I totally agree with Mr.Issa Shivji. I hope and pray that the responsible person/s will stop this chaos from happening. Otherwise, it is true, they will come and reap "without sowing". (Primitive accumulation of wealth means reaping without sowing by Issa Shivji, http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29962)

A prototype of a cheap and robust laptop for pupils has been welcomed as an "expression of global solidarity" by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The green machine was showcased for the first time by MIT's Nicholas Negroponte at the UN net summit in Tunis. He plans to have millions of $100 machines in production within a year.

A Joint Project of the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) and the Inter-Church Organization for Development and Cooperation (ICCO), the general objective of the conference is to contribute toward a critical understanding of the contemporary mainstream land policies in the context of the imperatives of poverty eradication, social justice and development in developing countries and transition economies. The conference aims to promote debates that have the rigor of scientific enquiry and reasoning, and at the same time sensitive to the socio-political urgency of land policy questions in the contemporary context.

Zimbabwe last Friday paid an additional $10-million to the International Monetary Fund as it seeks to move out of the red, with only $25-million now outstanding under the critical General Resources Account, the state-controlled Zimbabwe Herald newspaper reported on Monday. It said Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono had confirmed the payment at the weekend, adding that a total of $67-million had also been paid towards the procurement of fuel, grain, power imports, seed and other critical requirements. The payment to the Bretton Woods institution brings to $155-million the amount paid by the country this year alone, it added.

The final results from Gabon's presidential vote are expected on Tuesday, election officials said. Gabon's public television and two private channels reported results from several cities and departments that showed, as expected, that President Omar Bongo would defeat his four challengers, reports the Mail and Guardian. The 69-year-old Bongo, the longest-serving African leader, was supported by a political coalition of more than 40 parties and has maintained an iron grip on the media.

South Africa’s Mail and Guardian reports that Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai on Tuesday urged Kenya's bickering political leaders to show restraint in a crisis of authority that has raised fears of unrest in East Africa's most stable nation. Hoping to trade on respect earned when she won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, Maathai urged Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition to cool tensions that erupted after last week's rejection of a new Constitution. "Leaders must now remove the barrier which divided Kenyans and now threatens justice and security," she told reporters at a news conference in Nairobi.

The Orange Democratic Movement has put together a new document which gives President Kibaki 180 days to deliver a new constitution. "Now that the proposed constitution has been rejected, we urge the President to fulfill his original promise and deliver a people's constitution within 180 days." "It will be a constitution that will secure democracy and social progress to the people of Kenya, our children, grandchildren and generations to come," they said. They said the rejection of the proposed constitution had given Kenyans an opportunity of reconsidering the issues which were not negotiated and that Kenyans would no longer tolerate individual MPs being given ministerial responsibilities without their parties' consent as this undermined the democratic process.

Richard Heeks from the University of Manchester reflects on the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which was held in Tunis on 16-18 November 2005. The WSIS focused on the usual suspects: financing, Internet governance, human rights and the $100 laptop. But according to Heeks, these took the spotlight away from the crucial issues such as: The IT Sector; Resources for Action; Independent Research and; BIG new ideas. These were absent from the debate and should be pushed to centre stage. However, he still says: "I hope there are similar events in future. It was a unique, invigorating experience. And - whatever the missing elements - it was a rare opportunity for thousands to focus on, and learn more about, that central transformative force in development: technology."

id21 is holding an email discussion on community radio for development. The impact of new information and communication technologies on development is a subject of extensive international debate. Most discussion focuses on the Internet but development planners and practitioners have recently begun to realise that poor people are more likely to tune into traditional media, such as the radio, for access to information and voice.

“It is time that the double standards and the rigged rules of global trade is changed to work for all, not just for a few powerful and rich nations” said Irene Banda, from a popular trade campaigning Zambian organisation. “We have mobilized more than 1 million Zambian people to petition the WTO- leaders, meeting in Hong Kong in December.” Reported by the Millennium Campaign, the group will be traveling with James “Chamanyazi” Ngoma, across Zambia, from today, (November 28) and for next week, to inform and mobilize more support against unjust trade practices in Zambia and internationally. The Organisation Development and Community Management Trust (ODCMT) joined the Oxfam International Big Noise for Making Trade Fair campaign in 2002.

It is my pleasure to congratulate you on the "Silicon Valley" Prize. Your dedication to fulfil your self-commissioned role in advancing knowledge of Africans about Africa is very much appreciated.

On behalf of Chapel & York may I congratulate you on your very well deserved award for the amazing work being undertaken by Fahamu (producers of Pambazuka News). Your work on behalf of those for whom technology can be either a life saving opportunity or an exclusion from development has made a difference to millions of underprivileged and excluded people in Africa. Long may your work continue!

Jacob Zuma should still become president of the African National Congress, the ANC Youth League said on Monday. This follows statements by the SA Communist Party and the Congress of SA Trade Unions that they had never said they wanted Zuma to be the president of the ANC. Although Zuma would go to trial on corruption charges and was facing an allegation of rape, he should be considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Red tape, archaic laws and corruption are seen as major threats to Mozambique's reform agenda, which has won the country stable economic growth and acclaim from international lenders, analysts said on Monday, reports Reuters. Analysts say a growth average of 8 percent annually over the past decade has yet to deliver a solution for poverty, and further reforms and investment were required to bolster this southern African country of 18 million people.

Corruption and despotism were highlighted during an introspective session of the Pan African Parliament on Friday as key stumbling blocks to the continent's development. Along with ignorance, these had replaced the evils imposed on Africa by colonialism and imperialism, United Kingdom High Commissioner to South Africa Paul Boateng told a parliamentary sitting in Midrand.

Nigeria convicted a former police chief in a $150 million money-laundering case on Tuesday, but anti-corruption campaigners said the jail term was so short it undermined the war on graft. Tafa Balogun, the most senior official to be convicted in a corruption case, will spend six months in jail as his eight sentences of six months each are to run concurrently. He was fined 4 million naira, while about $150 million in cash and property will be confiscated by government.

Many trade unions and civil society organisations are making their voices heard as governments prepare to gather in Hong Kong for the 6th Ministerial meeting of the WTO this December. The ITF does this mainly through the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), as well as through the broader alliance with hundreds of other social organisations linked through the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP). The WTO came into being in 1995, taking over from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which was founded half a century earlier. It has 148 members and engineers increasing liberalisation of trade in both goods and services under the new framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It also makes and enforces trade rules. Issues under discussion are dealt with through a complex set of councils, meetings and other bodies between ministerial meetings, which take place every two years.

Do you want trade justice for the world's poor at the WTO in Hong Kong in December? Do you want millions of people to be given a chance to trade their way out of poverty? On the 13th December the World Trade Organisation will meet in Hong Kong. As representatives from around the world sit down they must take decisive steps to ensure that trade justice is delievered to the world's poorest people. As the developing world's representatives, the leaders of the following five alliances have it in their power to stand up to rich countries pressure and continue to press for trade justice. Write to them to tell them that they must act.

The first two white band days, and two of the three major international political opportunities for the Global Call to Action against Poverty are over. Our attention now turns to the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December, and to the run-up to that vital meeting. More than 30 million people have taken an action for GCAP in 2005 – whether that is from signing a petition, taking part in a rally, or wearing a white band. GCAP has shown that it can mobilise large numbers of people, in solidarity for our call to end poverty. We may not have won all the political decisions we had hoped for this year but we have made real progress. There is genuine political and civil momentum behind the call to end poverty. Ahead of major World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in December we must increase the pressure to make trade justice a reality.

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was essentially a big information and communications technology bazaar. Hundreds of organisations and thousands of their representatives all crammed into a big warehouse on the outskirts of Tunis and set up shop in the exhibition area of the summit. Networking and knowledge sharing was the order of the day for those who were there, but for those who weren’t the collective resource might as well not have even existed. Pambazuka News has listed some of the organisations, innovations and publications that were on show so that if you weren’t there you can browse the links, network and learn from what others are doing. View photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fahamu/

Association of Progressive Communications (APC)
www.apc.org
APC is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).

Base Network Africa
[email protected]
Base Network Africa is a youth led not for profit organisation geared towards guiding rural teenagers using information and communication technology.

Behind the Mask
www.mask.org.za
Behind the Mask aims to empower and support LGBT people throughout Africa – politically, culturally, socially and economically, by the gathering and dissemination of information via the internet.

Centre for International ICT Policies Central and West Africa (Cipaco)
www.cipaco.org
Cipaco is a Panos Institute West Africa project aimed an strengthening the capacity of West and Central African stakeholders for a better participation in international decision-making processes.

Computer Aid International
www.computer-aid.org
Computer Aid international is the world’s largest not-for-profit supplier of quality refurbished Pentiums to schools and community organisations in the developing world.

Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers flexible copyright licenses for creative works

Freedom Toaster
www.freedomtoaster.org
A Freedom Toaster is a conveniently located unit where users bring their own blank CDs and make copies of the FOSS and open content they require, at no cost.

Frontline Defenders
www.frontlinedefenders.org/
Front Line is the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, defending those who champion the Universal Declaration of Human rights.

Gender and ICTs network
www.famafrique.org/regentic/accueil.html
The Gender and ICTs Network promotes gender analysis of the information and communications sector in Senegal and initiates a dialogue between the regulation authorities, women’s organisations and civil society

GenderIT.org
www.GenderIT.org
GenderIT.org is a tool for women’s movements, ICT advocates and policy makers to ensure that ICT policy meets women’s needs and does not infringe on their rights.

Global Knowledge for Development List
www.gkdknowledge.org
The GKD list is a powerful source of high quality expertise and vital information on ICT for development.

Global Knowledge Partnership
www.globalknowledge.org
The GKP is the leading international multi-stakeholder network committed to harnessing the potential of information and communications technologies for sustainable and equitable development

Global Voices Online
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/
Global Voices is an international effort to diversify the conversation taking place online by involving speakers from around the world, and developing tools, institutions and relationships to help make these voices heard.

Human Rights in the Global Information Society
www.mitpress.mit.edu
The contributors to this volume examine the links between information technology and human rights from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

Human Rights Watch: False Freedom – Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa
http://hrw.org/reports/2005/mena1105/
This report looks at the spread of the internet and how governments have moved to crack down on its potential as a tool for freedom of expression.

Kewl.NextGen
www.avoir.uwc.ac.za/kngfiles
KEWL.nextGen (Knowledge Environment for Web Learning, the next generation), is a free software e-learning system from the African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources Project and the University of the Western Cape.

Kubatana
www.kubatana.net
Kubatana is Zimbabwe’s civic and human rights web site incorporating an online directory for the non-profit sector.

Mainstreaming ICTs: Africa lives the information society
www.womensnet.org.za
A handbook for development practitioners that acts as a contribution towards efforts to bridge the “policy-practice” divide. The book is aimed at development practitioners and ICT innovators interested in inventive technology applications.

Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
[email protected]
The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement is an organisation whose mission is to defend the human rights of Africans in America and promote self-determination.

NGO-in-a-box
www.tacticaltech.org/ngoinabox
NGO-in-a-box offers a set of reviewed and selected Free and Open Source software (F/OSS), tailored to the needs of NGO's. It provides them not only with software, but also with implementation scenarios and relevant materials to support this. Its aim is to increase the accessibility of F/OSS to non-profits in developing and transition countries.

Open Knowledge Network
www.openknowledge.net
Open Knowledge Network is an initiative to support the creation and exchange of local content in local languages across the South, supported by a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

Panos West Africa
www.panos-ao.org
Panos West Africa informs and communicates a culture of democracy, citizenship and peace in Africa.

Schoolnet Namibia
Schoolnet Namibia provides sustainable, low cost technology solutions and internet access, as well as technical support, training support and rich educational content to schools, community based educational organisations and educational practitioners throughout Namibia.

The Free and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA)
www.fossfa.net
FOSSFA is an organisation that was formed to promote the use of open source software in Africa.

The Information Revolution and Developing Countries
www.mitpress.mit.edu
In this book Ernest Wilson provides a clear, nuanced analysis of the major transformations resulting from the global information revolution.

Ungana Africa
www.ungana-afrika.org
Ungana Africa aims to address the technology capacity crisis by building innovative support programmes and tools that are empowering the development community.

Voices
www.voicesforall.org
Voices was born out of a realization that people’s empowerment through different forms of communication plays a critical and vital role in the process of socio-economic and political change.

Witness
www.witness.org
Witness uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. By partnering with local organisations around the world, Witness empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool to shine a light on those most affected by human rights violations.

Women’s statement on the human rights situation in Tunisia
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?w=r&x= 91870

WSIS gender caucus
www.genderwsis.org
The WSIS Gender Caucus is a multi-stakeholder group promoting gender integration and women's rights in the WSIS process.

WSIS youth caucus
http://www.wsisyouth.org/
The Youth Caucus of the WSIS is a loose group of youth who are active leaders in all kinds of areas.

WSIS Draft Civil Society Statement
http://wsis.ecommons.ca/node/view/659