A UN programme to combat child deaths from disease in West Africa has failed, a Johns Hopkins University study says. Unicef spent $27m (£17m) rolling out vaccinations, vitamin A pills and bed nets to protect against malaria from 2001 to 2005 in areas of 11 countries.

The Namibian Police and or the Office of Prosecutor General as well as the Lower Criminal Division of the Namibian Judiciary are making themselves vulnerable to charges of discrimination and political bias, owing to the inconsistency with which they are handling certain criminal cases.

Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) is gravely appalled by what appears to be an escalating spate of misguided and, sometimes, punitive attacks on the independence of judges in the country.

Several heavy goods vehicle workers have been injured during a clash with riot police in the capital Algiers while holding a protest to demand better wages and benefits

Teachers have threatened to go on strike if their salaries are not raised to US$600 per month from the current US$150. The President of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) Takavafira Zhou said their members would not turn up for work next week if they received no clarification on how much they will be earning. Ever since Finance Minister Tendai Biti presented his budget in December last year, there has been no word on how much teachers would earn.

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Ann Eveleth asks if South Africa is in danger of losing its political discourse to a 'spectacle of the commentator'.

Patrick Bond collates excerpts of testimonials about the late Dennis Brutus, ‘a poet whose work will be celebrated forever, and whose wisdom in so many campaigns for social justice will be sorely missed’, from institutions, individuals and the media.

. Edited by Sokari Ekine and featuring contributing chapters from authors such as Juliana Rotich, Ken Banks and Berna Ngolobe, 'SMS Uprising' brings together the experiences of activists using mobile phone technology on the African continent as well as providing understanding of the socio-economic, political and media contexts which activists face. The following article by Sokari Ekine comprises the book's introductory chapter.

Kenya is seeking the services of leading mobile phone companies in an ambitious campaign to market the East African Community Common Market. In an Obama-inspired campaign -- where ICT played a major role in galvanising public support -- the country plans to educate all the 17 million Kenyans who own mobile phones on how they stand to benefit from the Common Market, whose protocol was signed a month ago.

Niger's president, Mamadou Tandja, on Wednesday opened the campaign for 27 December local elections and urged his compatriots to turn out in their numbers to elect their representatives for the 266 local councils.

Men and women of African descent wanted from across the African diaspora to Judge essays written by children aged 8 to 16 years for "The Annual Essay Contest for Children of African Descent". Essays will be submitted in both English and French. Schools in English- and French-speaking Africa and the diaspora are invited to indicate their interest in participating in this contest. Visit: for previous years' winners. [email][email protected]

The weekly newspaper KOLL ENNASS, published in Arabic in Tunis, has three times lashed out at Tunisian human rights defenders and journalists. Kamel JENDOUBI, Sihem BENSEDRINE and Slim BAGGA have been accused of being Israeli agents allegedly pursued by some ‘Palestinian factions’. (OMCT)

This month's deadly bombing of a medical school's graduation ceremony in Somalia will likely reduce the popularity of the country's main Islamist insurgency, despite the group's denial of involvement, say analysts. A civilian uprising against Al-Shabab seems to be under way, with street demonstrations in Mogadishu on 7 December, and in camps for the internally displaced (IDPs) on 8 December.

Civil servants will receive a long-awaited pay rise and back wages dating from January 2008, the Algerian government announced after talks with labour leaders.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) has cut funds to , ‘with no transition funds and no explanation’. KAIROS, a church based non-governmental organisation that represents seven of Canada’s largest denominations, works on a range of social justice issues, including human rights in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

KAIROS and partners call on the networks and supporters of KAIROS to meet with their MPs to discuss this critical matter. Please, respectfully and politely:
- Speak about your own positive involvement with KAIROS
- Express grave concern about this decision
- State KAIROS’ desire to restore our long standing relationship with CIDA
- Emphasise the impacts of this decision on global partners and our work in Canada
- Ask them to call on the Government of Canada to reverse this decision.

Please also write to , Minister of International Cooperation, and KAIROS.

The academic and administrative staff of the University of the Witwatersrand have organised a to express their disgust and opposition to the retrenchment of cleaning staff from the University in its aim to cut spending.

On Saturday 5 December the Abahlali Solidarity Campaign will be holding an info stall and leafletting at Trafalgar Square by the South African embassy in London to raise awareness of the state repression and violence that the movement is currently facing. This is a joint action with the Landless Peoples Movement, AntiPrivatisation Forum, Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front solidarity march in Joburg at the same time. As it also coincides with the COP demo, we anticipate a lot of people there. Come down on the day. .

Last year I told my story about how a man in my community had harassed me, until one day he finally beat me so badly I had to go to the hospital, just because I am disabled. This day was a terrible day for me, it even left me with scars. Even worse, for four years after that day, I did not go back to that place. I even left my house there, and went to live with my mother. I did not want to see him or face him.

Ekklesia is calling on on Christians around the world, and particularly Christian leaders, to oppose the extreme and violent “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposed in Uganda by signing this . Ekklesia calls on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to end his silence on the matter, to condemn the bill in public and to urge Ugandan Christians to oppose it.