Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the South African Council of Churches have launched a R2.5m skills development programme targeted at unemployed youth in churches in all South African provinces.

The ability to block pop-up and pop-under ads, integrate with Blogger, and automatically fill out frequently used forms are three new features that Google released today in a new beta version of its popular toolbar for Internet Explorer. Users who download the toolbar into their Internet Explorer software can set it to block all pop-up and pop-under windows or only those from certain sites. The feature blocks advertising and editorial pop-up windows and will probably cause concern among the many major news sites.

The development NGO Save the Children is to hand over refurbished classrooms to communities in Zimbabwe's Midlands province this week as part of its emergency education programme. Some 10 schools were damaged when a severe hailstorm hit Mberengwa district in Midlands province in September 2002. The roofs and windows of classrooms and dormitories were destroyed, seriously affecting the learning environment of the pupils, the NGO said in a statement.

A just released French version of a training manual on Ageing in Africa entitled Manuel de Formation sur le Vieillissement en Afrique is now available. This publication is produced by HelpAge International Africa Regional Development Centre and is aimed at all those interested in issues concerning older people in Africa - organisations working with and for older people, academicians and researchers and social workers. The training manual is a 251-paged publication aimed at filling the knowledge and information gaps on ageing issues in Africa. It also trains those who run training sessions on better facilitating techniques. It is available in French and English at US$ 10 (excluding postage) and is published by HelpAge International Africa Regional Development Centre. More information can be obtained from and orders sent to [email protected].

The overall purpose of the role is to deliver effective management of the financial management and accounting within ACORD. The post-holder will work very closely with the Executive Director and with the other management team members. S/he will liase very closely with the Programming and Fundraising department, and members of the Programming Directorate. They will also work very closely with programme finance managers giving professional support and supervision and work closely with the Northern Programme Manager.

Created by and for survivors, Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) empowers individuals, families, and communities affected by landmines to recover from trauma, fulfill their rights, and reclaim their lives. Part of this job will involve providing recommendations to LSN DC on how to improve programmatic activities to better assist survivors, especially those critically in need, including but not limited to accessing mobility devices, link/referrals, peer support, social groups, and direct assistance.

Britain's biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, paid millions of pounds in secret commissions to obtain a huge UK taxpayer-backed contract to sell Hawk jets to South Africa. The British government has confirmed the payment, which will fuel the ongoing row about corruption allegations faced by BAE all over the world.
Related Link:
* Govt dismisses new arms deal claims
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=23350

Wilberforce Mbei, a small 12-year-old, says he feels very comfortable living in Dandora, a rough estate on the outskirts of Nairobi's main rubbish dumping site. "I feel that this place is very good, I have found a home," he says. After five years of living with his aunt, who abused him, and two years on Nairobi's streets, he says he feels safe now. "I was denied all my rights before," he says, "even to play."

Delegates from 28 countries across the Middle East and Africa called Monday for governments worldwide to ban female circumcision, the practice considered barbaric to women. "Governments, in consultation with civil society, should adopt specific legislation addressing female genital mutilation in order to affirm their commitment to stopping the practice and to ensure women's and girls' human rights," the delegates said at the close of their three-day conference in Cairo.

Uganda's well-documented fight against HIV and Aids will take a strange turn if a recommendation, by the Education Service Commission, to ask teachers living with the disease to resign is implemented. The Commissioner for Secondary Education and HIV/Aids co-ordinator in the Ministry of Education, Mr Yusuf Nsubuga, said on Wednesday that the recommendation would affect teachers who have been on sick leave for six or more months.

“I was sleeping at my home when at approximately 3am today, Wednesday 4th June, 2003, between 10 and 20 soldiers banged on my front door. I opened it and they wanted to know what party I belonged to. My brother J. and I were asked so many questions and were then told to lie on our stomachs and they beat us with batons." This is one story contained in a report from the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights that documents case summaries, with histories, and examination findings of incidents of violence inflicted during the week of the National Mass Action that took place between June 2-9.

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has stated that the recent abduction of girls from a boarding school in Lwara, Kabermaido district, Northern Uganda, signals a sharp jump in child abduction and recruitment by all parties to the conflict. “This incident is part of a generalized problem of escalating conflict fuelling unprecedented levels of child abductions and recruitment in Northern Uganda, and now spreading to Eastern Uganda,” said Geoffrey Oyat, Coordinator of the Ugandan chapter of the Coalition.

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has stated that the recent abduction of girls from a boarding school in Lwara, Kabermaido district, Northern Uganda, signals a sharp jump in child abduction and recruitment by all parties to the conflict. “This incident is part of a generalized problem of escalating conflict fuelling unprecedented levels of child abductions and recruitment in Northern Uganda, and now spreading to Eastern Uganda,” said Geoffrey Oyat, Coordinator of the Ugandan chapter of the Coalition.

GOAL Mozambique aims to address the implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic within GOAL´s country programming through mainstreaming HIV/AIDS activities into all GOAL programmes countrywide.

Third World Network Africa, a non-profit advocacy organisation is looking for a lead programme officer for its Gender Unit. TWN-Af´s work involves research, communications and campaigns around economic, social justice and development policy issues. It seeks a greater articulation of the needs and rights of people of the third world, especially marginalised groups, a fair distribution of the world's resources and forms of development that are ecologically sustainable and fulfil human needs.

The ONEWORLD RADIO CATIA Editor, based in Lusaka, Zambia, will be responsible for the development and high quality editing of OneWorld Radio English language websites, based with CATIA. Initially this will mean the launch of OneWorld Radio/Africa – a portal for African broadcasters to share audio and information – with potentially new portals in Year 2 and 3. Editorial will include regular updating of all text sections of the site[s], in-depth research about African broadcasters' needs and networking, report writing and membership recruitment and support.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It will be recalled that the Council was established in 1973 out of the collective will of African social researchers to create a viable forum in Africa through which they could strive to transcend all barriers to knowledge production and, in so doing, play a critical role in the democratic development of the continent. As part of the series of events planned to mark the anniversary, five sub-regional conferences are being organised in Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa. These sub-regional conferences will be followed by a grand finale conference to be held at the Council’s headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, in December 2003. The Southern Africa sub-regional conference is scheduled for Gaborone, Botswana, on 18 and 19 October, 2003. Its theme will be: 'Southern Africa: From National Liberation to Democratic Renaissance'.

A regional cooperation initiative under the auspices of the Association of African Universities (AAU), the focus of this premier course is human rights as seen from the African perspective. Students from all African countries are invited to apply for admission to study for the Master's Degree (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa, organised by the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria in partnership with the University of Ghana, Makerere University (Uganda), the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), the American University in Cairo (Egypt) and the Catholic University of Central Africa (Cameroon).

International help to care for Africa's orphans is essential not only for their immediate welfare but also to protect the long term prosperity of these countries. A researcher in child health and former Ugandan government peace minister assesses how to make the best use of resources, in this article published in the British Medical Journal.

SABCnews reports that five organisations in Gauteng, all working with people affected by Aids, have received R950 500 from Gauteng Premier, Mbhazima Shilowa. The money is the proceeds from the Premier's Golf Pro-Am hosted by Shilowa last year. The beneficiary organisations are: The Karabo Day Care Centre, Tsabotsogo Community Development Project, Uncedo Women Development Group, Zimbanati Project and Zimisele Economic Social Growth and Development.