To mark the occasion of the restitution by the Berlin Charité Hospital of the first 20 mortal remains of Namibian victims of the German genocide, the German NGO Coalition presented the Namibian delegation with a Book of Condolences, in which people from all over the world commemorated the dead. The book is still online and open for condolence messages. In the following, we have put together a representative selection of these messages.

The national parks of the Lower Omo Valley in Southwest Ethiopia are among 'the last unspoiled biodiversity hotspots in Africa' and constitute 'resources of all people in the world'. These are not the words of tree-hugging foreign environmentalists, but of Ethiopian government officials who recently prepared a report about the region. The Gibe III Dam and the sugar plantations associated with it are now putting these unique biodiversity hotspots at risk.

‘Beyond the all-too-familiar message of violence against women, Amadi's epigram-clad poem is like the very best straight out of a Holy Book’- Akwasi Aidoo

‘Beyond the all-too-familiar message of violence against women, Amadi's epigram-clad poem is like the very best straight out of a Holy Book.’

The West is seeking help for the financial crisis from unlikely quarters.

This letter was written from jail and urges UNESCO delegates to cancel the President Obiang prize. Dr Mansogo also urges UNESCO to call upon the Equatoguinean government to release all political prisoners.

In this letter to Members of the Executive Board of The United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), James McFadden of the Fulbright Commission highlights the detention of a medical doctor in Equatorial Guinea as a reason for why the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences should be scrapped.

Brazil is supporting the controversial UNESCO-Obiang prize in an attempt to improve relations with President Obiang, but this puts Brazil's own international reputation at stake. Brazil is showing questionable judgment by actively supporting the UNESCO-Obiang prize in an apparent effort to strengthen its relations with the regime of President Obiang, which has accumulated a long list of human rights violations in the course of its 32 years in power, says this article on the EG Justice website.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says its African science programme may be spared in budget cuts brought on by the organisation’s current financial problems. UNESCO cut its science budget by 31 per cent last December owing to a shortfall in funding, which was a result of the United States freezing its contributions to contest a vote to admit Palestine as a member.

The rapid global expansion and acceleration of the extractive industries presents an unprecedented & devastating land grabbing threat, claims a new report being launched in Westminster. The Gaia Foundation’s report, “Opening Pandora’s Box – A New Wave of Land Grabbing by the Extractive Industries and the Devastating Impact on Earth” has been produced in collaboration with GRAIN, the London Mining Network (LMN) and others. It looks at the global trends, dynamics and impacts of the extractive industries on the planets ecosystems and communities.

Numbers can be pretty confusing at election time.

In part II of this two-part special on 2012 Elections in Africa, our SOAS Radio interviews Senegalese artists and activists who discuss the political forecast for heavily contested presidential elections. There has been an uproar about standing President Abdoulaye Wade, 85, seeking a third term even though he initially promised to step down after his second term. The bulk of the opposition voices have been young men, with a politicised musical movement gaining momentum in poor communities throughout the country. Their message? They want change, and they want it NOW.

How much do they own?

Kenya is headed to elections. How are the politicians going about their campaigns?

The Zimbabwean president is amazingly still going strong.

How is successful has the Nigerian security forces been in dealing with the Boko Haram menace?

Sleazy goings-on in nughtclubs around Lusaka, the presence of legendary old man KK at the stadium in Libreville, memories of the 1993 tragedy in which nearly the entire national side was killed in Gabon… all worked together to propel Zambia to victory.

Findings of a recent survey do not provide evidence for mass-immigration of foreign sex workers advertising online and in local newspapers, nor a spike in sex work or risk of HIV transmission during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. 'Public health programmes focusing on sex work and HIV prevention during international sporting events should be based on evidence, not media-driven sensationalism that further heightens discrimination against sex workers and increases their vulnerability.'

Louis Bankole Jones, a medical doctor, points his homegrown radar toward a new vision and perspective in a collection of poems on Sierra Leone.

In parallel narratives Simon Bright tells the stories of Rhodesia’s transition to Zimbabwe and the personal journey of Robert Mugabe, using one to explain the other and finally suggesting why Mugabe chose the road he has.

As a biography it has everything - first-hand accounts of Mugabe’s early life with a desperately poor Catholic mother, what he was like at school, the effects of a Jesuit education and his rage against his absent father. As his star ascends commentators reflect on early landmarks, particularly his attendance of Ghana’s independence celebrations in 1957.

It’s clear the highly intellectual Young Turk was admired and respected through the 1960s and 70s: Bright traces the origins of the esteem through fascinating archival film interviews. The parallel story of the transition is equally well researched, as are later episodes of importance, notably Lancaster House, the Matabeleland genocide and the growing role of global business in Africa’s economies.

But it’s the behind-the-scenes jostling for power which Bright exposes that is the most riveting, and from it Mugabe emerges as unquestionably one of history’s most canny, devious leaders. It is a haunting film, the music an achievement in itself, a mix of liberation, folk and contemporary sounds. Simon Bright was co-producer of the pivotal 1996 Zimbabwe liberation film ‘Flame’.

* This brief is courtesy of the director and Spier Films.

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