Media rights watchdog Reporters sans Frontières on Tuesday condemned an attack on two Tanzanian journalists who were beaten and had acid thrown at them. The Paris-based rights group said assailants attacked Saeed Kubenea, publisher of Swahili weekly Mwanahalisi, and its editor, Ndimara Tegambwage, in their offices in a suburb of Tanzanian commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

As the new school year begins here many destitute or orphaned children are in need of assistance to pay for their educations. An unknown number of urban youngsters, however, are slipping through the social welfare net. "Impoverished children in the country’s urban areas might run into the thousands," Juanita Mkhonta, a social welfare worker in the central commercial town Manzini, told IPS.

TrustAfrica is looking for a dedicated individual to manage its civil society facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The successful candidate will have extensive experience in working with regional organizations and civil society organizations. The civil society facility will provide support to CSOs in their quest to more effectively engage the AU Commission and its organs as well as other stakeholders based in Addis. The deadline for applications is Friday, January 18, 2008.

This conference, to be held at Wits Campus in Johannesburg from 9-11 June 2008, emerges from an ongoing collaborative research project initiated in late 2006 by the Nordic Africa Institute entitled Political Economies of Displacement in Post-2000 Zimbabwe. The project links researchers located within and outside Zimbabwe who share an active interest in mapping the complex dynamics of change related to the crises, uncertainties and multiple displacements of contemporary Zimbabwe and their effects on neighbouring states and diasporas further afield.

TrustAfrica is looking for an exceptional individual to serve as its Chief Operating Officer. The successful candidate will have extensive experience in management and philanthropy in Africa. The position is based in Dakar, Senegal. Interested candidates should submit the following application materials in English: a cover letter, a detailed CV describing the candidate’s professional experience, three writing samples, and contact information for three references. Only complete applications will be considered.

We the undersigned call on the ODM and PNU leaders to urgently seek a resolution to the current electoral crisis in the country and restore peace and harmony in the country through leadership.

We express our concern at the deteriorating situation in Kenya following what has been widely acknowledged as an impressive election turn-out. We commend the Kenyan people for their dignity and courage but also express our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and to the many who have been injured in the course of needless violence over the last few days. This is a time for Kenyans to be patient, dignified and to look for solutions that are in the best interest of the majority.

We regret the chaos which has caused loss of life, destruction of property and general unrest in the country. The contested outcome has marred the prospects of democracy and peace not only in Kenya but also in Africa. The cloud which hangs over the conclusion of one of the most fiercely-fought elections in Kenya's history is regrettable. We believe that peace should be regained as a matter of urgency so that a free and fair outcome can be reached.

We believe that this is not the time for provocative actions, but a time for demonstrating leadership through bringing the contending partners to the table. This crisis can be resolved by the players in disagreement using conciliation and arbitration mechanisms as a matter of urgency to plan a peaceful resolution of the crisis. If necessary, this could be done with the involvement of others such as
the African Union and others, such as those who acted as election observers. We urge the contending leaders to act within the spirit of democracy and seek to heal the wounds that have been opened by recent events and to do so in transparent ways.

We are aware of the betrayal that many may feel in what they consider to be an electoral injustice. We ask them to engage in the process by seeking explanation and accountability and to be guided by their own sense of civic responsibility.

We call on the PNU and ODM leaders to seek conciliation and resolution of the current crisis for the sake of the country.

We call for mechanisms for mediation and conciliation to be put in place urgently to give voice to all grievances that have arisen from the present situation in which there can be no winners, only losers. We welcome the mediation processes that have been initiated

We call for an immediate ending of violence by the security forces and all other parties. Whilst we recognize that the security forces have a role to play in maintaining peace and order, we condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force by the security forces against unarmed civilians that has been manifest over the last few days.

We call for an independent transparent review of the whole electoral process and its outcomes so as to resolve any differences between contesting parties. This should include reviewing the results of the election and all reported irregularities, especially those related to the disparities in the tallying of the final results.

We call for a swift formation of an independent and credible Judicial Commission of Enquiry by endorsing the call by the Electoral Commissioners who have called for one.

We urge the international community to be patient pending the outcome of such a proposed review process. As it is Kenyans who have to live with the consequences of a Mwai Kibaki or Raila Odinga government, the international community can only follow the recommendations of an independent review before declaring the elections free and fair.

We call on those who wish to see a peaceful democratic Kenya, especially in the African Union, to support initiatives that can bring this crisis to a swift conclusion by facilitating dialogue and reconciliation.

We are deeply concerned by the gagging of the media, especially as this has only fueled suspicion and encouraged speculation in an already highly volatile situation. Freedom of expression has been one of our greatest democratic prizes won by Kenyans during the last few years and we cannot afford to go backwards.

We call for an immediate and unconditional lifting of the reporting ban so as to ensure that Kenyans are able to keep abreast of what is happening. We commend the Kenyan press for the work they have done to keep information flowing. It is precisely in the time of crisis that a free and independent media is essential to ensure a democracy that is based on information not speculation.

We urge the international media community to support the Kenyan press during this time and continue promoting the right for a free and independent press especially during such a period.

We call on all peace loving people to join us in calling for a swift conclusion to the crisis so that Kenya can return to normality andpeople can continue their lives without fear and anxiety.

The petition is now online at
and at the time of going to prese had nearly 800 signatures. Please sign the petition.

The Boards of Executive Directors of the African Development Bank (ADB) and African Development Fund (ADF) have approved a proposal to clear Liberia's arrears, paving the way for normalization of relations with the West African country for the first time in nearly two decades.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the detention of a newspaper editor in Chad, who was held illegally by authorities for four days in connection with an article he wrote accusing the President of ethnic cleansing, and called on authorities to drop charges against him alleging he has incited “tribal hate.”

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning ( UIL) collaborates with the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) in launching a pilot project on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for unemployed workers from the sugar and textile sectors who will be retrained for work in the tourism industry, which in Mauritius has emerged as the fastest growing economic sector in 2006

Pambazuka is saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Norman Reynolds, erstwhile contributing author to the newsletter. He passed away on Saturday, December 15, 2007 following a hiking accident in the Drakensburg mountains. There will be a memorial service on Saturday December 22 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family at this difficult time.

The Cape Town Open Education Declaration:Unlocking the promise of open educational resources is a new effort to galvanize the Open Education movement to focus attention worldwide on the potential for Open Educational Resources for all learners and educators

Interested in access to medicines? Interested in governance, transparency and accountability processes? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, and you are working in a civil society organisation in Ghana, Uganda or Tanzania, an upcoming workshop in Entebbe, Uganda from 17-23 February, 2008 may be of interest.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has announced that the seventh session of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent will take place at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Palais des Nations – Room XIX, from 14 to 18 January, 2008.

This latest report from the International Crisis Group examines the country’s humanitarian and institutional crisis and outlines how the recently approved EU and UN forces (EUFOR and MINURCAT) could help the failing nation get on its feet. The land of 4.2 million inhabitants roughly the size of France lacks any meaningful institutions and is wracked by insurrections and corruption.

A US-based human rights group has accused the Egyptian government of using torture and false confessions in a high-profile anti-terrorism case. Twenty-two alleged members of an unknown Islamist group, the Victorious Sect, were accused of planning attacks on tourism sites and gas pipelines. Human Rights Watch says its research suggests the security forces may have fabricated the group's name.

We as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and inter-sexed people (LGBTI), activists in the human and legal rights sector, feminists, trade unions, activists in the women and HIV/AIDS sectors as well as individuals from diverse backgrounds, constituting the South African civil society;

To improve girls’ education, West African governments must adopt national policies addressing all aspects of violence against schoolgirls - who face rape by teachers, verbal abuse by male students and forced early marriage by parents - a grouping of policy makers, teachers’ unions and civil society organisations has said.

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said Angolan soldiers have raped, beaten and tortured illegal Congolese migrant workers before deporting them across the border. The French humanitarian group said the rights abuses were occurring in the diamond-rich northern Angolan province Luanda Norte, which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo. It described the rapes as "pervasive and systematic".

The African Integration Review is an international multidisciplinary journal for the discussion of a wide range of integration issues in Africa. It is open to all theoretical and applied research orientations on the regions and countries of Africa.The African Integration Review is particularly interested in the theory of integration and to its application to problems.

Nearly one dozen African nations have joined forces to participate in a United Nations-backed programme to bolster education and training in rural areas. At the Rome headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), representatives from 11 countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania – last week agreed to identify areas of cooperation.