Zimbabwe's Central Bank governor Gideon Gono Saturday filed a US$ 12.5 million lawsuit against a private newspaper, which implicated him in diamond smuggling, citing Wikileaks cables. The lawsuit is the second in the week against the Standard newspaper, which was earlier landed with a US$ 15 million suit by First Lady Grace Mugabe over the same allegations. The paper, quoting Wikileaks cables, reported last week that Mugabe and Gono were among several top officials involved in diamond smuggling from newly discovered fields in the east of the country.

Documents found in Lamu have exposed the understated role of Kenyan Asians in the struggle for independence, reports the Daily Nation. The files also shed light on the real reasons behind the detention of Jomo Kenyatta and fellow freedom fighters. 'The files are a real treasure as they explain in detail how the detainees were treated,' says Athman Hussein, the National Museums of Kenya, assistant director in charge of Coast region.

A group of civil society organisations have raised concerns about the adverse impacts of BHP Billiton’s ongoing negotiations with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a $5 billion aluminum smelter near the port of Banana on the Atlantic Coast to be powered by the proposed Inga 3 hydropower scheme. 'In one of the world’s poorest and most corrupt countries, this purely commercial venture is set to reinforce existing poverty. Without due action, it will cost the Congolese people electricity, jobs and development,' say the organisations.

Beatrice Namuzibira’s class of 90 pupils is not even considered a large one, compared to classes in other schools. Universal primary education has filled classrooms beyond capacity across Uganda, putting a strain on teachers. But her teaching - and her home life - have received fresh inspiration, thanks to innovative online modules for teachers offered by the Teacher Education for Sub-Saharan Africa project (TESSA), a network created to support effective teaching in every subject area.

Akina Mama wa Afrika is an international Pan–African non-governmental development organisation for African women based in Kampala, Uganda, with a UK/Europe Regional Office in London. AMwA aims to provide development services for African women, serves as a research forum on African women’s issues, and provides a platform for African women to participate in policy and decision-making. AMwA also serves as a networking, information, advocacy and capacity building forum for African women and builds their leadership capacities to influence policy and decision-making. We are tendering for applications for consultants to conduct a Tracer Study on the African Women’s Leadership Institute.

Closing date for applications: 15 January 2011

AMwA welcomes all applicants and values diversity. Suitable candidates within Africa are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please send your application to [email][email protected]/[email protected]

Fahamu is supporting the 'We are the Solution' campaign to ensure that rural women’s associations have the skills to improve, promote and share their traditional agricultural knowledge, ensuring that this rich knowledge is not lost and is indeed promoted as an alternative to the Green Revolution methods.

The three-year pan-African campaign, coordinated by ROPPA (Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organisations of West Africa), launches in February 2011.

Its objectives are to:
- Strengthen the work of 12 rural women’s associations and their leaders through organisational and individual capacity building activities
- Facilitate the participation of 75 rural women participants in media and advocacy activities so that they can engage in decision-making processes in local, regional and global campaigns
- Mobilise and sustain an Africa-wide action oriented network of 1,000 stakeholders for information sharing, partnership and advocacy.

You too can support 'We are the Solution': By making a donation through our page, you'll help ensure that West Africa’s women farmers can campaign for an African agro-ecological solution to the food crisis.

Career blog Kazi Afrika has a comprehensive list of job vacancies posted on their site. Some of the jobs include:
- World Vision Africa Program Officer – Nutrition Job Vacancy
- College Principal Vacancy in Mombasa Kenya
- Marketing & Communications Manager Job Vacancy in Kenya
- New Kenya Co-operative Creameries Limited Jobs
- Pathfinder International Jobs in Kenya
- Social Assessment for Indigenous People in Lake Victoria North Water Service Board.

The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship: Europe, the Middle East and Africa aims to encourage women to excel in computing and technology, and become active role models and leaders.

The Africa Portal is an online knowledge resource for policy-related issues on Africa. An undertaking by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Makerere University (MAK), and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the Africa Portal offers open access to a suite of features including an online library collection; a resource for opinion and analysis; an experts directory; an international events calendar; and a mobile technology component -all aimed to equip users with research and information on Africa’s current policy issues.

Zimbabwe’s soldiers and police have been fingered in an orgy of rape in which they worked with militia from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party to allegedly sexually assault supporters of the former opposition MDC over the past decade, according to a new report. The report that calls for a government-led 'multi-sectoral investigation into politically motivated rape in Zimbabwe' was jointly produced by the Harare-based Research and Advocacy Unit, Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) and self-help organisation Doors of Hope Development Trust.

Men and women of African descent are wanted to judge essays written by children, aged seven to 16 years, from across Africa and the African diaspora for 'The Annual Essay Contest for Children of African Descent 2011'. Essays are written in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Sesotho. Judges wanted for all these languages. See how bright our children are as they tackle such issues as media censorship, biotechnology, corporate front groups and abuse of science, food sovereignty, corporate abuse, racism, ethics and respect.
Visit: 'Essay Contests' at
Contact: [email][email protected] or [email][email protected]

The announcement that 5,000 new classrooms will be built thanks to a $140 million World Bank loan would come as welcome news at the Chitowo Primary School – if only the children sitting on the floors, perched on doors and in windows, even taking lessons in the dust beneath trees in the yard could hear it. The school, which offers eight primary classes from Standard One to Eigh in Dedza district, a rural area in central Malawi, is bursting at the seams. It has 1,400 pupils and only five classrooms.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and humanitarian partners are scrambling to help over 3,000 African migrants stranded at the Yemeni border with Saudi Arabia, where 30 migrants have died in recent weeks. 'We are seeing a dramatic increase in migrants needing help,' IOM Senior Operations Officer Bill Lorenz said in a press release on 3 December. 'Over the past week, the number of migrants being referred to IOM has jumped to about 76 a day.'

The Women in Film International Committee is pleased to present 'Out of Africa: A Night to Celebrate: Short Films by Kenyan Filmmakers' being held at Universal Studios, in Los Angeles, California USA, on 5 March 2011.

Admitting his ‘staggering disappointment’, Samuel Abonyo reports that while ‘occupation’ influences funeral announcements in Kenya, ‘tribe’ is the primary determinant.

The findings of an ongoing study being conducted by the Domestic Workers Research Project (DWRP) at the University of the Western Cape confirm that migrant domestic workers suffer arduous working conditions for low wages and are often sequestered behind their employers’ high walls, cut off from family and friends for long periods. 'The regulations that they lay down for you is not to bring anyone on the premises. I felt sometimes like I was in a prison cell,' said Hester Stephens, president of the South African Domestic Workers and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU).

Makerere University has phased out 80 departments following its move to become a collegiate institution next academic year. The 88-year-old institution had 22 faculties, schools and institutes but will now operate under eight colleges and two schools after the University Council approved the recommendations last month. James Okello, the deputy academic registrar in-charge of Senate, said the current structure was overloaded and the new development would help fight red tape, reduce duplication of roles and optimise the available resources.

The New Age newspaper has finally hit the streets, with editor Henry Jeffreys launching into whether it was an African National Congress (ANC) mouthpiece. 'Contrary to popular [mainly the media] opinion - we are not The New Agent,' read a strapline preceding his maiden editorial.

A three-year plan to address the quality of education in Africa was launched in Tunis on Friday with various education officials from Africa calling for radical reforms to set guidelines for the sector. The programme, which begins in 2011, to be hosted in the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou, is on the theme, 'Education and training in service of Africa’s sustainable development.' Organisers say that the goal is to adapt education mechanisms to train competences to meet the needs expressed by companies and the job market.

The United States and its allies should give much more attention - and resources - to ensuring that weak West African governments along the oil- and gas-rich Gulf of Guinea can protect their territory and coastal regions from terrorists, drug and human traffickers, and other threats, according to new report by an influential think tank released here this week. The 80-page report, published by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, warns that current economic and political conditions, as well as regional demographic trends are 'creating a fertile environment where illicit groups including acolytes of radical Islam can readily win new adherents'.