In keeping with Western medicine’s approach to illness, the international community’s anti-corruption strategies treat the symptom of corruption rather than the cause; seeking to stifle the outcomes of a flawed system rather than rightfully treating it as the disease itself, concludes this article from the Peace and Conflict Monitor. 'The most significant conclusions relate to a re-conceptualization of our understanding of the corruption-causes-poverty narrative by calling for a re-moralization of the corruption debate within the larger systemic context of the neoliberal world order. '

An international petition launched three days ago calling for the international business community to protest Uganda’s notorious anti-gay bill has garnered the support of over 190,000 people worldwide. The more than 190,000 people have signed the petition to join a campaign on the Change.org website launched three days ago by Collin Burton, a gay Citibank customer from Washington, DC.

Hundreds of Tunisians in the capital and the wilaya of Sfax took to the streets recently to demand that the interim government shoulder its responsibility for the rising price of basic goods. 'I can no longer provide for what my family of eight needs,' Mondher Welhazi, 56, told Magharebia. He added, 'All the prices of basic materials in terms of vegetables and meat rose after the revolution in a frightening, alarming way. I am embarrassed before my children as I can no longer bring them what they want.'

Media and Information Minister Webster Shamu now has days to meet an ultimatum to implement key media reforms, which could usher in some long awaited freedom in Zimbabwe’s media space. he ZANU PF Minister has been ordered to reconstitute the boards of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and the Mass Media Trust.
Shamu was given the ultimatum after a meeting of the principals in the unity government.

In 'Corporate War Crimes', law professor James G. Stewart offers a roadmap of the law governing pillage as applied to the illegal exploitation of natural resources by corporations and their officers. The text traces the evolution of the prohibition against pillage from its earliest forms through the Nuremburg trials to today’s national laws and international treaties. In doing so, Stewart provides a long-awaited blueprint for prosecuting corporate plunder during war.

has launched an 'events' listing. This listing -http://farmlandgrab.org/events - allows you to publish and browse short notices about events related to land grabbing and what people are doing about it. These may be investor summits, film screenings, mobilisations, rallies, conferences, workshops, fact-finding missions or other. 'We hope this new feature will be particularly useful to activists and social movements who are struggling to stop land grabbing all over the world.'

Africa Today with Walter Turner recently hosted Southern African activist Prexy Nesbitt, who spoke about developments in South Africa. Nesbitt speaks about the origins of his work and his connection with Southern Africa.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has welcomed the release of an independent report on Togo that examined allegations that members of the Togolese intelligence agency tortured individuals accused of taking part in an attempted coup d’état in 2009. 'Togo’s national human rights commission found that the prisoners were subjected to physical and moral violence of an inhuman and degrading nature,' Ms. Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson, said in a statement.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Italy violated the rights of Eritrean and Somali migrants by sending them back to Libya. The 13 Eritreans and 11 Somalis were among a group of about 200 people who left Libya on three boats in 2009. Two of the 24 have since died. The court ordered Italy to pay each migrant in the case 15,000 euros (£13,000; $20,000) in damages.

From 27 February to 9 March ministers and civil society delegates will meet at the United Nations for the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This year’s meeting is especially critical because it will assess how governments have made good on promises at the 52nd session in 2008 to boost financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women. In this Q&A, IPS Correspondent Mathilde Bagneres spoke with Stephanie Seguino, an economics professor at the University of Vermont in the United States, about how women are particularly affected by the current economic crisis, and the role of government in crafting policies that promote not only women’s equality but sustainable development for society as a whole.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers...

Egypt’s ruling military council pushed ahead on Sunday with plans to begin drafting a new constitution before transferring power to civilian rule, announcing that parliament will meet this week to select the panel tasked with writing the document. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' statement that parliament will begin choosing the 100-member panel on March 3 marked a setback for activist groups who have demanded the military relinquish power before a constitution is written.

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.

Authorities in and around Misrata are preventing thousands of people from returning to the villages of Tomina and Kararim and have failed to stop local militias from looting and burning homes there, Human Rights Watch has said. The abuse mirrors the treatment of roughly 30,000 displaced people from the nearby town of Tawergha, who have also been blocked from returning home for at least five months, Human Rights Watch said.

Are you a civil society actor? Staff of an African NGO or coalition? Do you work on the African Union? Do you want to advocate at the Conti-nental level? If you answered yes to any of these, then this Secondment opportunity from Oxfam is for you.

Recently, the Federal Government of Nigeria signed a Joint Venture Agreement on commercial rice farming with Calvin Burgess, owner and principal promoter of the Oklahoma-based Dominion Farms Limited. Dominion Farms Kenya Limited has consistently been accused by the locals of the Yala swamp basin of land grabbing and have consistently resisted attempts by Calvin Burgess to evict them from their naturally rich, ancestral land.

The annual UN report documenting conflict-related sexual violence around the world for the first time on Thursday named some of the military forces, militia and other armed groups that are suspected of being among the worst offenders. It stated that the report provided examples of how sexual violence had threatened security and impeded peacebuilding in post-conflict situations, such as in Chad, CAR, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also revealed how it has been used in the context of elections, political strife and civil unrest in Egypt, Guinea, Kenya and Syria, among others.

Three women in Cameroon have been charged with practising homosexuality, in what is believed to be the first such case in the country, a local reporter tells the BBC. The case, allegedly involving a lesbian love triangle, came to court on Monday, but has only been reported nationally now due to the remoteness of the area. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to five years in prison.

An attempt to strike a pre-election agreement between leaders participating in the Senegalese elections has flopped. Opposition and civil rights groups rejected the African Union mediator’s proposed roadmap, which was intended to forestall likelihood of post election violence in the West country that goes to elections tomorrow. The roadmap proposed a two year term for President Abdoulaye Wade if he garnered an outright victory in the first round. Mr Wade, according to the rejected proposal, would then be succeeded by a government of national unity with a mandate to reform laws and institutions, plus establish an acceptable agenda for the country’s political future.

Government is going ahead with plans to build nuclear power stations - a scrap by local and international companies to get a slice of the staggering R300-billion tender. National Treasury this week revealed the rollout - which will see the construction of the plants along the country's coastline - would ensure a supply of an extra 9600 megawatts of electricity. The stations are expected to be fully operational by 2029 andsignalling will be the largest infrastructure programme undertaken by government.