In 2010 alone, global military spending rose to an all-time high amount of $1.63 trillion. The second annual Global Day of Action on Military Spending took place on 17 April 2012 to coincide with the release of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) new annual figures on world military expenditures.

Poor sanitation is not only a menace to public health, but also a roadblock to sustainable development and a huge strain on financial resources, according to a new World Bank study. A report by the Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) finds that poor sanitation is causing a loss of US$5.5 billion every year to 18 African countries. That estimated loss in turn adds up to annual economic damages between 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

(Paris, April 12, 2012) – The French Ministry of Justice should move swiftly to issue an international arrest warrant for the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, EG Justice, Human Rights Watch, and SHERPA said today. On April 11, 2012, judicial sources confirmed that a French public prosecutor has endorsed the request of investigating magistrates to issue a warrant for Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (“Teodorín”) over allegations of money laundering in connection with his lavish purchases in France.

Dr Lopes is considered an institutional development and reform specialist.

The draft agenda for the upcoming G20 trade ministers meeting that is being circulated internally among members is too focused on the interests of big industrialized countries and not enough on what developing countries need, says Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan. Gita said that under the current draft, the meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, later this week, would not spare time to discuss the much anticipated liberalization of the agriculture sector, which had been at the heart of the process to create a multilateral trade deal under the Doha Development Agenda. 'I have spoken with Brazil and South Africa, basically we voiced the same concerns. There has to be an initiative to place the issue of trade liberalization of the agriculture sector on the table. We need to take a stance,' Gita said.

Protection to victims of domestic violence has been extended significantly by the granting of a protection order to a learner at a school in Gauteng against her teacher. Last week, a magistrate granted a final protection order to the learner who alleged that her teacher harassed, intimidated and physically and sexually abused her. The learner reported an alleged rape to the police late last year. The Gauteng Department of Education has placed the teacher on precautionary suspension. Since then, the teacher has attempted through harassment and intimidation to force the learner and her family not to pursue the case against him.

Uganda needs 650,000 more latrines to ensure that every Ugandan has access to a latrine. Currently, at least 3.2 million Ugandans have no latrines at all and their place of convenience is the open space, according to the latest Work Bank report. The report indicates that another 13.8 million Ugandans use unsanitary or share latrines. This poor sanitation is costing the country at least sh389bn annually.

The African Union (AU) has suspended Guinea Bissau from the 54-member bloc with immediate effect, a senior AU official said. The Pan-African organization also threatened to impose more sanctions on the West African nation if the soldiers who seized power there failed to respond positively to the call to restore constitutional order. The decision to suspend Guinea Bissau's membership was taken by the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC), after discussing the military coup in the country.

Moroccan authorities should drop charges and release a rapper who has spent three weeks in pretrial detention on charges that he insulted the police in his songs and a video set to his music, Human Rights Watch said. Police arrested Mouad Belghouat, known as 'al-Haqed' (the sullen one), on March 29, 2012, because of a YouTube video with a photo of a policeman whose head has been replaced with a donkey’s. The lyrics denounce police corruption.

This is a letter Human Rights Watch sent to all 15 members of the UN Security Council on human rights monitoring in Western Sahara and in camps in Tindouf, Algeria.

In Swaziland intimidation and coercion by the state are a frightening reality.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy will probably expand 5.4 per cent this year as rising commodity prices and increased oil production help to offset a slowdown in Europe, the International Monetary Fund said. Growth is set to accelerate from 5.1 per cent in 2011 and compares with 5.5 percent estimated in January, the Washington-based lender said in its World Economic Outlook report today. The IMF raised its growth forecast for South Africa, the region’s largest economy, to 2.7 per cent for this year from 2.5 per cent.

Armed men have rounded up top Malian officials including two presidential hopefuls, in a show of force by a junta that seized power last month, as the interim leader named a Microsoft executive as Prime Minister. Those arrested included ex-prime minister Modibo Sidibe and Soumaila Cisse, a former minister who led the West African Economic and Monetary Union until November last year. Cisse suffered an unspecified injury while fleeing his home, and was later arrested at a hospital and taken by ambulance to the junta's headquarters in Kati, near Bamako, his office said.

While the Occupy Movement has taken the world by storm, a long history of different types of social movement occupations have marked Latin America for decades. The website has an audio recording of a Left Forum panel dealing with this topic.

While the IMF’s strategic plan for boosting its financial sector surveillance has not been published, the Fund continues to argue that developing countries need more liberal financial systems. Since the financial crisis, the IMF has been trying to boost its work on overseeing risks from the world’s financial system. The IMF’s strategic plan for financial sector surveillance was due to be discussed at the executive board in February, but neither a date for the actual discussion nor any policy papers were released publicly.

As President Obama seems to be ready to give a green light to Colombia for the implementation of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement this weekend, under the guise of improvements in labour conditions and human rights, the Black Communities Process in Colombia (PCN) raises the question: what will it take for the Obama administration to understand the severity of Afro-Colombians’ human rights?

Small scale farmers mobilised against the corporate take over of the food chain on 17 April, reports this press release from La Via Campesina.

Leading a dedicated team to accompany the development and implementation of campaign strategies led by progressive African social justice movements, the Utetezi Director will support innovative strategies to amplify grassroots demands and realize people-centred change.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya or Dakar, Senegal.

Deadline for application: May 7, 2012.

For further information, please the job description and person specification.

To apply, please send the duly completed application form attached to: [email protected].

Three stories on the Farm Radio Weekly website deal with 'land grabs', which are in many cases violations of farmers’ land rights. The first story is from Burkina Faso and tells how land owned by small-scale farmers is being granted to influential 'Sunday farmers'. The government gambled that encouraging investors to create large modern farms would help achieve food self-sufficiency. But few large land owners are even using their new land for farming, and smaller farmers are increasingly locked out of the land market.

Kenya’s battle to end food shortages may be won with the introduction of drought-tolerant maize in the next five years, scientists have said. This will make it the third country in the continent after Egypt, South Africa and Burkina Faso to use genetically modified (GM) crops for increased farm yields.