La Via Campesina has called on all the peasant organisations of the world and their allies to organise actions in the month of June. 'The advance of the capitalist system that has reached unprecedented dimensions in the past two decades is resulting in crises that are of equally unprecedented dimensions. The financial, food, energy and environmental crises are phases of the structural crisis of capitalism, which has no limits in its search for more profits. And, as in other structural crises, it impacts the peoples of the world and not the elites.'

The twelfth volume of Gender, Poverty and Environmental Indicators on African Countries is published by the Statistics Department of the African Development Bank Group. The publication also provides some information on the broad development trends relating to gender, poverty and environmental issues in the 53 African countries.

Large-Scale Land Investments are violating human rights and undermine food security in Ethiopia.

The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process relating to former rebels in the Central African Republic (CAR) is back on track: More than 1,000 already disarmed fighters of the Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) led by Jean Jacques Démafouth began to be demobilized on 12-13 May. APRD says 1,431 disarmed ex-combatants were demobilized on 12 May in the northern-central prefecture of Nana Gribizi in the presence of the Central African Armed Forces; representatives of the Mission for the Consolidation of Peace Central Africa (MICOPAX); Jean Jacques Démafouth in his capacity as senior vice-president of the DDR Steering Committee; and CAR Disarmament Minister Gen Xavier Sylvestre Yagaongo (second vice-chairman of the committee). The process is due to take a week to complete.

Activist Zackie Achmat writes about the recent showdown between Cosatu and the Democratic Alliance on the streets of Johannesburg: 'Cosatu’s counter-demonstration was an elephant dealing with a mosquito by stamping on it instead of snorting. Cosatu conceded the moral high-ground to the DA. The federation’s power and the moral force of its leaders particularly Zwelinzima Vavi has protected our society and politics from an uncontrolled slide to corrupt authoritarianism and courageously addressed the ANC government’s betrayals of democracy and social transformation.'

Journalists in Mali are accusing the military authorities of illegally tapping their telephones as a means of silencing critical opinion in the country. The accusation followed the arrest and subsequent detention of Birama Fall, managing editor of Le Prétoire, a privately-owned Bamako-based bi-weekly newspaper on May 12, 2012. The authorities had illegally listened to Fall’s phone conversation with a former government minister over civilian deaths during the recent counter coup attempt. Fall was, however, released after two hours without charge.

Reporters Without Borders has deplored community radio presenter Habarugira Epaphrodite's detention since 24 April in the main prison of Gitarama, the capital of Muhanga district, on a charge of 'minimizing' the 1994 Tutsi genocide and 'spreading genocide ideology'. Epaphrodite was arrested because, while reading a report about ceremonies marking the 18th anniversary of the genocide on community radio Huguka's morning new broadcast on 22 April, he mixed up the Kinyarwanda words for 'victims' and 'survivors', making it sound as though he approved of the genocide.

A tenuous peace has taken hold in Libya’s southwestern city of Sebha more than a month after tribal clashes killed at least 70 people, with tensions still high between communities living here, many of whom have their own armed militias, according to local residents. The latest clashes erupted in March between the Tubu ethnic group and the Arab Awlad Sulayman and Awlad Abu Seif tribes. The clashes are said to have begun after a man belonging to the Abu Seif family was killed allegedly by the Tubu. But other narratives suggest the conflict followed a dispute over several million dollars which the ruling Transitional National Council (TNC) was planning to spend in Sebha.

Niger employees of Areva must benefit from the same compensation as their French colleagues, a Niger non-governmental organisation said Friday after a court near Paris said the French state-owned nuclear firm was liable. The court at Melun ordered 200,000 euros ($260,000) in damages to be paid by France's state health fund to the widow of an employee of the Areva subsidiary Cominak, a Niger company which runs an Areva uranium mine at Akokan. The deceased, Serge Venel, died of lung cancer in July 2009 at the age of 59.

InsightsAfrica is an interactive tool providing critical data about the online behavior of urban consumers in six key African markets: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

Female protesters continue to participate in pro-democracy demonstrations that remain deadly more than a year after President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown. Primary school teacher Reham El Hakim, for instance, was on the front lines on 5 May when the 12th person was killed during demonstrations against the military government in Abbasaiya. It's now commonplace, however, to hear people say that the military government and Islamic politicians, who did not at first approve of the anti-Mubarak demonstrations, have 'hijacked' the revolution, reports

Several political parties, largely Islamists, are challenging the results of Algeria's legislative election. The National Liberation Front (FLN) came away with 220 out of a possible 462 seats in the People's National Assembly, according to the preliminary tally released Friday (11 May). But those displeased with the outcome have spoken of irregularities and alleged fraud in the way the election process was handled.

During almost 20 years of exile in Guinea, Joseph did not know if his family was alive or dead. When he recently found out by chance that they had survived the attack that caused him to flee his native Liberia, he decided he must go back. 'For the first time, I am eager to return home. I want to see my family,' said the 55-year-old fisherman, who is joining a growing number of Liberian refugees who are returning home with UNHCR help before they lose refugee status.

18th May, 2012 Royal Commonwealth Society in London

8.30-18.00hrs

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

• Dr AlisonBisset
• Prof .ColmCampbell
• Mrs CarlaFerstman*
• Mr CourtneyGriffiths*
• Mr DonaldDeya
• Mrs FatouBensouda*
• Prof. HansKo?echler
• Hon. JusticeAwaNanaDaboya*
• Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo*
• Prof. MaxduPlessis
• DrPaulMoorcraft
• Dr Sarah Nouwen
• Prof.StephenChan
• Dr Suleiman Baldo
• Prof. Susana Sa? Couto
• Prof. Tim Alley
• Dr William Pace

*To be confirmed

As the ICC approaches its tenth anniversary and makes its first conviction, we cordially invite you to participate in an engaging and enlightening one- day debate to review the effectiveness of this highly controversial court. Through this forum we will assess the role of the court and its impact especially in Africa, where all of its indictments have been made. We will look at alternative solutions in the administration of justice to achieve reconciliation and the restoration of peace. Bringing together some of the most knowledgeable and experienced experts from the fields of law, academia and civil society, as well as policy makers, this unique one-day forum will seek to determine whether the court has met its mandate, how it works and its impact. We will also discuss what can and should be done to resolve and deal with some critical issues which affect the stability of many countries across Africa and the world.

ATTENDANCE IS FREE BY INVITATION

Registration is essential:

or contact Toma?s Paquete at +44 (0) 20 7841 3237 or [email][email protected]
Organised by IC Events

Struggle to end Israel’s oppression and international complicity continues.

Hundreds of families living in a camp for internally displaced people in Carrefour, in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, are being harassed and intimidated and are at imminent risk of forced eviction. Residents at Grace Village camp, in the Carrefour area of Metropolitan Port-au-Prince are at imminent risk of forced eviction. At least 30 families have already been forcibly evicted, after their shelters and belongings were destroyed during the night of 28 April. They were forced to leave their properties without any due process and without being offered any alternative accommodation.

The sentencing of a rapper on 11 May 2012 to one year in prison for 'insulting the police' shows the gap between the strong free-expression language in Morocco's 2011 constitution and the continuing intolerance for those who criticize state institutions, Human Rights Watch said. The sentence was handed down one week before the opening of the international Mawazine music festival in Rabat, which is held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI. Mouad Belghouat, better known as 'al-Haqed' (the sullen one), has been in pretrial custody since March 29 because of his rap song 'Kilab ed-Dowla' (Dogs of the State), which denounces police corruption, and a YouTube video set to the song.

The world's wildlife has declined by nearly a third over the past 40 years, a new estimate of the health of the planet suggests. In some parts the figure is much higher - in the tropics, losses are estimated at more than 50 per cent, while in tropical freshwater ecosystems specifically, average losses may be as high as 70 per cent, according to the 2012 edition of the Living Planet Report, produced by the WWF.

When it comes to inheritance in Africa, patriarchal systems often receive criticism from women and women’s rights advocates. But members of Cameroon’s Balue tribe say that their matrilineal inheritance system is actually worse. Not only can women not inherit property, but it also passes land and belongings out of the immediate family and into the extended family, reports Global Press Institute.

Primary school has been free since 2003, with the help of 19 billion dollars of donations from the UK, Canada, and the World Bank, with the World Food Programme, UNICEF and Kenyan NGOs providing advice, training and support. In terms of enrolment numbers, it has been a great success. Enrolment rates in Kenya are up to 97 per cent. Less great is that there are now up to 70 children in each classroom and the free primary school fund has been plagued with government corruption, says this Panos feature.