Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz warned in Maputo against following advice by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would make the fight against inflation the number one priority of economic policy. Addressing an overflowing public meeting organised by the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), Stiglitz, who is also a former chief economist at he World Bank, said he had been 'appalled' to discover that the IMF wants to impose 'inflation targeting' on Mozambique. He argued that, while low inflation might be desirable (and he praised the Bank of Mozambique for its handling of inflation, currently at historically low levels), it could not be the main goal of economic policy, which should also take into account such considerations as growth and employment.

Google is launching a new campaign, Legalize Love, to pressurize governments into recognizing and decriminalizing homosexuality. With Legalize Love, the search giant wants to ensure its staff have 'the same inclusive experience outside of the office as they do at work', and that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) communities can feel safe and accepted wherever they are. The campaign will focus on countries like Singapore (in which male homosexuality is illegal) and Poland (which doesn't recognize same-sex couples). Dot429 quotes Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe, Google's head of Diversity and Inclusion, explaining how this initiative will work: 'Singapore wants to be a global financial center and world leader and we can push them on the fact that being a global center and a world leader means you have to treat all people the same, irrespective of their sexual orientation.'

Angolan police on Saturday arrested 10 youth protesters and two journalists at an anti-government demonstration in the capital Luanda, Portuguese state news agency Lusa reported, as tensions rise ahead of August's presidential election. A youth movement has staged several demonstrations since March last year calling for long-serving President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to resign after 32 years at the helm of Africa's second-largest oil producer after Nigeria.

Eritrea has reduced its support for the al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab militant group in Somalia under international pressure, but still violates UN Security Council resolutions and remains a destabilising influence, a UN report says. The UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, which investigates violations of an arms embargo on both nations, said in a report to the Council, seen by Reuters, that it had found no evidence of direct Eritrean support for al Shabaab in the last year.

Kenya sex workers are expected to attend the parallel 'Freedom Festival of Sex Workers' in Kolkata, India to coincide with the International AIDS Conference in Washington, US. The festival has been hailed as the 'alternative International AIDS Conference 2012 for sex workers and allies.' Many sex workers in Africa were refused a US visa to attend the XIX International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Washington DC later this month.

Nurses are to join teachers and civil servants in the growing public sector strike in Swaziland. They will strike from 18 July 2012 in pursuit of a 4.5 per cent salary increase. Teachers have been on indefinite strike for nearly a month and civil servants joined them last week.

Experts say older people are affected more severely than the rest of the population during displacement. 'People who have energy can resist or run or take away belongings. An old person doesn't have the energy to do all this. So in cases of forced evictions, for instance, they lose a home and lose belongings and also a critical social network,' Protus Waringa, a Kenyan human rights law expert, told IRIN. Globally, an estimated 26.4 million people were displaced by armed conflict, generalized violence and human rights violations at the end of 2011, according to a 2011 overview by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC); the overview noted that there were huge gaps in the data available on older IDPs, with just six out of 50 countries making specific reference to older persons in their data on IDPs.

Somalia's interim government has denied allegations of corruption contained in a leaked UN report. It alleged that around 70 per cent of money intended for development and reconstruction in a country racked by 20 years of war was unaccounted for. 'The systematic misappropriation, embezzlement and outright theft of public resources have essentially become a system of governance,' the leaked report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, published by the Somalia Report website, said.

As 2015 draws near, Africa has effectively engaged in the process of defining the contours of the post-2015 development agenda, according to a report published in Addis Ababa by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), African Union, African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. The report, 'Assessing Progress in Africa towards the Millennium Development Goals 2012', was considered and endorsed by the 19th Summit African Union Heads of State and Government, according to ECA’s Information and Communication Service. The report explains ongoing efforts to capture emerging perspectives from Africa on the post-2015 development agenda, but urges countries in the region to remain focused on the MDG targets.

Three guards who worked for the security firm G4S have been told they will not face manslaughter charges over the death of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan refugee who collapsed while being escorted on a flight from Heathrow airport in London 21 months ago. The men worked as guards for the firm, which was contracted to escort deportees for the Home Office when the incident occurred. Mubenga, 46, died after losing consciousness on British Airways flight 77 to Angola, as it waited to take off on the runway.

Beijing is eager to rewrite negative perceptions of its growing ties with Africa at a summit this week, citing expanding private investment and a push to shift low-end manufacturing to the continent long seen as a commodities and energy cache for China. Chinese state-owned firms in Africa face criticism for using imported labour to build government-financed projects like roads and hospitals, while pumping out resources and leaving little for local economies, an image Beijing wants to change at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have agreed in principle to allow a neutral international force to patrol their borders, reports say. The proposed force would tackle militia groups in the eastern DR Congo. The deal was reached by leaders of the two countries on the side lines of an African Union summit, Rwanda's Paul Kagame told AFP news agency.

Togolese Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo has resigned. Although no reasons for the resignation were given, TVT said President Faure Gnassingbe accepted the resignation. His resignation comes at a time when the country was preparing itself for the general election to take place at the end of this year.

Civil society groups have challenged a recent news report on increased transparency in Uganda’s oil sector and repeated their call for the government to publish all oil deals. An article that appeared in The New Vision on 30 June noted in its headline that 'Government discloses oil deals'. However, campaigners argue, only limited information - on petroleum royalty rates - has been released to MPs.

Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health on Friday declared a cholera outbreak in the country following the death of five people from the disease. Deputy minister of Health and Sanitation Mahmoud Tarawalie, made the confirmation on Friday while stressing that the authorities were putting measures in place to stem the disease. This follows reports of two deaths because of cases of severe diarrhoea in the provinces. But one of death cases was recorded in one of the slums of the capital, Freetown.

Voters in the oil-exporting Central African state of Congo Republic have turned out to elect a new parliament, with the ruling party of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and its allies seen holding the majority. Opposition parties have complained about a lack of access to state media during campaigning, and voter turnout was thin at a number of polling stations in the capital Brazzaville, some of which stayed open up to two hours late during the voting on Sunday.

Over 500 foreign nationals have been displaced in xenophobic attacks in Botshabelo in the Free State, the SA Red Cross Society (Sarcs) said. The Red Cross said it was currently supporting 584 displaced foreigners at the community hall, providing food, blankets and other aid. 'Sarcs is pleading with the public, businesses and corporates to assist with clothes, school uniforms, toiletries and food to help the victims.'

Gay rights activists have opened Uganda's first clinic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in the capital, Kampala, where it will provide testing, counselling and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. But Richard Nduhura, Uganda's Minister for Health (General Duties), told IRIN/PlusNews the clinic was unnecessary because despite the government's anti-gay stance, 'We don't discriminate and marginalize when it comes to offering health services. When people come for treatment at our health facilities, we can't ask for their sexual orientation.'

African governments have been urged to improve their investment on health. According to the Coordinator of the Africa Public Health Alliance 15 per cent Plus Campaign, Rotimi Sankore; health budget in Africa is lower than that of other continent. 'The gap in health investment between industrialised and developing countries is currently too wide. Average percentage allocation of budget to health in Africa region is only 9.6 percent – but a much higher 16.9 percent in America; 14.6 percent in Europe; and 14.4 percent in Western Pacific,' Sankore explained.

What is the relationship between economic development and rights violations? What limits are there on the international community and on the use of force in serious human rights crises? How do we reconcile the need for understanding and the urgency of action? What is the real impact of technology on the enforcement of rights? These four questions, which figure prominently on the agenda of human rights organizations from the Global South, constitute the themes of the debates and exchanges of ideas at the 12th International Human Rights Colloquium – Innovation in Human Rights: Rethinking Agendas and Strategies in the Global South.