The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed concern over a bizarre incident in which dozens of chickens were delivered to the independent weekly MediaFax after a column about the investigation into the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso. The column referred to allegations against the president's son Nymphine Chissano, which were made before the magistrate investigating the Cardoso murder. During the proceedings, a prison informant called Nymphine Chissano the "son of the rooster."

Violence against women is one of the most pressing public health problems in South Africa, with rape being more common than tuberculosis, according to Professor Lynette Denny, senior specialist at Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

The National Intelligence Council predicts that by 2010 the current AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa may be dwarfed by the five populous countries of India, China, Russia, Nigeria and Ethiopia. The government agency foresees double or triple the estimate of 25 million AIDS cases experts made last summer.

The International Federation of Journalists, the world's largest journalists' organisation, has expressed its solidarity with Somali journalists who went on strike in the capital, Mogadishu, in protest against new draconian media legislation.

The UK-based Swaziland Solidarity Campaign (SSC) has called on the Swazi government to stop harassing journalists after receiving reports that some Swazi journalists have been the subject of death threats and intimidation by police.

International PEN has protested abuses against writers during its 2002 Congress. Denouncing the arrests and judicial harassment of journalists, in particular of the editor-in-chief of the Daily News, Geoffrey Nyarota; and expressing alarm at the use of violence, the introduction of restrictive press legislation and the exorbitant financial levies placed on independent journalists in Zimbabwe in order to limit democracy and freedom of expression.

Human rights workers, journalists, farmers and ordinary people arbitrarily arrested in an increasingly repressive Zimbabwe can now rely on a simple network of support due to the Internet tactics of an innovative civic and human rights web site. Being arrested can be a frightening and disruptive experience for anyone, but in developing what they call The Friendship Tree, an organisation called Kubatana.net, in collaboration with civic activists, hopes to make sure that nobody is left alone. Using email and the telephone, Kubatana - with Kubatana being a Shona word meaning “working together” - have developed a web of at least 100 Zimbabweans who have agreed to be a part of The Friendship Tree. Once news is received of an arrest, The Friendship Tree is activated through email or the telephone to ensure that the court appearances of those detained are witnessed. “One of the most powerful things we can do in situations of chaos is to become a witness,” says Bev Clark, who along with Brenda Burrell, began Kubatana.

The Friendship Tree is one example of how Kubatana has developed a brand of e-activism that is attempting to keep information flowing in Zimbabwe. The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe emerged in 2002 out of the NGO Network Alliance Project, which was formed in March 2001. “The most noticeable difference,” says Clark about the use of e-activism, “isn't so much in influencing policy but rather giving Zimbabweans an opportunity to protest or speak out and to feel like they're actually doing something. This in itself, in a country where many people feel powerless, is a necessary initiative.”

And with more Zimbabweans going online, an increase in the opening of Internet cafes and a competitive Internet Service Provider environment, the potential for e-activism exists. One of Kubatana’s initiatives has been the facilitation of electronic activism training workshops. Kubatana hires internet cafes and discusses with participants the different ways in which email can be used to lobby, activate and mobilise, followed by some practical experience spent online going through the basics of email and the internet. Kubatana see themselves training a “diverse group of information activists” consisting mainly of young Zimbabweans who want to communicate messages of peace and non-violence. In 2003, the organisation intends to take their electronic activism workshops national and target tertiary education institutions. “In our current crisis in Zimbabwe we believe that it is important to train members of the general public to become information activists to counter the media blackout that we're experiencing. If we can instil a culture of information sharing through the use of email and the internet we believe that vital civic and human rights information will continue to flow despite deepening government restrictions,” says Clark.

Kubatana is encouraging the public to use the Kubatana web site to share their civic and human rights experiences. An example of this is the Prison Diary series published on the Kubatana site and made available by email following the increase in the number of illegal arrests and detentions in Zimbabwe. The series has made Zimbabweans aware of the prison conditions in their country, motivated people to become involved in prison reform or protest prison conditions and reminded authorities that their actions will be exposed.

When it began, Kubatana aimed to provide an online directory listing all NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe. The online directory now electronically networks over 200 NGOs, CSOs and social justice organisations. “We also believed that by creating a central information hub for the non-profit sector, NGOs would receive more interest and attention from regional and international development organisations,” Clark says.

Many Zimbabwean NGOs are either not in a financial position to develop a web site or lack the capacity for regular updates and maintenance. Recognising this, the Kubatana directory is based on "fact sheets" for each participant. These fact sheets list important information on the NGO concerned, including their contact details. NGOs that have a fact sheet in the Kubatana directory have a first level entry into the world wide web and can cite their fact sheet “web address” in their correspondence.

The Kubatana home page publishes press statements, articles, reports, appeals, surveys and other information from Zimbabwean NGOs, giving them an internet publishing outlet for their news. “In Zimbabwe we have an extremely polarised press and NGOs find it extremely difficult to integrate development news into the mainstream print media and often their message is manipulated and distorted. On Kubatana information from NGOs is not altered in any way,” says Clark. Identifying a need to encourage the sharing of information within the NGO sector and to bridge the divide between NGOs and the public, Kubatana used an advertising campaign to encourage members of the public to subscribe to their email address to receive civic and human rights information.

Zimbabwean NGOs function in an environment where inflation stands at 125 percent, where unemployment is at 60 percent and where 20 percent of the population are HIV positive. One of the “biggest challenges”, says Clark, is dealing with the fear and despondency that Zimbabweans are experiencing, with the March Presidential Elections leaving people feeling defeated, and a large number displaced, injured or financially ruined.

“We believe that it’s important to remind Zimbabweans that the individual matters. That even the smallest step is vital and that we cannot sink into apathy and inaction. This is what the government is relying on. Kubatana and the rest of civil society in Zimbabwe will do all we can to keep information channels open and hope alive,” says Clark.

* Visit - Zimbabwe's civic and human rights web site
incorporating an online directory for the non-profit sector and

Tawanda Majoni, a journalist with the "Daily Mirror", has been sentenced to three
months in prison for allegedly breaching the Police Act.

Based on the document adopted in the First Preparatory Committee on Principles guiding the Preparatory work and the WSIS, as well as the proposal from the Chair of Sub-Committee 2 on themes for the WSIS, informal consultations of Sub-Committee 2 were held from 16 to 18 September 2002. The meeting agreed to submit the following as an informal input to the Regional Preparatory Meetings and to the Second Preparatory Committee of the WSIS.

The assassinations of journalist Carlos Cardoso on 22 November 2000, of head of banking supervision Antonio Siba-Siba Macuacua on 11 August 2001, and musician Pedro Langa on 20 November 2001 are all linked, according to a report in the Sunday newspaper Domingo on 29 September.

Over fifty media workers have been killed so far in 2002 and the human cost of the conflict story is "too high", says the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) recently organized an e-forum on E-governance in Africa. The eight weeks discussion considered a number of issues, including the context of e-governance, challenges and opportunities, best practices, e-readiness and strategies. The outcomes of the forum are expected to provide valuable input to the next African Development Forum on governance. Due to the overwhelming success of the initiative, and in collaboration with the Association of Progressive Communication (APC), ECA is following up on this discussion by examining the contribution of African civil society groups to the emergence of the Information Society. If you are interested in participating, contact Aida Opoku-Mensah at [email][email protected]

A proposed amendment to South Africa's broadcasting law jeopardises the South African Broadcasting Corporation's (SABC) fundamental rights to freedom of expression and editorial independence, warns Article 19. Article 19, the independent and non-partisan NGO that works to promote and protect freedom of expression, says the new Broadcasting Amendment Bill raises a number of concerns. A formal requirement that SABC's output be accurate, accountable and fairly reported and that staff should act in the best interests of the corporation, "give room to undue interference with their editorial independence and journalistic standards," the group warns.

As African telecoms cease to be state-owned, pressure for change will increasingly come from the new private companies' consumers. By any standard, Africa's telecom customers are badly treated: they often have to put up with long queues to get a landline service, billing is often erratic and unclear, there are no transparent service obligations and even with competition, little evidence of a "service culture". As one of the continent's largest markets, Nigeria is a case in point.

PerfectXML is a great place to get started with using XML or learn about advanced applications and new XML technologies. The free library is probably the most valuable source of information on the site.

Red Hat, Inc. has released Red Hat Linux 8.0, a highly versatile operating system designed for personal and small business computing. Red Hat Linux 8.0 combines leading-edge Linux technologies with a new graphical look and feel that offers users a polished, easy-to-use operating environment.

SciDev.Net is pleased to announce the launch of SciDev.Net Africa, a regional network covering the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the first in a series of such initiatives. We hope that SciDev.Net Africa will expand our regional coverage, improve the dissemination of SciDev.Net material, and play a key role in achieving capacity building in science and technology communication.

Data on 2,712 sexually experienced men and women in Tanzania were collected and used to determine if a mass media campaign promoting the female condom had an impact on women's and men's intentions to use this method. Results indicated that mass media exposure significantly increased the likelihood that a man or a woman would discuss use of the female condom with a partner.

freedominfo.org is a one-stop portal that describes best practices, consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign strategies and tactics, and links the efforts of freedom of information advocates around the world. It contains crucial information on freedom of information laws and how they were drafted and implemented, including how various provisions have worked in practice. Subscribers to the mailing list will be notified via email whenever significant additions are made to freedominfo.org.

Panos seeks to offer a number of fellowship grants to journalists or development experts to research and write articles in national and international media on ICTs and their development impact. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are recognised as a powerful tool to facilitate social development. The flow of information towards the poorest should increase, if poverty is to be reduced. ICTs greatly facilitate the flow of information and knowledge offering the socially-marginalised and the poorest of the poor unprecedented opportunities to assert their own entitlements.