estimated 610,000 unsafe abortions a year are carried out in Nigeria, and that about half of the 20,000 women who die from the complications of unsafe abortion are adolescents. The death rate from unsafe abortions is thought to be one of the highest in Africa.

Echoes of the controversial 2001 national media tour, sponsored by the Nigerian government reverberated in Ogun State, South-West Nigeria, as President Olusegun Obasanjo described the award of marks to states by the tour organizers as "misleading". The president who was speaking during his three-day visit to his home state said the result of the tour created the impression that a lot was being done in the new states because new infrastructure had to be provided while neglecting the challenges of the older states where the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure will command more attention.

The Chairperson, the National Governing Council and the Secretariat of the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Zimbabwe Chapter would like to congratulate Mr. Iden Wetherell, the editor of the Zimbabwe Independent, on being honoured by the World Press Review as the Editor of the Year. We believe that such an award is a confirmation of the hard work and commitment to the highest ideals of journalism by the staff at the Zimbabwe Independent and hope that they will continue excelling despite the difficult media environment.

Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (IJAZ) lawyers have told the Zimbabwe Independent that a Supreme Court hearing of the case in which journalists are challenging the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) would open on 21 November.