Human rights group Amnesty International is to send field officers to the Mt Darwin area to investigate the abduction of the elderly parents of exiled MDC official Elliot Pfebve.

Human Rights Monitor, a non-governmental organization based in Kaduna has sought from Sokoto State High Court an order granting it leave to apply for an Order of Mandamus in a case involving a 7-year old Umar Mamman, whose eyes were removed in Luggu village in Wamakko Local Government of Sokoto state in 2006.

Of 600 rape victims recently interviewed by a Liberian non-governmental organisation, 90 percent of the women were found to be suffering from fistulas - a vaginal tear which results in loss of bladder control and social stigmatisation.

World Vision Rwanda will not be affected by cuts in food aid programmes by its parent organisation, World Vision International.

Women's right coordinator Action Aid International (AAI) Tuesday condemned the marginalizing of African Women.

Handicap International (HI) has said that the blind have been neglected in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The Ethiopian government is proposing a new law to restrict activities of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the country.

They are not often remembered. With the poor quality of teaching and learning, as well as the environment where these take place, many are wont to ask the biblical question, 'can anything good come out of Nazareth ?' But an organisation looked in the direction of public secondary and technical colleges in Lagos state and found a lot to reward, writes Funmi Ogundare

The United Nations has asked the government to help it conduct an assessment to evaluate the extent of politically motivated violence, which "could reach crisis levels", warned Agostinho Zacarias, the UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Zimbabwe.

Amnesty International today condemned the recent threats against humanitarian workers in Somalia made by Muqtar Robow Abu Mansur, a leader and spokesperson of Al-Shabab.

A Bauchi-based international non-governmental organisation, Challenge Your Disability Initiative (CYDI), has commended the Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) for conducting a hitch-free and transparent local government election in the state.

Week-long activities to mark the 61st World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day and the 45th Cameroon Red cross Day ended with a gala night in Yaounde last Saturday.

About 2,500 people of both sexes, with ages ranging from 14 to 50 years, are being taught how to read and write in Huambo district by the non-governmental organisation dubbed ALFALIT-ANGOLA.

Befikir Tsere-AIDS Mahiber, alocal NGO working with children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS and helpless elderlies in Addis Ababa said on Thursday it provided educational equipments and used closings on two occasions it collected from donors.

THE Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has warned the Kiboga Police against torturing inmates. A UHRC team recently visited the 16 detention centres in Kyenjojo and Kiboga districts where they said they were alarmed at inmates' testimonies of alleged torture by the Police.

AT least 30 organisations involved in providing care and support for HIV/AIDS patients have renewed their commitment to reducing infections among such people.

Calls for the trial of former President Olusegun Obasanjo over alleged corrupt practices swelled across the nation yesterday as different rallies were organised in Abuja and Kaduna by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Coalition of Northern Nigeria Civil Society Organisations, calling on President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to prosecute Obasanjo and his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello.

Since the last report on the 25th of April, our members have reported a dramatic escalation in incidents of organised violence and torture with the number of victims documented in the post election period now standing at over 900.

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Africa Desertification Control Initiative (ADCI), has disclosed its preparedness to battle the menace of desertification in the country with a free distribution of 50,000 tree seedlings to individuals in the country.

Married couples have been asked to embrace the voluntary HIV testing services made available free of charge at their homes in Rukungiri.

"The Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRC) Remains more committed and prepared than even before to work for the recovery of our nation," LNRC President Theresa Leigh-Sherman told a news conference Thursday marking the 145th celebration of World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in Liberia.

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), established by the Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA) is organising a Research Methodology course for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Ghana from May 23 and 24 2008.

Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) yesterday came under fire when HIV/AIDS activists accused them of squandering money from donors meant for the fight against the disease on non-core areas that do not directly benefit sufferers.

With an increased number of children living in the streets of urban areas in Burkina Faso, the government and several non-governmental organisations are coming up with new approaches to address the problem.

The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) said in Abuja that research on areas affected by cluster bombs in Africa showed that women and children were mostly affected.