The August issue of ReConnect Africa is now online. Connecting Africa to the global world, ReConnect Africa is a unique online publication and portal that provides readily accessible information, articles, interviews and jobs in Africa. With essential services for employers who recruit, manage and develop African human resources and careers advice, services and information for graduates and professionals in Africa and the Diaspora seeking opportunities in employment and business in Africa.

The third annual African VoIP Forum will bring leading international and regional experts to Lagos. The VoIP Forum is being supported by the African ISP Association (www.afrispa.org), ISP Association of Nigeria (www.ispan.org.ng), the Nigeria Internet Group (www.nig.org.ng), and the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), giving it an impressive stamp of endorsement by the ICT industry.

Martin Adler, 2006; Kate Peyton, 2005; Duniya Muhyadin Nur, 2005; Abdullahi Madkeer, 2003; Ahmed Kafi Awale, 2000; Marcello Palmisano, 1995; Miran Krovatin, 1994; Ilaria Alpi, 1994; Pierre Anceaux, 1994; Jean-Claude Jumel, 1993; Hansi Krauss, 1993; Hosea Maina, 1993; Dan Eldon, 1993; Anthony Macharia, 1993*. The list of journalists killed in Somalia since the overthrow of dictator Muhammad Siad Barre in 1991 contains 14 names. And, it risks growing longer.

Evelyn Kwamboka, a reporter with the Standard, last Friday opposed a plea by the state to have her take the witness stand to disclose sources of a court story appearing in the newspaper on June 28, according to a report on The reporter had been served with summons requiring her to disclose the source of a story she authored on the Bishop Gilbert Deya's so-called miracle babies' saga.

The Working Group on Press Freedom and Free Expression in North Africa (WGFENA) has condemned the assault perpetrated by Tunisian security forces against the prominent writer and human rights activist, Naziha Regiba (also known as "Um Ziad"). The attack came after security forces besieged The National Council for Liberties in Tunisia [Conseil National pour les Libertés en Tunisie, CNLT] to prevent its members from attending a meeting.

International organizations, governments, academia, industry, and the media have all begun to grapple with the information society as a global policy issue. The contributors to this timely volume examine the links between information technology and human rights from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

The webpage of the Special Programme on Africa on the website of Amnesty International Netherlands has been redesigned. The page opens with general information on SPA in English (click "français" for a translation in French). SPA publications can now be downloaded in English, French and Portuguese (with very few exceptions in Portuguese and French).

EnviroMedia 2006 is the third event of its kind bringing journalists, media practitioners and development experts together to deepen understandings and share expertise about reporting on environment, sustainability and development in Africa.

Zambia's at times cavalier media may be forced to tread more cautiously in covering the run-up to this year's general elections. Under a new electoral act they will not be able to publish speculative analysis, unsourced opinion polls or predict the result before the official announcement, unless they are willing to risk a five-year jail sentence or US$2,500 fine.

Rights groups in Burkina Faso say they are outraged over the dismissal of charges against the former head of the presidential guard in connection with the 1998 murder of prominent journalist Norbert Zongo. Prosecutors said they were dropping charges against warrant officer Marcel Kafando for lack of evidence. The prosecutor said a key witness failed to recall details of a meeting with Kafando days before Zongo’s murder.

With support from the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom, the World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) has developed a website that allows users to create ''what if'' simulation analyses for five different African countries. Each country micro simulation model provides users with the poverty, distribution, and budgetary impacts of their policy choices and compares the simulation results with the current state or the base scenario.

The CIVICUS Nelson Mandela Graca Machel Innovation Awards are aimed at providing seed funding for innovative ideas emerging from organisations or groups of participants at the CIVICUS World Assembly. The broad idea is to support community based and grassroots initiatives with an emphasis on the overall WA theme: Acting Together for a Just World through one of the four sub-themes: Civic, Economic, Political and Social Justice.

The Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) and the SADC regional centre of specialisation in Public Administration and Management (CESPAM) based at the University of Botswana have developed a unique and appropriate Public Policy executive course. The overall objectives of the course are to develop a high-level professional public policy and development certificate course that will be attended by civil society NGO leaders in the region.

African leaders are busy signing agreements with major US software companies granting them long term monopolies in return for short term donations. They are proudly announcing the short-term benefits but remaining silent about any long term costs. Foreign corporations know well how important immediate benefits are to politicians and how difficult it is for them to resist such photo-opportunities.

The Corruption Fighters' Toolkit is a compendium of practical civil society anti-corruption experiences described in concrete and accessible language. It presents innovative anti-corruption tools developed and implemented by Transparency International National Chapters and other civil society organisations from around the world.

In this age of information and communications technology, many governments are moving towards open standards and frameworks. Open standards ensure that products and services can inter-operate and work together. The UNDP-APDIP has released their publication on Open Standards.

No newspapers were published in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a day in protest at the killing of a reporter 10 days ago, according to a report on Irinnnews.org. "A day without newspapers throughout the country; it is our way of protesting against those who want to muffle the freedom of the press and that of expression. We are not afraid of death, but we will continue doing our work," John Richard Kasonga, the secretary of the National Union of the Congolese Press, said. The protest was held July 18.

Putting into practice the public broadcaster’s lofty ideals and the policies encapsulated in its editorial code of practice have been identified as weaknesses of SABC news and current affairs structures, writes Ron Derby in Business Day. Panelists at an Open Society Foundation for SA colloquium yesterday (July 20) dissected the conundrum that is the SABC, raising concerns over recent allegations of censorship and blacklisting of analysts, which they argued has tainted its image, reports Journalism.co.za.

There’s a window of opportunity in Africa right now, says the blog White African. "Many of the 'big' web companies don’t realize the potential that Africa represents in the web and mobile space, so they ignore it. Those who act now have a chance to own that market and take advantage of Africa being an afterthought."

Many journalists and opposition leaders are opposing a new law approved by parliament this week. They say the law fails to protect editors and reporters from imprisonment for so-called press violations. "The passage of this law actually represents a slight deterioration (of press freedom)," Hisham Kassem, vice-chairman of the leading independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm told IPS.