Africa has been rated fourth in broadband penetration among six continents that were sampled by the Economist Intelligence in the year 2007. The study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) rated Africa as fourth in its uptake of broadband services within the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region scoring 7.4 behind North America 10, Western Europe 9.9, Central and Eastern Europe 7.6. After MEA came Latin America with 7.3 and Asia Pacific 7.1 within the six regions under review.

As Africa strives to pull itself out of grinding poverty, more and more countries are looking to technology to give them a leg up. The goal, supported by the United Nations and the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), is to get the continent IT-ready by next year, when a fiber-optic cable running alongside the east coast is scheduled for completion, bringing broadband access to 22 nations.

Community wireless networks have been set up at telecentres in northern Uganda in Lira and Nabweru, areas that are considered extremely rural by the CWRC. This intervention arose out of the need to reduce the high cost of Internet connectivity at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) that is supporting telecentres in Uganda, to explore optimal connectivity models such as sharing the existing bandwidth with neighboring institutions via outdoor wireless networks.

Ghana and the rest of Africa can make significant progress in developing high-tech export products industry to boost trade if attention is given to the development of scientific and industrial research base. According to reports and supported by evidence collated by the World Bank a number of countries in Africa have a low research. Analysts believe that the trend was attributable to the minimal number of scientists and engineers available on the African continent.

Fresh killings in the Mt Elgon District of Kenya – where a long-standing dispute over land ownership has sparked violent clashes between two communities – have left more people displaced and heightened tensions in the area, aid workers said. Seven more people were killed on 5 August and another three on 7 August in the Kopsiro area of the district, said William Kebeney, a church minister aiding the displaced.

The High Court in Chennai, India has upheld India’s Patents Act in the face of a challenge by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis. The ruling allows the Asian country, dubbed the “pharmacy of the developing world”, to continue supplying antiretrovirals at much reduced prices to countries battling to treat the thousands in need.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)has condemned the statements uttered by the Zambian Minister of Information, Mike Mulongoti’s that those threatening to beat up some media personnel are justified, because they have no other forum through which they could express themselves. “These statements are uncalled for and unexpected from a personality holding such a respectable position as the Minister of Information” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa office.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)has called on South African authorities to conduct a thorough and swift investigation into the shooting of Abel Mutsakani an exiled Zimbabwean journalist and news website editor based in South Africa. “We condemn this attack which raises again the need for more security for journalists and other citizens in South Africa,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa office.

The Ugandan Government is mobilizing funds to send primary and secondary school teachers to Rwanda for training in Information and Communication Technology(ICT). Speaking at the Uganda-Rwanda Education Joint Expo in Kigali recently, the education minister, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, said "Rwanda has taken serious strides in the development of ICT to achieve its development goals and it's a good lesson for us."

"My name is Mohammed Sokor, writing to you from Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab. Dear Sir, there is an alarming issue here. People are given too few kilograms of food. You must help." A crumpled note, delivered to a passing rock star-turned-philanthropist? No, Mr Sokor is a much sharper communicator than that. He texted this appeal from his own mobile phone to the mobiles of two United Nations officials, in London and Nairobi. He got the numbers by surfing at an internet café at the north Kenyan camp.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the DRC authorities for the release of Michel Shango and Vincent Hata, two journalists and trade unionists of the state-owned Congolese National Radio and Television station (RTNC), detained since July 27 in connection with their trade-union activities. A third journalist Risasi Tambwe, arrested with them, was released last Tuesday.

Say ‘Darfur’, and many of us feel we just can’t confront the prolific slaughter and rape that is taking place there, in the African nation of Sudan. Yet those who don’t turn away will see an extreme example of how many of the world’s governments deal with those seeking independence. On the ground, there’s an arrogant government stripping the natural resources from the area without giving the region and its people opportunities to develop. Together with New Internationalist co-editor Jess Worth – who’s just finished editing a magazine about Darfur – this program travels to Egypt, Uganda, and China in search of some solutions:

In July 2007, community wireless networks were implemented at telecentres in Lira and Nabweru by the Community Wireless Resource Centre (CWRC). The CWRC team included CWRC staff and four electrical engineering students who are doing industrial training under CWRC. This intervention arose out of the need to reduce the high cost of internet connectivity at IDRC-supported telecentres in Uganda.

IDEA International is compiling a database that will enable researchers, public policy makers and NGOs to see and compare how nations are approaching the challenges of civic education and engagement for their young populations across countries throughout the globe.

n 31 July 2007, three men accompanying Sherry Ayittey, a functionary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ghana's main opposition party, forced a photographer of the "Daily Guide", a pro-government newspaper, to remove images of Ayittey from his camera. Policemen from the Striking Force Unit of the Ghana Police Service prevented the three men from further harassing journalist Ken Yankah.

Information regarding Africa's development can now be accessed at the click of the button, thanks to a new information system known as the 'internet and networking hub'. The hub is made possible by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) to set up an 'internet and networking hub' where knowledge on Africa?s development can be deposited and shared free of charge.

At the click of a button, youngsters who often grapple with the question of sex issues will now get first-hand information regarding the topic, thanks to a new innovative computer-based sexuality and HIV Aids education programme dubbed the 'World Starts With Me'. The new programme is an initiative of the Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA) whose epicentre focuses on sexuality issues such as puberty, pregnancy, reproductive health and HIV Aids.

Many initiatives have been undertaken, mostly by civil society organisations, towards the bridging of the digital divide between the north and the south. The pressing concerns have been on the ability of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve the standards of living of the poor in societies. If harnessed and directed properly, ICTs have the potential to improve aspects of our social, economic and cultural life.

Podcasting has been around since 2004 but it is still very much at the experimental stage when it comes to applying it to development efforts. In this issue we highlight some early initiatives from organizations currently testing the technology, and so far their results are all very positive. By using audio - speech and music - there is no need for expensive printing or distribution costs since the podcast can be downloaded from a single, central site on the web.

The attention of Moroccan bloggers turned recently to the latest report by the Committee to Protect Journalists on the state of press freedom in the country. Baraka wrote that "the report accurately describes the contradictions of a power that wants to open itself up, but without giving up the ability to censor the independent press." In his blog on journalism and freedom of speech, Larbi shared his take on the arrest of journalists Abderrahim Ariri and Mustapha Hormatallah for allegedly publishing elements of a classified report from the secret service.