But just how big is the land that will be given out to the farmers? In this visual presentation prepared by InterAksyon.com, we compared the total land area of the hacienda that will be awarded to its tillers to the country’s landmarks and popular places.

Click here to view graphic.

It is in this direction that the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Ransford Tetteh, has urged media practitioners, especially, journalists, to harness the power of the web, by using social media as a tool to communicate to their various communities.

“The use of social media,” he noted, “in today’s media industry is very important.”

Mr. Tetteh made this observation over the weekend, when he presented a paper on the ‘Role of the Parliamentary Press Corps in educating the populace on parliamentary proceedings’ at a two-day workshop at Dodowa.

The workshop was organised by the Parliament of Ghana to build the capacity of the Press Corps in their quest to reach out to the populace. It was under the theme ‘Parliamentary Press Corps as an agent of Good Governance.’

According to him, journalists must always be innovative in presenting their work, and the social media presents such a platform for one to meet the demands of the information age.

Social media, he said, makes research and interactivity between the journalist and his or her community much easier. He described the modern journalist as a multimedia creature, who feeds the beasts of television, print, radio, and the web.

Commenting further, he urged members of the Parliamentary Press Corps to master the art of parliamentary reporting, since it was an avenue that requires specialisation.

He bemoaned the situation where editors do not allow their reporters to stay long in Parliament, arguing that “such practice inhibits the art of parliament reporting.”

Other papers presented include Parliamentary Reporting by Daniel Kondor, Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Parliamentary Procedures by Ebenezer Djietror, Office of Parliament, Constitution and the Standing Orders that relate to the practice of Journalism by Cyril Nsiah, Office of Parliament, and The Need for Features and Articles on parliamentary proceedings by Robert Apodola, Assistant Clerk to Parliament.

The Dean of the Parliamentary Press Corps, Edwin Arthur, in his opening remarks, called on journalists to be guided by ethics of journalism, in order to preserve the dignity of the profession.

He bemoaned the lack of professionalism by some journalists in their day-to-day activities, a situation, he argued, was giving the journalism profession a bad image.

“Let me state here that, it is sad to observe that some journalists and media houses have thrown ethics to the dogs, and are practising the profession the way they want it in a reckless and careless manner, which development has given the profession a bad image.”

To address the challenge, Mr. Arthur called on the GJA and the National Media Commission (NMC) to, as a matter of urgency, put in place measures to strengthen the practice of journalism in the country.

Another issue of concern raised by Mr. Arthur was the polarisation of the media into categories of political affiliation.

This, he noted, must be condemned in no uncertain terms, since such unprofessional conduct contributes to the breeding of charlatans, “with some virtually turning themselves into blackmailers, plying their trade on naïve and ignorant politicians.”

However, Africa remains the region with the lowest IDI values. Of the forty African countries listed, only six of them made the first 100 on the 2010 IDI. They are Mauritius (69), Seychelles (71), Tunisia (84), Morocco (90), Egypt (91) and South Africa (97).

In West Africa, Ghana ranked 120^th behind Cape Verde (104) while Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia were placed in the 122^nd, 125^th and 126^th positions respectively. While Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau were not included in the 2010 IDI, other listed West African states are Cote d’Ivoire (130), Mauritania (131), Togo (133), Benin (135), Guinea (144), Mali (146), Burkina Faso (149) and Niger (151).

To highlight differences in ICT levels within the five regions of the world, Africa had the greatest global ranking difference between its top five countries – 40 places separate Mauritius and Botswana. The continent also seconded the CIS as the region with the largest increase in IDI ranges between 2008 and 2010 –where countries with relatively lower ICT levels are not catching up as fast as their counterparts in other regions.

While only Mauritius, Seychelles, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria and South Africa have more than 5% of their households connected to the Internet, four countries – South Africa, Seychelles, Cape Verde and Mauritius have a broadband penetration rate of over one percent.

The report stated that despite Africa’s fixed broadband basket has dropped by over 50%, the service remains prohibitively expensive and in 2010 still represented almost three times the monthly average per capita income.

Even though new submarine cables are providing African countries with access to more and cheaper international Internet bandwidth, the report stated, Africa still lags far behind other regions in terms of the bandwidth available to Internet users. For Africans to benefit from the continent’s increased connectivity, operators must acquire greater amounts of international Internet bandwidth, expand and improve core networks, and make network access infrastructure available, as well as affordable.

“While the IDI leaders are all from the developed world, it is extremely encouraging to see that the most dynamic performers are developing countries,” ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun Touré said in a release. “The ‘mobile miracle’ is putting ICT services within reach of even the most disadvantaged people and communities. Our challenge now is to replicate that success in broadband.”

The only African country among those that made the largest improvements in the use sub-index reflecting a substantial increase in Internet usage, and fixed or mobile broadband uptake is Kenya. Described as one of Africa’s fastest growing Internet markets with a 0.55 IDI value increase as compared with the world average of 0.46 and the African average of 0.23, Kenya recorded a 37% increase in the access sub-index due to the large growth in mobile-cellular subscriptions and a high increase in the country’s Internet bandwidth capacity. Its use sub-index jumped 19 places to a value of 1.05, and compares very favourably with the African countries’ average of 0.44. Mobile-cellular tariffs have come down considerably due to increasing competition between providers in Kenya.

This year’s report includes a special focus on broadband, looking at speed, quality of service and international bandwidth available in different countries worldwide and how this is impacting broadband take-up in the developed and developing worlds. 

It says that while broadband prices declined sharply worldwide, a high-speed Internet connection remains unaffordable in many low-income countries citing Africa at end of 2010, where fixed broadband services still cost an average of 290% of monthly income, down from 650% in 2008.

The report also analyzed the digital divide among Internet users examining how factors like age, gender, educational level, and urban/rural location affect people’s ability to get online. ITU indicated that targeting students may be the most effective way to increase the about 21% of its population that use the Internet in developing countries through connecting schools and other educational institutions, and improving enrolment rates.

ITU said that while the spread of mobile networks has reached saturation in developed countries with average penetration now over 100% at end 2010, developing countries remain buoyant with 20% growth in mobile subscriptions (now 70%).

As the main source of internationally comparable data and statistics on ICT, ITU is the globally-recognized body saddled with the responsibility of observing improvement in all countries of the world and proffering ICT trends that would augur well for the overall being of every state – more so as ICT has been closely linked to good governance these days.

After a 30-hours-journey from Ciudad Juárez to the Global Media Forum in Bonn, Judith Torrea was tired, but still full of energy. (Screenshot from author's video)

Judith, you have been reporting on Ciudad Juárez for 15 years now and even moved there in 2009 – what draw you towards one of the most dangerous cities in the world?
I am a journalist and our duty is to tell the stories that have to be told. If we don’t do that, we become accomplices of war, massacres or genocides like those involved in the so-called „War on Drugs“ led by the Mexican president Felipe Calderón. Once I stepped into this topic I couldn’t just ignore it and go back to Washington as if nothing had happened.

Stepping into it, how did that happen?
Even if I was born in Northern Spain, my heart is purely Mexican, it’s Juárezian. I always wanted to live in Mexico, but finally it all happened by pure coincidence. Fifteen years ago I crossed the Mexican border for the first time and the first city I came across was Ciudad Juárez. At that time the first women were disappearing, and there was nobody else who was reporting on it.

Most bloggers are citizen journalists and activists – when you started blogging, you have already been a highly experienced and awarded journalist. What made you leave your prestigious job as a White House correspondent and become a blogger in Mexico?
Originally, I wanted to work there as a freelance journalist. But then I discovered that in full economic crisis, nobody wanted to buy my stories. But I didn’t want to give up: I published them on a blog instead – not to nourish me, but to lift my spirits. I even renounced on advertisements or collaborations with traditional media, because I want to be as independent as possible. However, I would never have thought that it might become so popular and even receive the prestigious BOB Awards. Just consider how technically simple it looks. Perhaps I won’t earn much money with this blog, but it makes me happy. In times like those Juárez is going through, it is essential that people rise their voices, that they talk or write about what they are experiencing. I also teach citizen journalists in Juárez – my “pupils” are common people, but they tell some stories better than me.

You have been the first Spanish reporter to witness and report about death penalty executions in the US – another dark topic. Are you fascinated by the proximity of death?
In no way! I am a very happy person who loves life. But Juárez is my mission. Nobody asks to be born in a certain place at a certain time. If I don’t tell the story of Juárez, the winners of this „War on Drugs“ will tell it. What keeps me here is my passion and my love for this city. I am fascinated by the mothers of the murdered girls who succeed in transforming adversities into strength. Ciudad Juárez taught me to live.

What was your impression of Juárez when you entered the city for the first time? Was it love at first sight?
The city is neither fascinating nor beautiful. But when you cross the bridge across the US-Mexican border into Juárez, you immediately feel the energy of this town. It’s a women’s city: While many men are unemployed, women have for decades worked in the export oriented assembly plants, the maquilas. Their strong position causes jealousy in the city’s macho culture.

“Hours go by. The fear. She doesn't come back. Days go by. Years.” – Many mothers are still waiting for their daughters to come back, years after their disappearance. Judith Torrea blogs about forbidden activism, ghost towns and the power of memory (Screenshot of Torrea's blog)

Since 1993 hundreds or thousands of young women have been murdered in Juárez; many locals even speak of 5.000 cases. You said that the first media reports came extremely late – how does the Mexican press react?
Absurdly the first newspaper that reported on it was the New York Times. The Mexican press even claimed that the people of Juárez invented these stories, following the discourse of president Felipe Calderón. Mexican media is mainly concentrated in two outlets tightly related to the government. Today mainstream media can’t ignore the feminicidios any longer, but instead of analyzing the reasons for it, they show gruesome pictures of the victims and indirectly blame them for provoking these violent acts by dressing up or going out.

The city lacks international attention: You are the only foreign journalist living in Juárez – and when you wanted to sell your first freelance stories on Juárez in 2009, the editorial offices weren’t interested. Where does this ignorance come from?
Mexico is not Afghanistan. Many foreign editors don’t consider it an important topic. Furthermore it is a dangerous job; many journalists come with bodyguards and don’t want to sleep in the city, because they don’t want to risk anything. When I was back in New York reading the news about the so-called „War on Drugs“ in Ciudad Juárez, I realized that my perspective differed from that of most journalists: Unlike them, I distrust Calderón when he states that the victims have been related to drug dealing.

Once you accused the Mexican president Felipe Calderón on TV of supporting the Sinaloa Cartel, the most powerful drug cartel in Juárez. Are you not frightened?
The only fear I have is not doing what I have to do. I am a journalist that will never betray herself, that is not corrupt. Neither the Sinaloa Cartel nor Calderón can stop me. As Juárezians, we all share the same danger.

Have you ever been threatened?
The government tries to put me under constant pressure. But I won’t go into details.

What will the future bring for Juárez?
Peace will come soon; the death toll is already dropping. But it won’t be a peace for the love of peace – Calderon’s „War on Drugs“ simply costs too much money. And it will be a false peace: This “War” has left tremendous social problems, hundreds of orphans, empty houses, lots of unemployed and many, many traumatized people.

What will you do when this „War“ is over?
Hard to say – I hardly ever think about the future.

Interview conducted in Spanish and translated into English

Judith Torrea’s blog: www.juarezenlasombra.blogspot.com
Her book: Torrea, Judith: Juárez en la sombra: crónica de una ciudad que se resiste a morir. Aguilar, 2011.

• Ciudad Juárez is a city of 1,5 million inhabitants in Northern Mexico directly bordering the US city El Paso. Due to its location, the city is a major point of entry and transportation into the United States – for migrants and goods as well as for drugs. Juárez attracted several drug cartels by its low-wage work force, the proximity of the lucrative U.S. market and its social disorganization. In the 90ies it became the epicentre of Mexico’s “War on Drugs”; with between 6 and 27 homicides each day it is considered “the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones.”

• Judith Torrea is a 37-year-old journalist from Pamplona/ Spain. After working for several US media she decided to dedicate her work to the fight against drug trafficking and the Mexican „War on Drugs“. She was awarded with the Spanish journalist award Premio Ortega y Gasset as well as with Deutsche Welle’s international weblog awards, the BOBs, for her blog “Ciudad Juárez, en la sombre del narcotráfico” (Ciudad Juárez in the shadow of drug trafficking). Based on her blog and long lasting experience she recently published her book “Juárez en la sombra” (Juárez in the shadow).

This interview first appeared in Orange Magazine of the European Youth Press in June 2011 as part of its coverage of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. E-Mail the author at christina.felschen(a)gmx.de or visit www.chessocampo.blogspot.com.

The De la Cruz siblings were fathered and abandoned by US servicemen in the Philippines.

(First of two articles)

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – There was a hint of embarrassment in Mark Gilbore’s voice as he pointed to the infamous red light district of Angeles City.

It was almost dusk when girls of various shapes and sizes began to pour out onto the streets. Clad in clothes that showed off more skin than fabric, they sashayed on stilettos into the narrow road called “Walking Street,” their glassy smiles intact.

“There,” Mark said as he pointed to a girl wearing a skimpy rodeo outfit outside a bar that was just about to open its neon sign. “She’s like me,” he said, looking away.

The girl, like Mark, is an Amerasian or a child fathered by American servicemen who were stationed in Clark Base in Pampanga, back when the US had its biggest military bases in the Asia Pacific region, here at Subic and Clark. The American bases were opened from 1903 till 1991, when the destructive eruption of nearby Mt. Pinatubo and a historic 12-11 vote by the Philippine Senate finally forced their exit from Philippine shores.  But when the soldiers left, few cared about the children they left behind.

Continue reading here: http://www.interaksyon.com/abandoned

Divided into the ballot, the certificates of canvass and the election process, InterAksyon probed the various ways cheating was done at that time.

Check out the cheating via

The ballot [http://www.interaksyon.com/hoax-populi-ballot]

The COCs [http://www.interaksyon.com/hoax-populi-coc]

The election process [http://www.interaksyon.com/hoax-populi-election-process]

It has been exactly five years Thursday, since Gambian journalist Mr Chief Ebrima Manneh went missing and separated from his family where he was a breadwinner. Chief Manneh, who disappeared since July 7, 2006, was allegedly whisked away from his office, the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper in Bakau, by State Security Agents.
Since then, his fellow journalists and family members have been in a ceaseless quest to trace his whereabouts, but so far, their efforts have proven futile.
In one of the most drastic of efforts to clear the doubts over his whereabouts, the sub-region’s leading media watchdog, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sued the Government of The Gambia at the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria.

More on http://thenorthbankeveningstandard.blogspot.com/2011/07/kidnaped.html

Speaking to international journalists from Africa and Asia in Hamburg this week, the veteran journalist said newspaper business is fast crumbling because people are now using new media technologies for latest information. Although some big media organisations are charging for internet content, Mr Gaugele said the money received from internet subscriptions is not enough to keep the media business running.

“Freeing internet content was the biggest mistake that was made,” said Mr Gaugele. He said newspapers are dying because people are getting free online news. In addition, he said it would be better if internet users were paying for the information they get on monthly basis.

Several newspapers in Europe, including Hamburger Abendblatt, one of Germany’s leading regional newspapers is facing difficult times in increasing their readers.

“Even my newspaper is also a victim of this development,” he added. He said approximately 220. 000 people read Hamburger Abendblatt’s print version while about 2 million viewers visit the paper’s online edition on a daily basis.

However, Mr Gaugele said new social media networks such as facebook, twitter and blogs were not a serious threat to professional media organizations. He said people do not trust news from sources of unchecked credibility.

“New social media networks are not a threat at all. Mature readers know where to get news every time. There is no way people can start relying on facebook and twitter for news because they would end up double checking information they get on these networks with what would be reported in mainstream media,” Mr Gaugele told journalists on Monday.

Mr Gaugele worked for various German newspapers that include the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Bild am Sonntag before he joined Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper in 2008. He also used to work as a guest media lecturer at the University of Leipzig.

But a private prosecutor in the massacre case says De Lima’s assurances are empty should Ampatuan be accepted as a state witness and enrolled in her department’s Witness Protection Program.

This is because the law, or more specifically, Republic Act 6981, “An Act Providing for a Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program and for Other Purposes,” a witness placed under the state’s protection program should be immediately taken to a “secure housing facility” until he or she has finished testifying or “until the threat, intimidation or harassment disappears or is reduced to a manageable or tolerable level.”

“The safe house can be anywhere, it can even be in Forbes Park,” private prosecutor Harry Roque said.

Ampatuan could very well invoke this should he be taken into the WPP for the electoral fraud case since he has publicly pointed to his father, Andal Sr., and brother, Andal Jr., who are also accused principals in the massacre case, of being the real masterminds of the mass murder of 58 persons, including 32 media workers.

Continue Reading here