"The virtual explosion in new information services, and a range of personal gadgets allowing point-to-point communications, have touched the developing world. Cheaper services and new gadgets and products have spawned a number of new opportunities..."

For an upstart television station that has existed for only five years, and broadcasts exclusively in Arabic, al-Jazeera has a record of breaking exclusive news stories that many American networks might envy.

Even though the number of journalists in jail has significantly decreased in recent years, Ethiopia has still some way to go towards achieving genuine press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Is cyber-privacy a luxury that complicates national security? The American public seems to think so, with almost three-quarters favoring anti-encryption laws, writes Brendan I. Koerner.

News of a fresh dispute within the opposition MDC provided the state media with a golden opportunity to pursue its agenda of recent weeks to discredit the party and add their own embellishments portraying the organization as violent, divided and tribalist.

In a letter to Minister of the Interior Ferdinand Koungou Edima, RSF expressed its concern about the police's summoning of Jean-Marc Soboth, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper "La Nouvelle Expression", which is published three times weekly. "Journalists from independent media outlets are increasingly being summoned by the police, who want them to reveal their sources. Must we recall that journalists inform the public and not the police?" stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.

This new publication by Panos Southern Africa seeks to answer the question: Can new media technology revolutionise the sub-region's development process? This study reveals that diverse experiences and government policies towards ICTs can help advance ICT development, and subsequently impact in changing people's lives. With a deep historical analysis of the African communication experience the study also brings out policy issues that affect the development of communication tools in the region. In all, 'Into or Out of the Digital Divide' provides a comprehensive picture of the Internet's place in southern Africa's socio-economic environment.

The Program on Global Security and Sustainability of the MacArthur Foundation announces new guidelines for grants under the Research and Writing Grants competition. The Foundation invites proposals relating to the following theme: Technological Change and Global Security and sustainability, examining the impact of technological advances - and uneven access to technologies - on global security and sustainability. The Program seeks to support research and writing projects in any academic discipline or profession, as well as creative work conducted outside of traditional disciplinary and professional approaches. Applicants may request up to $75,000 for individual projects, and $100,000 for two-person collaborations. Applications must be received by February 1, 2002 to be considered for the current round. The text version of the application guidelines and procedures can also be downloaded from the Foundation's web site.

Net Action guide to using encrytion explains the basics of privacy protection. It also mentions why encryption is a legitimate and useful - and necessary - digital tool.

The latest editorial from NUA Internet Surveys provides interesting data, disaggregated by region, about Internet access around the world. It's full of interesting pieces of information such as this one: "If we take a whirlwind tour around the world's regions, we can see that Internet penetration remains low in most developing countries. In Africa, for example, almost all countries have a penetration rate of less than 2 percent."
There is further data about people with Internet access in Africa. Included is a link to the actual data tables themselves and the research methodology. An easy, informative read.

For most international IT companies Africa is often their smallest market. As it sits at the bottom of the pile, it does not usually merit much attention. Since late last year Hewlett Packard has been operating two divisions in Africa: one for South Africa and another for the rest of the continent. With its recent merger with Compaq and its e-Inclusion programme these things might have a wider significance than the usual shifts in sales channel arrangements. Russell Southwood looks at how Hewlett Packard would like this change to affect its work.

Freeplay Energy Group and Motorola will co-brand and distribute a wireless phone power source. The wind-up accessory is expected to provide three to six minutes of talk time and several hours of standby time for each 45-second hand-cranking session.
(via Balancing-Act's News Update 79)

The National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS is a non-governmental organization (NGO) of people living with HIV or AIDS. Its major purpose is to mobilise people living with HIV/AIDS, supporting PLWHA programs, represent, at all levels, their concerns and issues and running educational and leadership development workshops, seminars and campaigns.

If, like many nonprofits, you're using Microsoft IIS on your servers, the Gartner Group says it's time to reevaluate. The constant procession of worms and viruses is driving costs up dramatically. (from http://news.gilbert.org/)

Can you believe that email is 30 years old? This article explores the history of the first email message. It also discusses how email has become an application most of us can't live without. Well – most of us with an Internet connection, that is.

Six private FM radio stations were licensed on Tuesday by Burkina Faso's communication commission, which regulates broadcasting in the West African country, PANA reported.

The week under review witnessed increasingly hysterical attempts by the state controlled media to convince its audiences that the government had fulfilled its obligations to the Abuja Accord but that white farmers and ex-Rhodesian racists resident in Australia were attempting to bury the agreement by discrediting the government’s land reforms at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Brisbane.