Reactions to the diplomatic cables released by the whistleblower website Wikileaks continue to flourish all over the blogosphere. Revelations concerning the conflict over Western Sahara have sparked a few comments. Ali Amar is a Moroccan journalist. Writing on VoxMaroc [Fr], a blog hosted by the French daily Le Monde, he underlines the fact that although the leaked cables revealed American diplomats' reservations about bad governance and corruption in Morocco, they showed unwavering American support for the kingdom's position on Western Sahara.

Tunisian activists pounced on the latest Wikileaks US Embassy Cables, dedicating a new website to republish and discuss the revelations related to their country, reports Global Voices. Tunileaks, was launched by Nawaat one hour after the whistle-blowing site unleashed the cables on 28 November. The first release contained 17 cables issued from the US Embassy in Tunisia. They mainly dealt with the neglect of human rights in Tunisia and the restrictions on freedom of expression.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been accused of siphoning off up to $9bn (£5.6bn; 7bn euros) of his country's funds by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Luis Moreno Ocampo told the BBC that President Bashir had hidden the money in personal accounts outside Sudan. Mr Ocampo's suspicions originally came to light when a diplomatic cable obtained by Wikileaks was published by the Guardian newspaper. Sudan has forcefully denied the claims.

For Geneviève Zongo, every 13 December revives excruciating memories of the loss of her husband Norbert Zongo, editor of the weekly L'Indépendant. He was assassinated in 1998 while investigating the murder of a driver working at Burkina Faso's presidential palace. More painful still is that the killers who ambushed Zongo's car, riddling it with bullets and torching it, have never been brought to justice.

The Ecowas Court of Justice in Abuja has declared the arrest and detention of Musa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist, illegal and unconstitutional 'as it contravenes the Plaintiff’s human right to personal liberty as guaranteed by Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights'. The Court also awarded the Plaintiff $200,000 as damages for the violations of his human rights by the Gambian authorities.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the arrest on 16 December of Mohamed Daramy, a radio presenter and Ibrahim Farmer, technician for KISS FM Radio in Bo, southern Sierra Leone by Police Assistant Inspector General (AIG) David Sesay who was acting on the order of Minister of Agriculture Dr Sam Sesay. According to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), an IFJ Affiliate, on 16 December 2010, Mohamed Daramy and Ibrahim Farmer were arrested and detained overnight in a police cell, following an incident that saw the debate sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture discontinued for a pre-arranged radio programme paid for by the mobile phone company, Africell.

An exciting new community radio project is helping communities in Ghana to share valuable experiences of adaptation with other villages and towns, as well as local decision-makers. Researchers can also hear directly from these communities, giving an unprecedented picture of what women, men and children are already doing in their daily lives to adapt to a changing climate.

Contents of the latest edition include:
- Cover Story:
The plight of internally displaced people: A failure of social justice.
Case studies: Kenya: Examining the plight of the IDP’s after the post election violence in 2007/8
Africa: Algeria, Burundi, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola, Congo, Rwanda, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe.
Columbia: Internal displacement in Columbia by Bettina Ngweno

- Regular Columns:
Playing the Race Card by John Sibi-Okumu
The Imperial Capital 1910 – 2010 by Ramnik Shah

- Book Reviews:
Becoming Indian by Pavan K Varma: Reviewed by Warris Vianni
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie: Reviewed by Ramnik Shah
Cheche; Reminicenses of a Radical Magazine by Karim Hirji (An announcement)
Dreams in a Time of War by Ngugi wa Thiongo: Reviewed by Chris Wanjala
A Knight in Africa: Journey from Bukene by Sir Andy Chande: Reviewed by AwaaZ
How to Euthanise a Cactus by Stephen Partington: Reviewed by John Sibi-Okumu
Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights: by Fritz Staal

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The December issue of the International Development Research Centre's (IDRC) 'Lasting Impacts, Access to Water' has been published. Articles, which can be read by visiting the website available through the link provided, include:
- A home-based clean water revolution
- Science helps to calm water conflicts
- Recycling wastewater offers a solution to scarcity
- Economic benefits flow from taps.

To mark International Human Rights Day, on 10 December 2010, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) released a groundbreaking report exposing the precarious working conditions endured by journalists in Somalia. The nationwide survey revealed how the human rights of working journalists, particularly their labour rights, are grossly violated by every company and in every corner of the Horn of Africa country.

It should be no surprise to anyone that South African diplomats been been frustrated both with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, or that Kenya and the United States have enjoyed close military to military ties despite vocal US criticism of the Kenyan government. Wikileaks cables released to date, such as the ones included in this AfricaFocus Bulletin, provide some nuances and may be embarrassing, but provide no 'smoking guns' or startling revelations. This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the text of two cables from late 2009, one reporting on conversations between Kenyan and US officials on disagreements about shipment of tanks to Southern Sudan, and the other a conversation between the US Ambassador to South Africa and the South African Foreign Minister, including remarks about the sitution in Zimbabwe.

Francoise Mukuku from the youth organisation Si Jeunesse Savait reports on a cyberdialogue organised in the DRC around ICT's and violence against women. The online discussion, organised by Genderlinks as part of the 16 Days of Activism, was to be shared with all francophone countries connecting to the dialogue. 'Everything started with this question: What is our society missing economically when women are left out of technology development? Here we all agreed that it was like trying to clap with one hand, we miss the innovation, creativity and all the beautiful things that women could contribute.'

Journalist in Danger, partner organisation of Reporters Without Borders, on 10 December published its annual report revealing the disturbing state of press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the plight of journalists working in the country. The report, released on International Human Rights Day, records in minute detail every attack on the right to be informed and to inform the public throughout the year - 87 cases in 2010 compared to 75 in 2009.

US drugmaker Pfizer hired investigators to find evidence of corruption against the then Nigerian attorney-general to convince him to drop legal action against the company over a drug trial, the UK's Guardian newspaper has reported, citing leaked US diplomatic cables. Nigeria's Kano state sued the world's largest drugmaker in May 2007 for $2bn in damages over testing of the meningitis drug, Trovan, which state authorities said killed 11 children and left dozens disabled.

US embassy cables have revealed a top executive's claims that Shell 'knows everything' about key decisions in government ministries. The oil giant Shell claimed it had inserted staff into all the main
ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' every move in the oil?rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable. The cache of secret dispatches from Washington's embassies in Africa also revealed that the Anglo?Dutch oil firm swapped intelligence with the US, in one case providing US diplomats with the names of Nigerian politicians it suspected of supporting militant activity, and requesting information from the US on whether the militants had acquired anti?aircraft missiles.

The latest edition of the Global Information Society Watch questions the assumption that information and communications technologies (ICTs) will automatically be a panacea for climate change while also looking at the potential of ICTs to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as are the roles of international institutions, the global research agenda on ICTs and climate change and 'sustainability' as an evolving concept.

The government of Mali is seen as the largest obstacle to conduct an effective fight against Al Qaeda groups in the Sahara desert. Distrust between Algeria and Mali further hinder cooperation. Diplomatic cables from several US embassies, published by Wikileaks, reveal that the announced concerted fight against Al Qaeda in the Sahara and Sahel region is moving ahead slowly. Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger had announced a joint effort to hit back at the terrorists.

The United States is concerned that Mozambique could become a narco-state because of close ties between drug smugglers and the southeastern African nation's government, according to US Embassy cables released by WikiLeaks. The four cables released this week cite unnamed officials from law enforcement, the ruling FRELIMO party and business figures, as well as local media reports. The cables say cocaine, heroin and other drugs come in from South America and Asia, and are then flow to Europe or sent overland to neighbouring South Africa for sale.

President Jacob Zuma is suing Avusa Media for R5-million for Zapiro's Lady Justice rape cartoon, The Times reported on Tuesday. Zuma started proceedings against Avusa, the cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro and former Sunday Times editor-in-chief Mondli Makhanya in a summons issued in the High Court in Johannesburg on Friday.

Reporters Without Borders has awarded its 2010 Press Freedom Prize to two symbols of courage, the jailed Iranian journalist Abdolreza Tajik and the embattled Somali news radio station Radio Shabelle. 'This year we are honouring a courageous journalist, Abdolreza Tajik, and a beleaguered radio station, Radio Shabelle,' Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. 'These laureates work into two countries, Iran and Somalia, where reporting the news is a constant battle.'