The time had now come for Africa to produce open software in its major local languages to make ICT accessible to all. John Schoneboon, ICT project associate at the partnership for higher education in Africa of the US, said it would help push Africa forward on the information technology highway.

With penetration rates in excess of 30%, and handset sales among the highest in the world, Sub-Saharan Africa is witnessing a new kind of home grown, mobile-driven economic development. The numbers may not be that big – yet – but the impact on the ground is obvious and the difference it is making in people’s lives is clear. Farmers are now able to access market information through their phones, increasing income in some cases by up to 40%.

Through examining the broader context behind the recent US election, Onyango Oloo argues that Barack Obama’s emergence as an exceptional figure of leadership is to a great extent circumstantial. In his timeless historical appeal, the new president-elect merits comparison with Nelson Mandela and will likely be remembered favourably by posterity regardless of the potential ineffectiveness of his policy over the long-term. Situating Obama’s victory within a broader political move across the Americas towards left-wing governance – notably in Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia – Oloo contends that the real challenge for forces of the global Left will centre on building on and exploring the successes of a veritable popular movement for democratic reform.

Radio is still often described as the most powerful medium in developing countries, particularly as it is often more accessible than television or print. In South Africa for example, an often-quoted statistic tells us that there are more radio sets than mattresses in the country.

Following the initial rush of Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects in rural Africa, many did not yield the anticipated outcomes, and interest has been dying down. People then began talking about “sustainable ICT” projects, in which it was understood that projects would become self-sufficient after their initial donor-led investment and set-up period.

Daniel Kibrom, a journalist employed by Eritrea’s state-owned Eri TV, has been held since October 2006 in a prison camp in the south of the country, where he is serving a sentence of five years of forced labour for trying to cross the border into Ethiopia, Reporters Without Borders has learned from a former prison interrogator who fled the country a year ago.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrest of online journalist Emmanuel Emeka Asiwe, a US national, at the Muritala Muhammed international airport on his arrival from the United States on 28 October to visit his sick mother and attend to family matters. He is currently being held at the headquarters of the internal intelligence service, the State Security Service (SSS) in the capital Aubuja. He is the second blogger to be arrested in Nigeria within a week.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has deplored last week’s stoning to death of a 13-year-old Somali girl who was a victim of rape. Aisha Duhulow was stoned to death in a stadium full of spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo on 27 October after authorities found her guilty of adultery.

The misadventures of the French charity Zoe’s Ark in Chad early last year (1) finally opened to question the motives and morality of aid agencies. For the first time an organisation was criticised in the media, rather than lauded for its good intentions. The humanitarian industry’s success made it inevitable its power would be abused. After the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami, people had begun to question whether non-governmental organisations had the competence to administer the huge amounts of money they received.

An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent alone. FGM/C is generally performed on girls between ages 4 and 12, although it is practiced in some cultures as early as a few days after birth or as late as just prior to marriage.

A Cairo Administrative Court rescinded the government’s decision to dissolve the Association for Human rights and Legal Aid (AHRLA) on 26 October 2008. This followed an appeal by the association. The court ruling found the government’s decision to be legally groundless and reinstated AHRLA.

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN protests the detention of the US-based blogger Jonathan Elendu, who has been held incommunicado without charge in Abuja, Nigeria, since 17 October 2008. There are fears for his health following reports of ill treatment. The WiPC believes that Elendu has been detained for his critical reporting on Nigeria. It calls on the Nigerian authorities to charge Elendu with a recognisable criminal offense or to release him immediately and unconditionally.

On 29 October 2008, Swazi journalists were kicked out of a meeting in which the newly-elected and appointed Members of Parliament discussed their pay. The journalists had been allowed to cover the earlier discussions, but when the legislators began to discuss their pay, the media was shown the door.

Maghreb countries rank low in the newest Press Freedom Index, a worldwide annual report issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The 2008 report, made public on October 22nd and entitled "Only Peace Protects Freedoms in post-9/11 world", places Tunisia 143rd out of 173 countries. Although showing modest improvement, moving up two places, Tunisia is still the region's second-worst after Libya (ranked 154th).

Costs of Internet broadband in the country are expected to reduce from $3,000 to $25 for each Megabyte per second a government official has said. Nkubito Bakuramutsa the Director General of Rwanda Information Technology Agency (RITA) said that Rwandans will purchase much cheaper Internet bandwidth after the country's national Internet backbone is connected to the coastal submarine cables expected to be completed by 2010.

Join Gauteng landless communities (Freedom Park, Protea Glen Bond Houses, Protea South Informal Settlement, Precast-Lenasia Extension 11, Chiawelo, Tembalihle Crisis Committee, Eldorado Park, Harry Gwala Informal Settlement)in a peaceful March demanding free basic services, the removal of the useless ward councillors and a halt to mass evictions.

Two Malawian journalists have been adjudged winners of this year`s John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award in South Africa. Charles Mpaka and Mike Chipalasa both work for Blantyre Newspapers Limited. They won the regional award organized by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa), for their impressive coverage on the country’s leakage of the Malawi School Certificate of Education last year.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the attack and attempted abduction of journalist and media advocate Geoffrey Ssebagala by unidentified men in the Ugandan capital, Kampala on Monday and called on authorities to ensure his safety. "The attempted abduction of Ssebagala is no doubt orchestrated by those who feel threatened by his work as a journalist and advocate for other journalists," said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "

Reviewing the entrenched state of crisis engulfing the eastern DR Congo, Joseph Yav Katshung argues that it is only through strong political will that the conflict will begin to stem. As the author underlines, this is will on the part of a range of domestic and international actors, whose ability to articulate a clear strategy for enhanced civilian protection will ultimately determine whether vulnerable populations see the consequences of armed conflict reduced. Only on the strength of sustained political commitment, Katshung emphasises, can rhetoric translate into reality.

Reporters Without Borders notes that Lesotho’s only privately-owned radio station, Harvest FM, was allowed to resume broadcasting yesterday after being suspended for three months. The station was forced to close on 21 July as result of a complaint by a police commissioner and a communications ministry official, who accused it of trying “to damage their dignity as individuals.” The country’s telecommunications authority said it failed to comply with broadcasting regulations.