In the issue, you will find progress on the controversial purchase of radar for Tanzania and an exclusive media investigation linking Tanzania’s politicians to money laundering. There is also an article on corruption and poaching in Tanzania and an exposure of how some government agencies may be flouting the law to engage in questionable commercial dealings.

‘I & EAR’ is a mobile training programme and adaptable educational service based on a methodology of listening developed through a creative practice by Claudia Wegener (a.k.a. radio continental drift). It assists conceptual development of communication & conversation practices through acoustic education and production.

The National Council for Broadcast and Communication (CNCA), a media regulatory body in Cote d’ Ivoire on 2 December 2010 issued a directive banning all foreign radio and TV channels in the country from covering the ongoing political crises in the country. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent reported that the CNCA announced the ban in a communiqué read by its secretary general, Félix Nanihio, during a news broadcast on state-owned TV at 20 hours GMT.

Reporters Without Borders has deploreed the fact that a climate of hostility towards the French news media is being encouraged by Côte d’Ivoire’s state-owned radio and TV stations and certain privately-owned newspapers in Abidjan that support President Laurent Gbagbo, such as Le Temps and Notre Voie. 'Our priority is respect for the safety of journalists,' Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. 'We are very disturbed that the national radio and TV have named foreign media and some of their staff and have blamed them for the current turmoil. This is dishonest and dangerous.'

Cameroonian journalists Robert Mintya and Serge Sabouang were released conditionally on 24 November on the order of President Paul Biya, report Journaliste en danger (JED), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). They had been in prison since March 2010.

Mauritanian newspapers this week devoted a large part of their analysis and comments to President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's offer of dialogue to the opposition during the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. In its Wednesday 1 December edition, 'Le Quotidien de Nouakchott' asked if the Coordination of Democratic Opposition (COD), which brings together nine political parties, has swallowed the precondition of the points included in the Dakar agreement. The Dakar agreement led to the holding of the 18 July, 2009 presidential election, which helped the country return to the rule of law after the 6 August, 2008 coup.

Google literally brought Accra - the capital of Ghana in West Africa - to a standstill with the public launch of its new product Google Trader. It is a free online classifieds service that allows Ghanaians to buy and sell products and services, as well as search for jobs or just about anything else. According to Google, Trader can be used by anyone in Ghana, but is expected to have the biggest uptake in major towns and cities across the country. 'Individuals can post short ads to buy and sell items and services, whilst businesses of any size can also use the site to reach more customers and increase their sales,' a statement read.

Reporters Without Borders says it has learned that police in rural areas have for some time been confiscating shortwave radio sets from people caught listening to programmes made by Zimbabwean journalists in exile. The press freedom organisation has firmly condemned the use of such methods to censor information and restrict individual freedom.

In its September 2003 issue, and again in June 2005, Alliance put the spotlight on the subject of social justice philanthropy. Five and a half years later, we revisit the subject to find out what if anything has changed. Guest editor for this Alliance special feature is Christopher Harris, formerly of the Ford Foundation, who feels that some real progress has been made in the field and offers seven items worth special mention.

The Fahamu Emerging Powers in Africa Programme is pleased to announce a call for applications for its Journalist Study Tour to India. Four successful applicants will be chosen to participate in a 6-day study tour. African media professionals in print, broadcast, radio and online fora throughout Africa are encouraged to apply for this study tour. African lecturers from journalism schools and media programmes on the continent may also apply.

The first ever formal meeting between the two African Union bodies charged with promotion and protection of good governance and human rights on the continent took place in Gambia on 12 November to discuss freedom of expression. ARTICLE 19, in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR), organised the high level meeting between the African Union (AU), the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Secretariat and key freedom of expression experts from across the continent.

Standard Newspaper journalist Nqobani Ndlovu was released from Khami Prison in Bulawayo on Friday, after the High Court dismissed an appeal by the state against the granting of bail by a magistrate. Ndlovu, who spent 10 days in custody, was arrested over a story he wrote claiming police had frozen internal promotions this year to accommodate war vets. He alleged the war vets were being recruited to direct operations during next year’s anticipated elections.

Less common but perhaps more useful than the tourist map is the ‘harassment map’ that many Cairo women are beginning to refer to. HarassMap, a private initiative run by volunteer activists, allows women who have been subject to harassment to report the incident anonymously by SMS, e-mail or online social networking sites. The information is compiled into a database that utilises open-source mapping technology to create a digital map of harassment 'hotspots' in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

The Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire has evicted 8,000 residents of a fishing village to make way for expanded facilities. The move is a blow to the community’s livelihoods, as well as closing down the market that supplied the city’s poor with affordable protein. 'I have fished here since my youth, and I don’t know where we can go,' said Joseph Takpo, an elderly fisherman.

Media workers in the employ of Nigeria's federal government returned to work last Tuesday after they suspended their three day warning strike over the implementation of a new media salary structure. The suspension came following a meeting with key government officials. Members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Radio, Television and Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU) had on Monday begun a three-day warning strike to force government to implement a new media pay structure for federal media workers who are said to be earning the lowest in the west African sub region.

The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 20 IFEX members, is deeply concerned that five years after hosting the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Tunisia remains one of the most repressive countries for independent journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders. Access to the Internet is heavily censored, independent websites are blocked or hacked, and emails and phone calls are intercepted.

ANC veteran Pallo Jordan has criticised his party's media appeals tribunal plans and the Protection of Information Bill at a debate, saying it was a 'fool's errand'. 'How did it [the ANC] paint itself into a corner where it can be portrayed as being opposed to media freedom? All the legislation we now have, including the Protection of Access to Information Act, was developed by the ANC,' said Jordan, according to a report in Business Day newspaper on Tuesday.

The November issue of IDRC's Lasting Impacts, 'Sustainable Agriculture' has just been published. It contains articles on:
- More food, higher incomes in the Andes
- Planting trees brings prosperity, opportunity to farmers, women in Nagaland
- Replanting hope in Africa’s highlands
- Sustainable agriculture key to solving land disputes in Lebanon
Click on the URL provided to read the November issue.

The International Federation of Journalists ( IFJ) has condemned the arrest and detention by police in Zimbabwe of Dumisani Sibanda, the President of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists. The IFJ has called for his immediate release and says the action is the latest in a series of hostile incidents that are putting the country’s journalists increasingly at risk. Sibanda, Bulawayo Bureau chief of The Standard, is being questioned over a story involving the police force.

Maghreb youths should play a key role in developing new technologies in the region, according to participants in a Hammamet forum that wrapped up on 12 November. The three-day event, dubbed 'ICT4 ALL Forum Tunis+5', brought together more than 700 managers from ICT companies and representatives of international organisations. The conference spotlighted ways to create job opportunities for the younger generation through modern communication and information technologies.